Open-world games have been the main genre of the video game industry for past several years. Once developers figured out there was a lot of money to be made in games that “allow players to do what they want,” more and more hopped on the train to create them. Now, it has become a cliché to make an open-world game, leading many to become disillusioned with most games in the genre.
To be fair, open-world games, when done right, can bring some of the best results. These games can bring players to an entirely new world where they can chart their own courses and affect how reality plays out. Those games are worth every penny, though they’re often considered to be the minority.’
However, there are plenty of open-world games that get a lot of support and praise after they launch. On further inspection, though, it becomes clear that some of these games have been overrated for a long time. That’s not to say they’re bad, just that they likely aren’t as good as many critics would lead you to believe.
On top of that, there are plenty of well-crafted open-world games that deserve the praise and attention of AAA titles, but are swept a bit under the rug. Those games deserve a second chance in such a flooded market of open-world titles.
With that said, we’re exploring 15 overrated open-world games that don’t deserve a lot of the praise they get and 15 open-world games that are worth a second look.
30 Overrated: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrim is often cited as one of the best open-world games of all time, being re-released on numerous platforms and garnering a lot of attention each time. While there’s no denying that the scope of Skyrim is impressive, it does have its fair share of problems. For every great moment, there is a time where players will experience a weird glitch. Furthermore, the first-person combat system felt clunky at best, which is a shame considering that Skyrim is a game about fighting fantastical monsters and dragons.
29 Underrated: Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn was a game that was quickly thrown under the rug considering that it released days before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Make no mistake, the game is an excellent example of what can be done with open-world titles. The graphics are astounding, the world feels unique and truly its own, and the combat is exciting and intense. Couple that with the fact that the game is dirt cheap to get, and it’s a no-brainer for anyone who owns a PS4.
28 Overrated: Final Fantasy XV
Square Enix has spent a lot of their energy on adding content to Final Fantasy XV, which has captured a lot of players.
While all the DLC is nice, that’s not to say that the game is perfect.
Recall that a large portion of the game takes the freedom of an open-world title away, forcing players to navigate cramped hallways and fight a similar roster of foes in the process. It was certainly a step up from Final Fantasy XIII, but it could’ve used a bit more fine-tuning before its release.
27 Underrated: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
It’s astounding that, despite how cleverly it recreated A Link to the Past while adding fresh content, that The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds isn’t as celebrated as its predecessor. When fans were clamoring for a more open-ended style to the game, this game allowed players to complete dungeons in any order and allowed all key items to be purchased or rented from the main shop. Couple this with a return to the top-down style with tight combat and plenty of environments, and it was one of the best games in the series.
26 Overrated: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
It’s safe to say that Assassin’s Creed as a franchise is fairly overrated. While Ubisoft is supposedly trying to better their mistakes with Origins and Odyssey, the result isn’t something that lasts. Odyssey still suffers from plenty of tropes and forces players to go through the same type of side quests throughout the entire game. Having its fair share of random bugs, it doesn’t feel like as much effort went into it as other open-world games this year like Spider-Man or Red Dead Redemption 2.
25 Underrated: Sunset Overdrive
Insomniac’s Xbox One exclusive game came with all of their trademark flair and finesse.
Sunset Overdrive is a stylistic game that makes movement feel great as players tackle all sorts of foes.
Coupled with a great art style, wacky weapons to use, and a gorgeous environment, it was an open-world game that always remembered that people just want to play games that are fun and inviting. Its movement system was the framework that Insomniac used in Spider-Man just a few years later.
24 Overrated: Far Cry 3
When Ubisoft established an open-world system with Assassin’s Creed, many other open-world games simply tried to apply it in the future. That’s essentially the case with Far Cry 3. Despite how beloved the game’s antagonist is, it suffers from a lot of open-world game tropes. Everything from completing all sorts of pointless mini-games to getting to the tops of towers doesn’t feel new. Ultimately, there is no big reason to finish the game completely, because it doesn’t feel rewarding to keep going.
23 Underrated: Terraria
While Minecraft established the destroy and create system that several other developers would use, Terraria was the first game that really tried to come into its own. Fundamentally, it’s similar to Minecraft, having players build their own homes and whatnot. However, the game feels like it has a goal with all sorts of interesting environments to explore and tough bosses to tackle. Packed with strange NPCs that interact with the player, Terraria feels much more alive and better for a longer period of time.
22 Overrated: The Division
The Division had a lot of hype before and after it released, but it doesn’t quite deserve the praise it got. After all, it’s little more than a game that combines a drab open world with the mechanics of Gears of War. The game has players shoot while using cover to their advantage. While it sounded great on paper, the execution proved to be very lacking. Never fully committing to any of its ideas, The Division feels like a game that is devoid of fun.
