We’ll skip Watch Dogs: Legion, which was released later but is inferior to the second game in many ways. WD2’s protagonist, Marcus Holloway, is a Californian hacker who joins the DedSec group to fight corruption and the evils of San Francisco’s authorities and other unsavory characters. The core of the gameplay is open-world hacking. The player hacks city systems: security cameras, traffic lights, cell phones, and cars, to manipulate the environment. When you tire of hacking everything solo, welcome to co-op and multiplayer.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Developer: Rocksteady Studios, Iron Galaxy Studios, Feral Interactive
Release year: 2015
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
One of the best open- world superhero games, this is the final chapter of the Arkham series. Batman explores Gotham City, confronting the Riddler, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and the Penguin. You can navigate the streets on foot or behind the wheel of the Batmobile, and the gameplay consists of cinematic battles, puzzle-solving, investigations, and stealth missions. To defeat the antagonists, you need to upgrade Batman’s skills, vehicles, and arsenal, and in some missions, you’ll have to take control of other characters.
No Man’s Sky
Developer: Hello Games
Release year: 2016
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, iOS
NMS features the largest open world of any game on this list. The universe in No Man’s Sky is infinite: stars and planets are procedurally generated, along with their contents—terrain, biomes, flora, and fauna. Gameplay focuses on exploration, survival, combat, trading, and construction. Players can travel between stars, discover new species, and gather resources to upgrade ships, suits, and weapons. Along the way, they must build outposts, and multiplayer is available if desired.
Monster Hunter: Wilds
Developer: Capcom
Release year: 2025
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Monster Hunter Wilds is the first game in the series with a full-fledged story. A Guild Hunter encounters a boy from the Guardian tribe and agrees to escort him to the Forbidden Lands. Wilds invites the player to explore a vast world with diverse biomes—rocks, deserts, and grasslands. The game combines hunting with elements of Japanese RPGs—cutscenes, charismatic heroes, and simplified combat where hitting vulnerable points allows for powerful combos. If desired, the hunt can be enjoyed in co-op with friends.
The Crew 2
Developer: Ivory Tower
Release year: 2018
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The Crew 2 features one of the largest open worlds to explore—practically the entirety of America, traversable from one end to the other. Players take control of a relatively unknown racer who’s just beginning to make a name for himself. To achieve their goals, players can race not only on cars, but also on motorcycles, boats, and planes. In addition to single-player mode, players can also engage in competitive multiplayer.
Forza Horizon 5
Developer: Playground Games
Release Year: 2021
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
In Forza 5, players cruise across Mexico in cars, motorcycles, boats, and planes. There’s no storyline, but the map is meticulously designed. The cars handle well, and the system is meticulously crafted. And every discipline, whether rally, drift, or speed racing, tests your skills. So, becoming a champion in all disciplines won’t be easy.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Developer: Warhorse Studios
Release year: 2025
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 could be called the Czech Red Dead Redemption 2. The game places an emphasis on realism and historical accuracy —architecture, costumes, customs, and language are recreated as accurately as possible . The game remains set in Bohemia . The sequel’s theme is the thirst for revenge, which has obsessed the protagonist, Henry, since the murder of his parents. Key features of the game include realistic combat that requires precise timing, complex moral choices, and a deep role-playing system. All this makes Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 one of the best open-world, story-driven games on PC.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Developer: BioWare
Release year: 2021
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The Legendary Edition is an enhanced edition of the iconic Mass Effect RPG trilogy. It includes all the game’s story expansions, allowing players to fully experience Commander Shepard’s story. For those who missed the best sci-fi game of recent years, the captain spends three games trying to save the galaxy from the ancient alien race known as the Reapers, strengthening relationships with various cultures and assembling a team, harnessing the skills of her comrades in dynamic third-person shootouts.
Borderlands 4
Developer: Gearbox Software
Release year: 2025
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2
The fourth Borderlands takes place on a new planet, Kairos. Players assume the role of one of the new Vault Hunters—the berserker Amon, the fugitive exoskeleton soldier Raph, the mage Vexa, or the former scientist Harlow. You must defeat the Guardian of Time and his army. The key new feature: characters can now dash, double-jump, and use a grappling hook, adding a dynamic feel to the gameplay. Otherwise, it’s the same action-packed looter shooter with procedurally generated weapons, with over 30 billion variations available.
