The Best Open World Games Set in the Past

Most open-world games tend to take place in the present day, although there are some that opt to transport their players to the past or the future instead. The former can be particularly enjoyable for video game enthusiasts with an interest in history, allowing them to experience eras that they may otherwise have little or no real experience with.

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By  Tom Bowen

The best open-world games that take place in the past find innovative ways to make use of their settings, either by incorporating historical figures into their storylines or recreating locations that no longer exist. They provide players with a window into a simpler time, through which all manner of adventures can be observed.

5 Assassin's Creed: Origins

Assassin's Creed: Origins Takes Place in Egypt Between 49 BC and 38 BC

Pretty much all of the Assassin's Creed games are set in the past, but few go quite as far back as Assassin's Creed: Origins. Released in late 2017, this popular Ubisoft title takes place more than two thousand years ago, allowing players to explore Egypt during the end of the Ptolemaic period from 49 to 38 BC.

Origins was the first game in the series to include different difficulty settings, allowing players to tailor the combat to best suit their needs. Its depiction of Ancient Egypt is incredibly enjoyable to explore, while the game's story incorporates numerous historical figures, including Socrates, Cleopatra, and Julius Caesar.

4 Shenmue

Shenmue Takes Place in Yokosuka, Japan in the Year 1986

All three of the Shenmue games are set in the late nineteen eighties, with players taking on the role of Ryo Hazuki: an eighteen-year-old martial artist seeking vengeance after his father is brutally murdered right in front of him. However, it's the first game in the series that best reflects the area, providing players with a small yet wonderfully well-realized world that's just begging to be explored.

Ryo's journey begins in Yokosuka: a fairly sizable Japanese city on the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Series creator Yu Suzuki and his team did extensive research on the location in an attempt to make the game's world feel as realistic as possible, both when it came to Yokosuka itself and the people who reside there. All of the game's NPCs have their own daily schedules, which helps to make the city feel that much more alive.

3 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Takes Place in a Fictionalized Version of Miami in the Year 1986

Most of the Grand Theft Auto games are set in what was then the present day, although there are one or two big exceptions. The most notable of these is definitely Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which takes place in the nineteen-eighties in a city that draws much of its inspiration from Miami. Its layout is almost identical and many of the in-game locations and buildings are based on ones from the real world.

For as good as the city is, though, it's the in-game radio stations that really help to sell the game's setting. Tracks like Billy Jean, 2 Minutes to Midnight, and Out of Touch help to transport players right back to the eighties. The game's setting also draws inspiration from a bunch of eighties gangster movies like Carlito's Way and Scarface, as too does its story.

2 Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima Takes Place on Tsushima Island in the Year 1274

Many consider Ghost of Tsushima to be the best open-world game set in the past, not to mention one of the genre's very finest offerings. The game takes place on the Japanese island of Tsushima in the year 1274 and sees players take control of Jin Sakai: a samurai who is forced to sacrifice his honor in order to save both his uncle and his homeland from invading Mongol forces.

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Despite the island having been ravaged by war, Tsushima's natural beauty still shines brightly and makes exploring the game's sizable open world an absolute joy. For those struggling to find their way, the Guiding Wind mechanic will help to get them back on the right path and ties in nicely with some of the themes and ideas explored outside of the game's main narrative.

1 Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 Takes Place in the Old West Between 1899 and 1907

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best video games ever made. Its story is a masterpiece, its characters feel like real people, and the gameplay is polished to a mirror-like finish. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the 2018 title is its setting though, with players taken back to the year 1899 and a fictionalized version of the United States that has a little bit of everything.

Rarely does a sequel improve upon its predecessor so comprehensively, yet it's difficult to think of something that the first Red Dead Redemption game does better; save, perhaps, for its fantastic Undead Nightmare DLC expansion. It's important to note that this isn't intended to be a dig at the latter, which itself is an incredible video game; more an emphatic endorsement of how good Red Dead Redemption 2 really is.

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