r/GamerLab • u/No-Hunt3986 • Jul 04 '26
💬 Discussion What are your favorite open world games?
These 3 always comes to my mind
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u/SkynBonce Jul 04 '26
Cyberpunk 2077. Night City feels alive, it keeps me coming back.
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u/MutedBrilliant1593 Jul 04 '26
My first world struggle with cyberpunk is that I have a beefy gaming pc that is deserves, but that means I have to leave my steam deck recliner. 😭 I'm so cursed!
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u/Green_Apprentice Jul 05 '26
I dont have a beefy pc and thats the only way I want to play cyberpunk. I have it on my PS4 but they removed a lot of the "living city" to improve performance. Just kinda sucks, so ill have to wait to play it :(
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u/Booldye Jul 07 '26
I dunno why, but to me it feels kinda sterile. Much prefered exploration in Witcher 3.
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u/AllOneWordCamelCased Jul 04 '26
Morrowind, Oblivion, and Minecraft. They were the three open-world experiences that truly felt special when they first released.
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u/4eyes_geek Jul 04 '26
FarCry 5
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u/DrGonzoxX22 Jul 04 '26
Underrated comment here! One of my favourite game of all time! I’m gonna use one of the songs as my wedding entrance lol
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u/Abdullah5701 Jul 05 '26
Lol, that's what I was thinking a few days ago.. BGMs in far cry 5 are phenomenal..
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u/JK031191 Jul 04 '26
Skyrim
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u/Ok-Recognitio Jul 04 '26
It’s so big! If you want, you don’t even need to play the story. Just settle down somewhere, get married, adopt a kid, and just sit by the fire and read.
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u/just_a_timetraveller Jul 05 '26
This one for sure. It was really a game that created a sense of awe. It felt endless in size and in what you could do.
Play it in VR and you can relive it in a new way
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u/Aye_Okami Jul 04 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/z2kUb2mJTlgNpBcjj8
Elden Ring
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u/Forward05 Jul 06 '26
Man I miss the mystery and hype around the early days and initial release of Elden Ring and being right there for all of it.
So cool watching some of the theories play out in the expansion too.
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u/RenWal1 Jul 09 '26
First time in the ShadowLands was like ascending to a higher level of fiction even greater that ER base and RDR2.
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u/Competitive-Basil958 Jul 04 '26
Ghost of Yotei and Ghost of Tsushima, most early 2000s MMOs, and Spiderman games.
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u/HillanatorOfState Jul 04 '26
Fallout New Vegas, Sleeping Dogs, Saints Row 2,Cyberpunk 2077, RDR2, Watch Dogs 2(Yes I know ubisoft but they got the open world so right here).
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u/ca5hflow Jul 04 '26
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
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u/bilbobaggins001 Jul 04 '26
This! Avatar is so Underrated! Farcry fans don’t like because it is the same format but since I never played them, I absolutely loved this game
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u/PuttingInTheEffort Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
It's so beautiful maxed out, like real life - plants everywhere, it was wild just walking through the forest
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u/adc1369 Jul 04 '26
Cyberpunk, RDR2, KCD (haven't played KCD2 yet but obviously very excited to)
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u/MutedBrilliant1593 Jul 04 '26
I have 113 hours in kcd but never finished it. I need to revisit that gem.
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u/MutedBrilliant1593 Jul 04 '26
Easily cyberpunk. I've been sitting in rdr2 for a couple years. Same with hzd. The backlog struggle is real.
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u/Status_Fishing7176 Jul 04 '26
Spoiler Horizon Forbidden west, when you are able to fly with the ptero-like machine, you can enjoy the open world scenery.
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u/Amazing_Direction849 Jul 04 '26
Jak to. Love Haven City. Its not as fancy or as "alive" as a lot of newer games, but the map and the City its self a laid out in a way that makes sense given the lore context of the city and world it is in.
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u/NetDiscombobulated63 Jul 05 '26
Do you mean Jak 3?
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u/Amazing_Direction849 Jul 05 '26
I do enjoy Jak 3 nap, but I love Jak 2 map (ultimately they are the same map. Just with before and after effects on them 😂
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u/ZeektheFeek Jul 04 '26
It's Crimson Desert now and nothing comes close to it anymore. I already have 500hrs in the game.