Hogwarts Legacy
Developer: Avalanche Software
Release year: 2023
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
The action RPG Hogwarts Legacy is set in the 19th century. Players take control of a new Hogwarts student, whose appearance can be customized using the on-screen editor. Along the way, you’ll discover the protagonist’s unique ability, which will help you foil a devious goblin plot. Gamers are thrilled by the meticulously recreated Hogwarts, which they can explore intently as they attempt to complete all the quests, learn all the spells, and collectibles.
Mafia: Trilogy
Developer: Illusion Softworks, 2K Czech, Hangar 13
Release year: 2020
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Another remaster of the iconic game series is Mafia: Trilogy. The collection includes a complete remake of the original with modern graphics, as well as enhanced versions of the second and third installments, complete with all story content. If you missed the legendary crime saga, this is a great chance to meet taxi driver Tommy Angelo, World War II veteran Vito Scaletta, and Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay. These three are embroiled in a mafia-related conflict. The gameplay emphasizes third-person shooting and chases with realistic vehicle physics.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Developer: Massive Entertainment
Release year: 2019
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
In Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, players will travel to a post-pandemic Washington, D.C. As a Division agent, you’ll clear the city’s swathes, battle hostile factions, and restore order. The gameplay blends action and RPG elements: a vast arsenal of weapons, a flexible skill system, and loot of varying rarity allow for unique builds. Adventure in The Division 2’s vast open world, rich with random events, with friends.
Subnautica
Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Release year: 2018
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
After crash-landing on an uncharted aquatic planet, the protagonist must survive in the mysterious depths of the sea. The objectives are to explore the underwater world , extract resources, build a base with new transport , and find a way to escape the planet. The game’s main draw is a detailed ocean with different biomes, picturesque flora and fauna, and horrors lurking in the depths. A sequel was released several years later, but it significantly lacks the original in terms of story development, scale, and crafting variety.
Control
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Release year: 2019
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
After a conversation with a paranormal entity, Jesse Faden travels to the headquarters of the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control—the Oldest House—to find her brother, whom the Bureau kidnapped many years ago. In this ever-changing building, the heroine discovers a pistol, which is actually an Object of Power, and then passes the Council’s test to become the new director. Still confused? That’s the idea: in this game, you solve the building’s mysteries and uncover the story as you go, using the protagonist’s paranormal powers as your weapon in the fight against the supernatural.
Atomic Heart
Developer: Mundfish
Release year: 2023
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
An alternate 1955. The USSR won the scientific and technological race thanks to the discovery of polymers, leading to the rapid development of robotics. However, the ambitious “Collective 2.0” project leads to a machine uprising and the emergence of numerous mutants. Major Nechayev is sent to solve the problem. Using firearms, melee weapons, and the HRAZ glove, which allows the protagonist to use telekinesis, shoot electricity, and freeze everyone around him, he cuts through crowds of enemies.
Genshin Impact
Developer: HoYoverse
Release year: 2020
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, iOS, Android
In Genshin Impact, a traveler and his twin arrive in the fantasy world of Teyvat. There, they are soon attacked by an invincible deity, who kidnaps the protagonist’s sister (or brother). The protagonist awakens 500 years later and immediately sets out to find their missing sibling. Along the way, you’ll meet colorful companions, explore dungeons, and engage in massive battles, all while learning new details about the locals. The “banner” system—the random acquisition of new characters—plays a key role, adding to the game’s excitement
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Developer: BioWare
Release year: 2024
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
In The Veilguard, the hero Rook attempts to prevent the god Solas from restoring the forgotten age of the elves, which would threaten catastrophe for the entire world of Thedas. However, his intervention only summons other gods and leads to a demonic invasion, forcing the former enemies to unite. By the fourth installment, Dragon Age had become an action RPG, simplifying leveling and making combat more dynamic. Nevertheless, the developers retained the complex moral dilemmas, the character relationships system, and the exploration of open locations in search of secrets.
NieR: Automata
Developer: Platinum Games, Virtuos
Release year: 2017
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
NieR: Automata is set in a post-apocalyptic future where Earth has been overrun by machines from an alien civilization. Humanity, having taken refuge on the Moon, sends androids back to their homeworld in an attempt to regain control. The protagonists, androids 2B and 9S, fight to reclaim the planet while uncovering the world’s dark secrets. The game combines various genres, which can alternate within a single mission, and to fully understand NieR: Automata’s plot, you’ll need to play through it at least several times (preferably 26—that’s how many endings it has!).