18 Open-World Games You’ll Lose Yourself In
Open-world games are like stepping into an alternate reality where you can explore at your own pace, get lost in side quests, or just climb mountains for no reason. Whether you’re riding horses, sailing ships, or hijacking cars, the best open-world games give you the freedom to do what you want, when you want. Here’s a list of 18 open-world games that will make you forget what year it is as you lose yourself in their massive, immersive worlds.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Few games can make you feel like a monster-slaying, potion-chugging, silver-haired heartthrob like The Witcher 3. With a world so vast and detailed, you’ll spend as much time hunting down contracts as you do just wandering through forests, stumbling upon haunted ruins, or getting into Gwent battles with strangers. The side quests here are more engaging than the main plot in most games, making it feel like you’re living out your own fantasy epic. Just don’t blame Geralt when you’re still playing six months later.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2
If you’ve ever wanted to experience life as a rugged cowboy in the late 1800s, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the closest thing to having a horse and a six-shooter. The world is filled with incredible detail, from bustling towns to desolate plains, and you can spend hours fishing, hunting, and getting into bar fights before even touching the main story. It’s the ultimate cowboy simulator, where you can rob a train or spend 30 minutes combing your horse’s mane. Yeehaw never looked so good.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
In Breath of the Wild, Hyrule is your playground. Climb anything, cook everything, and fight anyone—or just roll boulders onto them from a cliff. The world is so open that you can completely ignore the main quest and still have the time of your life. It’s one of those games where you say, “I’ll just play for 30 minutes,” and then, boom, four hours later you’re making mushroom skewers by a campfire while a dragon flies overhead.
4. Elden Ring
When FromSoftware decided to go open-world, they didn’t just stick their Dark Souls formula into a big map—they created a sprawling, mysterious land full of hidden dungeons, towering enemies, and, of course, brutal difficulty. Elden Ring makes exploration feel rewarding, if a little terrifying, with every corner holding the potential for new loot—or a new way to die. It’s like taking a leisurely stroll through the apocalypse, but somehow, you’re smiling.
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5. Horizon Zero Dawn
Robot dinosaurs. Do we really need to say more? Horizon Zero Dawn gives you a vast, post-apocalyptic world filled with lush forests, snowy mountains, and ancient ruins—all of which are inhabited by robotic creatures that look like they were designed by a mad scientist with a love of Jurassic Park. The mix of bow-and-arrow combat with high-tech gear feels fresh, and you’ll spend as much time scanning the horizon for threats as you do admiring the breathtaking views.
6. Ghost of Tsushima
If you’ve ever dreamed of being a lone samurai, defending your homeland with a katana in hand, Ghost of Tsushima is your game. Set during the Mongol invasion of Japan, the game offers a stunningly beautiful world full of rolling hills, bamboo forests, and temples perched on cliffs. You can challenge enemies to one-on-one duels, sneak through enemy camps like a ninja, or just spend hours following foxes to secret shrines. It’s basically a playable Kurosawa movie, minus the black-and-white filter (unless you turn that on).
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7. Grand Theft Auto V
Few open-world games are as chaotic and entertaining as Grand Theft Auto V. Whether you’re speeding through the streets of Los Santos, getting into high-stakes heists, or just causing random mayhem with a rocket launcher, this game gives you endless freedom to live out your wildest (and most lawless) fantasies. It’s the perfect blend of serious storytelling and complete nonsense, and if you’re not careful, you’ll get sucked into its world and forget to go outside for days.
8. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
In Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, ancient Greece is your oyster—or, rather, your personal battlefield. Sail the Aegean Sea, hunt down mythical creatures, or just enjoy the endless banter between Kassandra and every NPC in her path. The game’s map is massive, filled with temples, cities, and enough historical landmarks to make you feel like you’ve taken a crash course in ancient civilization. And if you’re into kicking people off cliffs, well, Sparta has you covered.
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9. Skyrim
Few games have managed to capture the sheer sense of wonder and exploration like Skyrim. It’s been released on just about every platform imaginable for a reason: there’s always something new to discover, even years later. Whether you’re shouting enemies off mountains with dragonborn powers or getting sidetracked by a mysterious cave, Skyrim lets you live out your fantasy RPG dreams. Just be prepared to lose track of time—and possibly your social life.
