If you’ve had your eye on an open world game like Marvel’s Spider-Man, The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2, but didn’t think you’d ever have the time to play it, now might be your chance.
Whether you like to explore every corner of a world, complete every side quest to score 100 per cent, or prefer to stick to the main quest, open world games pretty much let you do whatever you feel like, all at your own pace.
Here we share a selection of the most absorbing open world games to explore and get lost in right now.
With over 100 hours of core and side-quest gameplay, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is sure to keep boredom at bay. The dark fantasy game sees you play as Geralt of Rivia, mercenary Monster Slayer.
Explore the gigantic open world and battle dark forces using swords to combat magic. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt combines traditional RPG with open world where your choices unlock different endings.
One Amazon shopper wrote in their review: ‘Simply one of the best games I’ve ever played, actually made me want to read the books. The story is amazing, matched by good gameplay.
‘The scenery is fantastic, the characters are all intriguing and monsters that are challenging yet rewarding when defeated. Epic from start to finish, absolute masterpiece. Can’t believe it took me so long to discover it, amazing!’
Set in America in 1899 at the end of the wild west era, Red Dead Redemption 2 sees you play as Van der Linde gang leader Arthur Morgan, who is forced to flee from lawmen after a robbery goes badly wrong.
Explore the rugged heartland of America on horseback as you evade federal agents and bounty hunters who are hot on your tail. Bond with your steed to unlock abilities and interact with every character you meet to influence Arthur’s honour, whether its for his own ideals or loyalty to his outlaw gang.
From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic western tale of life and hardships in America before the turn of the 20th century.
Escape to the kingdom of Hyrule on the Nintendo Switch. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sees you play as the legendary hero Link who, after a 100-year slumber, must set out on a path to regain his memories.
Explore more than 100 puzzle-filled shrines dotted around an expansive world filled with stunning landscapes and towering enemies.
Scavenge weapons, gear and rewards, hunt wild beasts and gather ingredients for food and elixirs to sustain your adventurous journey to save Hyrule.
Grand Theft Auto V features an ever-evolving world of choices and ways to play as you wreak havoc in the city of Los Santos and Blaine County. Pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive.
The Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition includes the complete Grand Theft Auto V story experience, as well as free access to the ever-evolving Grand Theft Auto Online and all existing gameplay upgrades and content including The Doomsday Heist, Gunrunning, Smuggler’s Run and Bikers.
You’ll also get the Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack, the fastest way to jumpstart your criminal empire in Grand Theft Auto Online.
Originally released in 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a personal favourite when I want to escape to a high fantasy open world. Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year awards, the RPG game has proved so popular it was remastered in stunning HD on Xbox One and PS4 in 2016, and released on Nintendo Switch in 2017.
Play the game however you wish, whether it’s hunting down dragons, completing side quests or raiding tombs. With new quests, environments, characters, dialogue, armour, weapons and more, you’ll experience the world of Skyrim like never before.
With remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field and screen-space reflections, this special edition game reimagines the open-world fantasy epic, pushing the gameplay and technology of a virtual world to new heights.
From legendary game creator Hideo Kojima comes this genre-defying experience starring Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux and Lindsay Wagner.
Play as Sam Bridges, who must embark on a journey to reconnect a world shattered by the Death Stranding. Face otherworldly creatures (BTs) plaguing the landscapes, and reconnect isolated cities and a fragmented society to save humanity from mass extinction.
Set in an infinite universe, No Man’s Sky is an epic science fiction adventure game where you must discover and explore new planets, fight for survival as you combat never-seen-before hostile creatures, and trade so you can make money to upgrade your ship, suit and weapons.
The game’s universe is packed with 255 entire galaxies filled with solar systems and planets, totalling up to more than 18 quintillion worlds, which means it would take roughly 585 billion years to visit them all.
Spider-Man has been fighting crime for years meaning Peter Parker has mastered his powerful spider-sense, dynamic skills and acrobatic abilities. Spider-Man even has a new suit.
Swing through Marvel’s New York City by casting your web as Spider-Man, fight villains and enjoy a rich original narrative in an all-new Spider-Man universe.
One Amazon shopper wrote in their review: ‘What a fantastic game. I do not usually play single player games, but I made an exception just this once and pre-ordered this game for release day delivery and boy was I impressed.
‘This game is incredible. The physics, the gameplay, the storyline, the open world (they’ve recreated NYC and it looks stunning). This is probably one of the best, if not THE best single player game on PS4. It helps if you like the Spider-Man movies and New York City.’
The Game of The Year Edition also includes The City That Never Sleeps DLC, which features three post-launch story chapters, as well as new characters and missions.
MailOnline may earn commission on sales from the links on this page.