It’s fun to get deeply involved in a tough adventure game involving puzzles or mysteries. Elaborate RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 are fun too, with all of their branching storylines. Yet those genres can be daunting sometimes too, which is why hack-and-slash games are welcomed with open arms.
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.
These games make it easy for players to turn their brains off while playing. That doesn’t mean they lack good stories or mechanics, but they tend to have easier-to-grasp mechanics or difficulty levels that players can at least adjust themselves to. The following hack-and-slash games have open worlds to explore, and some even have co-op to make the hacking and slashing more satisfying.
6 Genshin Impact
Highest Metacritic Score: 86
Genshin Impact was the first open-world game to ape exactly what was so freeing about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It had a glider that allowed players to soar through the air, and they could climb nearly any surface too.
What Genshin Impact has over BotW, though, is combat. There are tons of characters to unlock free of charge, but then there are also heroes players can pay real money for. The gacha mechanics are a bit shady in some respects, but it’s quite easy to play the game without ever spending a dime on it.
5 Darksiders 2
Highest Metacritic Score: 85
Darksiders 2 took the series in a new direction while still keeping the overall aesthetic. Instead of War, players assumed the role of Death, one of the other Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The world was now open instead of being cobbled together like a Metroidvania.
The Best Open World Games With Female Protagonists (According To Metacritic)
Open-world games are fairly new in comparison to other gaming genres. Here are the best female protagonists based on Metacritic scores.
Death even got a horse to ride around on. Another big difference was the loot, which players could collect from enemies or buy from shops. This made combat more engaging, as players had a greater sense of customization in combat with Death.
4 Final Fantasy 15
Highest Metacritic Score: 85
Final Fantasy games before this one were open-world to a degree, but Final Fantasy 15 certainly upped the ante. It was the first game in the series to give players true freedom almost from the get-go. After a few tutorial missions, they got their car back and could explore a nearly endless number of areas.
The car wasn’t the only transport option either, as Chocobos could be ridden for deeper exploration. Combat was action-based, another big change for the series, with fast and fluid controls thanks to Noctis’ various weapon forms.
3 NieR: Automata
Highest Metacritic Score: 89
NieR: Automata had a bleak world to explore, but it could still produce some awe-inspiring moments. Two androids, 2B and 9S, were sent from space to investigate Earth due to some alien robotic activity. This game was a collaborative effort between Square Enix, who know how to tell an intriguing story, and Platinum Games, who know how to create killer combat systems.
The combat is not quite as slick as Bayonetta’s, another Platinum Games effort, but it won’t disappoint fans either. It’s one of those experiences that has to be replayed several times to see the true ending, but each time, players will find themselves more engaged.
2 Diablo 4
Highest Metacritic Score: 91
Diablo 4
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- June 6, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG , Hack and Slash
The Diablo series, like many Final Fantasy games, were open-world to a degree. However, things tended to primarily be linear. Diablo 4 changed that linearity and gave fans more of an open-ended quest system to explore along with an expansive world.
15 Open World Games That Everyone Forgot About
With many open-world games being released each year, fans of the genre have forgotten some incredible older games still worth checking out today.
The original story and quests were fun alone or with a co-op party. It’s also getting better and better thanks to the updates Blizzard is turning out. Who knows where Diablo 4 could be a year from now, but it will likely still be a fantastic experience for looter RPG fans.
1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Highest Metacritic Score: 97
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U , Switch
- Released
- March 3, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Genre(s)
- Action , Adventure
It’s been almost seven years since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out, and fans are still playing it even though its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, is the new hotness right now. It lifted restrictions on past entries, and it’s hard to see a sequel going back on this open-world concept.
There was a bit of handholding at first, but after an hour or two, players were given freedom like no other open-world game could provide at the time. It was colorful, challenging, and a bit haunting as well. It was a Zelda project well worth waiting for and proved that Nintendo was still at the top of their game in 2017.