Exploring Open Spaces

With more than half of the world currently in forced or voluntary lockdown, people are confined to their homes with little where else to go. Thankfully gaming steps up to the plate to deliver some amazing open worlds for us to explore and beat the cabin fever. Here are some of the best open worlds for you to explore right now.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar games are seen by many as the originators of the open-world gaming genre with their groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto 3 released back in 2001. 18 Years later and Red Dead Redemption 2 broke new ground for open-world games with perhaps the most realistic and beautiful world to explore ever seen in gaming. Set in a fictional recreation of the American Old West in 1899, Red Dead Redemption 2 focuses on the life of Arthur Morgan and his position in the notorious Van der Linde gang. The game follows the gang’s decline as they are pursued by lawmen, fellow gangs and Pinkerton agents. Explore the beautiful American frontier from snowy mountains, green pastures and New Orleans like swamplands. So saddle up your horse and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

Skyrim

Regarded by many as one of the most popular Western Role-Playing games ever, Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim wowed fans and critics when it was launched. A massive open-world loosely based on various Scandinavian countries, the land of Skyrim is an absolute treat to explore, from vast mountain ranges filled with dragons and monsters to underground mushroom-like kingdoms filled with treasure and secrets. Skyrim truly lives up to the “go anywhere and do anything” mantra that most open-world games claim to achieve. If exploring a fantasy-driven world akin to that of Lord of the Rings, then Skyrim is the perfect place to lose yourself in.

No Man’s Sky

Exploring a massive city or countryside might be fine for some, but others require more freedom and No Man’s Sky delivers an entire galaxy system with endless possibilities. Hello Games space simulator is a galaxy filled with beautiful unknown planets teeming with life. All waiting for you to be the first to explore it. Take you space ship to anywhere in the galaxy and find a planet to build your home base on. Although initially criticized for its lack of direction and confusing gameplay, No Man’s Sky has developed into a must-have game for any space fans out there. Hurtling through space listening to the glorious 65DAYSOFSTATIC soundtrack is worth the price alone.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

If futuristic space travel is not quite your thing, then perhaps a trip to Ancient Greece would suffice your travel hunger. Assassin’s Creed games have become synonymous with beautiful open worlds, from ancient Rome to industrial revolutionary London to the pirate-infested waters of the Bermuda waters and Odyssey is their latest tour de force. Explore an entire country full of untamed environments and cities at the peak of Greece’s Golden Age. Visit Sparta and witness Athens in its full glory, tread in the footsteps of legends like Odysseus and Hercules and uncover the secrets of Greece. Unexpected encounters will breathe life into your story as you meet colorful characters, battle formidable foes, and so much more.

Forza Horizon 4

Of course, not all open-world games are strictly adventure games. Some games prefer to do their talking on the open tarmac. Enter Forza Horizon 4, the latest in the celebrated racing series that combines big open worlds with the world’s most beautiful cars. Horizon 4 features dynamic seasons that change gameplay, unlocking new events and routes, impacting driving conditions, and transforming open-world exploration. Players will be able to master driving in dry, wet, muddy, snowy and icy conditions in a shared world where everyone experiences changes in time of day, weather and seasons together. Explore beautiful scenery, collect over 450 cars and become a Horizon Superstar in historic Britain.

GTA V

The second Rockstar game on the list is perhaps their most famous. Grand Theft Auto V re-invigorated the celebrated series by offering the massive open world of Los Santos (entirely and sardonically based on Los Angeles). It’s a series that allows gamers to do anything they want from golfing at the elite golfing estate to road tripping to the dessert to going on bank heists and murderous rampages. Never before has a game offered such freedom and activities and to this day is still a regular feature on top 10 lists on the internet. When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber and a terrifying psychopath find themselves entangled with some of the most frightening and deranged elements of the criminal underworld, the U.S. government and the entertainment industry, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a ruthless city in which they can trust nobody, least of all each other.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

Visiting a virtual New York is in itself is a treat for any gamer, but to explore the streets and city skylines as your favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-man is a dream comes true. This PlayStation 4 exclusive perfectly captures the feeling of web-slinging through the numerous skyscrapers of the Big Apple. Nothing is more exhilarating than seamlessly swinging through the streets of NYC as you chase down Spidey’s most famous villains. This isn’t the Spider-Man you’ve met or ever seen before. This is an experienced Peter Parker who’s more masterful at fighting big crime in Marvel’s New York. At the same time, he’s struggling to balance his chaotic personal life and career while the fate of millions of New Yorkers rests upon his shoulders.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Xbox and PlayStation, of course, don’t have the monopoly on big open-world games, Nintendo themselves entered the big open world market with arguably the best game available on the Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This famous and revered series returned to massive hype and high critical praise from critics and gamers alike. Explore the landscape of Hyrule any way you like. Climb up towers and mountain peaks in search of new destinations, then set your own path and plunge into the wilderness. With this much real estate to explore, Link will need some help in his travels. Luckily, there are plenty of transportation options to unlock. Link can cover a lot of ground quickly on horseback, navigate the waters of Hyrule on a raft, or hit the slopes and surf down a mountain on his shield. And the sky’s the limit when Links soars through the sky with his paraglider.