Some people love open world games for their unfettered freedom. However, even these big games generally benefit from some kind of structure. Without a clear goal or progression, some players may feel that the game is pointless. All of the games below do a great job of dripping in content and new areas that make the story worthwhile.
The trick is to always feel from the opening moments that there is something to explore and see, but promise more as they continue the story. This also prevents some of the larger maps in open world games from feeling completely overwhelming for those who might be more interested in story than exploration.
5 Red Dead Redemption
Go to Mexico during the campaign
Red Dead Redemption is one man's journey to eliminate the outlaws he was riding with so he can be reunited with his family. There is a cruel moral ambiguity involved, but John Marston is willing to betray the bank robbers who raised him in order to see his wife and child again.
The map is quite small compared to its prequel, but it is not fully unlocked from the start. There is a mission that eventually brings John Marston to Mexico for a new chapter, and then the last act of the game unlocks the northern part of the map. Since then I don't find it too restrictive Red Dead Redemption focuses more on an immersive experience than encouraging exploration and going off the beaten track.
4 Death Stranding
Connect the world to the chiral network bit by bit
Death Stranding is the second open-world title from director Hideo Kojima, the first of which Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. The map is one seamless area, but players don't have access to it from the start, both due to the story and game-imposed restrictions. Players simply don't start out with the tools necessary to overcome the harsh, barren harshness.
Each part of the story takes the player to different parts of the map where they connect it to the Chiral Network. After that, other players' contributions to the map will begin to appear, making travel easier. Part of the fun in Death Stranding it uses all of the late-game gimmicks and structures to overcome areas that were once so difficult to traverse.
3 Ghost Of Tsushima
With each act, new parts of the map open up
Ghost of Tsushimaamazed the players with its beautiful graphics. It had a lot of open world tropes that other titles had but were better integrated into the game world. Even the user interface felt organic, with the wind directing the player to waypoints and objectives instead of an arrow or a line on the ground.
The game world is neatly divided into three separate parts, with subsequent areas opening up in each new act. Each area offers plenty to do in terms of side quests and collectibles to satisfy both story-followers and do-it-all players alike.
2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Bridges to different parts of the state are opening
It's easy to take for granted how big San Andreas is today, but for PS2 owners it was a revelation in 2005. There's a reason why it's consistently considered one of the best video games ever made, even if some of its games aren't that smooth by today's standards.
The map is so large that it's not a big deal that players have to conquer a sizable chunk of the story before unlocking the final areas of the game. Each of the game's three regions – Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas – feels unique with its own architecture and vehicles. San Andreas it was also notable for featuring vast expanses of wilderness in addition to bustling metropolises.
Grand Theft Auto 3
and
Vice City
also lock their areas behind story missions. However, players unlock the map faster in these games simply because they are significantly smaller than
San Andreas.
1 Ring of Elden
As big as you thought the map was, it's actually bigger
Part Elden Ring the magic is how it managed to capture the wonder of exploring an unknown world in an age where most gamers are smart enough to know what a title is throwing at them. Nothing proves this more than the way the map unfolds. Players only unlock parts of the map when they find map fragments on the road in front of certain landmarks, so it's hard to gauge how big the map really is.
One might not think that the northeastern part of the blank canvas where the map is has land that they can access, but then they reach the peaks of the giant mountains a little more than halfway through the adventure and find that there is still a long way to go. over.
Elden Ring's spot on the list doesn't even take into account the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which has a high barrier to entry. The map is huge and contains more content than most full-length video games.
