Top 10 Best Video Game Worlds of the Century (So Far)
Games of the 21st century have given players some mighty worlds to get lost in. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most stunning worlds in video games since the year 2000.
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most stunning video
00:25 game worlds and games since the year 2000.
00:37 If you've enjoyed exploring these thrilling game worlds, you'll want to cross into the
00:40 Fey Realms of Nightingale.
00:42 Nightingale is a sprawling fantasy adventure game where you hunt, explore, and craft to
00:46 survive and thrive.
00:48 As a Realmwalker, you'll craft Realm Cards that open portals and let you traverse gorgeous
00:53 immersive worlds with three unique biomes, from burning deserts to magical forests and
00:57 dangerous swamps.
00:59 In each Realm are creatures big and small to hunt, with Apex monsters offering the greatest
01:03 rewards and challenges.
01:05 Wield powerful magic and a wide arsenal of weapons, from axes to revolvers.
01:09 Defeat nightmarish beasts to craft stronger gear and weapons, gather resources, and build
01:14 your sanctuary.
01:15 Manage your estate to grow your power and become a Realmwalker legend.
01:19 Play solo or with up to six friends in co-op.
01:22 Nightingale is available on February 20th on PC.
01:27 Number 10.
01:28 Tsushima Island - Ghost of Tsushima
01:39 Plenty of games take historical approaches, but few of them let you inhabit a world as
01:43 breathtaking as Tsushima Island.
01:45 With their home under invasion by the Mongols, players took lone samurai Jin Sakai on a mission
01:50 of justice.
01:51 Despite the violence and tension, it was a joy just to exist here.
01:55 The island was exceptionally well crafted, with stunning locales and less clutter than
01:59 you'd find in many open world games.
02:08 Its side activities, whether constructing haikus or praying at Inari shrines, were part
02:12 of the history and culture rather than feeling tacked on.
02:15 With so much love and care put into the setting, we're not surprised directors Nate Fox and
02:19 Jason Connell were made official tourism ambassadors.
02:29 Number 9.
02:31 Post-Apocalyptic Earth - Horizon Series
02:44 The world of Horizon is unique even among the many post-apocalyptic video game settings.
02:48 In the 31st century, humans have gone back to living in tribes while dangerous, animalistic
02:52 machines roam outside their settlements.
02:55 Despite a bit of bloat, exploring this world has been incredibly fun.
03:07 That's thanks in no small part to the enemy design.
03:09 Confronting each vicious machine with Aloy's varied arsenal made for some of the best combat
03:13 encounters we've experienced in modern gaming.
03:15 However, there's also a tantalizing mystery at its heart.
03:19 How did the world end up this way and who built all of these machines?
03:22 Even after piecing it together in the first entry, developer Guerrilla Games proved there
03:26 were even more layers to pull back in sequels.
03:39 Number 8.
03:40 Halo Universe - Halo Series
03:42 It may have stumbled with more recent entries, but that doesn't change the fact that Halo
03:55 has one of the most interesting sci-fi worlds in video games.
03:59 Like Horizon, the FPS juggernaut features fascinating events that happened hundreds
04:03 of years prior.
04:04 It concerns an ancient race known as the Forerunners whose technology, including the massive Halo
04:08 rings, can still be found across the galaxy.
04:21 In the present day, the series has chronicled humanity's fight against the Covenant, a collective
04:25 of alien races that seek their doom.
04:27 Although gameplay, particularly its multiplayer, has always been at the forefront, the campaigns
04:32 have filled us with awe as we've uncovered Halo's secrets and traversed its incredible
04:36 planets.
04:50 Number 7.
04:51 The Globe - Super Mario Odyssey
05:03 Mario has explored a ton of wacky worlds in his time, but when it comes to those in the
05:06 21st century, we must show love to the globe-trotting adventure that is Odyssey.
05:11 After Bowser kidnaps Peach with plans to marry her, Mario and his new pal Cappy chase the
05:16 villain around the globe.
05:17 Each kingdom is more delightful than the last, and that's not just due to the high-quality
05:21 level design and art direction the series is famous for.
05:28 Cappy's possession ability is a great gameplay hook, and each enemy or character you take
05:36 control of has a different mechanic that works with each level's design.
05:40 The sense of wonder and discovery never dissipated, which kept players hunting for Odyssey's
05:44 many power modes.
05:50 Number 6.
05:51 Los Santos - Grand Theft Auto V
06:03 Rockstar is adept at building chaotic playgrounds for their even more chaotic fanbase to let
06:08 loose in, and while Los Santos first appeared in the seminal San Andreas, it was perfected
06:12 in GTA V.
