CD Projekt Red was a company that most people considered to be one of the greatest AAA studios of all time, and it’s easy to see why this was the case at one point — the company started from exceedingly humble beginnings in the form of the very firstWitchertitle, a game that showed a ton of promise but not really a ton of polish. So, to see such a fledgling game studio end up wowing fans all over the globe with the release ofThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntwas an extremely cathartic moment for most gamers in general.
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There aren’t really that many open-world games that capture the magic ofThe Witcher 3all that well — after all, not many games can deliver the same level of excellence when it comes to the story, world design, gameplay, combat, characters, and everything else along the same lines. However, the following ten games do come pretty close in this regard.
In terms of open-world games with excellent stories, it goes without saying thatRed Dead Redemption 2deserves a mention for obvious reasons.
Rockstar truly went above and beyond the call of duty to develop one of the greatest titles the studio has ever produced, featuring a brilliant tale and an amazing open-world that willdefinitely keep fans occupiedall the way to the very end.
9Grand Theft Auto V
Of course, it would be impossible to bring up a brilliant open-world title without mentioning what is easily one of the most popular and important titles in the company’s history.Grand Theft Auto Vwas a landmark title for the series that ended up pushing the boundaries of gaming itself to a whole new level.
While most people generally tend to focus on the online aspect of things when it comes toGrand Theft Auto V, the fact of the matter is thatthe single-player experience is one-of-a-kindand something that no gamer should miss out on.
8Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Hideo Kojima’s exit from Konami was an extremely controversial one, but one thing that fans can be happy about is the fact that he went out with a bang.The Phantom Painis easily one of the greatest games in the series and serves as a fitting — albeit slightly disappointing — conclusion to the story ofMetal Gear.
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The sheer amount of freedom people have in exploring the open world and tackling missions is amazing, and goes to show just how amazing these games could’ve been if Kojima was allowed to work without being pushed down by the decisions of the higher-ups at Konami.
7Fallout: New Vegas
Out of all the games in the modern iterations of theFalloutseries, one can easily say thatNew Vegashas the best story and characters of the lot. Obsidian Entertainment clearly brought their A-game to this title, featuringan amazing narrativeand some of the most memorable moments in gaming history.
While the game’s release was marred with its fair share of bugs, mods and fan-made patches can definitely fix this experience quite a bit and allow players to enjoy one of the greatest open-worldFalloutgames of all time.
6Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
While the story ofDragon’s Dogmamight not necessarily be its strongest point, the game certainly accomplishes everything else it sets out to do with the utmost finesse.
The combat of the game is stellar — after all, Capcom certainly know how to make the combat in their games infinitely enjoyable — and the world is packed to the brim with interesting places to explore, making for an enjoyable title that will keep fans entertaining throughout their journey for upwards of 40 hours… and that’s not even taking into consideration the extra content in this enhanced version!
5Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
The latest entry in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise is something that most people wrote off due to Ubisoft’s less-than-stellar reputation of crafting uninteresting open-world titles, which is quite a shame sinceAssassin’s Creed Valhallais genuinely an interesting title that no fan of excellent open-world titles should miss out on.
Gamers wanted a Viking-themedAssassin’s Creedtitle for the longest time, andValhalladefinitely doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Of course, it helps that the visual design of the title is strikingly similar toThe Witcher 3as well.
4Dying Light
Dying Lightis a game that slowly but surely rose up the ranks as an interesting open-world title that players would definitely enjoy… especially if they loved games likeMirror’s Edgeand wanted more games to adopt the parkour system in that title.
Zombie games might be something that most gamers are tired of, but it’s the deft manner in whichDying Lightintegrates all its other mechanics in the title that make for an experience that is both unique and enjoyable.
It’s no wonder why people are hyped to the moonfor the sequel.
3Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Warhorse Studios definitely didn’t pull any punches when it came to developing their first-ever game — an ambitious open-world title that truly hammered in the sense of realism and desperation associated with its medieval setting. The end result was a brilliant game by the name ofKingdom Come: Deliverance.
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WhileKingdom Come: Deliverancedidn’t really release to unanimous praise — namely due to the slew of bugs that plagued the title upon release — there’s no denying the fact that Warhorse Studios put in everything they had into this brilliant open-world title, which is definitely an enjoyable experience one people end up getting into the title.
2The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Breath of the Wildis considered by many to be one of the greatest and most open-world titles of all time, and the fact that modern games are trying their hardest — and failing — to capture the magic that made this game so special is a testament tojust how amazing this title really is.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildends up reinventing a franchise that was stuck between a rock and a hard place for quite some time, modernizing the series for a new generation of gamers who can’t wait to see what the franchise has in store for them now.
1The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
In terms of open-world titles that invoke a sense of awe when it comes to the exploration itself, nothing comes close to the brilliance ofThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Bethesda’s reputation was definitely at an all-time high whenSkyrimwas launched, allowing gamers to experience a masterful display of open-world design coupled with some truly memorable moments that would stick with players long after they’ve completed this open-world title… that is,if they ever manage to reach the ending.
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