Best Open-World Games That Offer Freedom In Playstyle

Open-world games are known for letting players do almost anything, but very few truly support many different ways to play. While excellent games like Red Dead Redemption 2 allow some control over the character and story, the core gameplay remains fairly consistent. This makes sense for story-focused games like RDR2 or Like a Dragon. However, some open-world games emphasize character customization and variety, promising that each player’s experience can be significantly different based on their chosen playstyle.

When done right, games with lots of freedom and unexpected moments can be incredibly engaging and replayable, offering players different ways to experience them each time. For example, you might choose to play as a close-combat fighter in one game, then switch to a long-range magic user in the next. Here are some excellent open-world games that allow for a variety of playstyles.

8. For The King

A Strategic Open-World Roguelike

For The King is a strategy role-playing game that blends elements of classic tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons with roguelike gameplay. Players explore a vast, open world presented on a hex-based map, facing constant challenges, random events, and plenty of dungeon exploration. Time is always a factor, adding to the game’s exciting and unpredictable nature.

The game is now even more enjoyable thanks to the addition of online cooperative play and a diverse selection of classes, letting players experience the game in many different ways. Plus, with a wide range of items to collect, players can customize their characters to fit their preferred playstyle.

7. Elden Ring

An Open World With Player-Driven Progression

While Elden Ring’s open world isn’t quite as detailed as the environments in the Dark Souls games, there’s still plenty to find if you explore. Like other games from FromSoftware, Elden Ring lets you customize your character and play however you want, offering a lot of freedom in how you approach the game.

Character classes provide a good starting point in Elden Ring, and the game’s solid RPG mechanics consistently empower player decisions. With lots of different stats to customize, a huge selection of weapons and armor, and many powerful spells, each time you play feels fresh and unique, greatly increasing the game’s replayability.

6. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Well-Crafted Narrative & Character Choices

Whether you’re exploring its vast open world, making choices that shape the story, or experimenting with different playstyles, Skyrim is a truly expansive and impressive role-playing game. Players can customize their character to become anything from a heavily armored fighter to a stealthy archer or a powerful spellcaster, offering a unique experience with each playthrough.

These options aren’t simple; they’re based on a complex skill system with choices that really matter. You’ll find meaningful choices not only in how your character improves, but also in the story itself. How you choose to role-play – whether through direct decisions or simply how you behave in the game world – significantly impacts your experience in Skyrim.

5. Disco Elysium

A Unique Character Progression System

Despite being relatively small, the world of Disco Elysium feels incredibly immersive thanks to its beautiful, detailed environments. Many consider the game’s rich and well-developed world – both the areas you can explore and those hinted at beyond – to be its strongest feature, brought to life by fantastic writing and voice acting.

Initially, the many choices for customizing your character might seem a bit daunting. But the blend of traits and skills creates a fresh experience each time you play. Importantly, this detailed character system focuses on immersive role-playing, not just fighting.

4. The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

A Truly Expressive Crafting System In An Expansive Open World

Following the beautifully designed world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom takes things further with a unique crafting system. The game’s core Ultrahand and Fuse abilities are incredibly versatile, giving players endless ways to experiment and be creative.

The game’s expanded features and creative tools make its open world even more immersive and give players greater freedom than before. If you enjoy exploring vast worlds and building things, Tears of the Kingdom is a standout title that will be difficult to surpass.

3. Caves Of Qud

An Impossibly Varied Character Creator

Caves of Qud is an open-world role-playing game with roguelike elements, known for its strange and fascinating world. Even though the graphics are simple, it’s a deeply engaging game thanks to its excellent music, descriptive writing, and the freedom it gives players to make their own choices.

The character creation in Caves of Qud is incredibly detailed, letting you make a huge variety of characters. You’ll use traditional RPG stats and a point system to choose perks, including fun mutations and cybernetic implants, giving each character unique strengths and weaknesses. As you play, your character will continue to evolve, and the choices you make about their skills and equipment will significantly shape how you experience the game.

2. Kenshi

A Sandbox RPG With True Player Agency

Kenshi gives players incredible freedom to shape their experience. It’s a truly open-ended game with solid RPG mechanics and a unique world to discover. You start with a single character, and can play that way if you like, but the game also lets you build a team of companions.

Kenshi doesn’t tell you what to do, and that’s a good thing. It throws you into its world and lets you figure things out for yourself, creating a truly open and experimental experience. You’re free to develop your own unique playstyle as you explore, and with its detailed character progression and diverse equipment, Kenshi supports a huge range of different approaches.

1. Fallout: New Vegas

An RPG That Combines Emergent Gameplay & Player Choice

One of the best parts of most Fallout games is how much freedom they give players. You can create characters in many different ways and make choices that really impact the story, meaning each game – especially Fallout: New Vegas – feels fresh and different every time you play.

The world of Fallout: New Vegas feels incredibly alive because its characters and environment constantly react to your actions. You can truly immerse yourself in the game through unpredictable events and systems like reputation and karma. Plus, with a huge variety of skills and perks, you can create a character that not only plays the way you want, but also allows you to fully embrace a specific role.

Honorable Mentions

Here are a few games we recommend that offer a variety of ways to play.

Where Winds Meet – The classless system grants quite a bit of build variety, although you will generally slot into three types of character. Hybrid builds that combine weapons and martial arts that are not designed for each other are viable, but you need to put in the work to get them going. The game focuses exclusively on weapons-based combat, so you are going to generally be using either a sword or a spear, and there is no magic.
Prey – A game designed to encourage player-driven solutions, and multiple build paths are available that can lean into combat, stealth, alien powers, or environmental exploitation.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord – Players can choose to take on a wide assortment of roles, from traders to rulers or mercenaries.
Project Zomboid – Sandbox survival with serious customization.
Outward – You get to decide your build and then need to work toward mastering it, and the campaign revolves around travel and survival.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – Most missions can be approached in multiple ways.
Cyberpunk 2077 – Stealth netrunner vs melee berserker vs gun specialist; all widely different archetypes.

2026-02-16 00:35