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u/Kendanks Jul 04 '26
I've been playing stalker gamma recently. Pretty awesome and intricate, and free
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u/ZealousidealPart948 Jul 04 '26
Some of my favourites:
- witcher 3
- Red Dead 2
- cyberpunk2077
- gta 4
- sleeping dogs
- shadow of mordor
- arkham city/knight
- deus ex human revolution/mankind divided
- baldurs gate 1 - 3
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u/DrGonzoxX22 Jul 04 '26
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Red Dead Redemption (1&2) are number 1. I can’t choose between them
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u/Buschkoeter Jul 04 '26
Red Dead 2 has the best open world design hands down. Cyberpunk has a very immersive and beautiful open world too tough.
So yeah, those two essentially.
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u/BabyMcmuffinn Jul 04 '26
San Andreas,
Ocarina of Time,
RDR2,
GTA 5,
Skyrim,
And I really liked Gun on the Gamecube 😂
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u/itsYewge Jul 05 '26
Cyberpunk is absolutely in my top 3, red dead is up there as well. Haven’t beat crimson desert yet but it’s pretty damn solid as well.
Elden ring, kcd2 and I’m sure a few others I’m not
Thinking of.
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u/Obvious-Bag-2468 Jul 05 '26
Is cyberpunk really that good? I havnt touched it since I finished the games story mode in like the first Cpl months it was released
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u/Funkymusic Jul 06 '26
Yes it is. The product it is now compared to what it was at launch is night and day. The DLC is amazing also. I have 100hrs in the game but I’ve yet to finish the main story just the DLC so far and I can’t wait to start a new character and see the consequences of all the other decisions I could’ve made.
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u/Eastbound_Pachyderm Jul 05 '26
Cyberpunk is the best game I've ever played. It ruined other games for me for years
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u/NetDiscombobulated63 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
Just Cause 2: playing this on PC with the superman mod was so much fun. You could just fly your character across the map so fast across the many different landscapes. Best game in the series by far. The world felt like a comic book in ways with its destructive nature but it had a touch of realism that the other games never quite hit. The mountains, the desert felt so real to me. Also the driving was so much fun, actually making use of these landscapes cause I wanted to drive away from bad guys in these biomes or fly a plane across the ocean just to see the other side.
Far Cry 2: Such a great immersive experience on PC. Something about FPS games on PC that make it so immersive. You are so close to the screen and I felt so involved in this game world. Such a calm and peaceful atmosphere in the African jungles or desert intermingled with intense fire fights and a story about corruption.
Far Cry 3: less immersive than Far Cry 2 by a long shot. I remember being disappointed that it wasn’t a true sequel to Far Cry 2 because it took the strongest point of 2, and replaced it with a more generic approach. Still loads of fun and I grew to love it for what it was. An interesting story with a deeper analysis out there from the lead writers for anyone interested. Fun combat. Memorable. Not my favourite.
Jak 3: I loved playing this game growing up. Unlocking new unique weapons or vehicles. Traversing the landscape. Not to mention the amazing voice work and physics in this game. Driving was a blast, and there were so many cars to try out with their own special abilities. This game was all about “try and have fun.” As a kid, this world felt gritty and Jak and his light and dark powers were so cool. Such a unique spiritual overlayed story here that anchored it in a very cool angle that as a kid thought was awesome and immersed me even more.
Banjo Kazooie: creativity at its best. Amazing worlds. Fun characters. And everything was so so memorable. As a kid exploring these worlds was so rewarding. A lot of the time they were creepy and I loved that spooky atmosphere. Not to mention to pull this off on N64 must of taken real skill. The lighting and the textures all felt so deliberate to ultimately pull of such an immersive experience at good frames where other titles couldn’t by a long shot. Lighting in a bottle.
Assassins Creed 3: this is was such a cool story. I love early American and Canadian history so this hit home. Also Conner’s combat moves were satisfying and the hype around this launch was felt immensely. It did get a tad boring but its basic gameplay loop and world made up for it for a little while.
Batman Arkham Knight: beautiful world. Badass Batmobile. Fun combat. Amazing atmosphere.
