10 Best Open-World Video Games Of 2017

9. Mass Effect: Andromeda

While all the Mass Effect titles gave players large hub worlds to explore, none could be described as a sandbox game. This year's Andromeda on the other hand put the focus on free-form open world exploration, giving gamers a chance to travel to uncharted planets and investigate every nook and cranny on their surfaces.

Taking a page out of Dragon Age: Inquisition's book, the spin-off gave players a handful of detailed sandboxes to explore that all shared similar missions and story beats to seek out. Although it wasn't what the series was known for, venturing to unmarked structures in the distance and sacking enemy outposts felt like a natural fit for Mass Effect.

While the rest of the game was disappointing, the new-found sense of exploration was actually executed pretty adeptly. Terraforming a planet until it was hospitable made you feel as though you were enabling genuine change throughout the galaxy, while at the same time allowing the new gameplay mechanics to shine.

Unfortunately, the spin-off came crashing down when the title had to balance exploration with the linear story, and this great element was buried under the game's most glaring flaws.