10 Greatest Open World Games Of All Time

1. The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

elden ring siofra river
Nintendo

Deciding the top spot for this list was the closest call your scribe has ever made in the three years he's been writing for this site. I had to replay every game in the top 3 just to really narrow it down, and blasphemous as it may appear to many, Breath of the Wild is nothing short of the greatest open-world game ever made.

The methodical pace, the risky but not TOO risky combat, the myriad ways this game encourages and rewards exploration while still being casual friendly, it's all polished to a mirror shine.

The flaws that the game has, such as the weapon durability to name an example, become less and less of a problem as the years wear on, leaving only what this game does right shining even brighter.

Hyrule is at its peak here in terms of portrayal, equal parts serene and desolate, beautiful but dangerous, fresh and new and yet also frighteningly old, with relics from EVERY past Zelda game to be found somewhere in its fields and mountains and deserts.

Maybe Tears Of The Kingdom will top the foundation laid here, maybe not. But for now, Breath of the Wild sits atop the throne as the best open-world game out there.

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John Tibbetts is a novelist in theory, a Whatculture contributor in practice, and a nerd all around who loves talking about movies, TV, anime, and video games more than he loves breathing. Which might be a problem in the long term, but eh, who can think that far ahead?