06:14 The plot, which allows you to swap between three ne'er-do-well protagonists, has players
06:18 going up against various powerful, shady criminals.
06:21 It's a great deal of fun navigating the city's corrupt underbelly, but let's face it, the
06:25 real draw appeals to the inner gremlin we all have inside us.
06:36 Los Santos was a pinnacle of open-world design when the game released, yet we all still love
06:41 hopping back in to cause mayhem.
06:43 The addition of GTA Online certainly didn't hurt, expanding the possibilities of something
06:47 already highly enjoyable.
06:56 Number 5.
06:57 Rapture - Bioshock
07:07 Supremely designed and filled with engaging lore and characters, the underwater city of
07:11 Rapture is one of gaming's most memorable.
07:13 Built by villain Andrew Ryan as a utopia with no government interference, it descends into
07:17 madness long before the player arrives.
07:19 Bioshock makes tremendous use of its space, each area soaked in a gloomy atmosphere thanks
07:24 to low lighting, unhinged citizens, and the state of the city being in absolute disarray.
07:37 No FPS world has grabbed our attention more quickly, nor held our fascination so tightly
07:42 as we uncovered its history and our unwitting role in it.
07:45 The third game, Infinite, switched to an equally corrupt city in the sky, Columbia, but the
07:50 mood, mystery, and malice of Rapture can't be topped.
07:57 Number 4.
07:58 The Lands Between - Elden Ring
08:08 Every world that FromSoftware creates is brimming with life and death, so it says a lot that
08:12 Elden Ring saw the studio give us its most well-defined yet.
08:16 With input from George R.R. Martin, who knows a thing or two about building fantasy worlds,
08:20 director Hidetaka Miyazaki delivered an invigorating and engaging setting to get lost in.
08:25 The team's previous worlds were built around hurdles to get over in the form of challenging
08:28 boss fights, and while those were definitely still present in Elden Ring, exploration played
08:32 a much larger role.
08:44 Players had more freedom in where they went and what they did, which made The Lands Between
08:48 an endless source of triumph.
08:59 Number 3.
09:00 Milky Way Galaxy - Mass Effect Series
09:13 Set in the far future where both humans and aliens have colonized the entire galaxy, you
09:18 better believe Mass Effect is a great series to spend all your time in.
09:21 Another sci-fi franchise that has players uncover the history of what has come before
09:25 them, these games have more lore to study than even Halo and Horizon.
09:28 However, there's more than just rich history to discover here.
09:41 Built with player choice in mind, this version of our galaxy is just as interesting to learn
09:45 about as it is to interact with.
09:48 As you go from planet to planet, you'll be confronted by moral quandaries and vicious
09:51 antagonists alike.
09:53 RPGs are meant to take a lot of time, and players had no problem giving it up here.
10:03 Number 2.
10:04 The Continent - The Witcher Series
10:16 We'd gladly toss a coin to anything CD Projekt Red gives us.
10:19 Because while Night City of Cyberpunk 2077 is a wonderfully wicked dystopia, our love
10:24 and coin goes to The Witcher.
10:27 While it obviously appeared in the book series first, CD Projekt Red's version of The Continent
10:31 is an astounding achievement.
10:33 Even in the first game, players were enraptured by the dark political strife and even darker
10:37 fantasy elements.
10:44 With each release, The Continent became more alive, yet more deadly.
10:47 By the time The Witcher 3 rolled around, we were all in on further exploring and impacting
10:52 its deep setting.
10:53 There are many features that make it one of the best games of all time, and the world
10:57 is a prime example.
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11:21 Number 1 - Hyrule
11:23 The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild
11:32 Although Hyrule had long been a staple of The Legend of Zelda, the iteration seen in
11:36 Breath of the Wild was a wholly new design and experience.
11:39 Gone were the days of linearity.
11:41 Players could head in any direction they choose and find something worthwhile.
11:45 The addition of survival mechanics made us want to keep traveling, while the sense of
11:48 discovery resulted in multiple awe-inspiring moments.
11:59 That's not to mention its remarkably creative physics engine, which allowed for numerous
12:02 solutions to any given problem.
12:05 It was such a monumental achievement that it forced other developers to re-evaluate
12:08 how they built open worlds.
12:10 And you can imagine our excitement when we learned its sequel added two more layers.
12:20 What's your favorite video game world of the 21st century?
12:23 Share your thoughts in the comments and be sure to subscribe for more great videos every
12:26 day.
12:34 This video is brought to you by Nightingale, a sprawling fantasy survival game where you
12:39 craft, explore, and battle for glory across the mythical Fae Realms.
12:43 Available February 20th on PC.
12:45 Thanks for watching.
12:55 [music]