Open-world games cover such a vast spectrum of genres and themes that comparing projects can be kind of pointless. Just Cause 2, My Time at Sandrock, Kingdoms of Amalur, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Conan Exiles, and Cyberpunk 2077 are all open-world games, but they share very little in common as they provide widely different experiences. That said, exploration tends to be incorporated, if not emphasized, by nearly all of these titles, and linear games like Mafia are very much the exception.
Free Open-World Games With The Best Exploration
These free open-world games offer vast and beautiful open worlds, great exploration, loads of content; there’s almost no catch.
Exploration takes many forms, and that extends to its pleasures. In some cases, the joy comes from discovery, as you stumble upon side quests, lore, and loot. In other cases, exploration supplements immersion, and living within the world is more than enough to make each journey worthwhile. Finally, rare instances like Marvel’s Spider-Man and Forspoken reward exploration through their movement mechanics. Very few open-world games are worth playing just for their exploration, but some of them live and die by it.
This list is by no means designed to be comprehensive, and it is not a “best of” discussion either. As plenty of open-world games have fantastic exploration, the following honorable mentions are great if you are just looking to venture out into the unknown:
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom
- Outward
- Outer Wilds
- Elden Ring
- Kenshi
- Subnautica
- Death Stranding
- Xenoblade Chronicles X
- Elex 2
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
7
Space Engineers
A Whole Galaxy To Explore
Space Engineers is an open-world survival game, that challenges players to thrive and survive in the harsh environment of space. As survival games go, this is a tough one, as simply staying alive in the early stages of the game can be tough, mainly due to the need to ensure that oxygen and power needs are covered before the player’s limited supply runs out.
Exploring in Space Engineers can be truly rewarding. Several valuable, key resources can only be found and mined in space, on asteroids, or on specific planets in the solar system. So, it really does pay to explore this game, as it is the only way to actually acquire these rare resources.
6
7 Days To Die
Explore Hundreds Of POIs
Exploring the open-world map isn’t just fun in 7 Days To Die; it is something that every player has to do at some stage. There are multiple resources and materials that can only be obtained by looting POIs. Once a player has cleaned out all of the POIs in their local area, they need to explore more of the map to find more.
Getting ready to explore in 7 Days To Die means gearing up and having at least a basic combat build in place. Outside of the starting biome, the environment becomes much more dangerous. For example, the vultures that will hone in on the player whilst exploring the desert biome, and the wolves that will stalk them in the snow biome.
5
Once Human
Fantastically Detailed World Map
This horror survival game, with its Lovecraftian theme, mixes gameplay features from several genres into a whole that, surprisingly, works very well. The gunplay is solid, the story arc is intriguing, and the base building is rewarding. But where this game really shines is in the quality of the map design.
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Exploring the map in Once Human is hugely rewarding, simply from a visual point of view. The game world is simply stunning and incredibly detailed. But exploring in Once Human isn’t simply about enjoying new vistas. There are hidden locations on the map, such as caves, and also rare resource nodes that a player can stumble on when exploring.
4
ELITE Dangerous
Explore A 1:1 Scale Galaxy
As open-world games go, few have such a wealth of space to explore as ELITE Dangerous. This game has over 400 billion star systems for a player to explore. However, with the galaxy built at an astronomically correct 1:1 scale, exploration in ELITE Dangerous requires a significant investment of time.
It is not unknown for ELITE Dangerous explorers to embark on expeditions that take weeks or even months to complete. On the plus side, exploring in ELITE Dangerous is a lucrative activity, as exploration data can be sold for credits when the player returns to inhabited space.
3
Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure And Exploration In One Package
Some games reward players who explore well, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is such a release. Sure, the world is incredibly detailed and is worth exploring for this alone; however, exploration rewards players in more ways in this game.
Heading out into the wilderness in Red Dead Redemption 2 can result in the player making intriguing discoveries, such as artwork carved into rocks, learning the lore of the game through letters found in abandoned buildings, and collecting hidden cigarette cards. Overall, spending some time wandering around the wilderness in Red Dead Redemption 2 can be very rewarding in multiple ways.
2
No Man’s Sky
Explore And Survive
No Man’s Sky gameplay revolves almost entirely around exploration. This is a game that was built from the ground up to provide a universe that needs to be discovered. Every solar system, planet, moon, plant, and animal can be discovered, with the first player to make each discovery having the option of naming them.
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There have been some truly breathtaking open-world games over the years, and these titles let you explore at your own pace.
The game has regular community events in the form of expeditions that, once again, are entirely based on exploration and discovery. These are short story arcs that have rewards that are unlocked when reaching each stage. These expeditions often act as a curated journey of discovery, guiding the player to interesting locations and new game lore.
1
Valheim
Set Sail For New Shores
Every Valheim player has to undertake at least some exploration of the game world. Simply due to the fact that to progress, each boss needs to be found and defeated. Only the first boss is located close to the starting area.
Players will need to build a boat and set sail to uncover much of the map in order to locate each boss, and also unlock new resources and materials. Valheim gives a real feeling of being a pioneer, as the player boards their small boat and braves the waves to discover distant shores. While not devoid of action, survival mechanics, and crafting, Valheim is driven entirely by its exploration, which is constantly rewarding.
8 Best Survival Games For Challenging Exploration, Ranked
Players who love a good challenge to go along with their exploration will enjoy what the following survival games have to offer.
