5 open-world games that allow free roam after main story

From all-time classic games like Skyrim and The Witcher 3 to new and innovative games like Elden Ring, the open-world genre is filled with a range of titles for players to sink countless hours into.

The draw of open-world games is their vast open stretches of land that players can spend hours exploring. They can discover a multitude of new and fun activities and secrets as well.

Although most single-player open-world games come to a standstill once they reach their narrative conclusion requiring players to restart their journey, a handful of titles let players explore their worlds without any restrictions after the player is done with the main campaign.

Here are five such incredible games that allow players to roam freely after completing the main story.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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Final Fantasy XV and four other open-world games that allow free roam after completion of story

5) Final Fantasy XV

The Final Fantasy titles, for the most part, have always presented a linear story-driven role-playing experience. The best games in the series, Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VI, were fairly linear adventures. The series' fifteenth mainline installment, Final Fantasy XV, however, was an open-world experience — though still a linear one in terms of the plot. It gave players a vast world to explore and countless side quests to complete.

Final Fantasy XV follows the story of prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, who, along with his three friends and companions, embarks on an adventure across Eos to meet Noctis' bride-to-be, Lunafreya. From the get-go, the title allows players to tackle various side quests as well as the main campaign to earn additional experience and rewards.

Players can also play through the main campaign without ever attempting the side content, and once they're done with the story, they can attempt these quests at their own leisure. Though the story in Final Fantasy XV spans a period of time, the title lets players travel back in time once they reach the final area or finish the main story to visit the earlier locations and open sections of the map.

The side content also features quests that players can only attempt post-completion of the game, including hunting a giant turtle the size of a mountain called the Adamantoise, which has a health pool of 5,264,400. Taking the beast down can take upwards of an hour in battle, though the reward of an accessory that increases HP to max (which is 9999) makes it more than worth it.

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4) Death Stranding

Death Stranding is a weird video game, to say the least. It has its far share of issues regarding the story, its monotonous gameplay, and its often overly-cryptic character interactions. But one thing the game nailed to perfection is its open world.

Death Stranding's gameplay solely revolves around players exploring the vast open world of post-apocalyptic America, where the biggest challenges are not presented by enemies or otherworldly creatures but by the terrain and the world itself. Navigating the world while trying to circumvent the perilous terrain is essentially the most captivating aspect of the game.

The main campaign of this unique open-world experience is around 30-35 hours long, excluding the abundant side content in the game. Players can make a beeline through for the post-story content if they want; the game allows players to return to the open world after completing the main story to attempt various side quests and activities.

Death Stranding recently got a Director's Cut version for both PlayStation 5 and PC, which adds a few more side quests and activities across the vast open world.

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3) Grand Theft Auto V

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series basically pioneered the modern 3D open-world games genre, with its intricately detailed and massive worlds that facilitate immersion even when players are not participating in any of the story missions or side content.

Since Grand Theft Auto 3, the company has been perfecting its craft to offer an authentic experience in terms of the open world, and with Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar might just have achieved that to a certain degree.

Grand Theft Auto V is essentially the definitive GTA experience, with a large and equally varied map of San Andreas. In the game, players are free to explore and cause mayhem right from the get-go. The narrative in Grand Theft Auto V also takes proper advantage of the extensive open world, with missions that are spread across the various locales in the title.

Best of all, players are free to continue exploring the world and can partake in a plethora of side activities even after finishing the lengthy main campaign. The game features a variety of activities like street races, marathons, tennis, and even hunting, as well as side stories like Strangers and Freaks for players to dive into right after completing the story.

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2) Marvel's Spider-Man

Superhero games have always been a hit or a miss when it comes to video games, and although gaming has seen some really great superhero titles like the Batman Arkham series, there has also been a fair share of mediocre titles like the recent Marvel's Avengers game.

One title, however, that carried the superhero genre to new heights with its stunning open world and beautifully-crafted story was Marvel's Spider-Man. Released originally for PlayStation 4, Marvel's Spider-Man is one of the best open-world games of the last decade and quite possibly the best superhero game of all time, featuring the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

The game offers a vast and intricately-detailed map of New York filled with famous landmarks and Easter eggs for players to find. The story takes place eight years after Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, granting him his special abilities. The story doesn't waste any time and enables the player to jump right into the action, with some side activities and stories sprinkled in between the main campaign.

The story is around 18-20 hours long if players beeline through the main story missions, which they can do without any hesitation as the game allows players to explore the city and a plethora of side content even after completing the main story.

It is highly recommended that players participate in the side content of Marvel's Spider-Man as some of the stories presented here are really worth experiencing; the rewards are more than worth it as well and mostly consist of tokens that allow players to unlock alternate suits for Spider-Man.

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1) Elden Ring

FromSoftware is a genius at creating games with some of the best environmental storytelling out there. Its products have always been a benchmark for difficult but fair combat systems and detailed and interconnected levels.

Although the levels in the Dark Souls games were quite open and allowed for exploration at any given time, they weren't exactly open world, as players would need to progress to a certain point in the main campaign to access more levels. For instance, in the original Dark Souls, players would need to progress through Sen's Fortress in order to get to Anor Londo, which remains locked until the boss at Sen's Fortress is defeated.

With Elden Ring, however, FromSoftware decided to go all out on creating an expansive and interconnected open world that players, should they decide to, can fully explore from the get-go. Not only that, the game is jam-packed with hidden dungeons and catacombs that players can find in the Lands Between, which harbor their own challenges, enemies, and bosses.

There are even several hidden areas in Elden Ring's world, like Nokron, Siofra River, Consecrated Snowfield, and Mohgwyn Palace, which are entirely optional to visit for completing the story. Moreover, unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne, Elden Ring does not force New Game+ post-completion of the main story. Players can choose not to start New Game+ and instead just continue exploring the Lands Between.