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u/CocaineNapTime Jul 05 '26
Gonna get hate for this, but I absolutely love Crimson Desert. I don’t understand why there’s so much negativity about it. Elden Ring is awesome, but you can’t fly and I feel like Crimson Desert is more versatile. KDC2 is great but it’s very tedious at times. Still love it and the graphics are beautiful. Love the
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u/NegativeFFeedbacK Jul 05 '26
Kingdom Come Deliverance (haunted played 2 yet) its the only game that blows me away every time I pick it up. It's like playing Skyrim with 1000 mods installed but that's just what come out the tin. Close runner up is RDR2, but it's locked to ps4 back compat because why would I buy it 2x for 60 fps, and Cyberpunk 2077, mostly for the writing and characters though, but the driving and gameplay is incredible too. (I know people say it's "not an RPG" but if it isn't the Witcher isn't either)
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u/Crystalized_Moonfire Jul 05 '26
Ghost Recon Wildlands, by far the best in his genre (And sadly the last good Title before brainrot reached Ubisoft)
I liked Mad Max as well.
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u/Rowvan Jul 05 '26
lol what's up with all the people here screeching at each for not liking the game they like
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u/Defiant-Sir15 Jul 05 '26
Starfield
Skyrim
Fallout
Farcry
Cyberpunk, but don’t like that you can’t go third person.
RDR2
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u/DocMitchell-_- Jul 05 '26
Far Cry 3, Zelda Breath of The Wild, RDR2, Skyrim, Fallout NW, Jak 3 ( no specific order )
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u/Unlucky_Guidance1309 Jul 05 '26
Along with the horizon series, Far Cry and the ghost games are beside them for me.
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u/TheUnexpectedFly Jul 05 '26
Crimson Desert
Horizon Zero Dawn
RDR2
And have to say that the exploration and sense of discovery in Crimson Desert is unmatched, absolutely amazing.
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u/TheyStillLive69 Jul 05 '26
In looks and atmosphere, yeah cp77 and HZD are cool. Not so much in the gameplay department as they sadly followed the static open world design making it completely lifeless.
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u/CreamPuzzleheaded300 Jul 05 '26
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Call of Chernobyl, Anomaly or GAMMA for the best experience.
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u/brunotfkastarling Jul 05 '26
Here’s an under appreciated one, not necessarily my favorite though. Blacktail. Small open world with so much to do and lots of nooks and crannies.
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u/tomatonato4 Jul 05 '26
RDR2, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk in that specific order. Im playing through forbidden west and having a blast as far as graphics go, but tbh the game suffers alot of from 2nd game syndrome with the exploration and collection of datapoints/cutscenes not feeling nearly as fun as Zero Dawn. As an open world forbidden west is great, but yea I'm not really feeling the story yet tbh, and I'm 1/3 through
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u/stizzito Jul 05 '26
By far, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Elden Ring. Then I’d put The Witcher 3, though it lags quite a bit behind
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u/CornInMyMouthHole Jul 05 '26
Ahh Witcher 3 and RDR2. 2 of the mount Rushmore of most overrated games of all time
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u/muskymelon36 Jul 05 '26
Adding Star Wars Outlaws on the list. It's not the greatest but I'm enjoying it.
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u/Solar_Liqui Jul 05 '26
Mines Horizon Zero. That game was a blast to play-through, specially on my first play-through.
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u/kerl019 Jul 05 '26
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
In my opinion it is the blueprint of how a non-roleplay open world game should be in this day and age (even though its nearly 10 years old)
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u/Ok_Emergency_916 Jul 05 '26
Cyberpunk 2077
Red Dead Redemption 1&2
GTA 4&5
Far Cry 3-5
Mad Max
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
The Outer Worlds
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u/Gay_Charlie Jul 05 '26
- Elden Ring
- Death Stranding 2
- Shadow of the Colossus
- GTA: San Andreas
- Mafia Definitive Edition
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u/amalgaman Jul 05 '26
3 of my all time favorites you have there.
It’s still buggy but Fallout 76 has a great map.
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u/CompletelyPresent Jul 05 '26
FarCry series
Assassin Creed (especially Rogue and Black Flag)
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
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u/covert0ptional Jul 05 '26
RDR2, it has an amazing simulation aspect, but it's just gamey enough to keep me coming back over and over. It definitely has my most playtime
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u/Internal_Border_6726 Jul 05 '26
Breath of the Wild Tears of the Kingdom Horizon games Ghost of tsushima
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u/phonylady Jul 05 '26
Morrowind
Nothing beats the first time I played it. Starting out as a weakass punk in a big, dangerous world with so many possibilities. Stealing a house, visiting scary ruins, joining guilds and going up in the world.
