Summary

  • Explore diverse landscapes in these open-world games without worrying about running out of content.
  • Hyrule's Tears of the Kingdom and RDR2's American West offer large open worlds, rich with engaging activities.
  • Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West provide unique open worlds that unfold gradually as you progress.

O𝕴ne of the worst things that can happen in an open-world video game is a false promise. At the onset, some open-world games seem big, but then tend to actually be really small, or worse, empty. However, there are some amazing open-world games that always manage to circumvent this trap.

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If you're looking for some great open worlds to explore that never run 🌊out of amazing features, or you're just wanting to take a stroll down memory lane, this list is for you. Here are some of the most amazing open-world game꧑s that don't peak early.

10 The Legend 🐷Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdo🅷m

Hyrule

Link kneeling next to Zelda in a field of flowers in Tears of the Kingdom.
zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-cover.jpg
T𒉰he Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
5.0/5
Released
May 12, 2023

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Hyrule has always been one of the most legendary and iconic locations in all of video games. But, Breath of the Wild was the first game in the franchise that truly took us open world. However, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:BOTW's follow-up, Tears of the Kingdom, truly took it to the ꦏnext lev𒉰el.

Of course, Bre🐷ath of the Wild started it all, and exploring Hyrule for the very first time was a joy from start to finish. However, with the introduction of The Depths and the Sky Islands in Tears of the Kingdom, Hyrule's open world map proved that it was virtually endless.

9 🅰 Red Dead Redemption 2

The American West

The player in front of a saloon in a town in Red Dead Redemption 2.
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Red Dead Redemption 2
5.0/5
Released
October 26, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Often hailed as one of the best action-adventure open-worlds of all-time, it would be a shame not ot put Red Dead Redemption 2 and its take on the American West on this list. Each✃ area of this map, from New Austin to Lemoyne, feels diverse, unique, and incredibly in-depth. There's not a corner of this map that doesn't have something engaging in it.

What really makes this map stand out among open worlds is that it somehow strikes the perfect balance between feeling large without feeling emp🔴ty. You can trave🧸l on horseback for a while and not encounter a single soul, or you can find yourself in a dense urban metropolis. RDR2 has it all.

8 𒅌 Ghost Of Tsushima

Tsushima

Jin facing the rising sun in an open field in Ghost of Tsushima
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Ghost of Tsushima
Action
Adventure
Systems
Released
July 17, 2020

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
3.0/5

The island of Tsush𒉰ima is a highly underrated open-world map that avoids the pitfall of running out of steam thanks to one very important feature. As you progress t🍬hrough the game, you only have access to certain parts of the map. This limits your exploration, but also allows the game to continue opening up as you progress.

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I personally remember the first time I progressed to the second act of the game, only to discover that there was an entire other section of the map waiting to be explored. Plus, like RDR2, each section of the map has a distinct character to𒁃 it that prevents the map from ever feeling boring.

7 𝔉 🃏 Dune: Awakening

Arrakis

two statues brandishing swords over a desert sunset in dune awakening.
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Dune: Awakening
Released
June 10, 2025

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

In designing Arrakis, it feels like it would be very easy to stumble into the trap of having the map feel repetitive. After all, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Arrakis is one large desert, wit🏅hꦉ very little diversity in terms of its biomes. However, Dune: Awakening somehow managed to avoid this pitfall entirely.

The Arrakis we get to see in Dune: Awakening has plenty of distinct environments, ranging from jagged cliffsides to highly radioactive zones. Plus, settlements and trade posts have di🧜stinct flair and break up the monotony of the desert's surface. There's s🔯omething around every corner in Arrakis.

6 No Man's Sky

The Universe

no mans sky character standing in a large settlement.
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: No Man's Sky
4.0/5
Released
August 9, 2016

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

No Man's Sky is one of those games that truly boggles the mind in te🃏rms of its conception. This outer space adventure game allows players to explore a seemingly endless array of planets thanks to the game's procedural generation.

