Some open world games they are so dense and fun that players can't help but complete them completely. Donkey Kong Banana is a good recent example, while Insomniac Games' first Spider-Man title Marvel's Spider-Manis an older but still solid example. It's easy to find all the secrets in dense open-world games, but the bigger the worlds, the harder it is.
10 Games That Look Like Open World RPGs Without Actually Being RPGs
There's something about these open-world games that make you feel like you're playing a full-on RPG.
With so much to do and see, these games can be 100% daunting, including the story. Even dedicated players miss a thing or two, and these examples confirm the idea that in some open world games it's just harder to find all the cool hidden stuff without guides.
Cyberpunk 2077
Your build matters
Cyberpunk 2077 players will be missing content right from the start as they can choose to become a desert dweller outside of Night City, a lowly cog on the corporate ladder, or a corporate dog. From there, players can choose how they want their story to play out, and almost every mission in the game has some big outcome depending on their choices.
Since the missions are open between approaches and dialogue choices, players can shape their story in their own way, but on the other hand, it also means that they won't be able to see everything that this cyberpunk RPG has to offer, including where the relationships are going.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Making friends in Apocalypse
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach set in the vast expanses of Mexico and Australia, it features a courier trying to reconnect remote human hideouts to the grid. By delivering to underground bunkers, players can deepen their friendship with their inhabitants and unlock new missions and blueprints that they can use to craft equipment.
Most bunkers are found by playing the story, but finding the hidden side bunkers is trickier. There can be a lot between finding bunkers and keeping the residents happy, and getting to the good stuff requires patience and persistence, as it can take a while to see wild things like the kung fu pizza chef.
Elden Ring
Watch out for bosses
Elden Ring is one of FromSoftware's most accessible games thanks to its open world. If one path is too difficult, players can try to find a new area and explore it in a different direction. That's the thing about the best content though; it is typically guarded by something wild.
With a strong character, impressive skills, or a good co-op party, players can see everything in The Lands Between. However, if a particular boss just seems impenetrable, then players may not see what's behind them, whether it's just a chest, an NPC, or a gateway to a new area.
Randomly generated tasks
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the open world games that helped shape the genre, and players love it because it's huge. The map is littered with caves, ruins, castles and demolished buildings seemingly around every corner.
Open world games that change silently even when you're not looking
Don't look now, but your open world game is moving behind you.
While great, Skyrim it's also a little daunting because the idea of exploring the entire map seems impossible. If the quest isn't tied to a specific area, players won't know if the devastation will be worth it or not. Picking and choosing areas to explore is something that haunts Skyrim players for more than ten years.
Fallout 4
Fight with Fallout 4 is the same struggle with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, as both are developed by Bethesda Game Studios. It's even worse inside Fallout 4 as the post-apocalyptic setting of Boston has even more demolished buildings to explore, each of which can act as a maze.
Survey in Fallout 4 is only done on foot, so fast travel is a problem even with fast travel as an option. These are big problems for players who have unlimited time to explore seemingly endless games, but for others, a lot of this content will remain invisible.
Spirit of Yotei
Lots of Easter eggs
Ghost of Yotei it provides a large area of Japan to explore and there are many collectibles. Players can hunt fox dens, climb mountains, search for bounties, paint, bet and much more. Any game with a checklist system can start to feel like a grind after a while, but many of these side activities revolve around protagonist Atsu learning new skills, increasing her health, or finding new armor.
Burnout can be a problem, but aside from side activities, Ghost of Yotei it also has a lot of Easter Eggs that go back to past games from Sucker Punch Productions, and finding them all is quite a task in itself, more so than other games.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Three overworlds are two too many
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild he already had a huge world to explore with hundreds of mini-dungeons, Koroks and side quests to tackle. Its sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomit's even bigger as it opens up the sky islands above Hyrule as well as the underground below.
While the sky islands are more scattered rather than being one solid land mass, the underground is a near 1:1 recreation of the surface world. That means there are about two and a half overworlds to explore, and that's a bit absurd, guaranteeing players won't see everything.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Hiding in plain sight
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a seemingly ordinary world. Located in the Old West, there is a lot of desert, small towns and cacti everywhere. When something appears, players are quickly drawn to it, whether it's just a campsite or a pile of bones.
8 good open world games with boring exploration
While these open world games are good, the lack of traversal options makes them somewhat difficult to navigate.
The point is that more than other open-world games are in Red Dead Redemption 2 things are more spread out, and if players aren't watching their surroundings from every angle, then it's possible to gallop past something interesting. In fact, there is a discovery involving webs that players have recently uncovered, and this game was released in 2018.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Branching stories
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt it allows players to take control of Geralt for the most part, but Ciri, his daughter, is also playable. Like Cyberpunk 2077which is also a CD Projekt Red game, players will be able to make big narrative decisions that can affect the outcome of the game. The first example is deciding what to do with the Blood Baron, as there are many ways this main quest can play out.
Story choices aside, the world is also vast and full of dangers that can keep players out of certain areas unless they're strong enough and willing to grind a little beyond the recommended levels. While they rarely run out of things to work with, there is still plenty of content hidden off the beaten path that can be overlooked.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
How to get to Skells
Each Xenoblade Chronicles the game is absolutely massive and most of it requires exploration on foot which can be time consuming. Of the four entries in the series so far Xenoblade Chronicles X it is considered the hardest due to the sheer number of high-powered monsters that leave players out of areas.
One solution is to level up, find the best gear, and come back later; going for a Skell license is something else. Skell is a mech that can fly, drive on land and fight, opening many new gates and areas. It's a pain to get, and before that players can burn themselves out on a more standard game loop. Skells are very cool, but how many players will actually see them and what lands can they access?
10 Best Story-Based Open World RPGs, Ranked
Looking for cutting-edge storytelling? Look no further than this open-world RPG with plots guaranteed to resonate with you.
