It’s no wonder open-world games are such a popular genre. Immersive worlds and well-written stories can make us binge on a game for days. Unfortunately, not all open-world games have been incredible successes, as shown by what happened toNo Man’s Sky. It takes special talent and genius to make a game that not only feels like a real-world but is also easy to pick up and playable for a long time.
RELATED:The Top 10 Best MMORPGs Of All Time (According to Metacritic)
A good open-world doesn’t get too repetitive after a while but still keeps you guessing and on your toes as you go through your quests. Today we’ve got a special treat for all open-world lovers, with a list of the ten best games that are an absolute must-play of the genre, and the highest rated byMetacritic’sstandards.
10Far Cry 3
Ubisoft’s classic first-person shooter experience is at its peak inFar Cry 3. As you take on the role of Jason, who’s vacationing with his friends, you end up on an island ruled by Vaas and his pirates. Although you escape, your mission then becomes surviving and finding your friends in order to get out.
The island is free for you to explore, with various quests available that help you level up your skills. You can even hunt for food if you get tired of fighting pirates, and in the end you’re faced with an important decision.
9Horizon Zero Dawn
Imagine a world where primitive tribes live among powerful and highly advanced machines. Well, you don’t need to imagine, becauseHorizon Zero Dawnbrings it alive perfectly.
RELATED:Horizon Zero Dawn: 10 Coolest Machines, Ranked
You take control of Aloy, a hunter that travels the lands of this post-apocalyptic world in search of large robotic creatures, hunted for their parts and dangerous for humans to tackle. A long time ago these lands were ruled by a highly advanced civilization known as the Old Ones, and it’s up to Aloy to figure out what exactly happened.
8Assassin’s Creed II
In the second installment of the incredibly popular series, professional assassin Desmond Miles takes up the life of his ancestor Ezio from Renaissance Italy. If you’ve ever dreamed of experiencing the life of a professional headhunter, this game is perfect for you and allows you to roam the streets of the city as though in a sandbox game.
The Assassin’s Creedseries is famous for its combat and stealth system, and the incredible amount of freedom when it comes to scaling buildings and using your environment to your advantage as a professional.
7Fallout 3
Most of theFalloutseries has been really great in terms of open-world, building up a believable wasteland and story of what would have happened if the cold war had broken into a full-blown nuclear conflict.Fallout 3so far stands as the best in the series, going even aboveFallout 4despite the latter’s upgraded graphics.
You begin your journey inside Vault 101, but venture out when your father James suddenly exits the vault. Your mission then is to find him in the Capital Wasteland of what was formerly Washington, D.C.
6Minecraft
While it’s true thatMinecraftis officially more of a sandbox game than an open-world game, we’ve still decided to add it to the list due to the way the maps are randomized each time. Not just that,Minecraft’s survival mode has significant RPG elements to it which qualifies it as an open-world adventure game as well.
RELATED:Minecraft: 5 Features We Want To See In The Next Update (& 5 We Don’t)
There’s no real purpose toMinecraftother than survive and thrive, but there are boss mobs you eventually head out to defeat and incredible loot to find in dungeons, strongholds, fortresses, and even other dimensions.
5The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Based onThe Witcherbooks, CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece seriesThe Witcher III: Wild Huntis one of those titles that’s continuously praised for how amazing it really is. While immersion isn’t quite there with us taking control of Geralt from third person, the environment and massive world filled with mysteries and beasts are just screaming at us to be explored.
The design of the characters, their abilities and the world itself is so good it’s almost impossible not to get hooked into this game once you start, but it’s totally worth it.
4Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
This list wouldn’t be complete without the mention of anElder Scrollsgame, namelySkyrim. The fifth installment in the series was an absolute success and even after nearly ten years of its release, it continues to be among the most iconic games of its genre.
InSkyrimyou discover yourself to be the Dragonborn, a chosen one who must stop dragons from returning to Skyrim and enslaving people. However, being the Dragonborn is just the tip of the iceberg. you’re able to join various other guilds, buy property and travel wherever you wish, as well as even get married.
3Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
For those with a Nintendo Switch,Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wildis the number one pick if you’re looking for an open-world experience. Because the story is set in a non-linear way, you’re really just encouraged to explore and go wherever you wish during your travels in Hyrule.
RELATED:10 Switch Games To Play If You Loved Breath Of The Wild
As Link returns as an amnesiac tasked with stopping Ganon from returning again, he must travel all across the kingdom to regain his memories.
Any fans of historical shooters will definitely loveRed Dead Redemption 2and its gorgeous Western-style world. Your story begins as Arthur Morgan, a gang member and an outlaw just simply looking to survive in the Wild West. We also get to witness the story of John Marston from the previous game.
There’s so much to do in the game, again from hunting to various quests and odd jobs around the vast open-world. As the game progresses, we see Arthur age and we grow attached to the characters, making it not only a fun shooter but also an emotional roller coaster.
1Grand Theft Auto IV
TheGTAseries has been popular for a reason: the freedom it gives you. No other game has been able to provide players with so much versatility in gameplay and exploration.
While GTA IV, the highest rated in the series, has a separate story mode where you follow the life of Niko Bellic in Liberty City, there’s also an open-world mode that lets you roam around the city freely and do just about whatever you want. Hijacking vehicles and robbing bystanders is just an ordinary day in the game, where the player can bring on the chaos.
NEXT:The 10 Worst Video Games Of All Time, According To Metacritic