This🗹 game is not always everyone's cup of tea. But if you want an endless open world, No Man's Sky is going to give it to you. Plus, if you like exploration 🍃in your open worlds, No Man's Sky really does a great job of capturing that feeling of venturing into uncharted territory.

5 ♏ Eld🔥en Ring

The Lands Between

The tarnished riding its horse in front of a dragon in Elden Ring.
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Elden Ring
Released
February 25, 2022

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Similar to Tsushima, Elden Ring's The Lands Between does a great job of offering up a hefty meal of an open world in courses. Thanks to the way the map flows together, you can't always access every section of The Lands Between right away (unless you employ some clevᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚer loopholes or don't mind getting dogpiled by tough enemies).

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However, regardless of your approach, The Lands Between is undoubtedly a masterclass in open-world design. The game's dungeons are massive too, which always suggests thꦚe idea that something even more impressive than the game's overworld might be lurking just beneath your feet.

4 Horizon Forbidden West 🐽

The American West, Again

Aloy faces off agaisnt a Tremortusk in Horizon Forbidden West.
horizon-forbidden-west-cover.jpg
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Horizon Forbidden West
Action
RPG
Systems
Released
February 18, 2022

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

It's incredible how two different games can have wildly different takes on the same area of the world. Both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Horizon Forbidden West's maps take inspiration from the American West, with wildly diffe🎶rent results. While RDR2 takes the cake in terms of settlements and detailed quest lines, Hor🤪izon is impressive thanks to its scale and environmental diversity.

Horizon's map goes all the way from Colorado to the ruins of San Francisco, meaning you get to see every type of environment from a𝄹 vast desert to the ocean itself. Plus, exploring ruins is always more fun than exploring an actual city, and Horizon does ruin-based exploration expeᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚrtly.

3 The Witcher 3: Wild🧸 Hunt

The Continent

Geralt fighting a monster in The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.
mixcollage-08-dec-2024-01-48-pm-7604.jpg
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
5.0/5
Released
May 19, 2015

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Like all great fantasy open worlds, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's rendering of The Continent is highly dynamic and full of fascinating content to explore. One thing that a lot oꦜf open worlds get wrong is making the world feel uninhabited. The God of War franchise, which features a pseudo-open world, often feels uninhabited thanks to its lack of NPCs.

Not so in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Villages aဣnd settlements, and even interiors, always feel teeming with life. Plus, with upgrades to the game for modern consoles, the overall visuals of the game have been improved substantially.

2 Skyrim

Tamriel

The snowy region of Skyrim in The Elder Scrolls 5.
mixcollage-20-dec-2024-09-03-pm-3325-1.jpg
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Skyrim
RPG
Action
Adventure
Systems
Released
November 11, 2011

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Skyrim is one of the most iconic open-world games out there, and often serves as a reference point for many of the games on this very list. Tamriel is bustling with quests, NPCs, and unique env♒ironments to explore.

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What perhaps makes this game feel as though it never peaks e⛦arly is the rabbit-hole-like quality of the quest lines. Depending on what quest you're pursuing, you can easily lose hours of time pursuing or e🦂xploring a single element of the game world. Plus, the lore in Skyrim makes the world feel endlessly explorable and rich with history.

1 Baldur's Gate 3

The Forgotten Realms

The party members looking out over a grassy hilltop to mountains in the distance in Baldur's Gate 3.
mixcollage-08-dec-2024-02-20-pm-5221.jpg
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Baldur's Gate 3
Released
August 3, 2023

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Okay, hear me out on this one. Yes, technically, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur's Gate 3 and the Forgotten Realms iaren'ta a full open world. But, there's something more important about open-world exploration than just 'being ꦡan open-world,' and that's the feeling of exploration.

While the map is ไoften siphoned off into chunks, and you can't necessarily wander to any place that you can see, you can jump, climb, teleport, and explore almost every nook and cranny in the accessible map. During my playthrough, I was always surprised at just how much every object, person, or area in the game was interactive, and this made the game feel more like an open world than some actual open worlds out there.

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