Video games have the power to transport players into fictional worlds where anything is possible. Whether it takes place deep in space or in the rolling hills of a fantasy kingdom, survey it matters a lot, and when it comes to feeling fully immersed in the game, the ability go anywhere and anytime is a sensation that is hard to beat.
What's more, if players also get access to another method of traversal in addition to walking, it adds another level of excitement, because suddenly these far-flung locations can be acquired in much less time. Maps don't have to be endless or even ridiculously large all the time. Just being able to visit the outer reaches of the environment is a nice touch that makes these games all the more enjoyable.
No Man's Sky
The entire universe at your fingertips
No Man's Sky is easily one of the most impressive open-world games ever made, giving players a procedurally generated universe that can literally take a lifetime to explore. Players can stand on one planet and venture from one side to the other, then hop into their ship and fly across the galaxy to another world and repeat.
This constant loop of near-endless exploration is aided by complex procedural generation systems that ensure these worlds are never completely empty, each with its own unique resources, creatures, and even weather. No game fits the description “anything is possible”. No Man's Skyand despite a rocky start in the early days, it blossomed into a truly breathtaking exploration experience.
Elden Ring
Anything you can see, you can go
Elden Ring takes FromSoftware's directionless exploration style and expands it into an open world with greater ambition and grandeur than ever before. From the moment players load into the world, they are greeted with a vast landscape that simply invites them to explore it, and rather than having proxy mountains or giant unreachable peaks in the background, almost every structure and rock can be reached in one way or another.
This allows the world to feel both attainable and daunting. With so many directions and possible paths to explore, it can be hard to know where to start, but once players get used to the lack of markers and clear guidance, they'll be fully immersed in a dark fantasy setting that itself moves the open-world genre forward by several years.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Straight from earth to heaven
Xenoblade Chronicles X remains one of the most ambitious open-world RPGs ever created. It's a sprawling sci-fi epic that gives players true freedom to explore an alien planet teeming with wonder and danger. The game offers a fluid landscape of continents, floating islands and colossal creatures to explore from the very beginning, and the introduction of flying Skels brings the skies and oceans even closer.
The ability to skim the surface one minute and then take off and reach the clouds in seconds is something that has to be experienced to be appreciated. Every mountain, jungle, and glittering plain is reachable, but more importantly, full of secrets and treasures to find, encouraging players to go further and further and truly see every tiny corner of the world.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
An entire planet is waiting to be explored
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a breathtaking game that at times feels more like an interactive movie than a playable experience. Players can choose from a variety of different aircraft and then take to the skies and effortlessly glide across cities, fields and oceans without fear.
The reason the game is so stunning is that players can practically see the entire planet in a single game. Thanks to satellite imagery, the Earth has been brought into the virtual world with a fairly stellar level of accuracy, allowing players to take their planes to all kinds of sights and wonders, or even their own homes, making for a premium flight simulation experience for fans of all things aviation.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Beautiful views right from the start
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Zelda game to everything Zelda games. The world is vast and players can see everything from mountaintops, with structures appearing in the distance beyond lush forests and seemingly impossible peaks accessible with the right set of tools and mindset to match.
The game thrives on choice as players can choose to climb, slide, run or drive across the landscape, each with their own purpose but each just as fun as the others. It takes a while to actually choose where to go because the world is so beautiful and magical that players may need a moment to take it all in and appreciate the level of vastness that lies right before their eyes.
Just Cause 3
See the whole world from the sky
Just Cause 3 is a great action game that cares much more about chaos and fun than cinematic storytelling. Players have a toy store's worth of tools to navigate the world, but what makes exploration so much fun is how the different methods blend into each other as players can grab, then slide, then parachute and do it again.
The map itself is also incredibly large; it is one of the largest open world maps that players will ever explore. Fortunately, they can get around pretty quickly, swooping through the sky and shooting across rooftops, all while completely destroying enemies who would never stand a chance against a flying secret agent with a load of weapons in his pocket.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The perfect medieval setting
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt redefined what open-world storytelling could be, maintaining solid story lines but still allowing players to explore its vast environments as they wished. The continent covers everything from war-torn plains to haunted swamps to bustling cities, with each region filled to the brim with character and stories to tell.
What will it set The Witcher 3 Besides, his freedom never seems empty. Every detour leads to a story worth hearing, meaning no exploration ever ends at a roadblock or a dead end. It invites players to not only travel, but to live within its borders and explore the world as the story unfolds in a way that few other games can come close to.
Fuel
Virtually endless paths for you to follow
Fuel is an often-overlooked marvel of open-world design that takes the concept of a racing game and throws it into a gigantic post-apocalyptic, all-you-can-drive landscape. Its world covers over 5,000 square miles of continuous terrain, making it one of the largest open environments ever created. From scorched deserts to desolate forests and storm-lashed plains, each region feels harsh yet hauntingly beautiful, giving players a huge amount of ground to cover in a single playthrough.
The game's commitment to scale was truly ahead of its time. There are no invisible walls or artificial limits, just endless paths and the organic thrill of discovery. The absence of barriers can seem daunting, but with fewer restrictions comes a greater desire to see more of the world and continue exploring the vast dusty landscape.
