Most games offer at the very least a loose direction for players to go into. Some are more linear and strict in how they tell their story, while others are full-on sandbox games where the sky’s the limit. Others, still, are immersive sims that strike a balance somewhere in between and encourage players to come up with creative ways to overcome their challenges.
5 Open-World Games You’ll Play for Hours Without Realizing
These five open-world games can be so absorbing that a quick session can turn into hours.
Players who yearn for as much freedom and prefer setting their own goals, rather than being told that they are the Dragonborn who must save the world, have several great games to explore. Whether you enjoy sci-fi universes with galaxies and automation gameplay, or prefer a medieval fantasy world with bosses and dangerous enemies, there’s something here for everyone.
Factorio
The Factory Must Grow, And You Choose How
Although the launching of a rocket could be considered a constraining goal in Factorio, ultimately, this game is all about freedom inside a sandbox. Players can play forever, without a clear goal, or even set their own goals, and achieve those in whatever way they see fit. Escape the planet, or don’t, basically.
It’s the ultimate tech and automation game for builders out there who love to tinker and get creative with no end in sight, all in a sci-fi setting. There are some incredible machines and factories that players can come up with, and easily sink hundreds of hours into the game. Min-max everything, unlock all the research, or be as inefficient as possible with your builds; the choice is yours.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Los Santos Is The Player’s Ultimate Playground Of Freedom
GTA 5 may have a story to follow, but ultimately, players can do whatever they want in Los Santos. Forget the main quest or even the side quests; you can become a real menace in the local police force’s eyes, explore the vistas, buy some housing and/or cars, and more. Make money, spend it all, and make it all back again, basically.
If all that still isn’t enough for you, there are plenty of side activities you can get busy with, from golf to movies, to tennis, and visiting a few very nice ladies at a very nice club. Spend some time at a bar, get yourself a tattoo or a new haircut—GTA 5 is bordering on being the ultimate open-world simulation, and that’s all without discussing mods.
Minecraft
Mojang’s Sandbox Is Without Parallel In Freedom
Few games out there come with the same freedom as Minecraft. This is THE king of sandbox games, an infinite world of limitless possibilities where nothing is mandatory. Players choose how they want to play, what they want to do, and with all the different difficulty options and settings for worlds, it’s also possible to determine the rules of their very environment.
Are you a builder who just wants to decorate? You can do that with a dedicated creative mode that lets you access all the items and blocks in the game. Are you an adventurer who loves to conquer and explore? You can do that by taming a horse, riding a Ghast, or finding an elytra in the end to fly around. Or perhaps you prefer complex factory gameplay or RPG elements? Redstone is the place to start, and for RPG, there’s a whole achievement tree and enchantments, and dungeons to slay through.
Valheim
Be The Kind Of Viking You Want To Be
A Viking sandbox survival game, Valheim puts players into a world where the only goal is to survive, and progress from one biome to the next as the challenges grow, and you conquer one boss after another. Beyond that, however, you can play this game in any way that you want and as efficiently as you want.
There’s something for everyone here. Builders have a pretty robust system to create rustic bases and grand Viking halls. You can create your own farms, gather resources to create more, or just go out adventuring and exploring what the world has to offer if that’s more your cup of tea.
No Man’s Sky
A Limitless Galaxy Where You Can Be Whoever You Want
Despite a rocky launch, No Man’s Sky has undoubtedly become the gold standard for space exploration and survival gameplay. With a whole open-world galaxy at your doorstep, it’s going to be a while before anyone gets bored. It’s an infinite world, with infinite opportunities.
And although there’s survival gameplay, base-building, and ship-upgrading, there’s also a bit of a story to explore, pirates to battle (or become the pirate yourself), and money to be made. You decide the path you take and how long it will take you to get to your desired destination.
Outward
An Unforgiving Survival RPG Where You Choose Your Path
If medieval RPG settings are more your jam, then Outward is the place to start. But wait, this isn’t just your typical open-world RPG. It’s more like if someone slapped extreme survival mode on Skyrim, with features like sleep and hydration. This is a tough, dark medieval world in the vein of Kenshi, which will require grit for players to get through.
There’s absolutely no handholding or direction involved. While there’s no base-building, there’s pretty deep RPG gameplay, and players are free to explore and traverse through the hazardous world at their own pace. Just make sure to be thoroughly prepared before diving into a dungeon or challenging any tough enemies in the wild.
Rimworld
A Cozy Colony Sim Or A Gritty Survival Strategy, You Decide
Strategy game lovers will find the most freedom in a game like Rimworld, which blends simulation gameplay with base building in a sandbox setting. It’s truly an interesting one, because depending on the player, the tone of the game can be quite different. There are pets to tame, but there are also diseases to manage. You can expand the base, or you can focus on tending to the colonists, or a bit of everything.
Longest Open-World Games
Even the most sophisticated gamer will be bewildered by the sheer scale of these games. These are the open-world games that take the longest to beat.
That’s where the freedom comes in: no one tells you how to manage your little colonists. It appeals to both The Sims players with need management, but also to grand strategy or colony sim game fans, as the colonists must be protected from outside threats and their home grows. Every game and world is unique, so the replayability is off the charts.
Project Zomboid
Survive The Zombie Apocalypse The Way You See Fit
Back to something a little grittier and challenging, there’s Project Zomboid. Don’t let the isometric perspective fool you, because this zombie survival game doesn’t take any hostages. It’s tough, it’s immersive, and the gameplay feels incredibly realistic as you manage your survivor’s needs and find a place to build your base. And yes, that includes managing things like boredom and even depression, all real mental dangers of a post-apocalyptic world.
Although the game does force you to survive, you decide how you go about doing this. There’s some seriously solid customization in the game, and a bunch of side activities to occupy you that can help you make it through another night and another season. The tasks you complete will directly level them up, reflecting your playstyle. From an extraordinary chef to a fishing expert, you choose how to survive.
The Sims 4
Life Simulation Freedom At Its Finest
In terms of creative freedom, The Sims 4 and the whole franchise, for that matter, are definitely up there. Create whatever kind of household you want by customizing their appearances and traits, and move them into the world, into a house you can build from the ground up. From there on, anything goes.
Does the family want to become filthy rich or terrorize their neighborhood by being mean and spiteful? Do they live in a massive mansion with a butler, or are you opting for a rags-to-riches kind of story? That’s all up to the player, and with every expansion, the possibilities grow as new gameplay features from magic to starhood are unlocked.
Kenshi
Freedom At The Cost Of Suffering
Kenshi is not for the faint of heart; let’s make that abundantly clear. Kenshi is for those who are not afraid of challenge, of figuring things out on their own, and even then facing failure. It’s an unforgiving RPG that has limitless opportunities and incredible depth wrapped into a massive world where you create your character from scratch, but it is unapologetic in how it delivers that freedom to players, to buckle up before you jump in.
Yes, there is freedom, but the world will always hit you with consequences, which adds to the chaos. You might end up enslaved, or you might settle down to be a farmer. Perhaps you wish to hit the road as a trader to sneak around as a thief. Whatever you choose, choose carefully, because you might end up eaten alive by cannibals or imprisoned for life.
8 Best Survival Games That Let You Play Your Own Way
Survival games come in all shapes and sizes, but the best examples of the genre are often the ones that offer players the most freedom of choice.
