Open World
66 games reviewed, ranked by score.
Factorio
Every solved problem opens two harder ones. No exit.
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
The Ceiling for Writing in Games, Sold by a Company That Doesn't Deserve It
RimWorld
Your colonists keep writing stories you couldn't invent
Order of the Sinking Star
Your reward for solving a perfect puzzle: another one.
Oxygen Not Included
A Thermodynamics PhD Wearing a Colony Sim
Stardew Valley
One more harvest, and suddenly it's winter again
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Bloody Baron alone outwrites most full games
Against the Storm
Settlements built to be abandoned, and you keep founding more
Satisfactory
Factorio's obsession, walked through in first person
Valheim
A Viking saga you write one felled tree at a time
Dyson Sphere Program
Factory Building That Reaches Past the Stars
Well Dweller
A fluid, charming Metroidvania that prioritizes feel over friction
Heat Signature
Spaceship heists where every mistake becomes a story
CONTROL Resonant
A thrilling melee pivot in Remedy's surreal world
Cyberpunk 2077
Night City clawed its way back from disaster
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
A Sequel That Outclimbs Its Predecessor
ENDLESS Space 2
The 4X where your factions actually feel alien
Silver Pines
An unforgettable mystery wrapped in rotoscoped dread.
Enshrouded
A world-building triumph, despite a stuttering launch.
Heart of the Machine
Branching AI timelines with consequences that stick, past a brutal first hour
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
A glorious blade that deserves a sharper foe
over the hill
A beautiful off-roader that chooses peace over punishment
Pillars of Eternity
Obsidian's Infinity Engine Revival Still Earns Its Reputation
Planet Zoo
Every animal has real needs. Every feature costs extra.
Sandustry
A brilliant physics factory that ends just as it gets going.
Approximately Up
Wire a ship to land itself, past a tutorial that won't help
RuneScape: Dragonwilds
The addictive skill grind survives the trip to Ashenfall. The polish didn't.
Corsair Cove
Cliffside hideouts that route beautifully, combat left to the dice
DragonSword : Awakening
Gacha stripped out, tag-team combos left gloriously intact
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition
A peerless flight sim that fights you on the ground
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
Best story the spin-off's told, with nothing waiting past the credits
Stray
Being a cat is enough. The rest is window dressing.
The Blood of Dawnwalker
A story that rivals the masters, held back by repetition.
Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition
Robot Dinosaurs and Brilliant Combat Trapped in Ubisoft's Map
LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight
A brilliant Dark Knight, haunted by his own engine.
Scrap Mechanic
A physics workshop worth living in, a survival mode still half-built
SWAPMEAT
Wearing your enemies is a blast, until three planets run dry
ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies
Spy-thriller intrigue worth the dice, let down by broken lines
Big Ambitions
Building the empire beats running it
FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH
A brilliant combat RPG drowning in checklist sludge
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order
EA's Best Apology Is a Soulslite With a Lightsaber
Angels Fall First
Board an enemy carrier mid-match, past the menu clutter
Big Walk
A tender co-op wander, if the audio mixer relents
Nova Roma
Aqueduct planning charms early, then the tech tree runs dry
Palworld
Pokémon With Guns Hides a Real Survival Game
Romestead
Co-op rebuilding clicks with friends, grinds alone
Cursemark
Rune-breaking synergies worth chasing, if the bugs and thin content don't stop you
Airborne Empire
Balancing a flying city charms, the combat and crashes drag it down
Chorus
Drifting Saves This Space Shooter From Its Own Plot
Soulmask
Possess a tribe and automate it, once the menus relent
The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome
Generations of kung-fu builds, walled behind no tutorial
Witchspire
Charming witch sanctuary, undercut by lost levels and host-only loot
Ostranauts
Salvaging derelicts thrills, until a bug eats your save
Subnautica 2
A gorgeous dive into a shallow Early Access pool
My Garage
Deep car-tinkering buried under crashes and jank
Eden Crafters
A warming planet, undone by belts that won't snap
Solarpunk™
Lovely floating islands that empty out in a weekend
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu
Shared-sanity dread that its own timer and crashes work against
Astro Colony
The conveyor loop satisfies, the controls fight every cable
Space Haven
A Gorgeous Space Sim That Optimises Itself Into a Box
Gears of War: E-Day
A gorgeous prequel that sidelines its heroes and its framerate.
Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Looks Stunning – Underneath It's Just Generic Open-World Busywork
Gloria Victis: Medieval MMORPG
Best-in-class sword duels, sabotaged at the login screen
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
Edward's voyage still sings, drowned out by the storefront
Planet Zoo 2
A bigger zoo, built on a broken foundation.
Killer Bean
Ricochet kills that delight, in a build that barely functions