Open world games that are better than you remember

Dozens of amazing open-world games will be remembered forever, but among all the greatness lies a small selection of titles that many people have written off for many years. When you play a game for the first time, that initial impression is incredibly important, so if you come out the other side with a sour taste in your mouth, the effect is likely to linger indefinitely, but I'd argue that many of these games deserve a second look.

There are many reasons why a game's image can be tarnished at launch, be it bugs, performance or just the general level of quality, and while these criticisms are certainly fair, the reality can be very different from those bad memories. With more and more sloppy releases and a much higher bar to clear than ever before, I think it's important to look back and appreciate some of the more underrated titles in the open world space and give them a chance to prove themselves as genuinely fun and engaging.

Mad Max

Bringing the big screen to life

Details:

• Car customization directly shapes combat

• The harsh world design reinforces the survival theme

Mad Max was overshadowed at launch by much larger open-world releases such as The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4but the gameplay and car combat remain some of the best the genre has produced. Each upgrade changes the way encounters play out, turns your movements around the map into part of the combat system, and being able to actually experience the epic action of the Mad Max universe firsthand is pretty damn awesome.

I think what allows the game to stand so high today is the world design, as the wasteland feels really hostile and empty in a way that supports the themes of isolation and despair without having to do it with exposition or direct storytelling. Instead of constantly filling the map with distractions, you can really get into the atmosphere and appreciate the world building for what it is and truly feel lost in a dying world with no signs of salvation.

Biomutant

A different kind of apocalypse

Details:

• Flexible character building

• Engaging combat and world design

Biomutant it was criticized at launch, partly due to performance issues, but also due to repetitive dialogue and uneven pacing that caused many story beats to miss the finish line. This makes it pretty hard to ignore the creativity, from character mutations to weapon crafting to martial arts skills, all blending into a progression system built around experimentation and constant customization that can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the universe.

Like many others, I put the game down at first because I didn't really connect with the world and wrote it off as just another mediocre open world game. But after returning to it a few years later, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun the environments were to explore and how fun the combat was, so if you've got dust sitting in your library, I highly recommend giving it another go.

Days gone

These errors are no more

Details:

• Reactive Horde Mechanics

• A truly emotional narrative

If there's one game that comes up more than any other on the topic of underrated games, this has to be it Days gone. The launch was, for lack of a better word, terrible, riddled with issues and bugs that made the game essentially unplayable for some and a chore for others, but as is the case with many modern games, things improved dramatically later on, but the damage was unfortunately done.

That reputation was something that kept me away from the game for a long time until I finally decided to enter the apocalypse myself and I'm very glad I did. The encounters with the hordes are so intense and become the main source for a lot of the action throughout the story, and once they started to mount I always found myself being tested, having to think about every source and potential escape route until finally there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Technomancer

Eurojacket at its best

Details:

• Choice driven faction systems

• Decent skill variety

Technomancer is one of the best examples of a Eurojank RPG that has so much ambition and depth despite some glaring Polish issues. Role-playing is at the fore, and there are plenty of opportunities to write your own story, from faction questlines to companion systems that give meaning to each action.

The setting is what attracted me the most as you are transported into an unstable and oppressive environment that isn't afraid to show social and political divisions in great detail. In many ways, it feels like a classic RPG wrapped in a new varnish, which may have its flaws, but still manages to keep you interested for dozens of hours.

Prototype

Far from the typical hero story

Details:

• Mutant abilities that allow players to control their enemies

• Chaos as the main mechanic

Prototype is an incredibly mechanically satisfying open-world game that doesn't care so much about realism or reason, leaning heavily into the realm of the absurd instead. Alex Mercer is a monster in the best possible way, and you have complete control over how to navigate the map and destroy anything in your path, even if it means a few civilian casualties.

I kept going back because despite its age and obvious flaws, there really isn't anything else quite like it. Embracing destruction is too much fun, and as silly as things can get, that feeling of being overwhelmed never gets old.

Watch Dogs

Not a GTA killer but close enough

Details:

• Hacking mechanics are changing the way the world plays out

• Interesting places and mission objectives

Watch Dogs launched as a serious contender for dominance GTAbut for many people that level was simply too high to even approach. Conceptually, being able to drive and hack traffic lights, bridges and even people sounds pretty good; in practice, the mechanic works surprisingly well, giving you plenty of chances to wreak havoc without ever leaving the car.

I've always found the game to be much more tactical and responsive than many similar games, and when it came to multiplayer, both co-op and PvP proved to be quite fun, regardless of who was involved. The sequel expanded the formula in several new directions, but I'd say the original is still the best in the series and a true landmark in the wider open world space.

Anger 2

Pure apocalyptic carnage

Details:

• Relentless crawling all the time

• Clashes with enemies encourage aggression

RAGE 2 was often criticized for having a fairly generic open world structure, something that quickly tarnished its reputation before it could really take hold. Coming back to it I was expecting a pretty lukewarm experience, but the combat and movement managed to carry the whole experience by creating constant, highly aggressive firefights built on momentum and non-stop action.

The game succeeds most when it stops pretending to be a traditional open-world checklist and simply lets the combat systems speak for themselves. Shotguns, gravity forces, and aerial movement create encounters that approach a FATE than a standard sandbox shooter, and as a result you get to play a more mechanically challenging world that has a lot more depth than the review scores would suggest.