Support NeoGAF

[Punished Miku]

For me will always will be Gravity Rush. The game has one of the best traversal in open world game and amazing world which is just joy to fly around and explore.

This was almost top of my list as well.

You literally have a city in the clouds. You have to straight up fall at max speed for a couple minutes to travel between the verticality in some of these areas. And you go underground as well.

 

[Woggleman]

I still don't understand how San Andreas is not even on the list. The game was an instant classic and has almost universal love when it came out.

 

[Danjin44]

This was almost top of my list as well.

You literally have a city in the clouds. You have to straight up fall at max speed for a couple minutes to travel between the verticality in some of these areas. And you go underground as well.

Free falling in this game is soooooo fun!

 

[iJudged]

first of all, fuck ign, #2...that's like, your opinon, mannnnnnnnnn

My #1? Personally, Morrowind. It blew my mind at the time.

 

[Manstructiclops]

Gothic 2's Khorinis is better than all that shite.

 

[BEERBEER]

We've put together a list of our favorite open worlds in gaming. It's worth noting that this isn't a list of IGN's Best Open-World Games™, but rather our favorite worlds in and of themselves - whether they're made up of miles of untamed wilderness, countless blocks of urban sprawl or fall somewhere in-between, these are the top 10 video game open worlds.

10) 0:33 SunsetOverdrive 09) 1:19 Horizon Zero Dawn 08) 1:50 Far Cry 4 07) 2:16 Watch Dogs 2 06) 2:47 Assassin's Creed Black Flag 05) 3:22 Skyrim 04) 4:11 Witcher 3 03) 4:52 Red Dead Redemption 2 02) 5:27 Zelda Breath of the Wild 01) 6:12 GTA V

Sandbox or OPEN OPEN ?

 

[BlackProdigy]

Sunset Overdrive was really good

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Tschumi]

I have to say... those games are all too recent for this to really feel like an 'all time' list...

Morrowind. I don't think you can really go past Morrowind... it's the grand-daddy... All subsequent open world games have followed on a number of things Morrowind first implemented... I know games came before Morrowind, but Morrowind was the first fully 3D one, etc, that I can think of... It had some problems... But to be honest I think the biggest problem with Morrowind is its UI, control, and character movement, not its world... I love the Vvanderfell of that game and its expansions more than any other land in TES.

 

[crozier]

Needs more The Saboteur.

 

[Deanington]

I have to say... those games are all too recent for this to really feel like an 'all time' list...

Morrowind. I don't think you can really go past Morrowind... it's the grand-daddy... All subsequent open world games have followed on a number of things Morrowind first implemented... I know games came before Morrowind, but Morrowind was the first fully 3D one, etc, that I can think of... It had some problems... But to be honest I think the biggest problem with Morrowind is its UI, control, and character movement, not its world... I love the Vvanderfell of that game and its expansions more than any other land in TES.

Yep, truly ahead of its time (also dagerfall) and the exploration was off the charts too, especially for a single player game. Bethesda still cant even replicate what that game has done.

 

[teokrazia]

No Shadow of Chernobyl.
Joke list.

 

[prag16]

GTA5 #1 is batshit. It's probably not even in the top 5 of GTAs. Well maybe it's fifth.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[SkylineRKR]

I prefer the Sony open worlds. They aren't as huge as GTA V or Skyrim, but they also aren't bloated. They're fun to traverse (in the case of Tsushima with its horse controls, Days Gone with bike controls) and not full with Ubisoft filler quests. I have platinum trophies for DG, Tsushima and Spiderman because they're fun to 100%.

 

[regawdless]

Glad to see Watch Dogs 2 there. Loved the world, it was very well done.

 

[WildBoy]

I found all the shrines too.

Exploration for exploration's sake isn't as fun when you already who know you're going to "explore" before you start. 99% of the time it was another shrine with a very very similar gameplay loop. Even the dungeons felt like big shrines in terms of their sameness. The gameloop was fun to start but it gets very very repetitive. I'd rather a linear game with less exploration if the idea of exploration is an empty wilderness with a tower and shrines that all play so similar you realize how similar they are after the third or fourth one.

The towers and map feature killed that very sense of map exploration and turned exploring into looking for destinations that you could check off a list. A list they give you. Removing towers actually probably would've improved the exploration game mechanic way more in my opinion.

But for you to downplay the Witcher 3 which is heralded for its open world design and being full of life and to prop up BOTW which received criticism for its open world design and there has been a lot said about its emptyness is a bit surprising. If anything, you could critique the combat of Witcher 3 and its depth but seeing how BOTW's combat also suffers from the sameness feel after the first few hours of the gameplay loop, I can understand not wanting to bring it up. Especially since nothing in Witcher 3 compares to the weapons degradation mechanic in BOTW. Stunning to consider that game anywhere near the top 10 all-time with such a massive flaw in a core game design.

I cannot think of a single instance in my time with BOTW that compares to finding random quests and/or encounters in the woods or wilderness of Witcher 3. Zero. Never mind the writing and character development in the Witcher 3 compared to BOTW (especially the ending, don't get me started on the end of BOTW). If the content a game can point to for being open world is a laundry list of towers/shrines to discover that turn out to be almost the exact same as the previous one and will be almost the exact same as the next one and you want to herald that as content then be my guest.

Roach > Epona

Edit: Not to get in an argument, to each their own. But to downplay Witcher 3 is a bit laughable in my opinion. Cheers, game on, you do your thing.

