Open-World games offer a vast number of ways to play. They usually feature a wealth of quests and side-quests, along with collectibles and lots of action-packed moments with enemies. Heading out into an open-world always allows players to feel like they can play slowly and take in the sights while progress is made.
Many of the great open-world games on PlayStation Plus can now be streamed on the premium service.
There’s a brilliant selection of games that fit into the open-world formula on PlayStation Plus. The subscription offers plenty of games, new and old, with all kinds of genres being explored and great stories being told.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Greek islands are often referred to as the most beautiful open-world in the franchise. It’s bursting with things to do with gorgeous scenery as the backdrop. Between the slow pacing of the assassinations, the large-scale battles with mobs of enemies, and the parkour movement, there’s enough to keep players engaged. As the game progresses, challenges will stand out and you’ll even have to fight some of Greek mythology's legends. This living and breathing world is hailed by many as one of the greatest of all time, tacked onto a superb RPG, you can spend hundreds of hours just exploring.
Death Stranding
As we all wait for the sequel to Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, it’s worth revisiting this combination of walking simulator, delivery sim, and bonkers Kojima story. It’s an open-world that seemingly offers a great deal, depending on what you’re after. You can saddle up a vehicle, or stack delivery boxes on your back before heading out into the lush wilderness. There is a story to follow, but honestly, just being in this world, existing to ferry cargo and plod the roads or desire paths, is a joy. You can get lost for hours just strolling from point A to point B, building makeshift bridges and scaling small hills while the rain drizzles and a melodic tune plays away in the background.
Fallout 3
Ahh, Fallout 3. Probably the best Fallout game because it moved the game from an isometric RPG into a fully fleshed out 3D world as deep as anything else Bethesda has created. The wasteland is a miserable place to be, yet it’s entirely engaging due to the amount of wonderful points of interest or small diversions. It’s considered to be one of gaming’s most immersive open-worlds. While we all wait for a remastered edition of the game, it’s worth revisiting. It’s aged surprisingly well and the apocalyptic landscape is still eerily beautiful, plus it’s packed with some of the best quests Bethesda has ever written.
Ghost of Tsushima
Many of us are begging for a sequel, but for now, we’ll be happy to recommend this brilliant game to anyone and everyone. With a traditional samurai story full of loyalty and combat, Ghost of Tsushima set itself apart by telling a story that fit its world perfectly. One that is, in turn, beautiful and sweeping. This vista of Japan is sumptuous and lush moving through the tall greens of bamboo forests, into the rocky outcroppings that hold temple gates, or the rivers that ripple through landscapes of yellows and greens. It’s one of the most beautiful games on Playstation Plus. You may be stopped often to battle some bandits or rival strawhats, but each fight takes place in this cinematic and painterly open-world that seems to heighten all the emotions of the story.
Horizon Zero Dawn
For all the fans of Aloy and her apocalyptic world, Horizon Zero Dawn deserves a spot on this list. As does its sequel (also available on PlayStation Plus), but let’s start at the beginning of the story; at the start of a journey through a world that manages to wonderfully combine natural beauty with the chaotic architecture of technology. Considered by many to be a ‘masterpiece’, the game takes players through a landscape that is always gorgeous and often surprising. The map designers did a brilliant job of making each tribal area feel distinctive, offering their own lore to bolster the open design.
Immortals Fenyx Rising
One of the most underrated games in the past few years, Immortals Fenyx Rising was developed by Ubisoft around the time their Assassin’s Creed series took on a more RPG feel. They had already visited ancient Greece two years prior with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, so perhaps they still had fuel in the tank. What came out of this is a lovely, cartoony open-world adventure that took a humorous look at Greek mythology. Exploring this world is like diving into a Saturday morning cartoon, and gives the player so much to discover while pursuing the story’s twists and turns.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
It seems Miles Morales is now Insomniac’s ‘main’ Spider-Man going forward. He’s become such a popular character since this spinoff title. It’s not just the Spider-Men that makes these games so enjoyable; a secondary character is New York itself. The city is positively alive with NPCs, traffic jams, petty crimes, the sprawling greenery of Central Park, and small details to discover. Very little beats swinging through the New York of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales amidst the skyscrapers, feeling the wind rush by, frolicking above the streets, while pedestrians live out their lives below.
Skyrim
The second appearance of Bethesda on this list, and not without good reason. The time of Fallout 3 and Skyrim is perhaps the developer at their best. So, Skyrim had to take a place here because it’s perhaps open-world crafting at its very best. Ask any player and one of the reasons why they love Skyrim is because of the “Oh, what’s over there?” factor. It’s easy to spend hours and hours just wandering, looking in caves, discovering villages, and battling random enemies. The world of Skyrim is still very beautiful, and captivating, even 12 years later - and Bethesda thinks we’ll still be playing Skyrim well into the next decade. They’re not wrong.
Featured Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment, SonyTopics: PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Playstation Plus, Fallout, Skyrim, Assassins Creed, Death Stranding, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghost Of Tsushima, Spider Man Miles Morales