10 Most Impressive Open World Video Games Since 2010
Why explore the real world when there are so many alternatives?
Open world games are this console generation's 3D platformer. Everyone is making them but barely anyone is doing the genre justice. It's the go-to template that many developers will resort to when making cookie cutter game #5372, resulting in many serviceable and mediocre titles belaboured by menial content.
The world could be too big or too small, spread far too thin or incredibly cramped. It could be boring to look at or downright uninspired in scope. Moving through it could be tiresome and riddled with only the blandest objectives to complete - so on and so forth.
Games like Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Agents of Mayhem and Far Cry 4 are far from bad, but remain so painfully average that they stink of being a part of a tired genre.
All of this is why, when an open-world game is done right, it's absolutely outstanding. Games that manage to master rich and detailed worlds are big sellers, constantly being heralded as the best of the best. So, when developers manage to strike gold and make something truly impressive, it's not to be scoffed at.
10. Fallout 4
Fallout 4 has been hampered by a lot of criticism around its story, gameplay and rather iffy structure. However, there is one point that critics almost universally praised, and that is just how stunning the Commonwealth truly is.
It's a great exploration game brought down by the other RPG aspects Bethesda felt that they needed to tack on. Moving around the destroyed city of Boston or the Glowing Sea is just breathtaking, with every nook and cranny crammed with things to discover and do.
Stumbling onto random side quests and weird encounters are the game's forte. The worlds Bethesda paint are always so rich and fun and you can spend hours just trekking across the map, simply because it's so engrossing. It's what makes the typical Bethesda game so successful despite the many bugs and gameplay issues.