The Witchers design is awful in comparison to Breath of the Wilds... It's no contest at all... Breath of the wild has way more interesting landmarks than Witcher did. Witcher 3 also isn't fun to play at all. It's just interesting. Which is fair if you want to read a book while you play a game. None of the two shall meet for me. Breath of the world is a masterpiece beyond comparison yet you struggle to make them. It's sad you could not enjoy it as much as others. To be lost on the sense of beauty, majesty and mystery breath of the wild provides. I couldn't Imagine it. Meanwhile Witcher 3 brought me out of the experience constantly with its modern writing in an old time... Red light district? Really CDPR... Puzzles are also way more complicated to make than a series of stories and enemy encounters. Making puzzles no one has ever seen before in videogames is a incredible. Witcher 3 actually sucks. It everyone needed validation for the PC they just got...

 

[rofif]

It's gta iv and they are wrong

 

[Topher]

The Witchers design is awful in comparison to Breath of the Wilds... It's no contest at all... Breath of the wild has way more interesting landmarks than Witcher did. Witcher 3 also isn't fun to play at all. It's just interesting. Which is fair if you want to read a book while you play a game. None of the two shall meet for me. Breath of the world is a masterpiece beyond comparison yet you struggle to make them. It's sad you could not enjoy it as much as others. To be lost on the sense of beauty, majesty and mystery breath of the wild provides. I couldn't Imagine it. Meanwhile Witcher 3 brought me out of the experience constantly with its modern writing in an old time... Red light district? Really CDPR... Puzzles are also way more complicated to make than a series of stories and enemy encounters. Making puzzles no one has ever seen before in videogames is a incredible. Witcher 3 actually sucks. It everyone needed validation for the PC they just got...

Opinions though. I didn't care for Breath of the Wild at all. A lot of people disagree. I thought Witcher 3 was brilliant. A lot of people disagree. It is ok. It gets weird when the conversation seems to move into the realm of "your opinion is not ok".

 

[WildBoy]

Opinions though. I didn't care for Breath of the Wild at all. A lot of people disagree. I thought Witcher 3 was brilliant. A lot of people disagree. It is ok. It gets weird when the conversation seems to move into the realm of "your opinion is not ok".

That's fair. Opinions such as shrines are exactly the same is just wrong and factually inaccurate. Like me saying every enemy in Witcher 3 is the same. They are not. And to say Witcher 3 is not a list of things to do... Lol you can leave the plateau in breath of the wild and fight Ganon immediately. Witcher 3 is a series of quests to get there. That's freedom that Witcher 3s facade of freedom can not give you. Also if we talking bout repetition.. There is almost none in breath of the wilds quests... They all have different goals and actions. Witcher sense plus follow a path in Witcher 3 is used at nauseam and results in pressing X to hear dialogue and follow the path. The only repetition is Zelda is artistic design/enemy design... The rest is entirely optional. But yeh we shall agree to disagree.

 

[Starfield]

Skyrim alone will give you more content than any of these games

 

[Halo0629]

Meh botw has too many dull and empty spaces.

 

[DelireMan7]

For me will always will be Gravity Rush. The game has one of the best traversal in open world game and amazing world which is just joy to fly around and explore.

I was never really interested in Gravity Rush games. Once I try a demo of one of them(don't remember which one), it felt interesting but no enough for my taste at that time.

Now these GIFs really pick my interest. I'll check a bit more these games

 

[Lethal01]

And why not wait until the end of the year, surely CP2077 could squeeze in somewhere?

WHEEZE

 

[HotPocket69]

Glad to see Watch Dogs 2 there. Loved the world, it was very well done.

Yeah, too bad it’s one of weakest, dumbest and most forgettable sequels of all time.

 

[D.Final]

There's a lot of them

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Hendrick's]

MSFS is the literal beat open world.

 

[kyussman]

I see Death Stranding,one of the few open world games that actually makes it's world and your place in it key to the whole experience....is nowhere to be seen.Not enough bandit camps to clear I guess,lol.
.....also,I've just finished Skyrim the other day and 99% of everything you do in that game takes place below the ground,lol.....for such a big open world and all the fuss that's made about that game the open world bit is essentially pointless.

 

[martino]

Plz biomutant be the fresh thing i hope you to be.

 

[Bogey]

Controversial opinion: World of warcraft (classic) is missing.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[mxbison]

Controversial opinion: World of warcraft (classic) is missing.

I don't think that's controversial at all. It should easily be Top 5 on any open world ranking.

 

[Reality Czar]

I still don't understand how San Andreas is not even on the list. The game was an instant classic and has almost universal love when it came out.

Yeah looking at that list, it's weak as fuck. Like Skyrim is a better open world than SA? GTFO.

I've been replaying GTA:SA and it is king of the hill. All the variety alone puts it up at the top. You have your inner city LA stuff. You have your rural country stuff. You have a mini recreation of San Francisco. You have the desert and mountains with preppers and top secret government shit. You have the entire city of Los Vegas complete with casinos you can buy. On top of that you can enter so many buildings, gyms, houses, restaurants, etc. The breadth and width of the game is still stunning.

It doesn't get any better. By the time you get back to Grove Street and you are a multi millionaire with a jetpack, you really feel the conclusion of that epic journey.

That's what an open world is all about to me. Delivering that epic feel.

 

[Retinoid]

What a fucking terrible list. No Gothic? Skyrim on the list at all, and no Morrowind? Also, having ANY Ubisoft game listed in a "top open worlds" ranking is a joke. They are the absolute worst company at designing interesting open worlds. Really, looking at this list just makes me realize how out of touch I am compared with contemporary opinion on what constitutes a good open world; all of these games would not be on my top 10 list.