The best open-world games without main quest

Summary

• Many open-world games have a main mission driving game, while others offer complete freedom without a specific goal.

• DayZ and 7 Days to Die offer zombie survival experiences with varying levels of realism and tension.

• Games like Palworld, ARK and Rust offer unique open world experiences involving pets, dinosaurs and survival challenges.

Many open-world games, while vast with lots of secrets to discover, also have a main quest or objective to complete that guides you in a certain direction. Skyrim makes you fight dragons, Grand Theft Auto makes you commit murder, and Red Dead Redemption made you die of tuberculosis.

While some other open-world games may have a hint of an overarching plot or story to find, there's no main quest or specific objective to drive you forward; you are allowed to simply do whatever you want with pure freedom.

12

D-day

DayZ is an open world zombie survival game with an emphasis on realism. For those who want to live out their Walking Dead fantasies, this game is a great simulation of a world overrun by the walking dead.

Search for weapons, meet other players and negotiate your way out of a fight or search for a can of beans at the local abandoned supermarket. Whether you work together to survive the apocalypse, or trust no one and live like a lone wolf, the choice is yours.

11

7 days to die

If you were to take DayZ and combine it with Minecraft, you would have 7 Days to Die. If DayZ is a little too hardcore and realistic, 7 Days to Die is a perfect alternative, being a little less tense and a little more comforting.

In this zombie world, you will not only search for supplies, but you will be able to build bases and defenses, do small quests for NPCs and trade goods, explore various biomes, drive and customize your vehicle and more others. The old world we knew is dead, so tear it down and build a new one, one block at a time.

10

Palworld

The Pokémon-inspired game that took the world by storm, Palworld is an open-world survival sandbox with pets as the main focus. You can either relax with your furry friends and build your base, or go to war with them armed with weapons for maximum cute carnage.

Palworld is a great time, especially with friends. Whether you want to battle your friends and their friends, dungeon crawl, or use your friends to build a factory and farm for yourself, your options are varied and… wild.

9

ARK: Survival Evolved

If you're a dinosaur fan, you'll know that there aren't many great dinosaur-based games to play. If you're always looking for a game that lets you get up close and personal with those ancient birds, ARK: Survival Evolved is perfect.

In ARK, you will create your character and then appear in one of the different biomes in the world of ARK, where you will find yourself surrounded by all kinds of wild animals. From Dodos to Dinos, you'll craft tools, build bases, and tame dinosaurs to explore the world and uncover secrets.

8

Rust

Have you ever wanted to run around naked scavenging for clothes, gear and building a base to stop other people from taking those clothes and supplies you so desperately need to stay decent?

If so, Rust is the game for you. Rust is an open-world sandbox game that will see you on a server with nothing to your name: no tools, no supplies, not even clothes. From there, you make your way through the wilderness gathering supplies, crafting weapons, armor, structures, and more to survive against the wildlife and more importantly, other players.

7

Forza Horizon 5

The Forza series is built on a love of cars and racing, and Forza Horizon 5 is the perfect game to lose yourself in as you explore a beautiful open world with nothing but the wind in your hair and your foot on the pedal.

The graphics are incredibly realistic, both with the car models and the open environment of the Mexican landscape. You can also team up with friends or just relax and drive alone and even set up an entire driving simulator station for the ultimate immersive experience.

6

Valheim

Everyone loves Vikings, and with Valheim you can live the best Viking life. Similar to the other games on the list, Valheim can be played solo or with friends and takes you into a procedurally generated world based on Norse mythology.

You'll be able to explore the world and kill monsters, craft items and weapons, and gather supplies to build longhouses and other bases. Valheim shows that there really is a niche for every type of fan, and if you like open-world sandboxes and Norse mythology, Valheim is perfect.

5

Total War: The Warhammer Series

While there may technically be a few objectives you can complete to “complete” various campaigns, there is no actual main quest in the Total War: Warhammer games. If you're a fan of Warhammer, military strategy games, or perhaps want to dip your toes into the genre, the Total War: Warhammer series is perfect.

With Total War: Warhammer 3, the map is absolutely massive and combines all the factions and maps from all three games, allowing you to conquer the Warhammer world any way you want, whether you're allying yourself with nuke-wielding rat men. , or playing as walking Aztec dinosaurs.

4

No man's sky

Initially released to a lukewarm reception from players, No Man's Sky has redeemed itself countless times and is one of the most supported games on the market with new and huge updates often. In terms of sheer scale, there is nothing quite like it.

No Man's Sky is all about space. You will find yourself landed on a random planet and you will have to search for materials to craft the spare parts to repair your ship. Once you do that, the whole universe is your oyster. You'll be able to seamlessly travel across galaxies and planets, encounter alien NPCs, build bases, battle hostile life forms, research local flora and fauna, and much, much more.

3

Terraria

The Terraria vs. Minecraft war has been a long and brutal one, but at the end of the day, both are great games with endless hours of fun. In Terraria, you have a 2-D pixelated world to explore in a side-scrolling manner.

This makes Terraria a rather unique mix of genres. It combines open-world sandbox elements of building, harvesting and crafting with side-scrolling action-adventure elements of combat, exploration and freedom of movement.

2

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is the ultimate cozy game. With beautiful pixel graphics, a city full of interesting characters, and a host of daily activities to spend your time in, you'll easily find yourself sinking hundreds of hours into this gem.

You find yourself the owner of your late grandfather's farm in Stardew Valley and leave your boring office life to live on your new property. From there, the choice is yours. Grow crops to get rich or just enough to support yourself. Dungeon dive, mine, discover the magic of the forests and befriend the townspeople. Heck, you can even get married and destroy an evil corporation!

1

Minecraft

Minecraft is undoubtedly one of the greatest open sandboxes of all time. Originally developed by a human and released in beta in 2010, this game has captured the hearts of all ages and continuously provides new and exciting updates to the player base.

With Minecraft, you spawn in a randomly generated, blocky world where the world is your oyster. While there is a path of objectives that you can follow to win the game, these objectives are never presented to you in any sort of quest log or journal, and you can do whatever you want.

You can go mining to craft armor and weapons and hunt monsters, cut down a forest to build your dream home, or just take a boat out on the water and go fishing. Minecraft is truly an endless game, with possibilities limited only by your imagination.