The open world genre evolved from the sandbox genre of the early 2000s and the world map design of RPGs of the 1980s and 1990s. Open-world games are a dime a dozen these days, and there are plenty to choose from: shooters, action-RPGs, action-adventure games, and more. At the core of the genre, open world games are strongly tied RPGso let's go through some important games.
6 Open World RPG with the best world building, ranked
An open world is nothing without detailed world building, and these RPGs are the best at creating deep, believable, and stunning game worlds.
Not all of them necessarily redefine the open-world RPG genre, but all of them were ambitious in their own way, including titles like Dragon Dogma, Elden Ringand Xenoblade Chronicles. Some of these games weren't perfect at launch, but their legacy lives on thanks to dedicated fans. In some cases, dedicated developers were willing to fix things with patches. They will be ranked by how ambitious they were, world size, combat systems and more.
Click or tap the games that match the category
Start
8
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Last minute expansion of the trilogy
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is ambitious, but certainly the least ambitious of the games here. For CD Projekt Red, the real test was to make the open world bigger than the sandboxes they had created before. Between the two previous entries, it was like going from PS1 to PS4 in terms of structural and graphical leaps. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is mechanically quite different.
The action is more visceral, the quests are incredibly diverse, and the world is beautiful day and night. The real success is getting new players on board even if they never touch any of the previous games. Millions of sales later, and it looks like CD Projekt Red's gamble paid off.
7
Dragon Dogma
Capcom's first major new RPG in decades
Capcom used to make a lot of RPGs like Breath of firebut they didn't delve into the fledgling high-difficulty action-RPG genre that Soul of Demons helped create. Monster Hunter is a completely different beast and probably barely an RPG so Dragon Dogma it was risky. As a Soulslike, it's incredibly difficult and doesn't explain things well, which wasn't great considering how incredibly dense the mechanics are.
Players can create their character, choose a class, design their other party members, or use someone else's online. The action is fairly straightforward, with the exception of a grappling mechanism that allows players to climb onto larger enemies. That's the thing that helped it stand out. Dragon Dogma it's incredibly niche, even with expansions and sequels, but those who understand the game and the rest of the series REALLY like it.
6
Elden Ring
We bring soul vibes to open world games
FromSoftware is the developer who created the above Soul of Demons and started a revolution for the action RPG genre. Many spiritual sequels later, FromSoftware decided to create its most ambitious Soulslike to date: Elden Ring. Could the genre work as an open world game? Could this game get more people into the genre?
8 Great Open World RPGs That Let You Play Your Way, Rated
With varying degrees of system selection and an open world to boot, players won't find more liberating RPGs than these.
With a solid co-op system (albeit complicated) and an open path through the game, Elden Ring really made more players look into the Soulslike genre. Best of all, it didn't compromise on difficulty for die-hards, so much so that it allowed beginners to play through the game at their own pace.
5
Cyberpunk 2077
Adaptation of Tabletop Legends
CD Projekt Red has shown that it is capable of creating an open world game The Witcher 3: Wild Huntbut their next game Cyberpunk 2077was a more demanding beast that proved the developer bit off more than they could chew. Launch wasn't great on PS4 and Xbox One, although things were somewhat stable on PC. It was so bad that the game was removed from some digital marketplaces.
Through patches, next-gen ports and DLC, Cyberpunk 2077 is now more like the game that CD Projekt Red envisioned in 2020. It's a new universe that they adapted from a decades-old board game, which basically means they're starting from scratch, and that's a big reason why this project was so much more ambitious. While the world of Night City is harsh, it's incredibly immersive, and its shooting, open-ended mission structure, cyborg upgrades, and driving mechanics are top-notch, making it now the gaming standard for the cyberpunk genre.
4
Xenoblade Chronicles
Pushing the Wii to its limits
While it sold incredibly well during its generation, the two things the Wii lacked were RPGs and open world games. Structurally, the Wii was much less powerful than the PS3 and Xbox 360, meaning that many third-party open source games could not come to the system. That's the place Xenoblade Chronicles comes a.k.a. a miracle RPG that squeezed every ounce of power out of the Wii and shows just how incredibly adept Monolith Soft is as a developer.
The open world is massive and seamless, and it used to be The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim he was released. The sense of immersion and danger that players feel as they explore is impeccable, and again, coming from a Wii that is still stunning to think about ten years on.
3
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Try as a triple indie
Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a risk. It's an open world RPG full of warring kingdoms and knights, but without any magic or monsters. Instead, the game is set in 14th century Bohemia and is incredibly realistic, from the size of the map, to how long it takes to get places, to the amount of dirt that accumulates on players' clothing, which is thrown off by NPCs. Combat is also more down-to-earth, forcing players to block enemy attacks and swing their sword.
The best open world RPG where player choice really matters, rated
From gameplay to story choices, these open-world games take note of the path you take and bring consequences.
This creates a greater sense of immersion, even if there are glitches when walking through doors or watching NPCs hover above you. Most impressive of all are the load times, as they are practically non-existent, which is wild for a 2018 game. This was before the era of SSD consoles, after all. It has a slow start, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance is another example of a game that rewards players for their patience and sets the stage for the developer, Warhorse Studios, to wow the world with its sequel, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
2
Kenshi
A dozen genres in one
Kenshi
- Released
-
December 6, 2018
Kenshi was seemingly designed for anyone who thought FromSoftware's games were similar Kirby game, aka., very easy. Kenshi's the systems and world design are confusing, so it's necessary to go online to see what other players have experienced. The game doesn't even try to get the player on the right path. After creating a character, players will remain at level one in all stats, leading to many, many deaths if they wander into the wrong zone. As if that weren't enough, players can be so badly damaged during combat that they might not die so much as permanently lose a limb.
Even though it may all seem bad, those who win Kenshi's torture-like trials will find an incredibly expansive, open-ended game that's a bit edgy in its appearance, but also rewarding in its gameplay. From venturing out on your own and becoming a wandering ronin to leading an army to focusing on your craft and becoming a blacksmith, Kenshi offers something for everyone. It just takes time to get going, which was the biggest risk developers Lo-Fi Games took. Making a game this difficult and obtuse isn't going to sit well with everyone, but Lo-Fi Games made the game they wanted and were rewarded with support. What started as one man's developer dream turned into a small team that was eventually acquired Kenshi out the door and reach 1.0 after five years of Early Access.
We owe it all to Bethesda
For anyone who hasn't played The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall in 1996 it may seem incredibly dated in today's perspective, and technically it is. That said, it was a big improvement The Elder Scrolls: Arenaand basically it solidified what The Elder Scrolls the series would happen for the next several decades. Not only is the world massive, but it's incredibly customizable to a level that even Baldur's Gate 3 fans would be shocked.
Skills increase as players use them, and they can choose a class or customize their own. Specific dungeons are handcrafted with random loot, while most other dungeons are fully randomized. In addition to the struggle that was fundamental then and even more important now, The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall is a life-sim RPG. Players can go to the bank and get a loan to buy a house, a horse or even a ship to sail on. The building blocks were all there, and Bethesda didn't forget the foundation they had created.
7 Open World RPGs Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026
Good or bad, there will be a lot of discussion about these upcoming open world RPGs.
