10 Tiny But Excellent Open World Maps In Video Games

2. Hyrule - The Legend Of Zelda

While I like to tell you things you don’t already know in these WhatCulture lists, I can’t be that person right now as I’m pointing out that the original Legend of Zelda has a tiny but excellent open world map.

It’s not news but we have to pay credit where it’s due and this game was a pioneer of open-world game design. Not to mention it’s obviously fantastic and spawned one of the best open worlds ever made which only doesn’t appear on this list because it’s way, way too big. Breath of the Wild aside, The Legend of Zelda the first was praised upon release for it’s graphics, yes really, remember this one first came out in 1986. It was also celebrated for having a game world positively filled with secrets, treasures, exciting beastie encounters, and effectively setting the stage for Link’s epic hero's journey. Given the game relied entirely on players’ natural desire to explore to press themselves forward, the allure of the world design was absolutely essential to its success.

It might not seem like much to look at now but at the time The Legend of Zelda changed the game for dense, rich video game experiences, and it did it all with what is in retrospect, a tiny open world map.