Summary
- Minecraft offers limitless creativity and exploration in an open world filled with endless possibilities.
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla immerses players in Viking history, letting them shape their clan's fate.
- The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim allows players to shape their destiny in a vast, open, and immersive fantasy world.
Open-world games are among the most innovative games ever created, attempting to immerse players in fully developed realms of imagination that come to life. The burden of an open-world game is to give the player a sense of freedom in all aspects, from exploration to decision-making. There are several approaches to this, all of which are highly challenging, making open-world games a particularly risky investment.
7 Open-World Games Where Your Choices Really Matter, Ranked
Open-world games have a lot to offer players in various regards. However, the best titles are those where choices matter. Here are some of them.
However, more often than not, a game can check all the boxes and create a truly special experience. Some open-world games can even make players feel like the king or queen of the game world through story or gameplay elements. Being the ruler of a virtual world is a wonderful feeling in video games, and only a small few do it justice. Here are some of the best open-world games that make their players feel like a king or queen.
8 Minecraft
A World Where Players Create And Control Everything
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Minecraft has one of the largest player populations in the world and has sold over three hundred million copies. It is an open-world fantasy survival game that allows players to manipulate and create anything from housing to weapons and armor.
With a creative focus, players harvest blocks of multiple materials and use them to build, mix them to produce new materials, and craft more advanced equipment, allowing for limitless freedom to explore the world. Players can build entire kingdoms from scratch and, with the help of mods, garner dedicated servants and followers, and even play alongside their friends to build rival kingdoms.
7 Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Raise Up The Mightiest Viking Horde In History
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Released
- November 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Assassin's Creed has explored multiple eras in history, taking players on incredible and fantastical journeys. Each Assassin's Creed game delves into some of history's greatest legends and brings them to life in an exploratory way. In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, players step into the life of Eivor as either a male or female viking.
While progressing through the main story, players must also expand Eivor's clan and its territories, making narrative decisions that impact the game world. Players cut a bloody path to superiority, as raiding enemy bases while fortifying their own is a main staple of the game.
6 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
A Massive Sandbox Perfect For Royalty
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
The Elder Scrolls franchise is the standard when it comes to vast fantasy tales that allow players the freedom to interact with the game world in any way they see fit. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim reshaped the gaming community with its vast open world and winding story that took players across a living world filled with war, dragons, and bandits.
8 Best Open-World Games Where The Main Story Is Not The Priority, Ranked
Following a main narrative is always exciting, but while these games provide that option, they encourage players to explore and chart their own path.
Skyrim also features thousands of mod-creators packing the game full of even more content, many of which open the door to extended story quests that allow players to become a ruler with additional gear, housing, and even a throne and crown, perfect for the next king or queen of Tamriel.
5 Dragon Age: Inquisition
A Fantasy Epic Of Global Proportions
Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Released
- November 18, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The Dragon Age series has consistently delivered grand stories and powerful experiences that immerse players in their narrative and game world. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, the game is set in an immersive open world that tasks players with stopping an interdimensional invasion by uniting multiple factions and traveling the world.
Players will have to rub shoulders with powerful allies, make decisions that reshape the world, and slay monsters and enemies in between. Dragon Age: Inquisition does a fantastic job of providing a level of freedom and power to the player that other entries in the series lack, putting them in a position of power and asking them how they intend to wield it.
4 Fable 3
A Classic And Immersive Royal Story
Fable 3
- Released
- October 26, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Use of Alcohol, Blood, Sexual Content, Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The Fable series is packed with immersive freedom, granting players the ability to choose their desired path from the very beginning. The franchise thrives on being the hero of the story or the villain of nightmares. In Fable 3, the game takes this concept a step further, making the players destined for glory as the future king or queen of the realm.
After obtaining the crown, players must establish order in Albion and make decisions that will impact the world as a whole, as well as their perception by the NPCs within the game. With a new installment in the series slowly approaching, many fans hope that this feature remains.
3 Middle-earth: Shadow Of War
A Fantastic Game That Allows Players To Push The Boundaries Of Freedom
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
- Released
- October 10, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is one of the most innovative games ever made, thanks to the addition of the Nemesis system. As players step into the role of Talikon, they must combat the growing Orc menace and forge a new ring of power to confront Sauron, the evil of all evil.
Players must establish an army of their own filled with the orcs they "dominate" throughout the campaign, and create their own fortress as a base of operations. Leading a custom army of the best and strongest orcs in the land gives the feeling of being a crowned warrior with the fate of the world resting on the player's shoulders.
2 Grand Theft Auto 5
A Chaotic Sandbox Where The Player Is On Top
Grand Theft Auto 5
- Released
- September 17, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
Grand Theft Auto 5 was a massive success, breaking record after record, selling over 200 million copies, and garnering a dedicated player base over the last decade. The game drops players into a world to experience three characters' stories across a winding plot of treachery, ambition, and finality.
The game also features an extensive online mode where players can create custom avatars and explore Los Santos to their heart's content. With enough craft and enough cash, players can rule Los Santos with an iron fist, establishing illicit businesses, running heists, and taking over the criminal underworld one step at a time.
1 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
An Immersive Journey Of Ascension
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
- Released
- September 25, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Pathfinder is a popular tabletop role-playing game published by former Wizards of the Coast creators who founded a new company called Paizo. The game's success has led to its expansion into other media, including video games. Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a turn-based adventure game similar to Baldur's Gate 3.
In Pathfinder: Kingmaker, players must cleanse the chaos of a lawless territory and slowly make their way up the ladder to becoming King or Queen. The game features a vast, open-world fantasy setting with detailed narrative choices that impact the physical and political environment of the world, making every decision the player makes significant and consequential.
8 Open-World Games That Adapted To Fan Feedback
It may be unfair to expect perfection from these titles, but fans expect their favorite titles to shoot for the moon and reach even greater heights.