Open world gamesin this modern era are probably one of, if not the most popular and accessible games on the market, which is by design.
These games haveoodles of tutorials, onboarding mechanics and quests, not to mention a wealth of map markers and quest logs to ensure you are never truly ever one click or press of a button away from a solution to your problem.
7 Open World Ubisoft Formula Games Better Than Assassin’s Creed Shadows
These titles beat Ubisoft at their own game.
It’s a bit patronizing and tends to come from suits in a boardroom urging developers to retain their audience by any means possible. But some games are brave enough to trust their players and end up being better games as a result.
These open worlds don’t take players by the hand, but instead give them a little nudge to get going before letting them carve out their own adventure on their own. If that’s your thing, then these games are absolute must-plays.
9The Forest
Can’t See The Wood For The Trees
The Forest
The phrase ‘naked and afraid’ comes to mind when describing how The Forest starts the player with nothing and tasks them with surviving and thriving in a cannibal-infested world.
After an unfortunate plane crash, followed by your son being abducted, your goal is to make the forest your home, build a base, get the lay of the land, and eventually find a way to rescue your boy.
But this is easier said than done, as the game doesn’t tell you how to do this, doesn’t map out the world or the intricate cave systems below for you, and doesn’t give you a wealth of ways to fend off the island’s flesh-hungry residents.
It’s one of the finest survival games on the market,and while it is a bit of a slow-burn, it’s worth sticking with to witness your rise from lucky survivor to revered cannibal king.
A Cumberland Conundrum
Most open-world games give the player traditional quests with markers to follow, allowing you to mindlessly work through a quest line to get to the inevitable reward and burst of serotonin that comes with that. But,Atomfallis a little different, as it makes you work for every crumb of information.
This game uses leads instead of traditional quests, which are effectively little notes, or pieces of intel acquired by talking to NPCs and exploring.
Usually on their own, they don’t amount to much, but with enough pieces of the puzzle, you can resolve these leads and get one step closer to getting to the Windscale Power Plant.
It’s a novel approach, and one that forces players to engage with everything, deduce things on their own, and when you combine this with the tough survival mechanics on offer, you have a blueprint for a game that drops you in the deep end and forces you to swim.
7Outer Wilds
It’s A Big World Out There
Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds is a game where you only have 22 minutes to complete the game, but equally, have an entire solar system to explore in order to find out how. It sounds unfair, but the good news is that when the world ends, time loops, and you get another crack at it.
You don’t retain items, and everything in the world reverts to how it was. But what you do keep is any knowledge gained,and in this novel Metroidbrainia, knowledge is power.
The game forces you to explore, experiment, and gradually piece together small pieces of info and logic to solve the grand puzzle of how to break the time loop.
It’s a slow burn that requires patience, persistence, and a hunger for discovery. But, if you’re someone who loves a good mystery to solve, few can rival this outstanding interstellar epic.
6Shadow of the Colossus
Big World, Big Bosses
Shadow of the Colossus (2018)
Back in the halcyon days of the 2000s, when open-world games were only starting to blossom as a gaming genre, everything was a little more experimental. Which is something that Shadow of the Colossus showcases perfectly.
In this game, you had no quests or map markers, and there weren’t many tutorials guiding you through the experience. Instead, you were dropped into the world, given a horse and a vague area in which to find a Colossus, and off you went.
You needed to chart the land yourself, make sense of the mechanics needed to defeat each Colossus on your own, and you are never drip-fed exposition, as the game trusts the player to piece together the narrative and the plot twists.
It’s a timeless classic, and this lack of hand-holding is a big reason as to why. So, if you want to play one of the finest gamesof the PS2 era, this one is ready and waiting for you.
5Pathologic 2
As Brutal As It Gets
Pathologic 2
I often refer to Pathologic 2 as one of the most painful, unenjoyable experiences I have ever had when playing a game. But don’t misunderstand; this is what makes the game a seminal one and a true work of art.
This plague simulator has you play as a normal guy trying desperately to save your hometown from the plight destined to befall them, and you have little more than some cumbersome mechanics and your big ol' brain to help you accomplish that.
With next to no guidance or tutorials, you need to strive to take care of everyone, while simultaneously staying alive yourself in an ever-worsening town where desperate individuals will kill you for as little as a loaf of bread.
It’s a near-impossible task, and the lack of hand-holding only makes this tougher, more frantic, and your situation more dire. But that’s the charm of Pathologic, a true hidden gem.
4The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Classic RPG Royalty
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The 1990s was a golden era where RPGs were concerned, as it was an era where the depth of systems was at an all-time high. With DND-focused systems being baked into the bread of just about every top-tier RPG adventure going.
The Elder Scrolls series may not be one that you would associate with deep systems and a lack of hand-holding, but back then, Bethesda was truly at the forefront of this kind of open-world design, and Morrowind was a fine example of this.
The game dropped you in a mysterious and enigmatic fantasy world, and, for better or worse, it allowed you to do whatever you want and make your own mistakes.
A bad build would see you struggle immensely. To not pay attention to details in notes and dialogue would stonewall your quest progression, and that really only scratches the surface.
It’s a classic RPG that demands immersion and focus to succeed, and while newer, shinier Bethesda RPGs may be more accessible, many would argue that Morrowind is still the best true RPG in the Bethesda line-up.
3Elden Ring
The Most Ambitious Souls Outing Ever
Elden Ring
FromSoftware’s Soulsborne selection all have a reputation for being obtuse, inaccessible games that don’t hold the player’s hand. But, critically, only one of those games can boast that it offers a fully open world.
Elden Ring gives you just enough starting tools to survive before letting you off the leash in The Lands Between, and you can head off in just about any direction, for better or worse. Although, I think most of us went straight to the Tree Sentinel and got our asses handed to us.
Harsh lessons are frequent and humbling, but they help shape your time in this punishing world, and make you a better player as a result.
Aside from faint wisps in the vague direction on your map, the game never gives you any indication of where to go or what to do. It just says get out there and survive. But, spoilers. You won’t.
2Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
A Lowly Peasant Trying To Get By
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
I mentioned that Morrowind was one of the finest examples of an RPG trusting their players and offering complete role-playing freedom. Well, I think that KCD2 is probably the closest thing we have seen to this since then.
Playing as Henry, the humble son of a blacksmith, you’ll chart a path in Trosky and Kuttenburg, beginning with next to no skills or resources in a world that is all too happy to punish you for the smallest error.
Players will need to monitor their hunger, their hygiene, and their sleep. They will need to adhere to the law of the land, fend off bandits on the road, craft items to manually save the game, and solve quests that require deduction and intelligence rather than just mindlessly walking from A to B.
It’s a modern RPG masterpiece, and a game that stands a great chance of winning the 2025 GOTY. A feat that would likely never have been on the horizon if this game weren’t as unapologetically obtuse and tough.
1Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Modern Open-World Blueprint
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
While the more recent outing, Tears of the Kingdom, is an equally good fit here, I thought it was only right to give the nod to the game that did it first.
BOTW is a game that set a new industry standard for what it means to be an open-world game, offering a monumental adventure, and one that is as open ended as possible.
Players are given very few quest markers, pointers, or direct tasks. Instead, they are allowed to explore the world as they choose and discover things at their leisure.
This means you could labour over every little thing, or you could grab a flimsy weapon, head straight to Ganon, and fight the final boss in mere minutes.
Usually, that will end in tears, and that serves as a tutorial and a harsh lesson in and of itself. But, the option is there, and that deserves praise.
The world is your oyster here, but only if you immerse yourself and focus on learning the ropes, as the game isn’t about to spoon-feed it to you. But, that’s what makes this one so damn great.
