10 Best Open-World Video Games You Didn't Play
We're living in an open-world golden age.
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00:00If there's one thing, and there aren't many things, that we can all agree on when
00:03it comes to video games, it's that, boy, there are a lot of them.
00:07No matter your preferred genre, game length or mechanics, we're all bound to miss out
00:11on a gem here and there.
00:12That's perhaps no truer than when we're dealing with open world games, which often,
00:17but not always, take a lot of time to get through.
00:20Nobody would blame you if you opted to pick up a sure thing like Skyrim over the games
00:24on this list, but I'm betting if you have played any of these, you can attest to the
00:28fantastic gaming experiences that can be found beyond the front page of digital storefronts
00:33on your platform of choice.
00:35Now obviously, inevitably, some of you will have played these games, but if you haven't,
00:39our title holds up, and if you have, hopefully we can have a good little nostalgia trip in
00:44the comments.
00:45I'm Jess from WhatCulture, and here are the 10 Best Open World Video Games You Didn't
00:49Play.
00:5010.
00:51Eastshade
00:52Eastshade is a combat-free open world adventure game that's achingly pretty.
00:55The game kicks off with you shipwrecked on potentially the world's prettiest island,
01:00inhabited by a bunch of humanoid animals and other critters.
01:03While you won't be battling it out, you will be doing a good handful of other things, like
01:08exploring, crafting, creating paintings, completing side quests, and a few more, well, eccentric
01:15activities, like solving a crime and playing matchmaker between a couple of bears.
01:19It's an odd little game that won't be to everyone's tastes, which makes it easy to overlook, but
01:25if you can get past the technical stumbles and it sounds like your thing, it's a rare
01:29gem of a gaming experience.
01:309.
01:31Biomutant
01:32Another great open world game with an eye-catching art style is action RPG Biomutant.
01:37Trading out the all-too-common colour palette of grey, brown, and more grey, Biomutant instead
01:43decides to paint its open world and colourful characters in vivid hues.
01:48While some people found it a little rough around the edges, it earned praise for the
01:51flexibility with which you can build your character, the ability to blend playstyles,
01:56nuanced RPG mechanics, and letting you choose what kind of fuzzy anthropomorphic mammal
02:01you want to be and how you'll treat those around you.
02:04This one doesn't reinvent the wheel, and as a result its critical success wasn't much
02:08to write home about, but the combat is slick and satisfying, there's plenty of quests to
02:13cross off for that dopamine hit, and the world is just really pretty and fun to be a part
02:18of.
02:19Biomutant has a ton of different skills and abilities to spec into for the RPG fans, dynamic
02:23action-oriented combat for the action buffs, and an adorable protagonist for those of us
02:28who just want to say, look how fuzzy!
02:31If you ignored this one because it didn't get gangbuster review scores, you may want
02:34to give it another chance.
02:358.
02:36Pathologic 2
02:37There's a few reasons this one might have passed you by.
02:40It's a sequel, it's brutally unforgiving, we're dealing with a heavy dose of weird, and it's
02:45more than a little spooky.
02:47If you can deal with that though, Pathologic 2 is a heck of a game you don't want to miss.
02:51The 2019 adventure survival game casts you as a man who once left the strange town and
02:57has now returned to find it plague-ridden and strewn with bodies.
03:01You'll need to manage your time as you'll be playing on a clock, and there is a nuanced
03:04decision-making system that can have dire consequences.
03:08NPCs will give you quests, you'll need to balance your resources, manage your hunger
03:12and health, and unravel the story to get to a satisfying end point.
03:17Pathologic 2 might be extremely difficult as survival games go, but it's rewarding when
03:21you discover a path forward, and its mysteries are incredibly enticing.
03:25Some players were admittedly put off by its bugs and difficulty, but if that sounds like
03:30something you can handle, its positives are more than worth it.
03:337.
03:34The Forgotten City
03:35Given this one began as a mod for Skyrim, it's a really impressive standalone game.
03:39In this really clever RPG, you find yourself in an ancient Roman city, cut off from the
03:44rest of the world, and, it seems, the rest of time.
03:48You'll take on various side quests from the city's other inhabitants as you learn more
03:51about your predicament, unravel the mysteries of the strange place, and try to figure out
03:56why everybody turns to gold when somebody breaks a specific set of laws.
04:01This one easily could have flown under your radar, as the original mod was made by just
04:05a single developer, and even the full game was only made by a small Australian studio.
04:10Despite all that, the result is pretty darn special.
04:12There are a multitude of endings to achieve depending on your choices and how much of
04:16the story you unraveled, and piecing together the puzzle as you go is immensely satisfying.
04:21If you're one of those who didn't try it out for one reason or another, and you're a fan
04:25of unique open worlds with enthralling narratives, this one will be right up your alley.
04:306.
04:31The Pathless
04:32This is an open world game that you might not have played because it came out at the
04:35end of 2020 in an absolutely packed release period.
04:39If you're anything like me, you might remember The Pathless when it debuted at the Game Awards
04:43in 2018 with a very cool trailer, and perhaps you also didn't even realise that it launched.
04:49Which honestly can happen when you bring out an indie game in November, the busiest release
04:53month of the year.
04:55Those who did play it, though, could tell you The Pathless did a pretty darn good job
04:58of delivering on its promises.
05:00The game has a gorgeous aesthetic, satisfying traversal controls, and smooth hunting mechanics.
