Summary
- Open-world games offer extensive exploration potential, but players often default to faster traversal methods.
- Games like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Horizon Forbidden West, and Dragon's Dogma 2 shine with on-foot exploration richness.
- Unique biomes, engaging storylines, and immersive environments make walking around in open worlds highly rewarding.
Open-world games are praised for their large maps that players can freely explore. Due to how large some of these open-world games are, developers commonly provide players with things such as mounts or fast travel points to allow them to quickly traverse the open world that is available to them. The only unfortunate fact of these mechanics is that some players may rely too heavily on them and therefore forget to explore the open world that has been provided.
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With plenty of magic, strange creatures, and an epic underlying story, what these open-world games have in common is a beautiful, high-fantasy world.
Many of the best open-world games to be created have some of the most extraordinary exploration that a player can only truly experience if they remain on foot, walking around these glorious maps. Players who are looking for glorious open-world titles should look no further than these games that are better enjoyed by walking, ranked by how much these worlds provide players with things to explore.
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
Explore The Land Of Pandora As A Na'Vi
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
- Released
- December 7, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Language, Mild Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Massive Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Although Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora may have met its audience with mixed reviews, there is no denying that this title is perfect for those who not only enjoy exploring on foot but are also deeply in love with the Avatar franchise. While players are provided other means to navigate the wilderness of Pandora, keeping on their feet is still one of the best ways of exploring this interesting action-adventure game.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has an incredibly large map to navigate, and while moving from one end to the next isn't great to do on foot, there are still plenty of reasons to try it. As a Na'vi, the player can traverse both the ground and trees with ease, making them truly feel like part of the people of Pandora. Not to mention plenty of other content, such as taking down the bases of humans to rid the land of pollution.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Plenty To Find In England During The Viking Age
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Released
- November 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Platform(s)
- Stadia, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
In recent years, the Assassin's Creed franchise has leaned further into its open world settings to create historical countries for the player to traverse during a fascinating story. Out of all the recent titles, one of the best for not only its story but also its open-world was Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Set during the Viking Age of England, Valhalla had multiple areas of the country for Eivor – the protagonist – to visit and aid in the hopes of allowing their clan to keep their home.
Although boat navigation as well as mounts are available for players to help them traverse the rivers of England, although Eivor may not be a proper assassin, they still have the skills to navigate the world on foot as well as climb some extraordinary structures between 872 and 878 AD. When players aren't visiting real-life historical locations in Valhalla, they can instead admire the beauty of the place.
Horizon Forbidden West
Varied Biomes To Explore And Mechanical Beasts To Slay
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
In the second game, Horizon Forbidden West, expands upon the world of the original as players explore an entirely new frontier that demands the help of Aloy if they hope to see Earth survive. Besides all the new mechanical beasts that can be found when playing Forbidden West, the main reason that this action RPG is one of the best for exploring on foot is all the new and diverse biomes that can be found here.
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Aloy must visit different tribes in Horizon Forbidden West that all live in entirely different biomes, from some living in the hot deserts, while they can also be found on snow-covered mountaintops. Once again, players do have other ways of traversing Horizon Forbidden West, but to truly appreciate the environment and find various secrets that can help Aloy during her adventure.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Embark On Another Epic Mission To Connect A Country
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Released
- June 26, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5
It wouldn't be right to not include the king of walking in an open world such as Death Stranding. In Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, players like the character Sam Bridges are given another mission to walk across the country to connect all the bunkers together.
Now in Australia, there are plenty of new things to discover that become even more fascinating when players attempt to navigate this world while remaining on foot. Although there may not be as much to explore in Death Stranding 2, compared to other open-world games, due to its heavy focus on traveling across the land with cargo, heavy detail has been put into being able to walk from one location to another. Making these walks interesting is another reason why Death Stranding 2 is one of the best for this sort of on-foot exploration.
Dragon's Dogma 2
Limited Fast Travel Leads To Finding New Things
Dragon's Dogma 2
- Released
- March 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Finally, a classic title returns as Dragon's Dogma 2 was a long-awaited action RPG game that has some intriguing features, which may take some players some time to get used to. While the majority of open-world titles tend to have fast travel points that players can freely use whenever they want to so that they can navigate the world quickly, Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't exactly do this.
Instead, players can put down their own fast travel points and must spend certain things to then use them. This, therefore, encourages players to walk to their various objectives instead of relying on these, so they don't waste resources. While this can be hard to get used to, Dragon's Dogma 2 has plenty for players to find in the wild, such as side quests and caves they may have never seen otherwise.
Minecraft
A Sandbox Where No Two Worlds Are The Same
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Mojang
- Platform(s)
- 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
The sandbox survival title Minecraft is more than just an open world to explore, as although the game has been updated countless times over the years to give players more options on how they can explore this world, walking from place to place is still one of the greatest feelings.
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Even though Minecraft is a world made of cubes, there is so much to admire from the countless biomes that have been added, to digging underground to find their jackpot. If just being able to explore wasn't enough, the joy with this sandbox is that players can start the game all over again in an entirely new world that they can navigate on foot. Players are able to create their own goals in this title.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Explore Hyrule Any Way The Player Likes
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
Before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, many of the Legend of Zelda titles were quite linear. However, in this one, players were given the freedom to truly explore however they saw fit. The final goal of reaching the castle can be achieved at any time, but for players to have the best chance of survival, they must first explore the far corners of Hyrule to gain the aid of others.
Players can tame horses in the wild for a quicker way to explore. However, since players in Breath of the Wild can climb and swim to various locations around the map, many players will likely find themselves leaving the horse at the stable anyway, so they can focus on finding resources, weaponry, and other ways to improve themselves.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
A Classic Open-World RPG With Plenty More To See
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
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Out of all the open-world games over the years, unsurprisingly, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim continues to be a great game for those looking for a world they can enjoy by simply walking around. Skyrim already intrigues many players with its abundance of side stories that encourage the player to explore the various locations on the map.
In Skyrim, players can take wagons to quickly get to a different town or simply select places they have already visited on the map to go back there. Even though this is a feature players can use, many have challenged themselves to never use it and instead walk from one location to another. While on their journey, they are likely to encounter caves, crypts, and other ruins, which commonly have their own stories for the player to discover that aren't connected to any quests.
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These open-world games are a blast to play, but trying to explore the map in full can leave players weary.