21 Underrated: Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
While most Jak games took place in a weirder, darker future, the first game in the franchise remains one of the best. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a game where Naughty Dog didn’t want players to experience loading screens.
The whole map is open from the start, and players are allowed to explore massive chunks of it at any given time.
It feels diverse, with all sorts of environments to explore and collectibles to find. Each location differing from the last, the game leaves an excellent impression.
20 Overrated: RAGE
While RAGE prides itself in its gorgeous character animations as well as opening the world up to players from the start, it suffers from a few key problems. One of which is the fact that the open world itself isn’t that interesting. Vehicles are required to traverse this barren wasteland devoid of anything interesting or worthwhile to do. There isn’t a lot of draw to the fact that it is an open-world game, so it makes sense that Rage 2 would try to reboot the style of the franchise.
19 Underrated: Just Cause 2
Just Cause is a franchise that throws limitations out the door. Players can do all sorts of crazy things from the start, and it’s impressive to see how that is married beautifully with the scale of the worlds. Just Cause 2 was a game that wasn’t very popular when it released due to other open-world games taking the slot. However, that’s a shame, because Just Cause 2 lets players imagine all sorts of crazy scenarios and execute them in wild fashion, just like watching a campy ‘80s action flick.
18 Overrated: Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was a surprisingly well-thought-out open-world game, so it’s a shame that its sequel, Shadow of War, felt like a few steps back despite all the praise that it received.
It featured a lot of the same tired, open-world clichés.
On top of that, the game felt padded out with filler in trying to be something bigger than its predecessor. It also seems to strangely confine players, which is weird, considering how much the Nemesis system tries to encourage a unique path in each playthrough.
17 Underrated: Banjo Kazooie
Banjo Kazooie got a lot of praise back in its day, but a lack of representation from Microsoft has led to many forgetting or even questioning whether the bear and the bird were ever that good. It’s surprising to note that the first game in the franchise still holds up. While the polygonal models are a bit outdated, the charming visuals, tight gameplay, and tightly-designed worlds are as fun today as they were back when it first released. It’s a shame a proper sequel hasn’t been released since.
16 Overrated: Dishonored
Dishonored was a game that people went crazy for when it came out. However, it doesn’t seem like there were a lot of ideas or mechanics new enough to make it stand out. The game feels formulaic and limiting, with the same sort of abilities and moves carrying players throughout the entire story. Despite letting players choose which playstyle they wanted, the game felt extremely bare for those that chose not to use the magic mechanics. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.
15 Underrated: Burnout: Paradise
While racing games have moved on, there is no denying what an impressive game Burnout: Paradise was. Players could boot it up and rocket themselves through a massive city, racing through familiar environments and getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. It was exciting just to travel and figure out all the nooks and crannies that one could drive through. It made each race, each encounter with the police, and each upgrade feel connected, as they weren’t tied down to screens on a menu.
14 Overrated: Destiny
This isn’t just an entry for the first Destiny game, but rather the Destiny franchise as a whole. At the end of the day, the series doesn’t have a lot of content or reason for players to keep coming back for more.
Once they reach a certain point, that’s about it for most players.
With Destiny 2 making the same mistakes as the first game, it’s difficult to understand why so many people are enamored with it to the point that Bungie can release all sorts of expansions that make players go crazy.
13 Underrated: Nier Automata
Nier: Automata is a crazy game that throws players in all sorts of scenarios and gameplay styles. Despite mashing together all these wacky ideas, it surprisingly works. Giving players freedom to explore with free-flowing movement and attack monsters with combat ripped out of a Bayonetta game, it’s memorable unlike anything else. The game also has a great sense of scale, pulling together all sorts of intense visuals and properly putting them together with a glorious soundtrack. It’s a game unlike any other.
12 Overrated: Batman: Arkham City
While Batman: Arkham City is often stated as the best in the Arkham series, we’d argue that there’s something lost with the franchise when it was moved to a full open-world. Arkham Asylum was open-world too, but the confined corridors and haunting scenery of the asylum itself proved more impactful in the long run. Arkham City almost felt too ambitious for its own good, as it upped the ante just for the sake of making it more marketable to a large audience. The story also has some pacing issues.
11 Underrated: Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is often thrown out by fans of the franchise in favor of games like Fallout: New Vegas.
Despite its lasting appeal being lost by those people, Fallout 3 still holds some great design choices.
After all, it practically nails its own scenery, having some extremely memorable locations and felt a lot more uncomfortable than subsequent entries in the series. Just like any other game in the franchise, Fallout 3 is creative and unique, full of the highest highs and the lowest lows.
