Some people love open world games for their unbound freedom. However, even these big games generally benefit from some sort of structure. Without a clear objective or clear progression, some players may feel that the game is pointless. All of the games below do a great job of dropping content and new areas to make progressing through the story worthwhile.
The trick is to always make it feel like there's something to explore and see even from the first few moments, but promise more as the story continues. This also prevents some of the larger maps in open-world games from feeling completely overwhelming to those who might be more interested in story than exploration.
5 Red Dead Redemption
Go to Mexico midway through the campaign
Red Dead Redemption is a man's journey to take down the outlaws he used to ride with in order to reunite with his family. There is a cruel moral ambiguity, but John Marston is willing to betray the bank robbers who raised him to see his wife and child again.
The map is relatively small compared to its prequel, but it is not completely unlocked from the start. There's a mission that finally brings John Marston to Mexico for a new chapter, and then the final act of the game unlocks the northern section of the map. It doesn't feel too restrictive since then Red Dead Redemption it focuses more on an immersive experience than encouraging exploration and going off the beaten path.
4 Death Stranding
Connect the world to the chiral network piece by piece
Death Stranding is director Hideo Kojima's second open-world title, the first being Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. The map is a seamless area, but players can't access everything from the start due to both the story and limitations set by the game. Players just don't start out with the tools to get through the raw, sterile pain.
Each section of the story brings players to different parts of the map, where they connect it to the Chiral Web. Once you do this, other players' contributions to the map begin to appear, making travel easier. Part of the fun of Death Stranding use all the late-game gadgets and structures to traverse areas that were once so difficult to traverse.
3 Ghost of Tsushima
New parts of the map open up with each act
Ghost of Tsushimaamazed the players with its gorgeous graphics. It had a lot of open world tropes that other titles had, but were better integrated into the game world. Even the UI felt organic, with the wind guiding players to waypoints and objectives instead of an arrow or line on the ground.
The game world is cleanly separated into three separate pieces, with subsequent areas opening up in each new act. Each area offers plenty to do in terms of side quests and collectibles, accommodating both story-driven and do-it-all players alike.
2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Bridges are being opened to different parts of the state
It's easy to take for granted how big it is San Andreas it is today, but it was a revelation to PS2 owners back in 2005. There's a reason why it's consistently considered one of the best video games ever made, even if some of its gameplay isn't quite as fluid in line with with current standards.
The map is so large that it's not even a big deal that players have to conquer a sizable chunk of the story before unlocking the endgame areas. Each of the game's three zones – Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas – feel unique with their own architecture and vehicles. San Andreas it was also notable for featuring vast expanses of wilderness alongside bustling metropolises.
Grand Theft Auto 3
and
Vice City
also block their areas behind story missions. However, players unlock the map faster in these games simply because they are significantly smaller than
San Andreas.
1 Elden Ring
As big as you thought the map was, it's actually bigger
Part of Elden Ring's the magic is how it managed to capture the wonder of exploring an unknown world in an age where most gamers are smart enough to know what a title threw at them. Nothing exemplifies this more than the way the map is revealed. Players only unlock parts of the map as they find map fragments on the road in front of certain monuments, making it difficult to gauge how big the map really is.
You might not think that the northeastern part of the blank canvas where the map is has terrain that I can access, but then I get to the peaks of the giants a little more than halfway through the adventure and find that there's another chunk to go . by.
Elden Ring's spot on the list doesn't even take into account the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which has a high barrier to entry. The map there is huge and contains more content than most full-length video games.
