An open world RPG that expects you to ignore the main story

Some open-world RPGs put the narrative first, or at least in a higher position, to get players to follow the main quest. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a good example, making it seem like Citi will be in serious danger if Geralt wanders aimlessly through the woods.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is another good example, although this game has the benefit of bringing back the PS1 Final Fantasy VII fans who want to see the new, improved story play out. Either way, these other open-world RPGs can also have good stories, but for one reason or another, they struggle to make players explore the environment instead. It will become clearer with each example.

The first game that dared you to get lost

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was one of the first open-world games to give players the keys to the kingdom and basically tell them to have fun. The story never felt that urgent, although it started with an exciting escape from prison with a dragon, but once that was over, players could roam wherever they wanted.

This low-key approach to the story made exploring and leveling up their character more fun, making returning to story missions much easier later. This openness is a big reason why it is still valued today.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Expand your Viking empire

Assassin's Creed Valhalla it's about Vikings conquering England and expanding their land. If players followed strict story missions, they wouldn't have an impressive settlement to use against their enemies. The game wants to explore side areas and improve their area and character.

It makes narrative sense to collect resources and become stronger instead of pushing back the main missions just to get to the end. Otherwise, the players will have a tough match.

Borderlands 4

All about weapons

Borderlands 4 the story is about Vault Hunters arriving on the new planet Kairos, which was cut off from the rest of the galaxy for centuries before it was breached. Stopping the evil empire is quite a cliché, along with the help of the rebels to destroy it.

Borderas a series, has always been about one thing: booty. The world was designed to encourage players to do side activities and discover rare weapons. The story isn't bad, but the loot and even co-op are definitely why Gearbox knows players are buying the game.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Hard to ignore those waves bro

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth it has a great story and an urgent one too. After an opening moment in Japan, things pick up in Honolulu when protagonist Ichiban wakes up with no memory of how he got there. That's one of the priorities, along with trying to find his mother and also stopping the gathering cult.

Players may feel compelled to continue the story, but side activities keep throwing themselves in their faces to suggest they should slow down. The more side content they do, the more they level up or earn money to get better gear. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth it has no difficulty levels and is very challenging, meaning grinding is required to continue the story.

Diablo 4

All about building characters

Diablo 4 is another game that puts loot before its story, even if it's more compelling than the narrative in Borderlands 4. Diablo is one of the OG looter franchises that has survived because fans love building their characters alone or with friends online. Without addictive gameplay, there aren't many fans who would stick with a deep lore.

IN Diablo 4Players can customize their character, choose a class, and are then dropped into a top-down open world. When you're playing solo, it's more urgent to do side content and level up to get through the story missions, as they can be intense for low-level builds without a partner or two.

Final Fantasy 15

On Bro-Ad Trip

Final Fantasy 15 is very different from the rest Final Fantasy series in many ways, one of which is how it opens. Noctis and his three friends are cruising in his convertible when it breaks down and they have to push it to a garage to get it fixed. The whole point of this journey is to explore and get stronger so Noctis and his gang can stop the empire.

This means training through soldiers, hordes of monsters, bounties and tomb raids. The leveling process is built into the story and encourages players to take their time to reach the next main objective.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Restoration of civilization

Xenoblade Chronicles X he values ​​exploration above all else, as that is the goal of the game to begin with. As a recruit for New LA, a human colony trying to settle on an alien planet, players must go and set up beacons that can serve as fast travel points and ways to explore the land and get materials.

Eventually, a denser plot begins to develop as the alien natives begin to fight back, but overall the story is slow, as if the game is saying you don't need to worry about it. Xenoblade Chronicles X it is also incredibly demanding, so it needs to be honed.

Kingdom of Amalur: Showdown

All about the event

IN Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoningplayers wake up after death when they have somehow broken the bonds of fate. While it may seem interesting to untangle this thread and find out how they came back to life, in the end it's not that important.

This is an open world RPG where the developers knew they were putting their fighting foot forward. Fighting monsters, exploring and doing fetch quests to build up your power is the main gameplay loop, with the story being only a small part of why Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a great and vastly underrated game.

Sandy land

Enjoy Sandy Adventure

Sandy land is about demonic and human forces coming together to find a mythical source of water in a post-apocalyptic world of sand, hence the title. You kind of need to follow the story for a few hours to discover the critical reason this game stands out: the tank.

Once players reach the first major city and establish a connection, they are encouraged to go exploring. The game is never too difficult without side content, but the low-key story ensures that players get hooked on the game's unique gameplay hook of fighting large and small battles with tank combat and later mechs.

Star field

Bethesda's Space Epic

Like Bethesda's other big RPGs, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, Star field the story comes second to the main gameplay loop: space exploration. A miner turned explorer in search of ancient MacGuffins, Star field it's about getting the most out of space.

Players can customize their character with different skills, gear, and can even customize their spaceship. It's the ultimate space fantasy game with a more basic plot and a significant gameplay loop unlike anything else like it No Man's Sky. For anyone who dreams of space travel, Star field is a good game to try.