10. Far Cry 5
Ever wanted to take on a doomsday cult in rural Montana? Far Cry 5 hands you a massive, open-world playground where you can blow stuff up, liberate outposts, and deal with enemies as creatively as you want. You can recruit a bear named Cheeseburger to fight by your side, so, yeah, it’s that kind of game. The vast landscape and unpredictable nature of the gameplay make it easy to get lost in, even if you’re just driving around looking for trouble.
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11. No Man’s Sky
After a rocky launch, No Man’s Sky has evolved into one of the most impressive open-world games ever made—except its “world” is actually a universe filled with procedurally generated planets. You can explore alien worlds, build bases, trade with alien species, or just fly your spaceship through the stars in search of the next great discovery. The sheer scope of the game means you’ll never run out of things to do, even if you’re not entirely sure why you’re doing them.
12. Fallout 4
If you like your open-world exploration with a side of radiation, Fallout 4 is the game for you. Set in a post-apocalyptic version of Boston, the game lets you build settlements, scavenge for supplies, and blow the heads off mutants with a wide variety of guns. The Commonwealth is filled with hidden treasures, quirky NPCs, and moral dilemmas that make you question whether you’re the hero or just another wasteland wanderer. Either way, it’s a blast (sometimes literally).
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13. The Outer Worlds
Space capitalism never looked so colorful. The Outer Worlds puts you in the role of a space colonist navigating a world run by greedy corporations. The open-world design encourages exploration, with plenty of planets, moons, and space stations to discover. The dialogue is sharp, the humor is dark, and the freedom to play how you want—whether you’re a ruthless mercenary or a corporate sellout—makes every playthrough unique. Plus, you get to explore space without the fear of accidentally floating off into the void.
14. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Stealth, tactics, and an open-world filled with enemy bases ripe for infiltration—that’s Metal Gear Solid V. The game’s sandbox design lets you approach missions in endless ways: go in guns blazing, sneak in quietly, or strap balloons to enemies and send them flying into the sky. It’s equal parts serious military drama and bizarre Kojima madness, and you’ll lose hours just messing around with all the tools at your disposal. It’s like playing hide-and-seek with an entire army.
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15. Just Cause 3
If you ever wanted to turn a grappling hook and a parachute into weapons of mass destruction, Just Cause 3 is your game. Set on a massive Mediterranean island, this game is all about chaos—blowing up bridges, toppling statues, and just generally causing as much destruction as possible in the most stylish ways. The story may be secondary to the action, but when you’re attaching rockets to a car and sending it flying off a cliff, who really cares?
16. Cyberpunk 2077
Yes, it had a rocky start, but once Cyberpunk 2077 ironed out its bugs, it revealed an incredibly detailed and immersive open-world experience. Night City is a neon-drenched dystopia where you can spend hours just exploring its gritty streets, interacting with a wide range of quirky characters, or upgrading your cybernetic abilities. It’s like stepping into a sci-fi noir film where you control the outcome, and with the right amount of patches, it’s now the game it was meant to be.
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17. Watch Dogs 2
Hacking is the name of the game in Watch Dogs 2, where you play as a tech-savvy hacker in a beautifully recreated version of San Francisco. The game’s open world is full of opportunities to cause havoc through digital means—whether you’re controlling traffic lights, messing with people’s phones, or remotely driving cars. The freedom to approach every mission in a multitude of ways keeps the gameplay fresh, and the sunny, colorful world makes it all feel like a high-tech playground.
18. Immortals Fenyx Rising
If you love Greek mythology but want something a bit more lighthearted, Immortals Fenyx Rising delivers. This colorful open-world game combines puzzle-solving, combat, and exploration in a vibrant version of ancient Greece. The humor is tongue-in-cheek, the visuals are bright and cartoonish, and the gameplay feels like a mashup of Breath of the Wild and Assassin’s Creed. It’s a world you’ll want to keep exploring, if only to see what ridiculous thing the gods will do next.
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