Replaying the same open-world games over and over again can be fun if players are specifically in love with a certain experience. For example, Grand Theft Auto 5 is a great game with three playable characters and numerous main and side missions to complete. There aren’t many ways the experience can change between playthroughs, but that is not a significant detractor for GTA fans.
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While not impossible to beat, these RPGs are some of the hardest games in their genre. The fact that they're open-world just amplifies the difficulty
If anyone is craving an open-world game to dive into that can change between playthroughs, these are the titles to check out. They feature everything from classic turn-based RPGs to shooters to crafting games. With branching mechanics and storylines, they should keep players occupied for months.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Game-Changing Paths
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, players can create some wild shifts in the story depending on how they handle quests. A single major quest in the campaign could feature five different pathways, all of them valid, and all of them leading to twists in the narrative, like one of the earliest involving the Bloody Baron and his fate.
Geralt will always be Geralt, no matter how players dress him or how they do his hair. However, players can at least change their demeanor between playthroughs to be cutthroat as a Witcher or a caring bounty hunter who looks out for the common people.
Diablo 4
Five Classes, Five Destinies
Diablo 4
- Released
- June 5, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
Diablo 4 is the first game in the Diablo series to feature an open world, albeit from a top-down perspective. Players can also create their and customize character for the first time, along with choosing one of five classes: Barbarian, Rogue, Sorcerer, Druid, and Necromancer, with the Spiritborn class added in the Vessel of Hatred DLC.
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The story doesn’t offer much in the way of branching dialogue options, but players can have a different experience depending on their chosen class. Also, these classes have huge branching skill trees, so a Sorcerer could be different in several playthroughs besides having a different character design.
Borderlands 4
Branching Vault Hunters
Borderlands 4
- Released
- September 12, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
Borderlands 4 is a Diablo-like experience with tons of loot to gather, except as a first-person shooter. The four main Vault Hunters can be tweaked a bit visually, like with color schemes and outfits, but the character customization system is not as dynamic as other RPGs.
That said, each character has three different skill trees, which will make them play very differently depending on how players allocate their skill points. Technically speaking, it's possible to have twelve distinct playthroughs of Borderlands 4, albeit through the same campaign. For example, in one skill tree for Vex, she can summon spiritual versions of herself to attack enemies, or she can create a Tiger-like familiar that aids her in battle by investing in another skill tree.
Fallout: New Vegas
Sticking To Factions
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Fallout: New Vegas doesn’t have a class system or a good character creator, but it does have Perks, which can affect all aspects of gameplay, from combat to how players can interact with the world. More so than that, this game features Factions, and aligning with one can affect the outcome of the story in a variety of ways.
Beyond Factions, there are branching dialogue trees and a Karma system, which will change how players are perceived by NPCs. All of these reasons and more are why fans think this is genuinely one of the greatest Fallout entries because of how the world can change based on their choices.
Final Fantasy 14
Infinite Possibilities
Final Fantasy 14
- Released
- August 27, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen - Language, Mild Blood, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
Players can subscribe to Final Fantasy 14 and have it quickly become their forever game. It’s an MMO set within an open world that is constantly growing each time Final Fantasy 14 drops new expansions or even small updates with collaborative events. Players can create their character, choose a race and a starting class, or Job as they are called in the series.
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Players can multi-class, too, so they are never strictly committed to one Job, but seeing one Job through to the end will have different outcomes with specific story events. The game doesn’t feature a dynamic branching storyline, but new Jobs and where players begin in the world can cause a great shift in perspective if players decide to start with a new character.
Minecraft
A Randomized World
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Minecraft will literally change every time players start a new game, as the open-world areas are all randomized. Players can choose to have a specific area to explore in Minecraft if they have a SEED from another player, but ultimately, half the fun of the game is the randomness.
It’s a toy box wherein players can do whatever they want without any narrative distraction. They can choose their goal, be it digging as far as they can underground, or scavenging for materials above ground to build a vast kingdom block by block, either alone or with friends.
No Man’s Sky
A New Flight Plan
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
No Man’s Sky is similar to Minecraft, except that players can visit different worlds via their spaceship. Planets are infinite and will procedurally generate themselves during each playthrough as players explore the universe.
It’s another game where players have to find their own fun, as planets can be a bit barren, and there isn’t a grand storyline to follow. Players can land on a planet and scan for flora or fauna, or decide to set up a homestead and build it however they like. It’s a chill game, even though there is technically more to do in No Man’s Sky, in terms of both exploration and combat, than there is in Minecraft.
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