Summary
- Fans love open-world games with third-person viewpoints, combining exploration and combat for an engaging experience.
- Forza Horizon 5 offers the best open world in racing games, ensuring fast exploration without crashing into objects.
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2 excels in traversal and exploration, providing engaging open-world activities in an expanded New York City.
Third-person viewpoints have become fairly common in most mainstream video games. This, coupled with the open-world genre being as popular as it is, makes it clear why fans love the combination of both elements to make for a riveting video gaming experience.
Open-World Games That Focus On Combat Over Exploration
These open-world games might feature a mix of exploration and combat, but they focus more heavily on combat and challenging encounters over discovery.
Exploration is a huge part of any open-world game, and these third-person video games make sure that fans will never be bored as they explore every nook and cranny of their titles. The beauty of the world, coupled with its many secrets, will keep players engaged for hours on end.
8 Forza Horizon 5
Boasts Arguably The Best Open World In A Racing Game
Forza Horizon 5
- Released
- November 9, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E for Everyone // In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Genre(s)
- Racing, Open-World
Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best open-world racing games fans can get their hands on. This world is beautiful and jam-packed with locations to explore as players participate in Mexico's Horizon Festival.
It helps that, unlike most other open-world racing games, Forza Horizon 5 doesn't have too many environmental objects that cars can crash into. This allows players to travel at breakneck speeds in a straight line from point A to point B, which is all that players want from exploration in an open-world racing game.
7 Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Traversal And Exploration Work Hand-in-Hand
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Released
- October 20, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure, Superhero
Movement is a huge part of what makes exploration great, and no game personifies this more than Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Traversal is the bread and butter of this game as players head from one point of interest to the next as quickly as they can.
The game also features a bunch of open-world activities that are just engaging enough not to feel like busywork. From completing side quests to acing challenges, there's no shortage of memorable moments in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 as players use both Miles and Peter to explore an expanded New York City.
6 Ghost Of Tsushima
The Game's Beauty Enhances Its Exploration
Ghost of Tsushima
- Released
- July 17, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Ghost of Tsushima's art design is palpable from the very moment players jump into this open world. The Guiding Wind mechanic is also a simple yet great way to gently guide players toward their objective.
8 Best Open-World Games For First-Person Exploration, Ranked
Players who love to explore interesting open worlds can easily lose several hours in the following first-person games.
All of this combines to make exploration in Ghost of Tsushima a blast. It helps that side activities and various points of interest are scattered about gracefully to gently nudge players into exploring every nook and cranny of this gorgeous world.
5 Grand Theft Auto 5
Everyone Was Confident That The Biggest GTA World Would Be A Treat To Explore
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
Given that Grand Theft Auto 5 was going to blow every other title in the series out of the water when it came to the open world, it's easy to see why exploration would be magical in this game. Players explore the city of Los Santos and the countryside in a beautiful game that is full of side content, easter eggs, and chilling secrets.
Getting inside a fast car, bike, or plane and zipping across the map feels great every single time. Grand Theft Auto 5 is a game jam-packed with content, ensuring that every avenue of exploration yields something interesting for the player.
4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Geralt's Adventures Take Him To Many Exotic Locations
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
The Witcher 3 is the first true open-world game in the series, and CD Projekt Red didn't disappoint. Geralt's adventures take him to exotic locations like Velen, Novigrad, Skellige, and Beauclair, letting players enjoy the amazing world design of all these locations.
These worlds are jam-packed with meaningful content, leading to players spending hundreds of hours in this title without getting bored if they want to complete all the side content they can get their hands on. It's a testament to The Witcher 3's exploration that fans will never get tired of exploring this world, no matter how many hours they've already clocked into this adventure.
3 Elden Ring
The Magic Of Exploration Remains Consistent In This Amazing Open-World FromSoftware Game
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
FromSoftware clearly took some notes from Breath of the Wild when it came to developing Elden Ring's world. Players can see anything in the distance and reach it to uncover anything from a lucrative treasure chest to a dungeon full of tough enemies.
8 Best Open-World Games With Very Little Exploration
These games can be completed without players needing to stray from the main path too often.
Even if players get stuck on a boss, all they need to do is explore another corner of The Lands Between and help the Tarnished become strong enough to take on a challenge that is giving them a hard time. This simple yet effective approach to exploration ensures that Elden Ring's open world is in a class of its own.
2 Red Dead Redemption 2
Easily The Most Beautiful Open World Made By Rockstar
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Released
- October 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Rockstar has become a master of the open-world genre at this point, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Red Dead Redemption 2. Despite a beginning that is way longer than most people assumed, all of this is forgiven when players take their first step into the open world and discover something magical.
Players will love taking Arthur to different corners of the world map, completing side activities, fulfilling Stranger requests, and uncovering many secrets in the process. The camps in each chapter have also been placed tactically, encouraging players to explore different corners of the open world in each chapter.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
The Amazing Sense Of Exploration In Both This Title And Its Prequel
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
Breath of the Wild's open-world formula was so riveting that Tears of the Kingdom was bound to be a success upon launch. The addition of the Depths and the Sky Islands enhanced the exploration of this game immensely.
While the vast yet empty stretches of Breath of the Wild's world allowed for some meditative exploration, fans can't help but appreciate how jam-packed Tears of the Kingdom's open world is in comparison. Link will find something new and interesting to engage with every step of the way, and the new powers ensure that players will never get bored of experimenting with the game's mechanics as they traverse a gorgeous open world.
Best Open-World Underwater Exploration Games
The deep, blue unknown is the perfect setting for an exploration game.