Highlights
- Early Access games secure funding and establish a loyal player base for indie developers through allowing consumers to purchase and play a playable version of the game.
- The best Early Access open-world games offer players unique and practically complete experiences, such as 7 Days to Die and Valheim.
- These games provide expansive crafting systems, diverse biomes, realistic mechanics, and the ability to team up or compete for dominance, offering players a variety of gameplay options and immersive gameplay experiences.
Early Access games are usually published by indie developers and by allowing consumers to purchase and enjoy a playable version of the game, they not only secure funding for subsequent development but also manage to establish a loyal player base.
Best Open-World Games, Ranked
Open-world games give players a ton of freedom to work with. These titles have stood out the most over the years.
Given the popularity of open-world games, there are naturally many Early Access open-world games available, and the best of these offer players unique and practically complete experiences.
6 7 Days To Die
7 Days To Die is a game that has been in the Early Access stage of development since 2013. It is a genre-defining zombie survival game set in a huge post-apocalyptic world that is described as brutally unforgiving. Other than trying to survive, how the game is played is up to the players who can team up together or compete for dominance.
With an expansive crafting system featuring over 500 recipes and the ability to build anywhere, creative players will enjoy coming up with unique defenses to keep themselves safe in the game's five biomes.
5 Slime Rancher 2
Slime Rancher 2
- Platform(s)
- PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS5
- Released
- September 22, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Monomi Park
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
- Steam User Rating
- 94% (November 2, 2023)
Slime Rancher 2 and its forerunner are two of the most relaxing games ever made and players can simply enjoy the color and slime life of a faraway planet. Taking on the role of Beatrix LeBeau, players will explore ancient mysteries while always on the lookout for new slimes to take home.
Best Games Set In The Desert
A lot of games take to the desert, showcasing the biome's beauty as well as danger.
Having built their own slime ranch, players can then feed, care for, and eventually breed their slimes in peace, with numerous varieties of gelatinous organisms available throughout the game.
4 Project Zomboid
Project Zomboid
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- November 8, 2013
- Developer(s)
- The Indie Stone
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Steam User Rating
- 94% (November 2, 2023)
Project Zomboid is one of the hardest games of all time, and despite having simple graphics with a top-down perspective, it also has some of the most realistic mechanics found in any open-world game. For example, characters need to cook to stave off hunger, they must battle against the depression caused by a zombie apocalypse, and they should stick to the shadows and make as little noise as possible when zombies are nearby.
One of the coolest things about Project Zomboid is that players can play online in never-ending servers where they will constantly stumble upon the remains of other players long dead. With power cuts, the threat of winter looming over the massive open world, and much more, the attention to detail is staggering and will constantly surprise even the most veteran players.
3 Sons Of The Forest
Sons of the Forest is a highly realistic survival game where players are dropped onto a remote and terrifying island with the goal of finding a missing billionaire. Long before players can save their target, they will discover the island is overrun with harrowing cannibals, and to survive players must rely on basic crafting skills, and build defensive bases to fall back on.
7 Open-World Games With The Most Rewarding Exploration
Open-world games are meant to be explored and enjoyed over a long duration, and these games succeeded in creating a rewarding experience.
Although it has been released in Early Access, Sons of the Forest feels like a complete game and is a comprehensive upgrade on its predecessor, The Forest.
2 Satisfactory
Satisfactory
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- March 19, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Coffee Stain Studios
- Genre(s)
- Simulation , Sandbox
- Steam User Rating
- 97% (November 2, 2023)
One of the best and most unique open-world Early Access games available is Satisfactory, a first-person factory-building game that can be enjoyed either alone or with friends. While building factories and extensive conveyor belt systems isn't normally something that players imagine themselves doing, just a few hours in Satisfactory will have players hooked.
By expanding their factories and engaging in a small amount of combat, players will slowly conquer the alien planet they find themselves on. With intricate networks of automated trucks, trains, and conveyor belts, and by following pro tips for Satisfactory, players can achieve highly satisfying levels of efficiency.
1 Valheim
Valheim
- Platform(s)
- Linux , PC , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- February 2, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Iron Gate AB
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox , Survival
- Steam User Rating
- 95%
Arguably the best Early Access open-world game is Valheim which took the gaming world by storm back in 2021 with its addictive exploration and survival gameplay. Either alone or with friends, players are dropped into the procedurally generated Norse-inspired world and must start from scratch, slowly discovering the secrets behind survival.
The game is best enjoyed blind and as players explore the progressively more dangerous biomes, they will find new resources and tools that can be combined in surprising ways. The building aspect of the sandbox game is one of its best, allowing players to create epic bases or settlements. Over the years, Valheim has received numerous updates both large and small, and more biomes will be fleshed out further before the full release of the game.
