The latest main series entry in the iconic Legend of Zelda franchise, Breath of the Wild, was released on the Nintendo Switch and Wii U in March 2017. The game was a huge hit with fans and critics, best exemplified by its whopping 97 Metascore and top-spot placement on IGN's recent greatest games of all-time list.
Along with the excellent gameplay mechanics that encourage experimentation and an impressive range of activities and quests to complete, Breath of the Wild's open-world is one of the main reasons why the game is so highly praised. Breath of the Wild's open-world is huge, features a wide range of visually impressive biomes, and is a joy to traverse.
With Breath of the Wild 2's release date still unknown as things stand, many people are looking for other open-world games to try. For those who want to play in an open world that is even bigger than that of Breath of the Wild, then the following games are worth checking out.
7 Far Cry 2
The second mainline Far Cry game was released in October 2008 and took players to a fictional country in Africa that is in the midst of a civil war. Far Cry 2 was the first game in the series to implement an open-world, though it certainly didn't take baby steps into the genre, as Far Cry 2 has a huge map that players are free to explore once they complete the tutorial.
Far Cry 2 is largely overlooked today due to Far Cry 3 overshadowing it in many aspects, though it's still an enjoyable experience for those who like Ubisoft's style of open-world games.
6 Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition was released in November 2014 and was developed by RPG experts BioWare, who are best known for the Mass Effect series, Baldur's Gate, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Dragon Age: Inquisition was a huge hit with critics, exemplified by its Metascore of 89 and numerous award wins that included Game of the Year at 2014's The Game Awards and Best Role-Playing Game at the Game Critic Awards.
5 Grand Theft Auto 5
Although it may seem hard to believe, it has nearly been an entire decade since Grand Theft Auto 5 first hit stores. The 2013 game blew players away with its visuals, variety of side activities, and of course, the size of its meticulously designed open-world.
GTA 5's campaign was a huge hit at the time and its online multiplayer has helped the game be a continued success. Although Grand Theft Auto5's map isn't the biggest on this list, it is the most varied and densely packed.
4 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands saw the Ghost Recon series take a huge shift in direction, as the usual linear level design and advanced warfare was ditched in favor of an enormous open-world set in the modern-day.
Although Ghost Recon Wildlands' gameplay and story struggled to impress fans and critics, many people were blown away by the size of the game world and how varied it was thanks to the huge range of different biomes, offering great variety to the visuals.
3 Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is yet another game on this list from Ubisoft, which is a testament to how influential the company has been to the open-world genre of gaming.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey was released in October 2018 and is widely regarded as one of the best entries in the long-running Assassin's Creed franchise. For those looking for an open-world game that will impress them visually, Odyssey is one of the best options available today as it implements a stunning interpretation of Classical Age Greece with a great balance of realism and mythological history.
2 Burnout Paradise
It may surprise some people to learn that Burnout Paradise - the first open-world game in a street racing series featuring over-the-top, cinematic action - is one of the most influential open-world games of all time.
Many people at the time thought that the open world was just a gimmick and that players would just see it as a nuisance as they drove from one event to the other. However, it turned out that 90 percent of players were opting to drive around Paradise's open world and utilize its social features instead of partaking in the events. This shocked many people, and game studios took notice, leading to a shift in how open-world games were designed.
Despite originally releasing back in January 2008, Burnout Paradise's giant map is still a joy to drive around today, and 2018's Burnout Paradise Remastered did a fantastic job of making the game look spectacular once again.
1 Fuel
Fuel is an obvious choice for this list as the size of the game's open-world was its major selling point upon release. Asobo Studio's game boasts an enormous map that features approximately 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain, which earned Fuel a Guinness World Record.
Fuel is set in a post-apocalyptic United States and lets players freely drive around the baron wasteland that features a day and night cycle and extreme weather conditions. The game has no loading times in its free-roaming mode, which was an impressive technical achievement at the time.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is out now for Nintendo Switch and Wii U.
