The Witcher 3 is widely considered to be one of the best open-world games of all time. That title comes from the expansive world to explore, the compelling character designs, and the constant narrative branching that makes every quest, no matter how small, feel impactful. Even though the game is well over a decade old at this point, it remains a talking point both in the open-world space and the wider gaming landscape, as a perfect example of how to do video game storytelling right. But despite the acclaim and praise, there are a few open-world games that manage to nail the story side of things just a bit harder.
10 Perfect Open-World Games That Never Stop Surprising You
Discover 10 open-world games that keep surprising players with immersive worlds and unpredictable gameplay
It is hard to deliver a cohesive narrative over the course of an extensive playthrough, as players can easily spend dozens of hours absorbing content, so the threads holding everything together need to be pretty damn solid throughout. However, that high bar has been cleared several times over from games all over the open-world spectrum, whether it be futuristic tales of revenge, old-western adventures across beautiful landscapes, or even a few outliers that have carved out a box of their own within the genre. These games manage to transcend traditional expectations surrounding storytelling and enter a new dimension where characters feel more alive and narrative arcs begin and end with a sense of perfection that has only been achieved by the very best.
Cyberpunk 2077
Exploring Identity And Morality With A Whole New Light
Details:
- Greater differentiation between paths
- Side plots with more fleshed-out conclusions
Coming from the same studio as The Witcher 3, it was almost a guarantee that Cyberpunk 2077 was going to deliver an experience at least on par with it. But when the game finally launched, the story proved to be even better, taking players on a deeply personal, character-driven story that excels in emotional intimacy and has a clear thematic focus right from the start. Where Geralt’s journey is rooted in political upheaval within a fantasy world, Cyberpunk narrows its lens to identity, mortality, and the cost of survival in a corporate-driven dystopian world.
8 Open-World Games That Don’t Know When to End (In a Good Way)
Whenever players think the game is almost over, these titles find surprising ways to prove them wrong.
The supporting cast elevates the storytelling even further, with characters like Panam, Judy, and River not being simple quest-givers, but meaningful pieces of the puzzle that all intersect with the main narrative at different points in time. Player choices also shape these relationships in subtle, long-lasting ways that dramatically alter the tone and conclusion of the story. And in the end, the multiple conclusions each reflect their own philosophical stances on freedom and sacrifice, making the narrative feel not only ethically complex but also tailored to each individual's own perception of the world.
Red Dead Redemption 2
If There Ever Was A Perfect Story
Details:
- Epic narrative spanning countless interactions and twists
- More grounded focus on humanity
Red Dead Redemption 2 tells one of the most powerful narrative arcs in all of gaming, sending players on a transformative journey that will leave them mentally altered once completed. Arthur Morgan’s evolution from loyal enforcer to selfless hero never feels rushed at any point, and instead, his character slowly transitions over longer stretches of dialogue and pinnacle moments within the plot, allowing players to witness every stage of his moral reckoning.
The narrative is heavily grounded in intimate character interactions and quiet conversations that can often be even more revealing than the larger cutscenes. The Van der Linde gang is not just a collection of random characters with misaligned backstories, but a living, breathing family full of personal tragedies and failures. This level of depth just simply doesn't exist in The Witcher 3, and the culmination of all those conversations results in a devastating yet thematically perfect ending that is revered by many as a crowning achievement in the video game world.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
Bridging The Gap Between Fiction And Reality
Details:
- Immersive environments and moments that focus heavily on realism
- Personal growth that feels more intimate over the course of a playthrough
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 returns players to breathtaking medieval Bohemia, immersing them in an environment that is driven by historical realism rather than fantasy elements. Its story is not driven by prophecies, magic, or legendary beings, but by more realistic themes of class conflict and personal survival in a brutal and unforgiving world. Every quest, rivalry, and betrayal is rooted in believable human motivations rather than grander destinies, and players will constantly find themselves pausing to reflect on a specific moment or interaction to fully appreciate the perfection of the storytelling.
Where Geralt navigates kingdoms as a legendary outsider, Kingdom Come places players in the vulnerable position of an ordinary man navigating traditional social hierarchies in the midst of war. Also, because the narrative and action are much slower and more gradual, smaller decisions quickly become the most important, as things move at a natural pace that never rushes things further than needed. And, because the world itself feels more believable and real, the emotions hit harder than ever before, giving players a true emotional ride from start to finish.
Death Stranding
Reading Between The Lines
Details:
- Exploring darker themes through more cryptic reveals
- Abstract presentation of grand ideas around isolation and human connections
Death Stranding is a game that is pretty hard to describe, with a story that's even more abstract. At its core, it tells a story about human connections in the midst of isolation, but the narrative explores so many different sides of humanity that it is hard to cover them all without getting lost. It also explores society through a much more mature lens, relying on metaphors to guide players through a bleak tale that encourages players to think and ask a lot more questions than it chooses to answer.
These 10/10 Open-World Games All Have Overwhelmingly Positive Steam Reviews
These open-world games are best in class according to audiences on Steam, where they have overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Hideo Kojima’s storytelling is dense with symbolism, but it is anchored by deeply human characters that guide players throughout every dream-like sequence and moment of despair, carried by both the exceptional writing but also the incredible performances of every actor involved. The narrative even branches out into the mechanics of the game itself, like the asynchronous multiplayer where players unknowingly assist one another through shared structures and deliveries, turning the basic act of working together into a powerful storytelling device. It is anything but a traditional story, yet that lack of conformity is what gives it an edge and ensures it leaves a lasting impact on the player long after the credits roll.
Outer Wilds
Unraveling A Mystery One World At A Time
Details:
- Failures become the main source of progression
- Inner meaning found through subtlety over explicit pieces of dialogue
Outer Wilds takes players on an innovative narrative journey that transforms the act of discovery into the very thing that guides the story forward. There are no quest markers or simple dialogue trees, only the player's own desire to see and explore more of each world and to slowly uncover the mystery behind the looping solar system. And rather than presenting players with clear paths to follow or NPCs to track, the narrative unfolds through environmental clues found in ancient ruins, and fragmented recordings that can be found scattered everywhere, forcing players to engage with each location in a more intimate and organic way.
Meaning becomes the main piece of discussion throughout the game, with players wrestling with their own lack of understanding of their place in the universe and the role they play in saving the collapse of entire planets. It's a story not about saving kingdoms or defeating giant beasts, but one of confronting loss and the fleeting nature of existence, two things which are incredibly difficult topics to tackle within such a contained experience. The final discoveries reframe every previous loop with devastating clarity, and after countless hours spent piecing together finer clues and hints, players are met with a somber conclusion that delivers in every way possible, whilst still being equally unexpected.
8 Open-World Games That Can Be Called Masterpieces
Immerse yourself in the best open-world games that have set new standards in storytelling, worldbuilding, and gameplay.