Greatest Supernatural Open-World Games Of All Time, Ranked

Kicking things off, for a list like this, we need to determine what exactly “supernatural” games are, and it isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. For example, there are plenty of ghosts and otherworldly beings in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but does that make the game supernatural? I’d argue that isn’t the case, as in fantasy worlds like The Witcher, almost everything is supernatural, with background magic, monsters, portals, and other recognizable tropes. Thus, for a list like this, we shouldn’t stick with generic fantasy worlds infused with magic, but rather use a different approach to define the supernatural aspect.

With that in mind, our main criteria will be “not everything in the world is supernatural, but rather something is wrong with normal reality.” The goal is to choose the best open-world games with a strong atmosphere and a clear focus on supernatural or paranormal elements. Games with modern or grounded settings work best here, combining worlds that feel plausible with a hidden layer of metaphysical intrusion on top where anomalies or other disruptive forces warp and bend the familiar rules, creating that special, eerie, and unsettling vibe full of the unknown. Think Remedy’s Control, but open-world — that’s what we are looking for. Considering this, here’s our ranked list of the greatest supernatural open-world games of all time.

Honorable mentions:

• Beyond Hanwell
• The Sinking City
• Deadly Premonition
• Secret World Legends
• Kona
• Metro Exodus
• Chernobylite
• Pacific Drive

8

Folklore Hunter

Track Down Your Supernatural Prey

Folklore Hunter is exactly the kind of game we are looking for here, which is pretty apparent from the title. The game puts you in the role of a world-renowned hunter of supernatural beasts, whose job is to track down urban legends and cryptids across various isolated and haunting locations inspired by real-world places. With such a fitting premise, it’s worth mentioning that Folklore Hunter is more of a semi-open-world adventure, with three vast, separate areas available, each featuring their own distinct creature to hunt.

Folklore Hunter is all about preparation, investigation, and tracking. Players must carefully explore every area, discover clues, solve puzzles, set traps and cameras to outsmart and catch their targets, and survive harsh environments in the process. It’s a solid combination of survival and detective elements that gives the game its unique sense of tension and unmistakable identity, even if the overall execution is a bit rough around the edges by modern standards, preventing Folklore Hunter from ranking higher.

7

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Cleanse Tokyo Of An Otherworldly Presence

On paper, Ghostwire: Tokyo seems like everything players could wish for in the supernatural open-world genre. I mean, how can you go wrong with a game where the primary goal is to explore modern-day Tokyo after the entire population has been wiped out, leaving the city overrun by spirits that you must cleanse using magical abilities? In practice, however, despite its appealing and unique premise and eerie setting, Ghostwire: Tokyo quickly falls into familiar Ubisoft-style open-world territory. The supernatural aspects mostly serve as a distraction and add only minor differences to how the world and gameplay feel.

Still, for its original blend of strong atmospheric visuals, unusual focus on supernatural elements and urban legends, fun combat, and memorable enemies, Ghostwire: Tokyo at least deserves attention. It’s just not as grounded in its overall tone as the majority of the other picks here, leaning more towards stylized supernatural action rather than fully delivering on the promise of a universe that feels deeply wrong and haunted.

6

Once Human

Supernatural Is More Than Just Background Flavor

Set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world with a very strong supernatural presence, Once Human is among the most fitting open-world games for a list like this. The game offers an immersive feel of corrupted reality, building its core systems, such as the source of player power and the essentials of exploration and progression, around the paranormal aspects left by the Stardust anomalies. It’s a classic formula of a twisted world that feels both recognizable and completely distorted, offering dozens of hours of discovery and combat.

Even though the concept of human civilization collapsing after a catastrophic event isn’t particularly original, and the game features mostly standard elements like otherworldly rifts and dimensions (here called Rift Space or simply the Void), the supernatural is not just background flavor in Once Human. Instead, it’s deeply reflected in gameplay pillars like base-building in a contaminated world, exploration of dangerous zones (called Impasses) where physics completely breaks, and narrative bits like piecing together the remnants of a shattered civilization.

5

NTE: Neverness To Everness

The Big City Life Of Anomaly Hunters

The newest addition to the open-world genre, NTE: Neverness to Everness, is specifically described as a supernatural urban adventure, placing its paranormal aspects front and center. It’s one of the very few open-world games actually targeting this niche, literally built around investigating twisted paranormal events and chasing otherworldly beings in a modern city while playing as Appraisers (Anomaly Hunters). This definitely helps the project stand out from similar F2P gacha games.

