Nowadays, gamers are spoiled for choice when it comes to subscription services. A relatively recent addition to the scene, Amazon Luna entered early access in 2020, paving the way to a proper launch on March 1, 2022. Currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada, Luna is a cloud gaming service that provides another avenue for people to interact with the gaming industry's output.

Originally, Amazon Luna launched with five channels: Luna+, Family, Retro, Ubisoft+, and Jackbox Games. However, in December 2022, the Family and Retro channels were discontinued, with portions of their libraries being added to Luna+. The latter's monthly price has remained at $9.99, so subscribers now get more value for their buck. That said, when it comes to the best open-world games on Amazon Luna, Ubisoft+ dominates quite a bit of the discussion.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

PC Metascore: 86

Ubisoft has established an open-world formula that works for its games, and the studio mostly sticks to the same basics. Assassin's Creed has been around since the mid-2000s, with each entry taking place during a different time period. Although certain elements have persisted through the entire series, Assassin's Creed can be split into pre- and post-Origins, as that game marked a switch from stealth-focused gameplay to a more typical action RPG style. Amazon Luna's Ubisoft+ channel does not have every main release in the series available for streaming, as the selection dates only back to Assassin's Creed Unity.

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While they all have their strengths and flaws, picking the best one is likely to come down to someone's personal preference in regard to the setting. Odyssey takes place in Ancient Greece, and it is a gorgeous and huge game that features a storyline that starts and ends strongly. The side quests are also quite good, far superior to anything Ubisoft's franchise had produced up to that point. While a touch bloated, Odyssey overall does a stellar job of highlighting why Assassin's Creed has managed to remain so popular.

Kingdoms Of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

PC Metascore: 70

Debuting in 2012, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning had a tough go of things due to some behind-the-scenes issues, although the game itself was a worthwhile addition to the RPG genre. Nearly a decade later, a remaster made its way to almost-modern systems, making this cult favorite available to a new audience. As Re-Reckoning changes little about the base experience, certain elements are naturally dated; nevertheless, the game is a fun time and has its charm as a time capsule for its era.

Kingdoms of Amalur's open-world is a bit of a mixed bag. Visually, the map is colorful, vibrant, and expansive without being too big. However, its optional content was uninspired in 2012, let alone in a post-The Witcher 3 world. Ultimately, this is not a deal-breaker since Kingdoms of Amalur prioritizes combat over everything else.

Far Cry 6

PC Metascore: 74

Subscribers to Amazon Luna's Ubisoft+ channel can jump into seven Far Cry games, including every numbered entry between 2-6 except for Far Cry 3. With the exceptions of Blood Dragon and Primal, most of these games are relatively similar, although Far Cry 2 has a couple of frustrating mechanics that are absent in later entries. Consequently, Fary Cry 6 gets the nod as it is the most recent addition to the franchise, and the open-world shooter does have the tightest gunplay in the series. That said, this entry is also one of the most polarizing in the franchise since it departs quite significantly in a few key areas compared to its predecessors. Consequently, if someone is looking for a more traditional experience, they should start with Far Cry 4 or 5.

Set on the fictitious tropical island of Yara, players are cast as Danji Rojas, a warrior looking to free this country's people from the shackles imposed by a dictator. As tends to be the case with Ubisoft's franchise, Far Cry 6's villain, Anton Castillo, steals the show, and Giancarlo Esposito delivers a delightfully intense performance as the dictator.

Watch Dogs 2

PC Metascore: 75

An argument can be made that Watch Dogs never quite managed to fulfill its potential, with the series failing to reach the lofty heights experienced by Ubisoft's Far Cry and Assassin's Creed properties. That said, this trilogy is quite a unique beast since all three games feel relatively distinct from each other, even if they still adhere to the publisher's general open-world formula.

