Open-World Games That Are Quality Over Quantity
The open-world genre is one of the most prominent in the modern gaming industry. The idea of tackling a vast fantasy landscape, rich with secrets and surprises, is enticing for a lot of fans. But, as many players know all too well, an open world is really only as strong as the content inside of it.
Free Open-World Games With The Best Exploration
These free open-world games offer vast and beautiful open worlds, great exploration, loads of content; there’s almost no catch.
A lot of open-world games pad out their maps with procedurally generated quests and minor dungeons, repeating enemies, and even bosses to provide more content for fans. This approach can certainly yield some very entertaining games, but developers who take the extra step of putting thought and care into the characters and quests scattered about their open worlds can elevate their games to something truly special.
The games are loosely ranked by how well they fit the topic, so not purely on quality.
Honorable Mentions: Brilliant Open-World Games That Are Mostly Quality Over Quantity
The following games offer near-constant quality and are among the greatest releases of all time; however, I could see the argument that they sometimes lean into quantity. That said, they are top-notch.
- Disco Elysium – Omitted just because it is not a traditional open-world.
- Donkey Kong Bananza
- Ghost of Tsushima / Yotei
- Elden Ring
- Grand Theft Auto (Pretty Much All The 3D Games)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom – Just due to the sheer number of shrines and Korok seeds.
- Prey – Only left off the full list because I could see the argument that it is not fully open-world.
- Red Dead Redemption 2
10
Sable
Coming Of Age
Sable
8/10
- Released
-
September 23, 2021
Sable is a very distinctive open-world game that flies in the face of some of the genre’s most prominent conventions. While most open-world games offer sprawling worlds and lengthy playtimes, Sable is much more modest, with a playtime of only about 15 hours. It’s also completely free of combat, putting the emphasis squarely on exploration.
The game doesn’t have a single, set storyline, further incentivizing exploration as players talk to various NPCs and make new discoveries. Sable‘s unique sci-fi wasteland setting is rich with life, character, and detail, making it a very high-quality journey to embark on.
9
Cat Quest (All Three Games)
Bite-Sized Action RPGs That Are All Killer, No Filler
Now, this is a purrtastic franchise. Cat Quest has been quietly brilliant since its onset, with all three games delivering splendidly-paced romps that simplify most RPG and open-world staples without feeling threadbare or shallow. The hack-and-slash combat systems are straightforward but entertaining, and they are complemented by small but worthwhile arsenals of weapons. Even though every new entry is longer than the last, each sequel introduces just enough new mechanics to justify the additional length, and none of them even threaten to overstay their welcome. Cat Quest 2 and 3 also support co-op, which simply adds to the fun.
While optional quests are a thing, they mostly fit the main storyline’s tone, and they can be completed fairly quickly. Even the dungeons are really brisk, making them enjoyable to sprint through despite their fairly repetitive designs. Although I wouldn’t describe any of these games as masterpieces, Cat Quest knows what it wants to be and just focuses on actualizing this identity.
8
Fallout: New Vegas
Raking In The Chips
Fallout: New Vegas used to be the pinnacle of the renowned RPG franchise, and with good reason. The Mojave Wasteland, which serves as the game’s setting, is mired deep in conflict, and this brewing war touches every corner of the map. The game’s major factions are all making power plays in different ways, and traveling the desert gives players a first-hand look at how each government functions and who might be the best fit to rule the wastes.
In addition to the coming conflict that acts as the center of the game’s main storyline, Fallout: New Vegas is rich with side quests, each of which helps bring the setting to life. The people of the Mojave are brilliantly written, to the point that the whole setting feels truly alive, and even the most minor of errands feels like something personal and important to the NPC it’s associated with. Fallout: New Vegas is the gold standard of high-quality open-world games, and is definitely not to be missed.
7
Subnautica
Surviving An Alien Ocean That Is Beautiful But Dangerous
One of the greatest survival games ever, Subnautica has a reasonably big map for an indie open-world game, but it contains almost no wasted space. Crash landing on an alien planet that is mostly ocean, you have to explore the depths to find what happened to the inhabitants and, ultimately, escape. Subnautica mostly lets you explore in peace without scattering markers across the map to draw your attention, while still guiding your progression through your equipment and just how far you can go down into the ocean.
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Each new biome brings fresh mechanics or new threats, and there are no empty areas or filler zones that exist just to pad out the playtime. Subnautica has no unnecessary filler quests or content bloat, instead opting to center itself around discovery and survival mechanics, both of which will carry you to the finish line.
