5 massive open-world games like GTA 5

An open-world game, in many ways, has become the go-to genre for the AAA games industry as it simply represents a gold-mine for both players and publishers. The genre lends itself to the sort of gameplay that almost guarantees countless hours of fun, given the infinite possibilities of the open-world.

The open-world game was first made popular by franchises like GTA after GTA III's monumental success in the early 2000s. Since then, the open-world structure has been adopted by many studios and applied to every genre under the sun: from RPGs to even stealth-action.

The open-world continues to be one of the most financially successful types of games in 2021. It is easy to see why, given the litany of amazing games that have come out in the past couple of decades.

5 massive open-world games like GTA 5

5) Fallout 4

Even with all its flaws, the Fallout franchise will go down in history as perhaps one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all-time. The way the game draws players into what is an especially unforgiving landscape is downright masterful, as it makes the apocalypse seem almost "fun."

Fallout's core value lies in how much agency it affords the players, with them being able to make significant choices that determine the character's fate. While the RPG mechanics are quite well done, the moment-to-moment gameplay receives the developer's utmost care and love.

Fallout 4 might be one of the most divisive narratives told in the series. It has perhaps the best gameplay loop in the series.

4) Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar Games have, by this point, brought making open-world games down to science. GTA 5 was quite possibly one of the best open-world games regarding the authenticity and detailing of the open-world itself.

Red Dead Redemption 2 not only trumps it but goes several steps forward in terms of creating a believable and lived-in open-world. Every NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2 has purpose, routines and feels every bit as real as the player character themselves, which is quite a feat for any video game.

Red Dead Redemption 2, in terms of scale, is mind-boggling with a far larger map than its predecessor and even GTA 5. The game world is absolutely massive, but it never fails to fill out the size with all sorts of detail and nuance, making the game stand out amongst the rest.

3) Assassin's Creed Origins

Assassin's Creed: Origins, in many ways, represented perhaps the biggest creative risk taken on by Ubisoft. The game was the first of many to stray away from the series' established stealth-action formula and move into the open-world RPG structure made popular by games like The Witcher 3.

Assassin's Creed Origins scale and size would scare away any gamers who have reservations about not completing massive games. However, Origins does a great job of bringing in players and introducing them to a rich, open-world full of possibilities.

Every new area in Origins contains a fantastic range of activities, side missions, and secrets that the player would want to explore. Origins is perhaps the best balance between the gameplay and story elements of the Assassin's Creed franchise.

2) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

For the longest time, the Western RPG has always been looked down upon by the gaming community. Much of that changed as the Elder Scrolls franchise began to take charge and lead the way for innovation and polish in the RPG genre.

Morrowind and Oblivion might have been some of the most celebrated RPGs of their time, but few could ever match the kind of popularity of Skyrim. In 2011, the games industry looked to Skyrim as a benchmark for an open-world RPG.

Each system of Skyrim feels rewarding and gives the player an unprecedented amount of freedom and control. Each side's quest has been polished to such an extent that they feel a part of the main quest in Skyrim very much.

For a game that came out in 2011, Skyrim still manages to be a solid benchmark for RPGs in 2021 and will continue to do so until possibly the next Elder Scrolls.

1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Game awards have always been sort of contentious as the video game community rarely agrees unanimously on anything. However, when it comes to The Witcher 3, an overwhelming majority agree that the game is every bit the masterpiece it has been built up to be.

The Witcher 3 is quite massive, with 3 major open-world areas separated by a loading screen. However, the map scale is only one-half of the reason why the game is absolutely massive. If one were to try and complete every single side quest, activity, or collectible in the game, they would easily spend upwards of 120 hours.

The game isn't just big for the sake of being big as it is the finale of an epic trilogy, and the story truly had to punctuate a massive saga from the previous games. A swan song, a trilogy, and a masterful one at that, The Witcher 3 will go down in history as one of the greatest games of all-time.