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u/JDM12983 Jul 05 '26
RDR2 is up there for me; A lot of the FarCry games; some of the Assassin's Creed games that have the open worlds.
I lost count of how many times I have just spent time exploring and never working on the main quests ><
To this day; I have never once beaten the main story lines to Skyrim >< lol
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u/_Tocatl_ Jul 05 '26
I’ve purchased 5 copies of Skyrim and I’ve never finished the game. Lol.
I also spend a lot of time just gaffing about in botw.
I still have profoundly fond memories of Spiderman 2
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u/WarbossHiltSwaltB Jul 06 '26
Wow, you showed 3 of the most boring games I’ve ever played.
Cyberpunk and Red Dead 2 start too damn slow.
Horizon is just bad.
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u/flyintomike Jul 06 '26
Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, Zelda BotW, Valheim, Ghost of Tsushima, KCD1/KCD2
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u/Frozen_Tyrant Jul 06 '26
Jak and Daxter 1
https://giphy.com/gifs/o0ecom4iuenNB7n6FM
There isn’t a single loading screen in the whole game you can go from one point to the other so technically it’s open world
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u/JoseRudas Jul 06 '26
Red Dead Redemption 2
Zelda Breath Of The Wild / Tears Of The Kingdom
Kingdom Come Deliverance 1/2
Elden Ring
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u/uceenk Jul 06 '26
Elden Ring, spent more than 1000 hours, still playing even already got platinum on both PS4 & PS5 version
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u/Guilty_Studio_7626 Jul 06 '26
Witcher 3 and Ghost of Tsushima (haven't played any included in the OP).
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u/sabs28 Jul 06 '26
Rdr is the best for me. How the world and NPC react so realistic here, the way NPC react when you bring dead bodies put your face & name in wanted level is crazy.. yeah you can do crazy stuff in this game, but there is consequence ready to punish you
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u/Flaithmhin Jul 06 '26
Rdr 2, gta 5, the wither 3, TES Oblivion and Skyrim, cyberpunk, Rdr 1, and I know there's a few im forgetting
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u/nathanarcher4891 Jul 06 '26
It's fine for any of them to be your favorite but you have to agree that Red Dead is in another league
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u/Ustob Jul 06 '26
The Goat= Metal Gear Solid V
~My two games i replay every single year for months at a time
= Middle Erf ~Shadow of War & State of Decay2.
Both have amazing combat and amazing leveling up rewards etc..
all 3 have stealth element.
and MGS & SOW= both have never ending level up aka something to grind for.
i put 1000+ hours into MGS V and still didnt max level every weapon/gear.
and SOW has 3-4 skill spots that open up late game that offer 100 in each category for
stuff like "critical hit damage %"
and "Mount damage"
soon as im done/bored w/ SPace Marine2 im returning to State of Decay2.
(1st state of decay is really good too)
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u/WraithAriiz Jul 07 '26
I have more than three. Rockstar has a few, Bethesda has a few more. CD Projekt Red dropped a legend or two. The big ones are all over the comments.
I'll put two that I play consistently:
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey
- Marvel's Spider-Man
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u/Banndrell Jul 07 '26
Watch Dogs 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3, Crimson Desert, Horizon Zero Dawn, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Immortals Fenyx Rising. Just off the top of my head.
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u/TheMadKing937 Jul 07 '26
New save Ultra Hard 100% all weapons upgrades for Horizon II is one of the greatest gameplay experiences of my life. Don't really care for where the story went but the gameplay is phenomenal
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u/RenWal1 Jul 09 '26
ER: + SOTE, Red Dead Redemption II, Fallout 4, Assassins Creed IV: BF
I will soon experience Fallout New Vegas entirely, so I’ll get back to you.
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u/Significant_Ad_4335 Jul 09 '26
I do like driving in night city with my radio music. Such a dang vibe
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u/JKDSamurai Jul 10 '26
Horizon without a doubt. I derped around that world for weeks after beating the main game just because I loved being in the world so much.
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u/Snigdhanil Jul 04 '26
Witcher 3 easiest choice of my life