Open-world games come in many forms. Many people can still find their way to Vercetti Mansion in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, enjoy the almost tangible breeze in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, climb insurmountable mountains in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, swim in cold waters near Skellige in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and still wander through mesmerizing forests in Red Dead Redemption 2. All of these are undeniably legendary games that have as many fans as the most popular slots. But what is it today? What to look out for among the new open-world games?
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the best and most titled games of our time in general. The scale of the game amazes players with the number of characters and the size of the locations. Hundreds of story micro-lines and side quests always end up connected to the central story in the end. But the most important thing is the variability. You can find a dozen solutions for any task. For example, if you have high city walls in front of you, you can try to climb them, break through them with the help of heavy weapons, make up the items scattered in the neighborhood one by one, and climb them. Or you can take on a different appearance and cunningly persuade the guard to let you pass.
The possibilities for interacting with characters are almost limitless: you can make friends, enemies, and have romantic relationships with anyone you want. And each choice influences the further development of the story, so it’s hard to even guess how many different passages are possible in Baldur’s Gate 3. Immersiveness and variability in everything are the main principles of the game, which are realized in it 100%.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Another action-adventure game in the Marvel universe seems to have been created to impress with the super detailed open world of New York City and the sensations of moving around it. We have two spiders, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, as well as a number of non-superhero characters, including quite unexpected ones, such as a man with disabilities. No serious drama from the plot is expected: spiders, as always, are running around the city and fighting with villains, including Craven the Hunter, Sandman, Lizard, Venom, and others.
The city, which serves as a setting for the action, is beyond praise. The skyscrapers of the bustling metropolis, as in the previous parts, become the arena for numerous tricks with spider webs. It’s a pleasure to bounce upwards with a whistle in your ears, jump between the buildings and contemplate the city from the height of a spider flight. This time the heroes got a wingsuit, thanks to which full-fledged flights over long distances were added to street jumping on the web. This allowed you to expand the world of the game: Brooklyn and Queens were added to the already familiar Manhattan. Each neighborhood has its own architecture (including world-famous landmarks), “character,” and pace of life. And most importantly, long flights over the river and bridges.
Elden Ring
The main thing that distinguishes Elden Ring from the usual Dark Souls is a vast, open world. “Inter-Earth” is the country, “the golden order,” which was maintained with the help of the Elden Ring, but the ring has fallen apart. Numerous descendants of the former ruler from different husbands have taken possession of the shards and are engaged in an unscrupulous struggle for power, and you will have to put all the pieces together and restore the golden order.
George R. R. Martin, known for the legendary Game of Thrones, had a hand in creating the game’s world, and his touch is evident in the large-scale fantasy locations, the intricate family ties between characters, and the many betrayals and intrigues in the storyline. The world of the game consists of six unique areas, ruled by different demigods, and within the areas, there are the usual Dark Souls locations with intricate multi-level passages, labyrinths, and dungeons. All areas are highly atmospheric. The scorched lands around the volcano, the lush wealth of the capital city, the dark and chilling splendor of the underworld, and the traditional viscous swamp are waiting for you.
You can move around the world on your own or on an extremely capable horse named Potok, which significantly increases your movement speed and gives you an advantage in many fights. The world map is unimaginably vast, and it isn’t empty. Dangers and adventures await you at every turn, and it’s exciting to explore because in every hidden corner you can unexpectedly find a door, underground passage or elevator, inviting you to entire vast levels, which can be easily missed if you are not careful. In order not to get confused, important places on the map should be marked with special markers. You can explore it almost endlessly and discover something new every time.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The sequel to Breath of the Wild, which was originally intended to be a story supplement but eventually grew into a stand-alone game, is Nintendo’s biggest game yet. Tears of the Kingdom is notable for its unprecedented freedom of action in a vast, open world. All gameplay is based on exploration, connected by an uncomplicated storyline, where the protagonist has to save the princess and the kingdom.
The world map is opened with the help of towers. The world of the game includes three plans: the kingdom of Hyrule, celestial archipelagos of soaring islands, and the underworld. The geography of the kingdom hasn’t changed related to the last game. The cities have remained in their places, but now everything is different between them. When you get to the location, seemingly familiar from the previous part, on the one hand you feel a rush of nostalgic feelings, but on the other hand you can marvel at how different everything is here now.
