Open World Games Still Worth Playing

GamesRadar

The best open world games are a brilliant investment; engineered to offer you something new around every corner. They're usually designed with one central storyline, but the people you'll meet, places you'll visit, and hidden areas you stumble upon on your travels always mean plenty of other distractions. These top open world titles are here to absorb all your free time, with such rich worlds that you won't mind getting lost in them completely. Anything here can guarantee you a good time, so take a look.

Transcript

00:00The best open world games are a brilliant investment, engineered to offer you something

00:12new around every corner. They're usually designed with one central storyline, but the

00:17people you'll meet, the places you'll visit and the hidden areas you stumble upon

00:21in your travels always mean plenty of other distractions. These top open world titles

00:27are here to absorb all of your free time, with such rich worlds that you won't mind getting

00:32lost in them completely. Anything here can guarantee you a good time, so take a look.

00:45All of the recent Assassin's Creed titles have been excellent open world games, but Assassin's

00:49Creed Valhalla is definitely one to check out. Building on the improvements made with Origins

00:54and Odyssey, Valhalla takes you to the Dark Ages, travelling across England as the Viking

00:59Eivor to find a new home for your clan. Build your settlement, meet new friends, forge new

01:04ally ships, dabble in politics and do a heck of a lot of exploring to find the secrets and

01:09treasures lurking in Old England. Perhaps one of Elden Ring's greatest assets as an open

01:23world game is the air of mystery that shrouds everything. It gives little away and adds a

01:29genuine rush to its exploration. Every door or new location is as much a thrill as a threat. The

01:36open world structure has also softened From's usual style of game design. It's not exactly

01:41more accessible, because there are still some hard to beat bosses and high level areas that

01:46will hand your ass back to you in seconds, but the freedom to explore removes the grind

01:51of the more linear Dark Souls series, letting you wander off and explore, levelling up a more

01:56leisurely pace and adjusting to the challenges ahead. Horizon Forbidden West improves greatly

02:12on the original game, filling in its beautiful world with a bunch of side quests, activities

02:17and things to do and find. This delivers a much larger and far richer open world than the original,

02:23filled with side quests, large varied territories and long branching stories to flow over tens of hours.

02:30Aloy's latest adventure is stunning to look at, and filled with utterly memorable plots,

02:36characters and events, often to be found quite some way off the beaten path of the main questline.

02:41You see that mountain? You can climb it, or ride your horse up there. You can also attach octopus

02:57balloons to a raft and float up, or turn a fallen tree into a rocket and hang on tight. Mixing up these

03:03ingenious mechanics is what makes this open world feel deliriously freeing, as it encourages a special

03:10breed of mad scientist experimentation. Instead of quests propelling you around the map, you'll find

03:16curiosity getting the better of you most of the time, as Breath of the Wild's landmarks are downright

03:21intriguing and offers the chance to find out more about the world before Calamity Gammon struck.

03:27Alternatively, you can hunt down these 600 adorable Korok seeds, or perfect your cooking repertoire,

03:32or take on a Lynel, or… well, you get the idea.

03:42Come on, you can't have a list of the best open world games without chatting about GTA 5. You know it,

03:48I know it, it's the most successful entertainment product of all time for Christ's sake. Driving

03:53through the winding streets, taking advantage of skydiving, stabbing sharks with knives, tracking a

03:58serial killer, running from the police, going full Trevor and causing as much chaos as humanly possible,

04:04and do I really need to carry on listing all the stuff you can do, we'll be here all year.

04:09Grand Theft Auto is a web of criminal exploits and mind boggling potential, with every single inch of

04:15the world filled with NPCs to manipulate, missions to hunt down, or just colossal heights of shenanigans

04:21to engage in. It'll swallow you whole, spit you out and have you itching for more. Doesn't matter if

04:36you want to hunt, doesn't matter if you want to help Dutch achieve his elusive goals, and it definitely

04:41doesn't matter if you'd rather just own the fanciest, rootinist tootinist wardrobe in all of America.

04:47Red Dead Redemption 2 is absolutely packed full of things to keep you busy. It's a tale of the

04:52gradually disappearing age of outlaws, a civilisation comes to the wild west, meaning there are plenty

04:58of people who need your help. Rockstar's game will have you hunting for dinosaur bones, trying to

05:03solve a murder mystery or even summoning a vampire. The sheer variety of choice and things to do easily

05:10makes Red Dead Redemption 2 one of the best open world games to play right now. So what are you

05:16waiting for, partner?

05:26Geralt isn't perfect. His surroundings aren't perfect either. War ravages most of the countryside,

05:33with bloodthirsty creatures who don't even stick to the shadows anymore preying on innocent people.

05:38And yet that's what makes it the best open world game to play right now, still. Because everything is

05:43broken in its own special way. There's always something plastered on peeling notice boards for

05:48Geralt to do. For gold though, of course. Stick to the dirt country roads and help villagers with the

05:53monsters baying at their door while they look at you and your yellow eyes with suspicion. Negotiate

05:57with well-meaning poltergeists in the middle of the city, or just uncover all those mysterious

06:02question marks dotted all over the map. The Witcher 3's imperfect world makes for a perfect game,

06:07meaning it is set an incredibly high bar for the future of open world games.

06:13And there you have it, that's our list of the best open world games you can play right now.

06:17If you think we missed any off this list, then let us know down in the comments below and we'll see you

06:21on the next video.

Category

Transcript

Recommended