6
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Fantasy For The Ages
The Witcher 3 is one of CD Projekt Red’s greatest successes, and it’s often held up to this day as one of the paragons of the open-world genre. The game has some very rich inspirations to draw from: the book series that inspired it is a considerable international success, weaving a detailed tapestry of warfare, magic, and monsters.
The vast open world of The Witcher 3 takes full advantage of the source material’s rich mythology and Slavic folklore inspirations. The setting comes to life through a variety of engaging side quests, fleshing out the world and its history and providing numerous compelling storylines for players to immerse themselves in. Now, The Witcher 3 has plenty of side activities and quest markers to attract your eye, but it still exemplifies “quality over quantity” in its approach to side quests. They all have depth, memorable characters, and enhance world-building, rather than just existing to give players something to do.
5
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
A Super Spin-Off
Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man titles are some of the most prominent superhero games on the market, fantastically simulating the titular hero’s web-slinging powers and athletic fighting style. While the two main games in the series deliver some truly substantial crime-fighting adventures, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales provides some of the best value for players in a hurry.
This spin-off game scales down the elaborate scope of the main series, focusing its action primarily on the neighborhood of Harlem. It is therefore a much smaller game than its counterparts, but it remains dense with plot, side content, and challenging encounters. The game’s reduced scope lets the developers focus on what matters most to Miles’ quest to protect his new home, avoiding the bloat that appears in most big-budget open-world games.
4
Shadow of the Colossus
An Open-World Game With No Filler Whatsoever
Strictly speaking, Shadow of the Colossus is all quality. Similar to quite a few PS2-era open-world games, Team Ico’s masterpiece uses the openness offered by this type of world to tell a relatively focused story, to the point of including no optional content. There are no side quests, no towns to visit, or collectibles to find. It is just Wander, as he travels across the desolate Forbidden Land in search of the colossi he needs to kill. That is it.
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Yes, you spend quite a bit of time traveling across barren plains as you slowly make your way to your next target, but the world’s vast emptiness complements the atmosphere and promotes self-reflection. You are meant to sit in silence and think about what Wander is doing, all the while knowing that you cannot stop him.
3
Bully
Rockstar’s Small But Legendary Playground
Bully
- Released
-
October 17, 2006
Rockstar has always and will continue to push the limits of what open-world games can achieve, which usually means crafting sandboxes that set the bar in terms of size. The thing is, most of Rockstar’s projects manage to maintain an absurd standard of quality, at least if we are talking solely about single-player content. Sure, all the GTA games allow you to waste time and mess about in their playgrounds, but this aspect is the franchise’s main selling point; therefore, the sheer quantity of content is the point. Red Dead Redemption and its sequel are more story-driven than GTA, and they also have almost no filler.
However, if we had to pick just one Rockstar open-world game that exemplifies “quality over quantity,” it would have to be Bully. Due to taking place in a school and a relatively small town, every aspect of the world holds story importance and features at least some elements to tie into the core gameplay loop. This sandbox is Rockstar’s densest to date, and you visit areas for narrative or mechanical reasons rather than just to explore. Even the side content is relatively short and worthwhile.
2
Yakuza 0
Small But Dense And Always Quality
Honestly, quite a few Yakuza/Like a Dragon games fit this topic, as the series is all about “quality over quantity.” We went with Yakuza 0 since it is arguably the best in the franchise, but Kiwami 2 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon are also perfect candidates. The definition of “small but dense,” Yakuza 0 drops you in two fairly small cities that are absolutely packed with content, and we are not just talking about punks that roam the street looking for a fight.
Every other building seems to be linked to either a story beat, mini-game, or side quest, the latter of which are consistently great and surprisingly varied. Although small in square meters, Yakuza 0 is by no means a small game, and the campaign could easily take you upward of 30 hours to complete. That length is only possible if you ignore most of the substories, which would be a mistake since they are absolutely fabulous.
1
Outer Wilds
An Open-World Game That Is All Quality, All The Time
Outer Wilds is built around a brilliant concept. You are stuck in a 22-minute loop, which resets when a star goes supernova and brings everything to an end. During that time, you need to explore different planets to try and figure out the history of a lost civilization and, hopefully, escape this loop and stop the end of your planetary system.
While I’ve explained the goal, Outer Wilds is very hands-off, leaving you to explore, discover, or waste time as you see fit. There are no traditional side quests or wrong routes – you decide what to do at all times. You do not have to experience everything Outer Wilds has to offer to reach the endpoint, but none of the content is fluff or pointless. You are creating your own journey, and you get to decide your route. It is awesome.
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