Open-world games let you explore massive maps at your own pace. You choose what to do and when to do it, which turns them into chill experiences.

Throughout decades of gaming, we played our fair share of open-world games. Bad ones can be easy to forget, but the good titles stick around for years to come.

In this article, you’ll find story-driven open world games with hundreds of hours of content. Each game here delivers a world worth exploring, and here’s all of them.

Elden Ring

Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2 (Soon)
Metacritic Score: 96/100
Playtime: 100-130 hours

FromSoftware took their Dark Souls formula and built it into an open world with Elden Ring. You get to play as a Tarnished warrior hunting demigods for their Great Runes to repair the shattered Elden Ring.

Elden Ring’s open-world features six massive regions, each controlled by a boss with distinct mechanics and attack patterns.

What Makes It Special:

George R.R. Martin crafted the world's backstory
Brutal but fair difficulty
Open world solves the frustration problem of Dark Souls
Combat depth

Memorable Moments:

Be ready to get humbled by the Tree Sentinel in the opening zone.
The first time you get to explore the Siofra River’s underground will be special.
Stormveil Castle's interconnected shortcuts will make you appreciate FromSoftware’s dungeon design.

Overall, Elden Ring is perfect for players who want a challenge-based progression with real rewards attached to exploration. The combat mechanics in Elden Ring also have a high skill ceiling, so getting better at it will feel extremely rewarding as you progress.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2
Metacritic Score: 92/100
Playtime: 100+ hours

CD Projekt Red adapted Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy novels into an open-world RPG with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. You play as Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter searching for his adopted daughter Ciri while the Nilfgaardian Empire wages war across the Northern Kingdoms.

The main quest involves tracking Ciri across multiple regions, but the side content steals the show in this one.

What Makes It Special:

Almost all side quests are engaging dark fantasy short stories with real consequences.
Investigation mechanics with Witcher contracts.
Two massive expansions add 15+ hours each (Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine).
A living economy where fish costs less near water and leather is cheaper in hunter territories.

Memorable Moments:

Be prepared to accidentally spend hours in side quests after stopping to help one villager. Such quests tend to be extremely engaging, where you get to clear monster dens and solve local problems.
Since every decision you make matters, some of the gray storylines in the game will challenge you morally.
Gwent became so popular that it launched as a standalone card game.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a legend in the open-world genre. It’s excellent for those valuing story quality over main quest structure, and anyone who treats side content as the real game.

Cyberpunk 2077

Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2
Metacritic Score: 86/100
Playtime: 60-100 hours

Cyberpunk 2077 is a dystopian open world. You play as V, a mercenary infected with a digital ghost of Johnny Silverhand, aka Keanu Reeves. The main quest forces you to find a cure while Johnny's personality slowly overwrites your own.

What Makes It Special:

Seven different endings shaped your choices and relationships.
Night City has six districts with different cultures, gangs, and visual styles.
Combat adapts to any playstyle.
Side missions range from detective work to emotional stories.

Memorable Moments:

Be mindful of the choices you make in the game as they’ll find their way back to you. A simple decision you made 25 hours ago can turn a firefight into a peaceful conversation.
Taking breaks from the city landscape to explore hidden forest cities below highways.
Hacking security cameras in buildings to ensure no one knows you were there.

You can spend hours or even days exploring Cyberpunk 2077’s open world. The game’s replayability level increased noticeably since its 2020 release, and it cemented itself as a must-play for players who value narrative choice and moral complexities.

Ghost of Yotei / Ghost of Tsushima

Available on: PS5 (Yotei) | PS4, PS5, PC (Tsushima)
Metacritic Score: 86/100 (Yotei), 83/100 (Tsushima PS5)
Playtime: 45-60 hours (Yotei), 46-63 hours (Tsushima)

You play as vengeful warriors in Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei. Tsushima's Jin Sakai defended his island in 1274. Yotei's Atsu hunts the Yotei Six across 1603 Ezo for murdering her family.

Besides the stunning open world and the engaging storylines, both games capture players with immersive katana combat mechanics. The stealth mechanics spread across the quests are quite well-done.

What Makes It Special:

Wind-guided navigation instead of a classic minimap.
Multiple visual modes including Kurosawa (black-and-white), Miike (gore-heavy), and Watanabe (lo-fi soundtrack).
Weapon variety in Yotei.

Memorable Moments:

Opening your first standoff at Komoda Beach will be special as you’ll need to land a perfect strike.
Dueling Khotun Khan aboard his flagship at Port Izumi as the Mongol invasion crumbles.
Inciting a prisoner rebellion inside Ishikari Castle before burning it down with Jubei in Yotei.

Those valuing skill-based combat alongside a vast open world are likely to fall in love with Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei at first sight. Both games nail the cinematic presentation too, so you’ll be immersing yourself with the most epic parts of Japan.

Baldur's Gate 3

Available on: Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, macOS
Metacritic Score: 96/100
Playtime: 120-180 hours

Baldur’s Gate 3 welcomes you with an overly detailed character creation screen. You start the game as a character whose mind is infected with a mind flayer parasite. Your party explores three massive act-based regions, hunting for a cure. Every choice affects your companions and the story.

What Makes It Special:

Semi-open world structure that divides exploration into three large acts
Turn-based D&D 5th edition combat
11 races and 12 classes with deep multiclassing options
Companion romance systems

Memorable Moments:

Challenging a zombie to a drinking contest and using your Constitution score to convince him to drink himself to death.
Infiltrating the House of Hope to confront Raphael, the Shakespearean devil who tried to manipulate you into a deal earlier.
Discovering the Nightsong is actually an imprisoned angel daughter of Selûne being drained as Ketheric Thorm's immortality engine.

