Open world games with better exploration than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is easily one of the most impressive and entertaining open world games of all time. It has a lot going for it in terms of story, gameplay, and aesthetics, but much of its success and acclaim comes from survey aspects of each game that allow players to drive through beautiful landscapes and glide effortlessly from mountaintops to reach new areas or simply look around.

However, just as great as BOTW's Exploration is, there are still a few open world games that can hit the nail a little harder when it comes to exploring the environment and traversing large, sprawling environments. Some games remove limits and give players unlimited freedom to see and do whatever they choose, while others manage to fill their world with enough content to make every quest meaningful, even in the farthest corners of the map.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Taking off into the clouds

Xenoblade Chronicles X remains one of the most ambitious open-world RPGs ever made, many years after its debut. Set on the alien planet Mira, the game world is truly amazing and perfectly captures the concept of wanting to see every single bit of the environment. Biomes are massive and varied, from glowing jungles and barren deserts to dreamlike floating islands that allow every inch of the world to feel alive and teeming with life.

Where it really tops it Breath of the Wild is in terms of scale and discovery. While the open plains of Hyrule are beautiful and satisfying to explore, Mira brings a level of unpredictability to her exploration, constantly subverting the player's expectations. In terms of moving around the world itself, Skells are a massive step up from any of Link's tools, allowing players to launch from the ground and ascend high above the surface. That first takeoff is truly an unforgettable moment, and even after many adventures across countries, it never gets old.

The outer wilderness

Adding meaning and purpose to the survey

The outer wilderness is not just an exploration game, but a living experiment that represents what it means to be curious. The entire game takes place in a miniature solar system stuck in an eternal time loop of doom, where every planet is a puzzle waiting to be solved. Rather than chasing prey or showing off their skills in combat, players are driven by a desire to solve the central mystery and follow any signs and strange signals they find to lead them down the path of understanding.

what does he do The outer wilderness overshadow games like BOTW is the way it redefines exploration as a learning experience rather than an act of conquest. There are no enemies to defeat or stats to grind, just a slow build-up of knowledge that culminates in a final revelation that changes the player's view of the entire universe. The game is much less interested in sending players into battles across a giant world and more focused on providing compelling gameplay that requires players to search for answers rather than providing them itself.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Where BOTW went, TOTK flies

Breath of the Wild they may have reinvented the open world formula but Tears of the Kingdom he perfected it. It built on everything its predecessor did well, introducing verticality and creativity in a way that few games dare to attempt, making the world feel both bigger and more accessible. With the Ultrahand and Fuse powers, players can manipulate the world itself, creating vehicles, bridges and machines to reach previously unthinkable places, turning exploration into an act of invention that has virtually no limits.

This change gives the game a more personal touch. Instead of using the same gliders or horse routes as everyone else, players can instead invent their own ways to travel the world. It's no longer just about climbing mountains or sliding across valleys. With the addition of the Deep and Sky Isles, Hyrule becomes a multi-layered adventure where every direction holds potential and no two paths will ever be the same.

Elden Ring

Every direction is a feast for the senses

Elden Ring it blows almost all other open world games out of the water and offers players an incredible world to explore that always surprises. Upon loading, players are immediately greeted with the sight of the Erdtree, and from there an unguided adventure awaits, taking them deep into underground cities full of countless enemies and bosses, then high into the mountains to encounter giants and dragons of all shapes and sizes.

BOTW may have better options when it comes to actual movement, but The Lands Between offers a much more content-packed experience that continues until the credits roll. It doesn't matter how many times players beat the game; there will still be more places yet to be seen. With the expansion adding an all-new game-sized map, there are even more locations to see, treasures to find and brutal enemies to slay.

Subnautics

Uncovering the secrets and horrors beneath the surface of the sea

Subnautics takes players to a pristine world below the surface and plunges them into an alien world where they must delve into the unknown to find their way off the planet. The beauty of the game is how the world is presented as both peaceful and terrifying at the same time, creating an interesting dynamic of fear and awe that stays with the player throughout. Each descent into the waters below may hold wonders beyond comprehension and dangers straight out of a nightmare, but no matter what they encounter, players will always feel the slow progress forward.

The game also manages to perfectly blend exploration with the true core gameplay element of survival, forcing players to search further and harder for potentially life-saving resources in order to truly progress. BOTW it can be a liberating experience that can calm the mind but Subnautica it manages to make exploration necessary, pushing players to overcome their fears and venture into the dark unknown below.