15 Best Open-World Video Games Of The Decade

4. The Witcher 3

Witcher 3 wild hunt
CD Projekt RED

It wouldn't be hyperbolic to say that The Witcher 3 changed the world. The previous two games had their fans, but this third game launched the franchise into the mainstream, partly because it showed just what the next-gen consoles were capable of.

At the time, an RPG of this scale that accounted for just about every decision the player made, allowed them to explore anywhere they could see with their own two eyes and also retained the detail and polish of a linear single-player game was unthinkable.

Even now it's no longer novel, The Witcher 3 continues to boast one of the most impressive, engrossing game worlds ever crafted. Whether you're taking on odd jobs and hunting down monsters or following the main thread of stopping The Wild Hunt, Geralt's journey always has something new to see and interesting NPCs to briefly enter the lives of.

Even better, no part of the environment feels slapped together for the sake of decoration. Everything is important and everything has a story, just waiting for you to uncover.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.