Starting with Grand Theft Auto 3, the series became synonymous with the word mayhem. Friends would come over just to drive around, or shoot cops to build their wanted level, and that was a satisfying controller-passing experience. Thanks to Grand Theft Auto 5, the options are even broader, thanks to the online element.
Open-World Games With Maps So Dense They Make GTA 5 Feel Empty
GTA 5's map is impressive, but when it comes to density, these open-world games are on a whole different level.
For anyone looking to have a little chaotic fun in a sandbox or open-world game, Grand Theft Auto 5 is king in terms of popularity. That doesn’t mean it is definitely THE best chaos simulator out there. Thanks to different powers, gameplay mechanics, vehicles, and more, players can have a lot more fun in these worlds.
Saints Row 4
Right Away, Mr. President
Saints Row 4
- Released
- August 20, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Open-World
The Saints Row series will always be compared to GTA, and while Saints Row 4 has a smaller map than GTA 5, it certainly makes better use of it.
Thanks to aliens coming to invade Earth, players, as the President of the United States, gain superpowers and can upgrade them accordingly, from freeze rays to super speed. This gives players more ways to destroy a town without resorting to using standard weapons, and taking down alien platoons as a superpowered President is certainly a unique experience.
Prototype
Ultimate Destruction
Prototype
- Released
- June 9, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
Prototype is also a superhero game, although it’s more like an anti-hero experience, akin to a game starring Venom, as the protagonist, Alex, has loose morals after being subjected to experimentation.
He can turn his arms into weapons, like big fists or blades, eat people whole to recover health and assume their identity, run up buildings with ease, and even glide. With this eclectic assortment of powers, players are poised to wreak havoc on the populace and military presence trying to take Alex down.
Crackdown
Collect The Orbs
Crackdown
- Released
- February 20, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Open-World
Crackdown sets players up with a superpowered cop trying to take down criminal factions around the city. Players start normally with guns and a small boost in their jumps, but the more orbs they collect, the stronger they become.
Hunting around the city can make players feel like Pac-Man, gobbling up orbs to fight the evil syndicates like ghosts. A fully powered-up cop can do a lot of good around the city, leaping around like an unbound frog, which is why the gameplay can be so addicting.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Jungle Beat
Donkey Kong Bananza
- Released
- July 17, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
DK’s shackles are set free in Donkey Kong Bananza as he can punch his way through anything. Players can freely dig through the ground or earth walls and even pick up rubble to use as weapons or surfboards, and it’s one of the easiest combat/traversal systems to learn.
Games With Gigantic Maps That Don’t Waste Your Time (Exploration Without Filler)
Get lost in these open-world adventures and forget you’re even playing a game thanks to how packed they are with content.
If players wanted, they could dig up an entire biome, leaving it as a husk of its former self. Thankfully, the earth will heal itself over time, so players cannot indefinitely impact the environment, which then allows players to do it all again.
Red Faction: Guerrilla
30 Seconds To Mars
Red Faction: Guerilla
- Released
- June 2, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
Donkey Kong Bananza would not exist without Red Faction: Guerrilla, which is also an open-world game with destructive tendencies. It takes place on Mars, where players are rebelling against their hierarchy. Players can use their trusty hammer to knock down buildings, or they can plant an explosive instead.
Either way, everything will break down with enough force, and it never gets old seeing tyranny fall or explode from such great heights. The planet in Red Faction: Guerrilla is less dense than GTA 5’s city, but players will be more motivated to find every enemy building that they can destroy.
Just Cause 2
Grappling With Success
Just Cause 2
- Released
- March 23, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Third-Person Shooter, Action
Players are sent in to help free the people from tyrannical rule in Just Cause 2. Blowing up bases is part of the main objective, and luckily, most bases have big tanks just waiting to be ignited.
Destroying a base and then getting away by using a grappling hook and glider combo to escape the army is like something out of an action movie. It can be tricky to get used to the grappling hook system, but with practice, players can start to feel more like James Bond instead of a random revolutionary.
Far Cry 6
Release The Gators Of War
Far Cry 6
- Released
- October 6, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
Far Cry 6 is also set within a country that is being ruled through exploitation, and players will be just as well-armed, if not more so, than Just Cause 2. Beyond an allotment of guns and explosives that can cut the army down to size, players can also get different backpacks.
One backpack has a missile launcher, which is great for taking out military convoys, for example. Also, players can gain animal companions to help their revolutionary path forward, from a dog with wheels to a crocodile, which was a nice inclusion for the Far Cry series.
Watch Dogs 2
Hack The Planet
Watch Dogs 2
- Released
- November 15, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action, Adventure
Watch Dogs 2 is set in San Francisco, and like the first game, it can be likened to a GTA-style city with similar landscapes and driving mechanics. What sets it apart is that players can hack nearly every piece of tech in the game.
8 Open-World Games With More Freedom Than GTA 5
GTA 5 is an important open-world game, but it has been surpassed in several areas, particularly in how much freedom the player has.
They can hack a car and cause it to create a distraction that the police will chase while players do something else. They can hack things like pipes to make them explode as well, or traffic lights. With just a simple phone, players can make the city do their bidding.
Mercenaries 2: World In Flames
Oh No, You Didn’t
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
- Released
- August 31, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Sandbox
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames starts with players on top of the world, but unfortunately, after they are betrayed by their employer, who usurped control of Venezuela, they are left for dead.
The game is especially a revenge quest wherein players have to rebuild their reputation and arsenal as a mercenary. The more missions they complete and the more chaos they create, the greater their arsenal can become, including gaining access to choppers, tanks, and AI goons that can join.
Teardown
Destroy The Voxels
Teardown
- Released
- April 21, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Drug Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Puzzle
Teardown can be thought of as Minecraft meets Red Faction: Guerrilla because it takes place in a world filled with high-resolution voxels, and everything can be destroyed in great detail. There is a story mode, but it’s more of a way to link missions together in different maps, containing objectives like destroying a house or stealing a car.
Everything players use can destroy a building, from a hammer to a gas tank to just driving a truck through a wall. Since the story is supremely light, this is the game for anyone who just wants a game to tear through, literally.
Open-World Innovations GTA 6 Should Include
From difficulty settings to replayable missions, GTA 6 is the perfect moment for Rockstar Games to add something new to its open-world franchise.