Summary
- Experiencing tailored challenges and rewards based on skill and preparation is key in open-world games like The Witcher 3.
- Elden Ring offers a player-controlled difficulty setting with a variety of tools to adapt to challenges at their own pace.
- Dying Light uses a day-night cycle to balance manageable exploration with intense, dangerous night encounters, allowing players to control risk.
Open-world games are among the most popular in the entire gaming world, delivering unforgettable cinematic experiences that transcend basic fiction and transport players into an expansive landscape for them to explore and enjoy. The genre is broad, containing many subgenres like RPGs, survival games, and many more, all under the same broad umbrella of an open world.
7 Best Open-World Games Where Every Playthrough Is Different
These open-world games offer rich experiences that don't end after the first playthrough.
When it comes to difficulty in these worlds, oftentimes they fall into one of two categories: difficulty settings or not. Regardless of whether the player is able to fiddle with some sliders or not, there are plenty of games that perfectly capture the challenge curve and ensure that the player never feels out of their depth, while also progressing forward at a decent pace.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Creative Solutions And Encounters That Never Feel Overwhelming
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U, Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Breath of the Wild is the perfect example of difficulty done right. It gives players all the freedom to go anywhere they choose right from the start, and at no point throughout a playthrough does the player ever feel pressured out of a harder area. The environment gently nudges players toward preparation through its puzzles and enemy placement, without locking them out of the path they chose.
Stronger enemies and elemental threats are introduced gradually over time as the player explores more of the wider world, and with so many tools at their disposal, there is never a one-size-fits-all solution that players are forced into taking. The challenge never feels overbearing, and the triumphs feel earned throughout in a way that feels natural and rewarding.
2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Preparation Is Rewarded With Great Success
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In The Witcher 3, the difficulty is largely defined by how well players are willing to prepare for their next encounter, providing a clear incentive to think carefully and stopping them from being able to just run face-first through every enemy they see. The game is by no means a walk in the park, but with the right combination of consumables and tactics, any enemy can be taken down with a good strategy in mind.
8 Open-World Games Best Played On The Hardest Difficulty, Ranked
These open-world games can feel a little samey after awhile, but not if players crank the difficulty up to its highest setting.
The world doesn't scale based on the player's power, which means that straying too far from the open path can result in some less-than-desirable battles, but they are never an instant defeat and if the player ever feels too out of their depth, there is more than enough content for them to explore and enjoy before coming back for a healthy dose of revenge.
3 Ghost Of Tsushima
Balanced, Skill-Based Swordplay That Encourages Learning
Ghost of Tsushima
- Released
- July 17, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Ghost of Tsushima blends open-world exploration with tight, responsive sword combat that scales well across all difficulty levels. Duels are intense, but fair, relying more on timing, posture control, and parrying than on raw stats, and when players feel ready to crank it up to the maximum, enemies might kill the player in a single blow, but they also fall in a similar amount of time, meaning that the player can feel a bit fragile at times and outright broken in others.
As new enemy types are introduced, players must adapt to the new threats with different tactics, but the game gives ample time to learn each mechanic. The upgrades all contribute to an experience that feels challenging yet empowering, letting players shape how they confront each situation.
4 Elden Ring
Challenges Scale With The Journey
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Elden Ring follows the FromSoftware tradition of high difficulty that requires knowledge and learning in order to succeed fully. But where the game differs from many others in the Soulslike genre is the player's ability to traverse the world however they choose. There will never come a point where they feel too weak to take on the challenge, and even if they do, there are plenty of areas to explore early on that will help them get to grips with how the game works.
On top of this, even the most challenging fights in the game feel as though they are introduced at the perfect times, as the game assumes a certain level of power and skill at certain points, and it almost always hits the nail on the head. The difficulty slider is set by the player, and they can make it as hard or as easy as they choose with a variety of tools that all have their own power and value in a playthrough.
5 Horizon Forbidden West
Tactical Combat Techniques Tailored For Each Foe
Horizon Forbidden West
- Released
- February 18, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Guerrilla Games
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Forbidden West takes the gorgeous world of its predecessor and expands it in a big way, in more ways than just a new map to explore. The difficulty is directly tied to the machines themselves, with every new enemy encountered introducing a new layer of mechanics that need to be learned and mastered to make it through alive.
The combat never relies on tanky damage sponges, and instead, it challenges players to carefully exploit weak points and use the environment to get the upper hand on the relentless AI. The content within the game, whether the side quests or the main story, all feed into the progression system in a meaningful way, which makes the difficulty curve align perfectly with the narrative.
6 Dying Light
Intense But Manageable At All Times
Dying Light
- Released
- January 27, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Techland
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Dying Light offers a unique form of difficulty balancing through its day-night cycle that drastically alters how the game and enemies function in just a short period. The daytime is a manageable environment where exploration feels intuitive and non-restrictive, but the second the sun goes down, all hell breaks loose, and the danger levels grow exponentially.
8 Most Expensive Open-World Games Ever Made, Ranked
Open-world titles have some of the highest budgets in gaming due to their scale, with these great games sporting the highest budgets of the genre.
The natural division between two difficulties lets players control their own risk level in a way that is integrated directly into the gameplay. They can decide to keep things safe and explore during the day, or brave the night and reap the rewards for their courage; the choice is right there with little to no rules or obligations to choose a specific style.
7 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Enemy Scaling And The Iconic Nemesis System Create A Dynamic Flow Of Challenge
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
- Released
- October 10, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Shadow of War innovates with its Nemesis system, which procedurally generates enemy captains that remember previous encounters, adapt their strategies, and even return from defeat. This mechanic ensures that every combat challenge feels personalized and responsive and that the game constantly moves forward in terms of difficulty instead of letting the player get too far ahead of the enemy.
While difficulty rises over time, player tools, from stealth and archery, scale accordingly in a way that keeps things steady without too many jumps forward. The result is a power fantasy balanced by ever-evolving threats, where smart planning and tactical execution win over brute force, in a dark medieval world that knows no bounds.
8 The Forest
Enemy AI And Pressure Increase With Player Progression
The Forest
- Released
- April 30, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
The Forest gradually increases difficulty based on how long players survive and how much they build. Early days are quiet, but as structures expand and resources are stockpiled, the AI sends more intelligent and aggressive waves of cannibal enemies to investigate and attack, adding a level of immersion that is rarely seen elsewhere in the genre.
The world never outright explains this progression, but players feel it through growing tension. Survival depends on crafting, fortifying, and choosing when to explore or hold down the fort, and the escalating threat makes each decision weighty, creating a natural curve that mirrors the player’s growing footprint in the world.
The Best Open-World Games Featuring Third-Person Combat
Many gamers can only truly feel free when observing from the third-person point of view. These are the best open-world games with third-person combat.