If you’re looking for a sandbox game to mess around in, or an open world game to fully immerse yourself in, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve climbed the viewpoint tower of video games and unlocked the map icons. We’ve driven across the dustbowls, and we’ve soared through the skies. We even had a little swim.
But before we dive in, let’s go over some quick ground rules. We’ll only choose one game from a series, and we’ll focus on recent games, or games that are easy to play in 2022 – otherwise it wouldn’t be a very good list of the best open-world games to play right now, would it? No, it wouldn’t. Not at all.
With that in mind, let’s pull up the menu, squeeze L2, zoom right out on our map, and choose a location to parachute right in.
GTA 5
The game with more longevity than a frozen Big Mac, it sticks around in the video game charts and on lists such as this because GTA 5 is a masterpiece of open-world design. The amount of detail Rockstar puts into its virtual spaces is unparalleled, making them places you don’t mind spending a decade in. Los Santos is like a comfort blanket – if comfort blankets occasionally mugged you while you were sleeping. Powered by Rockstar’s physics tech, it’s a great sandbox game outside of the missions, too. Whether you’re long jumping into pedestrians or performing impossible stunts on a motorcycle, there’s plenty of scope for making your own fun.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 might not have the sandbox tools of GTA 5, but it makes up for it with its living and breathing ecosystem. It’s not just the pedestrians that are believable here, but the hundreds of animals roaming its dusty plains. Bucks fight to the death, eagles swoop down and capture fish from lakes, bears rub their backs on trees, dogs shake off water from their fur, cats take shelter in the rain, cows sleep at night, and carrion meticulously tear apart corpses. It’s a game where you can be completely at one with nature, and then shoot and skin everything that moves for a fistful of dollars. If you like stuff like this, check out our list of the best cowboy games.
Metal Gear Solid V
It might be unfinished, but Metal Gear Solid V is still the daddy of traditional stealth games. Where the previous games in the series opted for a straight line from start to finish, Metal Gear Solid V gives you wide-open landscapes and an even wider toolset. Take the humble cardboard box, which you can use to hide underneath, slide down sand dunes, fold out as a distraction, and even stow yourself away on a delivery truck. Everything in the game has multiple uses, and the progression you make back at your base gives you enough excuses to spend time outside of missions, kidnapping army men (and sheep).
The Witcher 3
One of the best RPGs ever created, this one is cheating a little bit because there’s not much to do outside of the authored content, but that stuff is everywhere. It’s hard to tell the difference between a main mission and a side quest in The Witcher 3 because the quality bar is so consistently high. Wander off in any direction and you’ll stumble upon multi-tiered quests that take you on an emotional journey. And if you are here just for exploration, there’s plenty to see out in the world if you don’t mind piecing the scenes together for yourself – the remnants of a battlefield, colossal siege towers peppered with arrows, and abandoned towns that hide ghostly secrets await.
Cyberpunk 2077
Is everyone done losing their mind over the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t a simulation where you can live an actual second life yet? Have we agreed that it’s just a video game? Good, I’m glad. Let’s actually talk about how brilliant it is for a change. Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City is a sprawling futuristic metropolis that’s as packed with meaningful things to do as The Witcher 3. Sure, it’s not quite a GTA 5-style sandbox game, but put some tunes on and drive from the badlands into Night City after the sun sets and you’ll see what it’s all about.
Elden Ring
Do you like messing around with helpless NPCs in sandbox games? Well, you’ll hate Elden Ring, a game where the NPCs mess about with you. Once you get over the fact that you can be killed by a rat, an incredible open-world experience is waiting for you here. Every single corner of the map is stuffed with new discoveries, which themselves are sometimes entirely new maps. The way it all unfolds is masterful. It also has another sandbox quality in how it allows you to play your own way, with dozens of spell and weapon combinations to toy with. Whether you want to dual-wield whips or kill enemies using only your ass, there’s something for you. No wonder we added it to our roundup of best PC games.
Skyrim
It’s the law to include Skyrim on every list like this, despite the fact that everyone and their nan has played it. That’s because Skyrim is almost impossible to ever truly finish. Yeah, you’ve seen all the main story and completed all the guilds, but have you found that weird thing in that specific cave? Have you been to that guy’s house? You almost certainly haven’t.
Minecraft
The definition of a true sandbox game, Minecraft is whatever you want it to be. Build a roller coaster to ride with your friends, fight interdimensional dragons, fend off hordes of zombies, or recreate the Sistene Chapel. Once you’ve done everything there is to do in vanilla Minecraft (approx 10,000 years from now), there are always mods and player servers. It’s no wonder this game specifically has sustained the careers of so many YouTubers.
Horizon Forbidden West
You can do anything you want in Horizon Forbidden West, so long as what you want is to shoot massive robot dinosaurs – and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want that? Where the first game was rather restrictive about how you traversed its massive map, here you get a hand glider, and the ability to swim underwater and climb almost any surface. Later, you can tame flying machines and soar through the skies. While it’s a very combat-focused game, the nature of those battles changes from fight to fight, thanks to smart AI and the ability to prep a battleground with traps in advance. You also learn about the different machines the more you play, getting to know their weaknesses and strengths. It’s up to you how you take them down.
Ghost of Tsushima
OK, this one is definitely more of a map game – you know, where you go between map icons and complete repetitive tasks – but it’s set in one of the most beautiful worlds you’ve ever seen. It doesn’t feel alive in the same way as Red Dead Redemption 2, but everything is constantly in motion, the wind swaying pampas grass and trees, rippling over grassy plains, and whipping at your character’s clothes. Perfect for a virtual holiday if you don’t mind bloodying your sword.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Explore England, Ireland, Paris, Norway, some of America, and the land of the gods on foot, by horse, and on a longboat. Ubisoft is known for creating truly huge virtual worlds, but Assassin’s Creed Valhalla feels like eating a footlong Subway sandwich for every meal. Despite its size, it’s content dense, too. Instead of side missions being repetitive activities, each is its own thing, and you often have to figure out what you need to do during them without any handholding. Take part in Viking rap battles, adopt a cat, and pull off more invasions than the British Empire.
Forza Horizon 5
Video games let you be anything. Even a car. Forza Horizon 5 doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel (EH? EH? CARS HAVE WHEELS, WAHEY), but this is the most impressive vehicular playground yet. There are volcanoes to speed down, deserts to skid across, and plenty of winding mountain roads. It might be classed as a racing game, but it’s really a driving game – a virtual holiday you can experience at excessive speeds.
Halo Infinite
Master Chief is back and this time he’s got a little grappling hook. It’s a good job since it’ll help him Spider-Man his way around this new open world. The Halo series has always been a sandbox shooter – each combat arena filled with a fireworks factory of various explosive barrels, all primed for a chain reaction – but Infinite takes that to the next level. It makes a lot of sense in a shooter where you can commandeer tanks, keeps, and alien aircraft.
Written by Kirk McKeand on behalf of GLHF.
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