Here Are The Kings Of Modern Era Open-World Games

The idea of the modern age of gaming is flexible, but in this case, it means everything, including the PS4 and up. Essentially, the modern era began in 2013, and even though games from over a decade ago may seem old, they can still be modern because of backwards compatibility. The generational lines have been blurred on the Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S because of it.

One of the biggest genres of the modern era has been open-world games. These include giants like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Red Dead Redemption 2. They, and others, will be ranked taking into consideration the world’s gameplay, relevance, design, story, and more.

10

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

A Deep Blue Sea Quest

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is a better open-world pirate game than it is an Assassin’s Creed game, which is to say the stealth and assassination attempts are weaker compared to the overall experience, but that’s not a bad thing. As a pirate, players will sail around the Caribbean, fighting fellow pirates and naval armadas in ship battles and swashbuckling challenges on deck.

Between intense battles, there are also tranquil moments of just getting to experience the beauty of the Caribbean, all while listening to the crewman sing sea shanties. The only reason it is lower is that there is a remake on the way, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, which means that the game could be even better, but for now, it is a top-tier Assassin’s Creed game.

9

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

A Fish Out Of Water Story

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has a smaller open world to explore in Honolulu, but it is filled with activities and great turn-based gameplay. As Ichiban Kasuga, players will explore the city and connected islands, all while trying to find their mom.

In the meantime, they will experience weird mini-games like taking pictures of muscled-up men, side quests involving sentient vacuums, making friends with the townsfolk to raise relationship levels, rebuilding an island utopia, and so much more. At its core is a great class-based system that is both challenging and addictive to play in turn-based battles.

8

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

The Environment Is Against You

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an RPG that uses an active combat system similar to an MMO, with players actively using abilities that run on cooldowns to bridge together combo chains. As they explore the massive open world, they can engage monsters freely or defend themselves whenever a group decides they are feeling territorial.

The combat system is one of the best parts of the game, along with the size and scope of the open world, which is mostly all environmental wonders. The story is also riveting from beginning to end, which is complex thanks to rich lore and a lot of characters, so it may take a bit to unpack.

Sneaking Past The Competition

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is a great end to the Big Boss saga, which contains four games in total, not counting the prologue to this game, Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. As Venom Snake, the Boss’ new codename, players will go on missions in several big open areas where they can focus on the mission or explore to find supplies or to recruit soldiers.

Captured soldiers will be broken at base to be directed into other areas, like research, which can yield all sorts of new gadgets and weapons to take into the field. The game is a very rich stealth game with lots of mechanics and gear to play with, allowing players to tackle missions their way, all while enjoying another weird adventure from the mind of Hideo Kojima.

6

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Delivering Packages The Hard Way

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is another, but more recent, Hideo Kojima game, taking place in regions of Mexico and Australia. The core gameplay loop involves delivering packages to underground bunkers, and getting to these areas can be tricky as the environments are treacherous.

Thankfully, players can get a wealth of supplies to help them navigate, like ropes to rappel down mountains, ladders to cross stretches of water, and even some powerful exoskeletons to make packages feel lighter. It’s another dense game filled with mechanics, but even more open than Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which is a good thing.

5

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

A Dark And Twisted Fairy Tale

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the game that best reflects how far open-world action RPGs have come from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, even though they are only separated by four years. It’s the storytelling, characters, and quest system that all make it a must-play experience.

Quests are complex, with no right and wrong solutions, combat is visceral, and the story is equally twisted as the quests. The funny thing is the juxtaposition between the dark story and bloody combat, as the world is absurdly gorgeous with beautiful sunsets, tranquil waters, and elaborately designed villages that look authentic to European culture in the Middle Ages, albeit through a fantasy lens.

4

Elden Ring

Challenge Yourself

Elden Ring is another good open-world action RPG, but it’s more challenging as part of the Soulslike sub-genre. Players can create their character and choose a class, but that class can evolve throughout the course of the game, as it allows players to be flexible with builds, so a mage could become a melee-heavy warrior, for example.

Either way, players can explore to their heart’s content alone or with two other friends, searching caves, getting loot, and tackling larger-than-life bosses. It can create a sense of dread whenever something odd approaches, but this sense can also be invigorating and rewarding upon victory.

3

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

A Hero’s Choice

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the conclusion to Insomniac Games’ trilogy featuring both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable characters. Certain missions require one over the other, but players are free to switch while exploring the open-world version of New York City presented in the game.

Both characters can punch, kick, and whip up enemies expertly, but they also have unique traits to set them apart, like Miles’ invisibility. Overall, it’s a game about two great superheroes with a story as memorable as the MCU version.

2

Red Dead Redemption 2

Gunslinging Melancholia

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a love letter to the great Westerns of the 1960s and beyond, featuring similarly cross characters thrown into dire situations. Players will assume the role of Arthur Morgan, who is a bandit by trade, but players can engage with his character more nobly throughout the course of the adventure.

No matter what choices are made, the story evolves naturally with plenty of heart-to-heart conversations sprinkled in between the bombastic set pieces of robbing trains and taking over plantations in thrilling gun battles. This is the ultimate game about cowboys, which just so happens to be a good open-world game too.

1

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

Nothing Like It Still

Almost a decade after launch on the Switch, it’s still hard to imagine a better game than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Nintendo even tried with a sequel. It was also good, but the purity of this first open-world adventure is unmatched. It was an evolution for the Zelda franchise, and it’s hard to see going back.

The combat was more challenging and experimental; there were fewer big dungeons with little shrines supporting them with cool physics, and best of all, traversal was invigorating between climbing anything and gliding back down to safety. To say The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild revolutionized the genre would be an understatement.