Summary
The open-world genrehas become a staple part of video games, with more releases opting for the open-world route than not nowadays. With such a saturated market comes a high level of creativity, and there’s now a vast variety of unique open worlds out there for gamers to enjoy. No matter if they’re vibrant sci-fi cities, alien civilizations, or flooded Lovecraftian nightmares, unique open worlds are often what makes a game great.
Not to mention, developing a unique open world is a surefire way to differentiate a video game from the mountains of others within the same genre. So many games opt for a repetitive US-based city as their open-world setting, from Grand Theft Auto to Watch Dogs and beyond. However, there are a number of open-world video games that want to explore different worlds, settings, cultures, and planets - and these are exactly the types of open worlds that stand out from the masses.
On the surface,Horizon Zero Dawnmight look like any other post-apocalyptic, open-world title. But that would probably be an assumption made by playersbeforethey’ve seen the huge robot dinosaurs wandering the earth. The unique part of this game is its distinct blend of post-apocalyptic and pre-historic aesthetics. Nature and machinery go hand in hand throughout this experience, something that would usually be considered an oxymoron.
There is a fantastic representation of tribal culture and communities in the narrative, but this is also present throughout its vast open world. It truly feels like a living and breathing world, and the unique robotic wildlife never seems out of place. It’s a beautifully detailedopen world that feels uniquely alivein its presentation. No other game has quite managed to create as strong a sense of wonder in its presentation as this.
Saints Rowwas once a franchisethat was directly attempting to compete withGrand Theft Auto, presenting realistic open-world crime settings in its titles. This was all thrown out the window whenSaints Row 4was released, however. This is one of the most absurdly unique open worlds ever created and presents an alien invasion in the fictional city of Steelport through a simulation that just gets weirder and weirder.
Players can utilize superpowers and a wide range of ridiculous weapons to combat the endless alien invasion plaguing the city. Steelport becomes infected with alien monuments and bases which the player is tasked with destroying and ultimately restoring the real world. It’s unique in both its alien premise and its utter absurdity, but no matter what,Saints Row 4is pure, unadulterated fun. It’s unfortunate that these kinds of games are so few and far between now.
Sable’s unique open world largely comes from its charming presentation. This is an indie title set on a desert planet, combining elements of the Middle East with the sci-fi aesthetic ofDune. The result is this outstandingly complex world, rich in both lore and attention to detail. What makes Sable stand out at first is itsunique cel-shaded visual style, which is heavily inspired by the works of French artist Jean Giraud, aka Moebius.
However, there’s a lot more to Sable than just the presentation. It absolutely nails the Arabian/Sci-fi approach and uses this to build a unique world filled with ancient ruins and ancient alien civilizations. It’s got a non-linear narrative, so it’s completely down to the player to put the pieces together. This is best achieved by just exploring the detailed world and exploring its unique presentation in full glory.
Where to start with explainingFar Cry 3: Blood Dragon? Firstly, this was released as astandalone expansion forFar Cry 3but absolutely knocked it out of the park, and is in many ways even better than the base game.Far Cry 3: Blood Dragonkicks things up to the max by creating an explorable, retro-futuristic island filled with 1980s nostalgia. This whole game is essentially a riff on 1980s sci-fi action titles, offering both a homage and a satirical take on the genre.
There’s not any other game that nails this aesthetic quite as well as this, and it’s an incredibly fun title to experience. The open world is filled with neon landmarks and mutant creatures drenched in cybernetics. It’s crazy, but it’s good crazy, and nothing else blends pure chaos and carnage into compelling gameplay likeFar Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and that’s mostly thanks to its unique open world. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience.
Death Strandingis on another level of unique, and needless to say, weird.From the mind of Hideo Kojima, this is a title about connecting a post-apocalyptic society with “strands”, which is achieved by delivering mail. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, butDeath Stranding’sopen-world presentation is most certainly unique. From stunning rocky mountains to luscious, steaming natural hot springs, the environment in this game is like no other. What makes this open world particularly unique is its shared player constructions, so someone else’s bridge that they built might appear in another player’s world, for example.
But that’s not even where this particular unique open world ends. Five seconds after resting in a hot spring, players might have to crawl their way through a dangerous BT-infested area. These are invisible creatures that float on strands attached to the sky, and players have to use the baby attached to their stomachs to detect and avoid them. If this is beginning to sound a bit too unique, then well, it’s best to just give it a go. Needless to say, this is a one-of-a-kind open-world setting that will have players scratching their heads when the credits roll.
Journey to the Savage Planetis a humorous FPS open-world title that tasks players with exploring a vibrant, sci-fi world filled with strange flora and fauna. The most unique part of this strange adventure is its large variety of eccentric creatures, some of which are friendly, and some of which are less so. Players might encounter a spikey plant that looks like a Venus fly trap but actually turns out to be a fan or a glowing tree that spits out some kind of hallucinogenic gas.
It’s vibrantly weird, strange, and crazy, but its unique sci-fi world (which does require unlocks to fully access, and is therefore not 100% open immediately) is one of the best that has been developed in recent years. It’s funny and satirical and all kinds of strange, but it’s a great kind of strange. When players think of a unique open world, this might not be one of the first that springs to mind, but it should certainly be up there, as not many games even come close to this kind of creativity and unique flare.
If players have a fear of the deep, dark depths of the sea,Subnauticais probably a game to avoid. That being said, however, this is certainly a unique open world. No other game manages to capture the unfathomably large scale of the sea, and the horrors that could lurk in the deepest depths. WhilstSubnauticais set on an alien planet, it’s not that much of a far stretch from the possibilities that lurk under our own tides.
Subnauticais one of the best games that establish a fully explorable ocean, instantly making it one of the most unique open worlds. It’s equal parts beautiful as it is petrifying, and gamers should always expect the unexpected. From glowing coral reefs to pitch-black caverns, the underwater depths are full of uniquely interesting and terrifying sea creatures and plants. It’s one of the best games thatdirectly prey on a well-known phobiain a unique open-world setting.
Cosmic horror gamesare few and far between, especially ones that portray the genre effectively.The Sinking Cityis one of the few that actually succeed, and it just so happens to also be set in one of the most unique open worlds ever seen in a game. Set in the fictional city of Oakmont,The Sinking Citytakes place after a devastating flood sinks half the city and infects the town with a mysterious madness.
Players will go from walking down Victorian-style streets to hopping on a boat and driving past sunken buildings and floating objects. Meanwhile, the streets are littered with washed-up sea creatures that have become almost fossilized in the surroundings. Fans of Lovecraft know the significance of octopus and tentacles, and this open world is covered with them. It’s a strange setting with some even stranger-looking residents, making for one of the best and most unique settings in an open-world title.
