Part of the beauty of open-world games is that they allow players to explore a vast and wonderful environment at their leisure. That being said, many games take just a little too long to actually get players into the action, whether because they feature a long and tedious tutorial, or because there are simply too many cutscenes to keep players engaged. The good news is, it’s become clear over the years that open-world developers have placed a lot more focus on giving players the freedom to explore as soon as possible to avoid them becoming disinterested moments after they press start.
This can help to make a playthrough feel exciting right off the bat, but it also allows those who only want to jump in for a quick session to get a feel for the game do so without having to commit too much time. With all that in mind, these are some of the best open world titles out there for players who want to jump into the action as quickly as possible without having to go through a long introduction.
Final Fantasy 15
Noctis And The Crew Begin Their Journey Almost Immediately
Final Fantasy 15 is a game that often receives flack for its unfinished story, which can be difficult to follow if players don’t take the time to read the external comics and watch the movie. However, because a lot of the backstory is already explained in that other material, it means that the game itself actually starts off pretty quickly. After a brief gameplay segment where Noctis and his party are pushing their broken-down car, players will soon after reach Hammerhead, where they can immediately start taking on quests to earn a little cash and XP.
Once the Regalia is back up and running, the world is then free for players to explore. While there is a set of objectives to aim for, this map is so downright gorgeous that it’s hard not to get distracted when traveling from A to B. Final Fantasy 15 has been seen as a somewhat divisive entry in the classic franchise, but a lot of fans have warmed to it over the years, especially considering that replaying the game can be done easily, since there’s barely any waiting around until the actual gameplay starts.
Subnautica
The Dark And Dangerous Sea Depths Can Be Explored Moments After Booting Up The Game
While it’s common to hear people say that Subnautica is best enjoyed by those who love underwater travel and discovering the marine life that resides beneath the surface, the truth is that any open-world fan can enjoy this unique title, as it has a lot to offer. The best part about Subnautica, aside from its vibrant setting and healthy blend between adventure and horror, is how it takes a stripped-down approach to its storytelling, so that players can feel in control from the moment they boot up the game.
After repairing a few components inside their submarine, players can then throw on their breathing equipment, which will allow them to venture into the sea at their own pace. The aim of the game here is to acquire resources and blueprints to help build new devices and bases, but with a staggering number of animals packed into the map, including some who are more than willing to kill the player at first sight, it results in an extremely exciting open-world game that never wastes the player’s time.
After Signing Some Papers, Players Will Be Let Loose Into Morrowind
Morrowind is a game that tries to waste as little of the players’ time as possible before dropping them into the map. After pressing the start button, players will find themselves sailing to the land of Morrowind, where they will be asked to sign a few identification papers before being let out into the wild. While Bethesda games have always been known to start quickly, Morrowind stands out in this department since it literally takes less than five minutes until players can officially kick off their grand journey.
From a visual standpoint, Morrowind may look a little dated by today’s standards, but the gameplay is still rock solid, especially with the staggering amount of dialogue options and NPCs scattered across the land. The game also has some of the most fascinating lore in the Elder Scrolls franchise, which players can begin learning about right away, without being held up by any cutscenes or monologs that drag on for too long at the start.
Minecraft
No Story, Just Get Creative And Build Anything Imaginable
Minecraft may be one of the most popular games of all time today, but it’s important to remember that it actually started off as a fairly niche indie title that didn’t seem all that ambitious to begin with. As a result, the game essentially skips out on a story to focus entirely on its sandbox gameplay, meaning players can jump into a newly generated world in mere seconds to start a new survival or creative playthrough.
This is a big reason why Minecraft has amassed such a gigantic fanbase, as it’s one of the most easily replayable open world games out there. Any time someone gets a new idea about building a structure or even an entire map, they can simply jump into a new world without any fuss and get building pretty much immediately. This is also what makes the game so open and accessible, since players won’t need to slog through any boring tutorial or introduction, and can instead start punching trees the moment they spawn.
Fallout: New Vegas
It Doesn’t Take Long Before The Lone Wanderer Is Forced To Make Some Tricky Decisions
Unlike most of the Fallout games, Fallout: New Vegas doesn’t start inside the confines of a Vault. Instead, it opens with a cutscene where the protagonist, named only The Courier, is shot in the head and left for dead. After this grizzly incident, players are taken in by Doc Mitchell, who will provide a very quick tutorial on how to create a character and set up their SPECIAL skills. That’s really all there is at the beginning of the game until players are free to start molding the journey for themselves.
After exiting the doc’s house, players will already need to start making important decisions in terms of how they interact with the residents of Goodsprings, which is under attack from the Powder Gangers, making players feel engaged and important just moments after they step foot into the wasteland. New Vegas as a game is often praised for its excellent writing and memorable factions, all of whom provide drastically different storylines that players can choose to follow depending on their roleplay.
Spider-Man 2
Sandman Shows Up Out Of Nowhere To Kick Things Off With A Bang
After the enormous success of the first Insomniac Spider-Man game, the developers knew that players were eager to test out all the new mechanics and systems that had been incorporated into the sequel. As a result, they made sure to keep the intro as brief as possible, and the way they accomplished this was by getting the iconic villain Sandman to step in and disrupt the proceedings only a few minutes into the game.
After players duke it out with a few of Sandman’s clones, they’ll be taking down the big bad himself, and the world of Spider-Man 2 will open up and become fully explorable after that. Thanks to the enhanced SSD of the PlayStation 5, players are able to switch between Peter and Miles in the blink of an eye, and since both play quite differently from one another, it ensures the core gameplay never feels boring or predictable.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Link Wakes Up, And The Journey Begins
A common critique many Zelda fans had of Tears of the Kingdom was that the Great Sky Island, which acts as the tutorial area of the game, takes far too long to complete. It’s actually surprising that Nintendo decided to incorporate this fairly lengthy intro section, considering the game that came before, Breath of the Wild, starts the adventure pretty much immediately. After a bright glow showers the screen and Link opens his eyes after a long slumber, players exit a cave and are met with a dazzling view of Hyrule in all its glory.
Because the game decides to be pretty minimalistic with how it guides the player, it means that that sense of endless exploration is felt in the first few minutes of a playthrough. Sure, players are encouraged to get the paraglider as quickly as possible, but even this only takes a few minutes. Thanks to the game’s myriad of collectibles and side missions, it ensures that, though the intro may already be fast, the game never loses the player’s interest, always giving them something else to discover no matter how prepared they might be to take down Gannon.
Elden Ring
FromSoftware Lets Players Forge Their Own Journey Rather Than Holding Their Hand
FromSoftware has long been seen as a rebellious batch of developers, in the sense that they don’t exactly follow a lot of the basic rules that have been established in video games for so long. An obvious example is how their games prioritize brutal difficulty over accessibility, but another is how they tend to be fairly limited when it comes to their storytelling. Just like with many of the previous FromSoftware games, Elden Ring opens with only a small amount of exposition before giving players full control of their created character.
Once they exit the starting area and reach the overworld map, it’s entirely up to the player where they would like to travel next. To ensure things don’t get too frustrating, there are several temples, castles, and areas which contain enemies of higher levels, creating a satisfying gameplay loop of exploring areas with weaker monsters before then taking on some of the bigger bosses later in the game. Pair this with incredible graphics, extensive character customization, and, of course, a plethora of intense boss encounters, and Elden Ring is the perfect game for any open-world fans who want to get right into exploring as quickly as possible.