05:05The dashing mechanic that enables you to move faster the more you shoot targets to
05:09maintain momentum is pretty cool in action, and the world design is an absolute treat.
05:14Though the game was criticised for being repetitive in some sections, boss fights were praised
05:18for their intensity and level of challenge, the soundtrack is lovely, and the vivid colours
05:23and lighting used throughout the map are enchanting.
05:265.
05:27Gothic 2
05:28I'm going to guess you fall into one of two categories here.
05:31You either haven't played Gothic 2 and our title holds up, or you have played Gothic
05:362 and think, more people really should play Gothic 2.
05:39This is a game you might have missed since it wasn't a universal critical success compared
05:42to some other early 2000s RPGs, but for those willing to put a little more work in to wade
05:48into the challenging signpost-free game world, Gothic 2 is really something special.
05:53Made by Piranha Bytes who also created Risen and Elex, two more games that could be right
05:58at home on this list, Gothic 2 is a perfect example of Eurojank.
06:02It's a genre that doesn't appeal to everyone, but these rough-around-the-edges experiences
06:07can be oozing with charm, dozens of different mechanics, and inspired game worlds peppered
06:12with interesting characters.
06:13Gothic 2 may indeed be two decades old now, but if you missed out on it, it could well
06:18be one of the best fantasy role-playing experiences you never played.
06:224.
06:23The Saboteur
06:24In 2009, Pandemic Studios released The Saboteur, an action-adventure set in Paris in the 1940s.
06:30The open-world game casts you as an Irishman fighting for a French resistance group in
06:35World War II, though you engage by sneaking about and sabotaging behind the scenes instead
06:40of through all-out combat.
06:41The intriguing art style is also gorgeous as the open world is initially coated in a
06:46black-and-white filter, which falls away revealing the natural colours beneath once you liberate
06:52each of Paris' boroughs and its surroundings.
06:54Beyond its compelling unique qualities that set it apart in the genre, The Saboteur also
06:59delivers super-enjoyable moment-to-moment gameplay.
07:02Despite all that, it actually didn't see any wild critical or commercial success, so
07:07it could have easily passed you by, but hey, it's on your radar now.
07:113.
07:12Greedfall
07:13Now, the last time I compiled a list of RPGs that were sorely underrated which more people
07:17should have played, I did not put Greedfall on it, and we're not going to make that
07:20mistake again.
07:22This is another unique game that might be overlooked simply because it isn't from
07:25a AAA studio.
07:26The action-RPG was released in 2019 by French studio Spiders and published by Focus Home.
07:32The setting blends fantasy and 17th-century colonialism, which was music to the ears of
07:37some and off-putting to others, resulting in a bunch of people giving the game a miss.
07:42Under the hood, though, there's well-balanced Witcher-esque combat, a gorgeous game world
07:46to explore, and genuinely satisfying RPG progression alongside a healthy dose of challenge,
07:52particularly in boss encounters.
07:54This is yet another game that you could have missed out on if you saw one or two bad reviews,
07:58but if it sounds like your thing, don't be put off.
08:012.
08:02Immortals Fenyx Rising
08:03If there's one thing we're trying to convey in this list, it's that just because a few
08:07major outlets may not have loved a game doesn't mean you won't, and Immortals Fenyx Rising
08:13is another great example of that.
08:15Cast aside by a good number of people for being a breath of the wild light, a good number
08:19of people didn't even try their hand at this one on reputation alone, which is a darn shame
08:24because it's a pretty entertaining game in here.
08:27It may not have garnered the scores for you to run out and pick it up as a must-play,
08:31but Fenyx Rising has a grand, colorful world replete with mythical beasts to best, intricate
08:36puzzles to solve, and a story to unravel.
08:39The combat is satisfyingly complex, there are powers to utilize, and unlike a lot of
08:43these very serious RPGs, Fenyx Rising isn't afraid to have a bit more fun with itself.
08:49Dialogue is often amusing, and the whole narrative plays out as a story being told to Zeus by
08:54Prometheus.
08:55The humor is a really lovely touch, as is the vivid, oversaturated game world, because,
09:00as we said earlier, we've really had enough of Grey.
09:03If you played Breath of the Wild and wanted more of that vibe, but in a smaller package,
09:07Fenyx Rising gets the job done.
09:091.
09:10Mad Max Mad Max is such a bizarre case.
09:12I remember everyone talking about this game before it came out, and then it seemed like
09:16next to no one played it because it wasn't universally critically acclaimed upon release.
09:21That remains true, but it's a massive shame because the one person I know who did play
09:25it absolutely loved it, and if that happens to be you and your friendship group, I'm
09:29assuming you agree with me.
09:30The 2015 action-adventure was made by Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, and while
09:36it was criticized by some reviewers for having a lackluster story, there's a lot to love
09:40in there too.
09:41The compelling world design and sprawling sandbox offers up the ideal playground for
09:45vehicular combat, exploring, and action encounters.
09:49In particular, the game was also praised for its exciting weather effects, impressive map
09:53scale, and unique regions.
09:55Perhaps most importantly, Avalanche just did an excellent job of bringing the enthralling
10:00and violent world of Mad Max to a video game experience.
10:03Though many gave it a miss because of its uneven review scores, those who vibed with
10:07its strengths are really glad they gave it a go.
10:09That's the end of our list, but do let me know down in that comment section if you can
10:13think of any other open-world video games that not enough people have played.
10:17As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
10:20If you like, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account, where I'm at JessMcDonald,
10:25but make sure that you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.