Open worldsin games have always been in demand because the appeal of rewarding exploration and discovery is universal. If a game is a visually stunning masterpiece on top of being open-world, it becomes irresistible. Not all games need to be on the cutting edge of what the industry has to offer to be considered ‘good-looking’ either.Art directioncan do a lot of the heavy lifting.
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For this list, the only metric we’re looking at is how good a game’s open world looks, nothing else. Gameplay, genre,replayability, and anything in between is not a consideration.
10Elden Ring
Hauntingly Beautiful
Putting aside how good of a gameElden Ringis from a gameplay perspective, the hauntingly beautiful open world of Elden Ring is breathtaking. Consistently pretty, everything flows into each other naturally. From Limgrave to Liurnia to the Altus Plateau, it’s all tied together by a consistent theme: the looming Erdtree.
Consistently pretty, everything flows into each other naturally…
From Softwarehas never been known to put a lot of emphasis on graphics and high-res textures for their games, and that hasn’t changed in Elden Ring. But it’s still one of the most memorable open worlds I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience. It might not be of the highest fidelity, but the art direction is what puts it on this list.
Elden Ring
9The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Grit, Gwent, & Grandeur
Released in 2014,The Witcher 3remains one of theprettiest gamesto ever come out in the industry. From the moment you step out onto the balcony, and the view of the snow-capped mountains takes your breath away to the moment you end your journey in the tavern with all of Geralt’s friends, the game never drops the ball.
So idyllic it looks like it’s out of a dream
If you haven’t experienced it, Toussaint in theBlood and Wine DLCis even a step above the base game. So idyllic it looks like it’s out of a dream, and it remains consistent throughout. The palace, the vineyards, the grasslands, and even the streets are incredible. If the entire game was just set in Toussaint, it would be even higher on the list.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
8Grand Theft Auto 5
Urban Jungle, Concrete Fidelity
If you want to experience what walking and driving through a busy city in America is like with the highest visual fidelity possible,Grand Theft Auto 5is the closest thing to reality in that regard. The pursuit of realism in video games is fully on display.
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More than the visuals, it’s the density of the population and the diversity of the NPCs that convey the lived-in feeling of the city. It inches GTA5 that much closer to reality, and what has allowed it to stand thetest of timeto such a degree.
Grand Theft Auto 5
7Forza Horizon 5
Racing Through Paradise
Forzahas always been in a league of its own in what it sets out to achieve: trying to make open worlds out of real-life locations in aracing game. It’s something the developers have tried their hand at again and again with the Forza series, and it has never been as on point as it is inForza Horizon 5.
Lush greenery, incredible architecture, beaches, mangroves, and more…
In contrast to the dull, yellow-tinted depiction of Mexico we’re used to seeing in movies, Forza 5 displays Mexico in all of its varied glory. Lush greenery, incredible architecture, beaches, mangroves, and more are all experienced from the comfort of a race car going 620 miles/hour.
Forza Horizon 5
6Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Web-Slinging Through Picture-Perfect NYC
Spider-Man 2’s New York is the most impressive the city has ever looked, and boy, does it look pretty.
And the cherry on top? Thephoto mode. In case you weren’t already aware of how pretty the game looked, the developers smack you in the face with one of the most detailed and customizable photo modes we’ve ever seen in a video game.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
5Horizon: Forbidden West
Wild, Wondrous, & Westward
Guerrilla Gamesproved they knew what they were doing withHorizon Zero Dawn, but withForbidden West, everything is dialed up to eleven, especially the visuals. The mystery of what happened in the past may be gone in the sequel, but the feast for the eyes that’s on display more than makes up for it.
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From snowy mountaintops to lush green fields to deserted, overrun buildings, every inch of the game is breathtaking to behold. Even the variety of the environments and weather effects is more detailed than it was. Every major character you meet during the course of the story is mo-capped, conveying a feeling of realism that’s hard to capture in video games. And we haven’t even touched on the underwater sections. The Horizon games are the poster boys for PlayStation exclusives, and with Forbidden West, it’s easy to see why.
Horizon Forbidden West
4Ghost of Tsushima
Blades, Blossoms, & Beauty
If you’re looking for a gorgeousSamurai game,Ghost of Tsushimais the best one there is. Set against the backdrop of the Mongol invasion of Japan, it manifests the fantasy of being a Samurai against a horde of enemies. On top of being a visual marvel, its art direction remains consistent from the start to the finish, something that’s incredibly rare to see in open-world games. Ghost of Tsushima feels like art, especially when facing off against a lone swordsman in a windy grass field under the moonlight.
…feels like art, especially when facing off against a lone swordsman in a windy grass field under the moonlight…
The only complaint that I can muster about the game is that it’s a PS5 exclusive, which means it hasn’t reached the wider market yet. Rumors abound that the game may be released on PC sometime in 2024. Here’s hoping.
Ghost of Tsushima
3Cyberpunk 2077
Cybernetic Wonderland
If there is one thing aboutCyberpunk 2077that’s always been above reproach, it’s the visual marvel that is Night City. Of all the complaints players had about the game on release, one thing that was always praised was the quality of the world-building. Every building, sidewalk, and billboard in Cyberpunk drips with character. And it keeps getting better the more time you spend in it.
Every building, sidewalk, and billboard in Cyberpunk drips with character…
The fact that the interior of ninety nine percent of the buildings is part of the open world adds to the immersion massively and what makes the game world such a treat to experience. Not to mention, the graphical quality is as cutting-edge as it gets, especially with path tracing turned on full blast. I’ve never spent so long looking at reflections as I have in Cyberpunk.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cowboys & Canyons
Red Dead Redemption 2has a world so authentic and believable that I was put off of other open-world games for a time after playing it. The visual quality is incredible, true, but more than that, it’s the diverse, varied map of the wild west, filled with living, breathing settlements and cities making up the whole, that elevates it to a complete experience that sucks you in for hours on end.
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Making the trek up to the Grizzlies and then farther north into the snow to find the White Arabian by the lake captures the feeling of what open-world games are all about: exploration. And that’s what Red Dead Redemption 2 nails down better than any other game I’ve ever played.
Red Dead Redemption 2
1Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Pandora’s Box of Visual Marvels
If we’re only talking about pure visual fidelity,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorasits at the peak of what a video game can achieve. From the first time you step out of the bunker into Pandora to the time you deal with the RDA for the final time, the world of Pandora doesn’t drop the ball.
Islands floating in the skies, gigantic vines you can run on, hundred-foot tall mountain peaks, and gigantic arches that span the width of entire plains…
Islands floating in the skies, gigantic vines you can run on, hundred-foot tall mountain peaks, and gigantic arches that span the width of entire plains that can all be observed from up above on aflying Ikran; it’s everything the movies promised and more. The hunting system could’ve been better implemented, the RDA facility formula could’ve been improved, and a dozen other things could do with more polish, but what I have a hard time imagining being improved is the world itself. Pandora is the most beautiful open world I’ve ever experienced, and nothing can take that away.
