15 Best Open-World Video Games Of The Decade (So Far)

6. Dark Souls

Although Dark Souls II expanded on various combat elements and Bloodborne polished the 'one dude takes on the horde' mentality to a mirror sheen, it's this first instalment that still has one of the most incredibly-designed and downright surprising worlds ever put to code. Every nook and cranny has something to show you, but it's as you slowly edge forward and fell enemy after enemy, only to realise a far-away path leads back to a previous checkpoint, it really hammers home Dark Souls as a 'Metroidvania for the new age' cultural touchstone. Naturally the Souls games' difficulty tends to precede them these days, and although this is a world that'll chew you up and spit you right out in a crumbled mess of broken expectations, it all serves to produce an overwhelmingly satisfying feeling every time you overcome whatever was in your way.