Baldur’s Gate 3 may not be a fully open-world game, but the deep RPG storytelling combined with tactical combat makes it a solid choice for those with Dungeons & Dragons in their gaming resumes.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC. Also, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S via backward compatibility.
Metacritic Score: 97/100
Playtime: 85-200 hours

In Red Dead Redemption 2, you play Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in the Van der Linde gang during 1899 America. Your gang is on the run after a failed heist. Every mission pulls you deeper into Dutch van der Linde's desperate schemes as lawmen close in.

What Makes It Special:

The world reacts to you like no other game. NPCs follow daily schedules independent of your actions.
The honor system affects the story. You can help strangers and spare enemies for shop discounts and unique dialogue, or do the opposite to become an outlaw.
Animations force you to slow down. Arthur manually loots bodies instead of auto-collecting.

Memorable Moments:

Dutch feeding crime boss Angelo Bronte to an alligator in the Saint Denis bayou after Bronte double-crosses the gang.
Agent Milton reveals Micah Bell as the Pinkerton informant seconds before Abigail shoots Milton, there’s always a betrayal that will shock you even more.
The Saint Denis bank heist erupts into chaos when Pinkertons ambush the gang mid-robbery.

Open-world games tend to be slower compared to the rest, but RDR2 can truly be a slow-burn. There’s so much to do and complete in the game. Even after completing the story, you can spend 100 hours exploring parts of the map that you may have never been to before.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Available on: PS5, PC
Metacritic Score: 90/100
Playtime: 23-30 hours

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the most unique title within its franchise, as you get to control both Peter Parker and Miles Morales across a doubled New York map. The symbiote bonds with Peter, unlocking new powers while corrupting his judgment. The villain lineup also includes Kraven the Hunter, and the storyline serves as a great break from the Venom arc.

What Makes It Special:

Web wings let you glide through wind tunnels across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
You swap between Spider-Men instantly during free-roam.
Boss fights demand precise parry timing rather than button-mashing.

Memorable Moments:

Battling Sandman on your first day as a physics teacher.
Fighting the corrupted Peter at Kraven's fortress after the symbiote pushes him to nearly end Kraven in front of Miles.
Watching Harry transform into Venom in Times Square.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a dream come true for players who want refined superhero combat in New York that almost feels real-life-sized.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Available on: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Metacritic Score: 96/100
Playtime: 110-240 hours

Skyrim takes you to a magical world where you become the Dragonborn. You get to absorb dragon souls and use their language as weaponized shouts. Skyrim is the definition of modern age open world, and it spans across nine regions.

You battle dragons, join factions, and decide the outcome of a civil war.

What Makes It Special:

The perk system forms around how you play rather than forcing class choices.
Skills level through use, so casting fireballs increases Destruction, and crafting armor improves Smithing.
Dragons appear randomly in the world.
Each of Skyrim's 150 dungeons was designed by hand.

Memorable Moments:

Bargaining with a dragon for its freedom after trapping dragon Odahviing inside Dragonsreach's great hall.
Entering Sovngarde, the Nordic afterlife, while still alive.

Even after a decade, Skyrim is still the go-to game for players who want complete freedom to ignore the main story and disappear into faction questlines for hundreds of hours.

Fallout: New Vegas

Available on: PlayStation, Xbox, PC
Metacritic Score: 84/100
Playtime: 60-135 hours

Fallout: New Vegas is arguably one of the best games of its franchise. It excels at capturing that wasteland feeling. As you jump into the game, a delivery job goes wrong when someone shoots you in the head and buries you. You wake up and start tracking them down. Meanwhile, three factions fight over the Hoover Dam.

A lot is going on in Fallout: New Vegas, and all the action will guide you through the open-world wasteland.

What Makes It Special:

The faction system makes every choice create moral trade-offs.
Hardcore Mode adds survival mechanics into the mix.
Over 65,000 lines of dialogue set a Guinness World Record for single-player RPGs.

Memorable Moments:

Confronting Benny at the Tops Casino after unlocking Terrifying Presence lets you tell him, "I dug myself out of that grave to plant you in yours".
Having companion sniper Boone deliver the final shot to Caesar during the Fort assault triggers his revenge line.
Throwing General Oliver off Hoover Dam during the Independent ending skips all negotiation and literally hurls NCR leadership off a cliff.

This is the pick for anyone who binged the Fallout series and wants to explore the New Vegas setting with a vast open world.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

open-world games midnight club los angeles.jpg

Available on: PS3, Xbox (backward compatible, and PC (via emulators)
Metacritic Score: 81/100
Playtime: 35-55 hours

As our homage to open-world games, Midnight Club: Los Angeles remains the gold standard despite launching in 2008. While it's only playable today through Xbox backward compatibility, its design philosophy influenced every racing game that followed.

What Makes It Special:

The entire Los Angeles map loads seamlessly with no loading screens.
Extensive car customization.
Four special abilities (EMP, Agro, Roar, Zone) let you turn off rival electronics.

Memorable Moments:

Risking your customized car in pink slip races, where losing means permanently handing over your vehicle to the winner.
Police chases escalate into 10-minute chases with officers never quitting.
Defeating City Champ Booke at the Standard Hotel after proving yourself against regional opponents across Los Angeles.

If you love racing games and open-world setups, you should consider paying homage to Midnight Club: Los Angeles.

Overall, open-world gaming is yet to cross the bridge to the crypto space. Though there are some great play-to-earn crypto games, most have been working on creating simple yet engaging gaming experiences. This also applies to the the top games like Axie Infinity, arguably the most successful Web3 gaming title.