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In stark contrast to the humorless but still enjoyable Watch Dogs, its sequel offers a vibrant and lighthearted adventure. This time around, players step into the shoes of Marcus Holloway, a hacker who is recruited by a rogue group called DedSec in their quest to disrupt the surveillance system that monitors San Francisco. The story is perfectly serviceable, however, Watch Dogs 2's world is its true selling point. San Francisco is huge, gorgeous, and lively.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands

PC Metascore: 69

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is a beloved tactical shooter franchise that had been around for more than a decade before embracing the open-world genre. Wildlands and Breakpoint can both be streamed on Amazon Luna, and while the latter is the more recent release, the former is generally regarded as the superior game. Set in Bolivia, Wildlands casts players as an agent tasked with going undercover and infiltrating this area's drug cartel, which has gained a lot of power in recent years.

Wildlands has an absolutely massive map, overwhelmingly so. However, this world does offer a fair amount of variety in terms of terrains and locations, so the game puts the map's size to good use. The shooter grants players quite a bit of freedom in how they can approach missions, and there is even a co-op mode.

Batman: Arkham Knight

PC Metascore: 70

Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy set the standard for modern superhero games, and many will argue the series has yet to be surpassed. For the most part, Arkham Knight brought Batman's journey to a satisfying close, and it is comfortably the biggest entry in the trilogy (or tetralogy if Arkham Origins is taken into account). This time around, players can explore the entirety of Gotham City, which is not only incredibly detailed but also densely packed with content. Traversing the map generally requires using the Batmobile, which is a somewhat polarizing mechanic.

Arkham Knight's PC version infamously launched in a broken state, to the point that it was borderline unplayable. In time, the game's issues were mostly fixed, and it now runs well enough on the hardware.

Immortals Fenyx Rising

PC Metascore: 70

Immortals Fenyx Rising has all the qualities of a standard Ubisoft open-world, albeit presented in a more condensed manner. Rather than seeking to keep someone playing for 100+ hours, Immortals Fenyx Rising focuses on supplying a more streamlined experience with only a handful of secondary content to distract from the main quest.

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Consequently, this game lives and dies on whether a player enjoys its central story and gameplay loop, the latter of which combines hack and slash action with puzzles and exploration. The combat system is fast-paced and accessible, offering flashy visuals along with a decent sense of progression. Immortals Fenyx Rising's Greek Mythology-infused world is vibrant, gorgeous, and diverse; unlike most of the publisher's projects, this title does not aim to be realistic, a decision that allows it to stand out from the crowd.

Riders Republic

PC Metascore: 78

Open-world games tend to be life-consuming as they demand full commitment from their players. Basically, they are the exact opposite of pick-up-and-play; however, Riders Republic is kind of an exception. This sports game lets players loose on a huge map where they can race to their heart's content.

That's not to say Riders Republic lacks a sense of progression, but it is a far more leisurely experience than is typically the case for the genre. Ubisoft's 2021 title comes with four extreme sports: Biking, Snowboarding, Skiing, and Flying Wingsuit. In the career mode, players can follow six disciplines based on the included sports. Along with multiplayer, this release also supports single-player, so there should be something for everyone.

Yakuza Kiwami 2

PC Metascore: 82

Amazon Luna has an interesting selection of Yakuza games. Luna+ subscribers can play Yakuza Kiwami 2 and the remasters of the third, fourth, and fifth entries; consequently, newcomers will have to jump into an ongoing narrative since neither Yakuza 0 nor Kiwami are on the service. While the individual games do try to ease newcomers in, their central characters and core factions are established in the first two games, so Kiwami 2 is far from the greatest entry point. However, that does not take anything away from the project's quality since Kiwami 2 is a fantastic game by most metrics, and it offers a unique open-world experience compared to the many Ubisoft projects on Amazon Luna.

Yakuza believes in density rather than square meters. Kiwami 2 takes place in Kamurocho and Sotenbori, fictional cities based on legitimate Japanese locations. While neither one is particularly big, every street is stuffed with content, be it restaurants, optional stories, hooligans to beat up, or minigames. There is always something to do in Kiwami 2, and that is not even taking into account the reasonably lengthy story that is generally great.

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