Unlike games where the supernatural aspect sort of breaks reality, in Neverness to Everness, the urban metropolis and its inhabitants have learned to coexist with anomalies and other weird stuff you don’t see too often, from dimensional rifts and floating objects to chaotic auras and urban legends coming to life. While NTE’s visual style and gacha elements make it less grounded for players looking for truly immersive supernatural open-world adventures, the game’s rich and vivid setting, gorgeous world, and abundance of thematic activities add to its unique appeal.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)


Start

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)Start

4

Pathologic 2

How Weird Do You Like It?

Definitely one of the weirdest games on this list, Pathologic 2 is an experience that’s pretty hard to recommend. It can be equally easy to admire Ice-Pick Lodge’s creation or to become completely alienated by it. For players who like their games truly unique, this is a prime example with literally no alternatives. Pathologic 2 feels like a deranged metaphysical theater, full of strange rules, rituals, hallucinations, voices in your head, and other reality-bending moments.

Even describing the setting of Pathologic 2 is no easy task. It’s a grounded yet unsettling world of a secluded rural town slowly dying from a supernatural plague, collapsing into something completely unnatural as a result. It’s also a deeply systemic sandbox where players must face the harsh realities of a crumbling society and impossible odds at every step, with seemingly no winning scenario, all while under constant time pressure before hitting game over. While the core pillars of the game might not work for everyone, Pathologic 2 is undeniably memorable and atmospheric, securing its place among the greatest supernatural games in their most twisted form.

3

Hell Is Us

An Overlooked Gem With A Unique And Gripping World

Despite being an open-zone game, Hell is Us is simply too perfect a fit here to leave it in the honorable mentions category. Additionally, some maps, like Acasa Marshes, are quite big and layered, featuring an entire town as a dynamic hub and vast, explorable surroundings that players keep returning to throughout the game, unlocking new corners as they progress. As far as the supernatural aspect goes, Hell is Us absolutely delivers. It portrays a fictional, civil war-torn country covered in a rich paranormal atmosphere, all sprinkled with a slightly overdone layer of ancient history on top.

Hell is Us’ world and atmosphere are the game’s major draws, delivering an unmatched eerie vibe full of mystery and otherworldly beings. Its minimal handholding never gets in the way of player immersion and natural discovery. Coupled with standout visual and audio execution, Hell is Us is a gripping journey that will haunt players for quite a while.

2

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

The Zone In All Its Glory

Many doubted that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl could deliver on the iconic legacy of the original trilogy, but enough time has passed since launch to say it safely: STALKER 2 has turned out great. It’s a vast, seamless world unlike any other, combining the real-life locations of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone with a rich supernatural sci-fi layer of radiation pockets, emissions, anomalies, mutants, artifacts, weird devices, and underground labs conducting terrible experiments on reality itself.

The world of The Zone in the STALKER games has long been a cult favorite, and the sequel does it justice with massive, explorable, and hauntingly beautiful areas where invisible danger lurks everywhere. Intriguing and rewarding to explore while at times venturing into full-fledged horror territory, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a supernatural open-world adventure worth sinking 100 hours into. With the Cost of Hope expansion on the horizon, this summer might be the perfect time to start your journey.

1

Death Stranding

Isolated, Haunting, And Twisted In All The Right Ways

Surprising no one, Death Stranding leads the pack of the greatest open-world titles with a deep supernatural layer. Years after launch, there is still nothing quite like it (not even the sequel). Its world is as recognizable, beautiful, and melancholic as it is dark, twisted, and inexplicable. When compared to Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the original still stands unmatched, serving as the perfect introduction to this fascinating and unique universe that Hideo Kojima delivered so masterfully.

Set in a post-apocalyptic America shattered by the Death Stranding event, the game is full of anomalies like invisible BT entities, timefall rain that ages everything it touches, chiralium that warps space and time, and much more. It’s supernatural intrusion at its finest, with a haunting exploration of this broken reality placed front and center. All in all, Death Stranding is the literal definition of a supernatural open-world game, and it’s hard to imagine anything topping this unique series in what it offers anytime soon.