5 Open-World Games Worth Playing Just For Their Worldbuilding

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5 Open-World Games Worth Playing Just For Their Worldbuilding

Highlights

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim offers a rich culture and background stories to explore beyond the main storyline.
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn delves into the consequences of human ruin and persisting culture in a visually stunning world.
  • No Man’s Sky combines deep world-building with gameplay, offering a vast universe to explore and uncover secrets.

As a seasoned gamer with a heart full of stories and a mind brimming with memories, I must say that the world-building in these games is nothing short of extraordinary. Each one offers a unique perspective on the vast universes they’ve created, and it’s been an absolute joy to explore them all.

Crafting an immersive world is crucial for open-world video games, especially when they’re rich in historical civilizations, backstories, and various unusual characters and creatures to interact with. Remarkably well-crafted worlds can be found in select titles, where the depth of their background design is so intricate that it feels almost unreal.

As a gamer, I can’t help but be drawn to games that have been meticulously crafted over years or are fresh off the presses yet brimming with centuries of lore waiting to be uncovered. Regardless of their age, these games are worth diving into for their breathtaking world-building alone, promising an utterly immersive journey for every player brave enough to enter their captivating realms.

5 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Explore A Whole Culture, Like You’ve Never Seen Before

People often get caught up discussing the latest installment of the six-part Elder Scrolls series, but it’s easy to overlook the fact that this franchise’s rich lore spans over three decades, making it one of the oldest and most dedicated to world-building. This means an abundance of lore to delve into and impressive attention to detail in the game’s design. However, it is in Skyrim where The Elder Scrolls (TES) truly excels in world-building, offering numerous side stories to uncover and a vibrant ecosystem that complements the main storyline. This ecosystem created by Bethesda feels alive and breathing.

Reflecting on the intricate lore of Tamriel, I can’t help but ponder the connection between the Dwemer, the legendary Snow Elves, and their descendants, the Falmer. This epic narrative has been skillfully woven for over three decades. Moreover, the divine presence of Akatosh and the other Aedra seems more pronounced during the Alduin crisis, making it a pivotal moment in Tamriel’s history.

4 Horizon: Zero Dawn

Visually Breathtaking, And Narratively Heartbreaking

In Horizon: Zero Dawn, the narrative isn’t primarily focused on Alloy or any contemporary Earth inhabitants. Instead, it delves into the devastation that humanity wrought upon the world and how civilization managed to survive even beyond its deserved demise. The game’s world-building is remarkably intricate, with each layer gradually unfolding until every piece fits perfectly, leaving you in a chilling moment of understanding that everything was futile.

Humanity may have persisted, but so did its greed, low moral standards, aggressivity, and hubris of believing itself in control of its own fate. Alloy’s tale is a wake-up call everyone not realizing that there’s no planet B, but players might not be ready for this discussion. In the meantime, the worldbuilding is all that’s good in games like this one, and even if you go beyond the cautionary tale, there are hundreds of small stories of survival, some are a spark of hope, others, tremendously heartbreaking, but all of them are worthy of being known.

3 No Man’s Sky

No Other Game Dared To Go As Far As This

Initially, No Man’s Sky wasn’t as spectacular as it currently is. From the grandiose anticipation surrounding its initial launch to the recent updates over the past eight years, the game has undergone a lengthy process of development and continuous enhancements in quality of life features, transforming it into the ultimate space exploration game. Yet, it’s not merely the multitude of procedurally generated planets, side quests, and activities that breathe life into an expansive universe. It’s also about the intricate world-building, skillfully concealed within the dim recesses of forgotten worlds and ruins.

In No Man’s Sky, there’s a rich narrative to uncover: What led the space traveler (player character) to this distant location initially? What compels them to respond to the echoes of the long-lost Ancient Civilization Ruins? As players navigate through unfamiliar galaxies, encountering various alien species and gradually learning their languages, they must also establish themselves while navigating cultural barriers. The game’s immersive world-building is so seamlessly integrated into the gameplay, it can easily be overlooked. Over time, as the game continues to expand and evolve, its world-building will grow along with it, demonstrating its enduring value over and over again.

2 Borderlands 2

Its Worldbuilding Reached Its Pinnacle Here

Without a doubt, Borderlands 2 revolutionized the Looter Shooter genre, leaving an indelible impact. Its offbeat humor and enticing loot system reshaped the genre’s landscape, establishing benchmarks for games that followed. Yet, its most captivating feature was arguably the rich narrative it offered – a blend of humor, gravity, and immersive world-building that surpassed expectations.

In a cosmos dominated by corporations tasked with the risky pursuit of Vault Seekers, ancient civilizations seemingly concealed countless hidden locations containing lethal space creatures and immensely potent artifacts. Despite seeming straightforward, the world design in Borderlands 2 is richly complex and profound. Particularly striking is its character creation, which surpasses typical standards. The intricate lore behind corporations is impressive, but the backstory of the Sirens and their origins is both captivating and terrifying in equal measure.

1 Fallout 4

Its World-Building Is One Of The Best Things In The Game

Bethesda excelled at constructing the universe for Fallout 4 in a way unmatched by any other game in the series, which is just great. From the meticulously crafted initial environment to the richly layered main character backstory, and the flawless faction system that’s pure gold, Fallout 4 offers an abundance of depth and quality. This game has undergone multiple revisions and relied heavily on the support of the modding community, more so than any other Fallout game.

As a die-hard fan, I must admit that despite its quirks, Fallout 4 offers an exceptional gaming experience in terms of its rich lore and captivating storyline. The game is meticulously polished, solid, and each character you meet within the Commonwealth surrounding Vault 111 is truly a gem – worth every second spent talking to them. With the recent unveiling of Fallout: London, a mod that’s been painstakingly crafted over years, players now have another opportunity to delve back into this fascinating world. Don’t miss out on this chance to relive the experience; after all, all that hard work poured into the mod deserves to be appreciated!

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2024-08-14 09:05