10 Tiny But Excellent Open World Maps In Video Games

4. Empire Bay - Mafia II

Proving again that you don’t have to be a brand new release to nail a rich, tiny open world, we’ve got 2K’s 2010 action-adventure Mafia II.

Lovingly crafted in a top-to-bottom attempt to replicate America in the 1940s and 50s, the map may not be riddled with side content but it’s so wonderfully detailed that just looking around and appreciating all it has to offer is a joy in and of itself. The sights and sounds of the city add so much to the overall worldbuilding which feeds back into your investment into the narrative and your complicated relationships with Empire Bay’s inhabitants. The lived-in nature of Mafia II’s environments both big and small make Vito feel more like a real person. From the era-appropriate cars that are markedly different in their looks right down to their handling, to the internal environments riddled with posters and knick-knacks, it feels like every area has a story to tell.

Given one of Mafia II’s greatest strengths is its writing, it’s a relief that it had a gorgeous, detailed and relatively small map in which to tell it.