From the beginning of the genre, open-world games were designed to make the player feel like they were part of a living, breathing world and that it would react realistically to whatever the player did. A big reason this works is the crowd-simulation tech that has come a long way since the early days of Grand Theft Auto 3.
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Semi-open world games are a middle ground between open-world and linear games, with multiple large maps that function as individual instances.
Whether it’s hyperrealistic masses of people or simple but effective crowd interactions interspersed throughout the world, studios have used various tactics to craft some of the best crowd simulations ever made.
8
Cyberpunk 2077
A Cyber City of the Future
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
76/100
Critics Recommend:
65%
- Released
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December 10, 2020
In the context of Cyberpunk 2077, crowd simulation is something of a sore spot, for good reason. The original tech demos promised throngs of cyber-citizens prowling the streets of Night City, but on release, and especially on consoles, the reality was a ghost town, which still looms large over the game’s reputation.
However, with the right PC rig and in the right moments, it’s hard to deny the sheer majesty of Night City as an open world and the dense crowds that make up its futuristic streets that make it feel like the dystopian thriving metropolis it meant to be. While the crowds don’t do anything special, they’re the background actors that ground all the action that’s to come, and it’s hard not to wonder how a potential sequel might evolve the tech further.
7
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
A Crowd of Renaissance Men
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Released
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November 16, 2010
Considering that one of the primary mechanics of the early Assassin’s Creed games was blending into crowds to get close to targets, it’s no surprise that this franchise is showing up on the list. In terms of the Ezio trilogy, which many consider to be the high watermark, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood‘s depiction of Roman crowds takes the cake.
Developed on an incredibly tight schedule, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood sees Ezio blend through the throngs of Roman citizens alongside his growing cadre of assassin underlings, making the city feel alive. It’s hard to think of Rome being done any better, resulting in one of the greatest games in the franchise.
6
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Kamurocho Nights
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
86/100
Critics Recommend:
91%
- Released
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November 10, 2020
While the Yakuza franchise is intimidating to get into considering the sheer size of its games and vast history, one thing that changes less is the indomitable streets of Kamurocho, a seedy nightlife district of Tokyo where tiny patches of wasteland can go for millions of yen.
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The lively and lovingly crafted crowds are a big reason why the big-city presentation feels so realistic. The game does a great job at making players feel like they’re just one story of many as busy party-goers and salarymen bustle through the streets in an incredibly pleasing frisson. It’s a simple trick, but one that has made Kamurocho’s crowds beloved among Yakuza fans.
5
Watch Dogs: Legion
Living London
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
74/100
Critics Recommend:
60%
- Released
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October 29, 2020
When the first Watch Dogs was released, the big promise was that every single NPC on the street could not only be hacked but would have unique information to themselves. The idea was to show the massive amount of power a talented hacker would have in today’s digital age, and while it got old pretty quickly, it was an impressive trick for the time.
Watch Dogs Legion upped the ante massively by not just letting the player snoop on any NPC in the crowd but making any member of that crowd a feasible main character for the entire story. It’s a wild decision that works surprisingly well (even if some recruits are truly strange), turning the background feature of London’s crowds into a living breathing game mechanic.
4
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
New York, Baby!
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
88/100
Critics Recommend:
93%
- Released
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October 20, 2023
Just as Batman has Gotham and Superman has Metropolis, Spider-Man has to be in New York, or something just feels off. Swinging through the city’s iconic skyscrapers is a significant technique game devs have in making the player experience the quintessential Spider-Man experience, and Spider-Man 2, the latest of Insomniac’s efforts, goes above and beyond in making that fantasy come alive.
With next-gen technology, the crowd sizes of New York’s busy streets get surprisingly dense, and if the player ever wants to get a feel for the common person, they can swing down to street level and high-five some of the civilians they’re working hard to protect. It’s not a complex crowd, but it’s an essential part of making New York feel real.
3
Hitman
The World of Assassination
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
85/100
Critics Recommend:
91%
- Released
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January 20, 2023
The most cunning assassin isn’t one that stands out, but the face that melts into every crowd and is hard to pick out in a line-up. IO Interactive, the brains behind the recent Hitman trilogy, took this to heart and made disguises, dynamic shifting crowds, and the social strata of that crowd into core mechanics of the assassination experience.
To access the varied targets of the modern trilogy’s varied levels, Agent 47 needs to analyze the crowds, determine what costume or disguise will work best, and blend in as best they can while avoiding crowd members who can suss 47 out as an impostor. The crowd of these games is the field upon which the sport of assassination is played, making the trilogy the best the franchise has ever been.
2
Grand Theft Auto 5
Los Santos in Living Color
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
92/100
Critics Recommend:
92%
- Released
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September 17, 2013
- Developer(s)
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Rockstar North
More than ten years after Los Santos first sprang onto the screens of gamers across the world, it still stands as one of the very greatest open-world games ever made. Competitors are still trying to catch up to the insane level of detail throughout the facsimile of Los Angeles, and one big reason it works is the dynamic crowds.
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Each member of the crowd in GTA 5 has a unique schedule, personality, and voice lines, chosen based on where they are in the city, reacting differently and even getting into fights with the player depending on what character they’re playing. It’s a lot of effort to put a background system together, but it absolutely pays off.
1
Assassin’s Creed Unity
A Crowd-Based Revolution
- Released
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November 11, 2014
Assassin’s Creed Unity was maybe the most controversial entry into the decades-long franchise for good reason. It had a boatload of technical issues, its story was underwhelming, and it is a truly hellish chore to try and 100%. However, no one can deny the sheer technical marvel of the game’s crowd that remains unbeaten over ten years later.
The throngs of revolutionaries that populate Paris’s streets are incredibly dense, making plazas a genuine challenge to navigate and an excellent cover for the errant assassin of Arno. No crowd has ever been rendered on such a realistic scale, and it’s hard to see how it will be topped any time soon.
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