The core idea of an open-world game is freedom. Some games are better with that concept than others. For example, while The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is a great open-world RPG with many places to travel to, there’s not much for players to do in these locations besides fighting monsters and taking loot. That’s a blunt assessment, but it’s not entirely wrong.
7 Of The Weirdest Open-World Games Of All Time
These open-world games come with some truly bizarre stories, characters, or settings that help them stand out from the crowd.
These other open-world games are different. They give freedom a whole other meaning, offering players traversal options, combat choices, side activities, and so much more. Players can’t do everything, but they can certainly try in these examples, from climbing to destroying to building.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
More Than A Delivery Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Released
- June 26, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach expands the gameplay options from the first game immensely. At its core, it’s still a game about delivering packages to other bunkers, but this time across Mexico and Australia. However, this time players can build more equipment to aid in these deliveries, like motorcycles, trucks, exoskeletons, and even a coffin that becomes a surfboard. They can build roads to make traversal easier, monorail systems, and so much more to get around. Plus, there’s more combat than before, which can be approached loudly and violently or quietly and non-lethally.
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Minecraft With A Purpose
Dragon Quest Builders 2
- Released
- July 12, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Adventure
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a better game than the original, which incorporated what made Minecraft so popular. Like Minecraft, players could mine for materials in Dragon Quest Builders 2 and then use those brick-like resources to build homes and other structures. What makes this game more compelling than Minecraft is its story and combat, which are deeper. Players can explore the world alone, fighting monsters, gathering resources, and restoring villages to their former glory. There’s also a co-op island wherein four players can create a paradise together.
Grounded 2
Go Small, Go Big
Grounded 2
- Released
- July 29, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Grounded 2 is currently in early access, but it is already a huge improvement over the past game graphically and in terms of mechanics. It’s easier to gather items and start building than ever before. Players can craft weapons and armor made from bugs killed and items collected.
They can later hunt bugs to use as mounts, like ants, which makes traversal faster and more engaging. Beyond gear, facilities and furniture can be made to create the ultimate tiny experience from within another walled garden.
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Building A Better Hyrule
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom used mostly the same layout of Hyrule as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but added a few significant changes. Players could still explore the world as Link on foot, or with a horse, going at their own pace. New to the game was the underground version of Hyrule, along with the sky islands. Even better yet, players could build objects like carts that could go over lava or fly through the air. What was already a massive undertaking became even grander with all of the new mechanics, and since 2023, fans have been sharing their amazing inventions online.
Palworld
Pretty Robust For Early Access
Palworld
- Released
- January 19, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
Palworld looks like a Pokemon clone, and to some extent, it is, but Palworld is also broader in some ways. Players can go around and catch monsters, called Pals, and have them accompany them on their journey, stay at home to work on stuff, or be used as weapons like flamethrowers. They can even be mounted, which makes traversal a lot easier. Players can build houses, gardens, weapons, and so much more. It’s as much a survival game as it is a monster-catching game, and it is rather robust in Early Access so far.
Red Dead Redemption 2
A Cowboy’s Life For Me
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Released
- October 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the ultimate cowboy experience for anyone who wished they had grown up during the Old West. As Arthur Morgan, players can be a predatory bandit and murder and loot from poor, innocent folk, or they can be a good Samaritan and help them out.
8 Best Open-World Games For First-Person Combat, Ranked
Open-world game enthusiasts looking for satisfying first-person combat should look no further than the following games.
There’s not much in terms of crafting compared to other open-world games, but there is still plenty to do. Raise horses, hunt, and explore the plains to find objects of interest like murder scenes or perhaps something supernatural.
Sea Of Thieves
Drink Up Me Hearties
Sea of Thieves
- Released
- March 20, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
When Sea of Thieves launched in 2018, there was not much to do other than to sail around with friends. Since then, Rare has added so much content from treasure hunting quests to NPCs to crossover content with other pirate-related media like Pirates of the Caribbean. Besides content updates, there have even been ports to non-Xbox consoles like the PS5, and Sea of Thieves does support crossplay. It’s the ultimate pirate simulator wherein players can do as they please on the high seas.
Starfield
Become A Space Explorer
Starfield
- Released
- September 6, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is massive more so than other Bethesda open-world games, including Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, because the void of space is so large. Players can go into it like other Bethesda games, including following story quests, looting chests, and killing enemies. The shooting has never felt better in a Bethesda RPG, and while the story content is minimal, there is other content to explore for the creative enthusiasts out there. Players can build spaceships and then set up outposts on foreign planets to live out their dreams in space within Starfield.
7 Best Discontinued Open-World Game Series That Deserve A Comeback, Ranked
Will players ever be able to roam these open-world games again? Here's which game series desperately deserve to make an epic return.