Open-world games are usually seen as a format befitting role-playing titles or action-adventure games. However, even those that have more of a tactical element to them can make for great open-world adventures. These games are brilliant for players who are looking for the freedom of exploring while also expecting them to have their thinking caps on when encountering various battles.
These open-world tactical games can cover an assortment of themes: fantasy, medieval, or even a military environment. Players who are expecting more strategy need to look no more. These tactical open-world games are by far some of the best available.
Updated on February 15, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: A lot of open-world games try to let players enjoy a power fantasy, exploring these massive worlds to their hearts' content while using a suite of abilities to wreak havoc. This catharsis has become commonplace in most open-world games, though, and players generally know what to expect from them. That's why it's refreshing to see games that switch up the formula by letting players plan out a strategy for each combat encounter, so that they don't bite the dust in an embarrassing manner. These games encourage players to flex their strategic minds, creating a tactical experience in a world full of exploration.
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11 DayZ
Metascore: 56
DayZ started as an Arma mod, a series known for its tactical approach to combat. While this title is far from hardcore, there's still a fair bit of planning involved to ensure that players don't lose from the very moment they're dropped into this zombie-infested open world.
Players must scrounge for supplies and tactically avoid unnecessary encounters early on. After gaining some weapons, they can think about tackling zombies or trying to negotiate with other humans without fear of being defenseless.
10 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Metascore: 62
Ubisoft has a penchant for developing open-world games that can do without this sandbox element. There's an argument to be made that Ghost Recon Breakpoint could have served as a great tactical shooter, without needing an open world environment.
Despite the open world being massive, Breakpoint's empty stretches of land are uninspiring to navigate, which is why not many people rated this game highly at launch. However, if players can put this aside, they can genuinely enjoy a fun tactical shooter with their friends.
9 King's Bounty 2
Metascore: 63
Taking a break from the typical shooters, even the themes of fantasy can make for a perfect open-world tactical game, one great example of this is King's Bounty 2. Turn-based combat is a tactical form of gameplay that forces a player to think about their action before they complete them. In King's Bounty 2, players can recruit all sorts of units to their team that will better their chances at some of the most challenging combat in a fantasy title.
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Players will encounter these battles while freely exploring the Albian Highlands. Depending on where the battle is started will give the player a different map they must battle on. In these moments players will also need to consider their terrain for the best benefits in the battle.
8 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
Metascore: 70
Unsurprisingly, a franchise like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon would make its appearance on the list. Out of all the available titles one of the best that combines both tactics with an open world is Ghost Recon Wildlands. Players can create a team with up to three other players to take on the wilds of this title as they must explore through the dangerous wilderness and face the opponents that are within.
Tactics is only one of the finer elements in this game as players are sure to get lost exploring the open world that is available to them. With various landscapes to adventure across, each place has the potential of a vantage point or simply a fine place to admire.
7 Arma 3
Metascore: 74
Arma 3
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- September 12, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Bohemia Interactive
- Genre(s)
- FPS , Tactical
Like Rising Storm 2, Arma 3 is another multiplayer military title that allows players to work in a team while they explore the giant maps that have become their battlefield. Even with simply the base game, players have an extraordinary single-player experience and even better online one.
The true fun begins with Arma 3 through the openness of Bohemia Interactive which has allowed the players to create their own interesting game modes, guns, and weapons for others to use. Combining this with the potential to work as a team makes it one of the most creative military tactical games to date.
6 Sniper Elite 4
Metascore: 77
While the three previous Sniper Elite titles had players taking on linear missions, Sniper Elite 4 decided to take a different approach by giving players more of an open-world experience. While the game itself isn't entirely open-world to the point that the player can go anywhere they wish, the maps of each mission in Sniper Elite 4 are over three times the size of those seen in Sniper Elite 3.
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This leaves many players free to explore various solutions to assassinating their targets by looking across the map for various scenarios. Combining these large maps with the tactics of the game makes for an interesting experience for players.
5 Rising Storm 2: Vietnam
Metascore: 81
While Rising Storm 2 may not be entirely open-world, the twenty maps that are available to players are incredibly large. These maps are so large that players can use proximity voice chat to talk to not only their allies but also listen out for their enemies. A total of sixty-four players take part in a match as the game by AntimatterGames attempts to make an incredibly realistic World War Two experience.
It's important for a player to think tactfully while embarking on their assaults in Rising Storm 2, as an enemy could be lurking anywhere. Taking the time to decide where the player should attack from, and if it's a safe idea to run out in the open are all things a player should be considering when they take part in this incredible multiplayer experience.
4 *S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl
Metascore: 82
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
- Released
- March 20, 2007
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Genre(s)
- FPS , Survival Horror
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is a great example of how to execute a fun survival horror game. This title has amassed a passionate fanbase despite being a relatively niche franchise. Pretty much every game in the series deserves its time in the spotlight, but many people would argue that the first title was the one that did things best.
With a sequel being delayed because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fans have to wait for the next chapter in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series to come out. Until then, they can still have a great time with the first game, with mod support giving players a great excuse to revisit this masterpiece.
3 Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood Of Steel
Metascore: 82
While many players may have forgotten the origins of the Fallout franchise it once was a pixel tactical title. While the open world in Fallout Tactics wasn't as expansive as the likes of Fallout 3 or the titles that came after. It did still have open-world elements to it as players would need to travel across the wasteland to get to their next mission.
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Besides these moments Fallout Tactics was truly one of a kind when it came to creating a title that perfectly fit the Tactical gaming genre as players became a member of the Brotherhood of Steel. If they did not bend, then they would break as they took on some of the most fearful foes of the wasteland while making sure their squad stayed close.
2 PlanetSide 2
Metascore: 84
Shooter MMOs are few and far between but PlanetSide 2 proves that they can be incredibly enjoyable. Taking the charm of Rising Storm 2 through its shooter combat, PlaneSide 2 puts a Sci-fi spin on the Tactical genre as players fight against other players on never-before-seen planets.
There are fights happening everywhere as players are free to explore the entire map freely. Finding where the action is happening and then aiding their team fun in PlanetSide. Finding a group of friends to play with or talking to others in the game will allow players to experiment with different strategies in the hope of conquering bases for their chosen empire.
1 Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Metascore: 93
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Genre(s)
- Action , Open-World
Like Ghost Recon Wildlands, Metal Gear Solid 5 wished to give players a new way to approach the missions available in the game. Giving layers the freedom to explore an open world allowed the player to decide how they wished the story to progress instead of the linear missions and therefore story from before.
The freedom to approach these locations from almost any angle allows a player to determine the best strategy for completing their objective. This combined with stealth mechanics makes Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain one of the best open-world tactical games a player should try.
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