10 Best Open-World Games Of The 2010s (That AREN'T GTA)

6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Sleeping Dogs
Nintendo

Aah, Nintendo. You just love pushing boundaries, don't you? Well, boundaries don't get much wider than that of Breath of the Wild. When Calamity Ganon decides to have another go at spreading his evil influence all over the game's world, Link conveniently awakens to stop him. After a brief intro sequence, the land of Hyrule is completely open to you. Yes, COMPLETELY.

Once you're out of the tutorial area, you can go literally anywhere on the map - even to Hyrule Castle to try and defeat Ganon immediately. Granted, that's not very wise unless you've played the game about fifteen times previously, but it really goes to show just how sprawling the world Nintendo creatd for Wild is.

From one end of Hyrule to the other, the game rarely holds your hand with regard of where to go; it's all down to you to decide what action you take. That level of open endedness is rare in games outside Minecraft, and it's why Breath of the Wild absolutely deserves the spotlight for sandbox lovers.

Contributor

I'm Scott, and I enjoy all the great things nerd culture idolizes. What I enjoy more is talking about them!