The best open world games are the ones that offer a rich digital paradise to explore, filled with stories, distractions, secrets, and more to uncover. They're such rich digital worlds that you won't mind getting lost in them completely. We've played all of these through ourselves, and can guarantee you a good time with any and all of them.
A lot of these titles also appear in our best RPG games list, and also meander their way onto our lists of the best games for each platform, so make sure to check out those if any of these games grab your attention. We've got lists for best PS4 games, best Xbox One games, best PS5 games, best Xbox Series X games, and the current best games of 2021.
25. Mad Max
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC (Playable on Xbox Series X and PS5)
What a lovely day! You’ll be thinking to yourself as you storm through the sandy world of Mad Max with your friendly associate Chumbucket firing jolly little rounds from your car-mounted machine gun. Or using a flamethrower to incinerate nearby War Boys. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that most of the game is about vehicular warfare, so it’s rife with confronting camps of War Boys in an otherwise desolate and empty land, or customizing your car to make it as offensive as possible (in the combat sense, not as if you’re painting swear words on the side). Action rather than story makes up the backbone of Mad Max, so if that’s your cup of chrome then look no further and get that engine revving.
24. Terraria
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, PSVita
(Playable on Xbox Series X and PS5)
Terraria is so full of possibility that it verges on the sandbox/open-world boundary. Build your home and defend it from the icky things that will try to knock the door down and suck your brains out of your nose. If you’d rather you can ignore those beasties and delve deep into the earth to find valuable resources or just explore to your tiny, pixelated heart’s content. Craft better armor and weapons, and even a jetpack, then once you’re feeling strong enough - and probably a little bit cocky - wait for one of the game’s bosses to spontaneously attack you. There’s always something better to build, a new cavern to dig into, or another story of your house to be built.
23. Just Cause 3
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
(Playable on Xbox Series X and PS5)
Medici isn’t an island that’s ever known peace, which is really for the best, if you consider just how much chaos you can cause as Rico Rodriguez. The entire province is at your feet, and considering the arsenal of weapons that you’ll build up during your playthrough I can’t help but pity its citizens a bit. Destroy your enemies in this action open world with anything from a rocket launcher or exploit the element of surprise with your parachute and grappling hook. Because horizontal traversal is for chumps. Don’t expect too much from Just Cause 3’s missions or NPCs, as they’re shallow at best. Despite this, there’s really nothing like parachuting towards the fast-approaching ground and then letting loose with a shotgun RPG.
22. L.A. Noire
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
(Playable on Xbox Series X and PS5)
With case names like The Red Lipstick Murder and the White Shoe Slaying, L.A. Noire quite evidently prioritizes its noir detective cases over anything else. While the investigation process is in-depth enough to make you analyze suspects' facial twitches, the actual open world itself is mainly made up of crimes you can intervene in and vintage cars to commandeer. L.A. Noire doesn’t quite make it further down this list as you can’t freely enter shops or play through Cole Phelp’s personal life, but if you want to saturate yourself with old-timey talk and criminal activities, you’ll find more than enough to delight in L.A. Noire. Although bearing in mind the number of corpses you’ll be faced with, hopefully, you won’t be delighted in a creepy way.
21. Saints Row 4
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
(Playable on Xbox Series X and PS5)
The fact that Saints Row 4 has a sex appeal slider that alters the size of your junk or rack - depending on which gender you choose - really sets the scene for its ridiculous tone. Although it’s not one of the best open-world games out there, it’s sure to make you laugh out loud with its vibrant purple brand of inanity while you race around the streets with your newfound powers as you fight to free your friends from the alien invasion that threatens your position as President of the United States of America. Sometimes you’ll be playing dubstep in a 50’s America, shooting zombies in the face, or speeding ahead of cars using your powers. Dear lord, Saints Row 4 is open-world madness, but boy does it pull it off.
Read on for our top 20 best open world games...
