RPGs that are "true" open-world

[roguefrog]

Some criteria:

• All areas of the game must be accessible from the very start of the game.
• No dev story blockers or prior quest completion required.
• I don't care about one single continuous map, AKA the "GTA" style open-world, which ironically rarely ever is.

A very shortlist:

Basically any Ultima
Star Control 2
Fallout
Piranha bytes games usually

Baldur's Gate 1 gets semi-close but a number of locations require sequenced quest completion. Notiably Baldur's Gate itself.

 

[Covenant]

Some criteria:

• All areas of the game must be accessible from the very start of the game.
• No dev story blockers or prior quest completion required.
• I don't care about one single continuous map, AKA the "GTA" style open-world, which ironically rarely ever is.

A very shortlist:

Basically any Ultima
Star Control 2
Fallout
Piranha bytes games usually

Baldur's Gate 1 gets semi-close but a number of locations require sequenced quest completion. Notiably Baldur's Gate itself.

'Accessible from the start of the game' is hard to define. If I have to beat impossible (or near-impossible, e.g. requiring the equivalent of dozens of critical hits in a row) fights to access an area, is it more or less open world than a game where I have to talk to a guy 20 seconds away from my starting location to access that area, with it being impossible if I don't speak to that guy?

Also, I'm pretty sure Ultima and Star Control 2 don't fit those requirements (super-hyperspace for Star Control 2, and a bunch of places across the Ultimas, e.g. the sorcerer lava town in 8, the place where the Codex is kept in 6 where you need to be on a 'Sacred Quest', etc). Fallout probably does though. Not sure about PB games.

 

[lukaszek]

soulash

 

[NecroLord]

Arcanum is close, but you cannot go to certain areas right off the bat (areas like Caladon and Qintarra come to mind).

You already mentioned Fallout.

 

[toro]

Kenshi
Dragon's Dogma 2

 

[OttoQuitmarck]

Skyrim.

 

[ds]

Arx Fatalis lets you go pretty much everywhere without talking to anyone. You need to get keys for some areas though but you can always murdersteal your way to those instead of doing "quests".

 

[Damned Registrations]

'Accessible from the start of the game' is hard to define.

My definition hinges on non-linearity instead. Having to beat level 50 monsters, pick a locked door or doing a sidequest to access an area is fine. The point where it stops being open world for me is when multiple areas can only be accessed in a specific sequence. Having to get the orb in the volcano to access the ice cave is fine. If you need something from the ice cave to access anywhere else though, you're disqualified.

Obviously this only counts if it's an exclusive means of access. If you can just murder your way through the guards or lockpick/bash/teleport your way in, it's all fair.

Edit: Somehow deleted the MM3 bit here without realizing before posting?!?

MM3 is a good example of open world imo. There are dungeons that need keys to enter, but you can get those keys from either dungeons or recruitable npcs scattered around the world. You need 11 orbs to go somewhere, but there's 31 orbs in the game, so you aren't forced to any particular place for that.
There's probably some crap I'm not thinking of that is daisy chained together, but it's definitely a rare exception rather than the rule.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

A working definition of Open World:

• Constant scale relative to the player-character(s), for the entire overworld
• Continuous movement through the overworld
• Seamless map spanning the entire overworld
• Sizable enough that it can be considered an overworld
• Individual character(s), rather than a vehicle simulator
• Non-linearity, to at least some degree

Some Open World RPGs:

• The Faery Tale Adventure (1986), created by one person in seven months
• Times of Lore (1988), the only imitator of FTA
• The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (1996), but self-defeating since fast travel is always used between map locations
• Faery Tale Adventure II: Halls of the Dead (1997), by the creator of FTA with a much larger team
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), established the 3D Open World RPG
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), massive decline from Morrowind but still Open World
• Fallout 3 (2008), Oblivion with guns
• Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Oblivion with guns and skill-checks
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), further decline from Morrowind
• The Witcher III (2015), close enough though the entire Open World is not contiguous (one very large zone, one large zone, two small zones, and one tiny interior space)
• Fallout 4 (2015), Skyrim with guns
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018)
• Kenshi (2018)
• Outward (2019), close enough though the entire Open World is not contiguous (four sizable zones)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), except it's based around one city almost all of which is just for display (lacking interior spaces)
• Elden Ring (2022), Action RPG meets Open World
• Dragon’s Dogma 2 (2024), Action RPG meets Open World
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2025), presumably

 

[Iucounu]

ARK Survival Evolved lets you visit any mountain, cave or ocean abyss (if you can survive it), and without loading screens. There are only a few boss fight arenas that require unlocking.

The Long Dark (Survival Mode) also lets you access any region, cave and building (if you can survive it), but has lots of loading screens. Only two workshops require passcodes that you must retrieve.

 

[Iucounu]

[*]The Witcher III (2015), close enough though the entire Open World is not contiguous (one very large zone, one large zone, two small zones, and one tiny interior space)

The zones are also accessed in a very linear way, and I recall you can't return to most of them. Some buildings and dungeons are tied to (main) quests, and so can't be accessed whenever you want (and never returned to).

 

[pOcHa]

• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), established the 3D Open World RPG

you meant Ultima IX and Gothic, surely?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Realms of Arkania HD

 

[Skinwalker]

Legend of Zelda: Breast of the Wild Cunt

 

[JarlFrank]

Morrowind, obviously. Areas tend to have an overall level range - especially Red Mountain has high level enemies that will be tough to beat for a beginner character - but you can visit them any time. The world doesn't scale to your level, you WILL get fucked if you enter high level areas at low levels, but there are no physical barriers blocking you from trying.

There are speedruns where people finish the game within 5 minutes just by abusing alchemy and certain spells, as well as using the secret backup-plan solution for defeating Dagoth Ur instead of playing through the main quest normally. That's how open the game is.

The moment you finish character creation, you can go anywhere you want and approach the game in any way you want, with no artificial restrictions.

 

[deuxhero]

Arcanum is close, but you cannot go to certain areas right off the bat (areas like Caladon and Qintarra come to mind).

You already mentioned Fallout.

You actually can, you just need to know about how to find one of the two mountain passes and bridge, which is practically only doable with prior knowledge or manually checking the entire mountain range (I don't think the southern pass is even revealed through in-game info at all). Still can't access the final dungeon or isle of dread though. That kind of single quest dungeon will kill virtually every game's eligibility.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Svarog's Dream

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Gedonia is a true open world. Once you leave the tutorial area, there are zero limits. You could go straight to the game boss if you could survive it.

Arx Fatalis lets you go pretty much everywhere without talking to anyone. You need to get keys for some areas though but you can always murdersteal your way to those instead of doing "quests".

In Arx Fatalis you can explore the entire game without ever visiting the king. Once you make it past goblin territory, your only limit is your build. My first time playing I picked the locks to the crypt and wound up completing 95% of the game before I even got my 2nd quest.

 

[Just Locus]

Dark Souls is pretty close, It's disqualified from this list because it has one continuous map and you have to ring the two bells to access the latter half of the game, but afterwards you can walk from Kiln of the First Flame all the way to the Undead Asylum with nothing but your patience to stop you.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

Alpha protocol. I don't know why but codex likes this crap so it must tick all the boxes.

 

[ColossusCimmerian]

Alpha protocol. I don't know why but codex likes this crap so it must tick all the boxes.

And codex like Disco Elysium too which is not a true RPG and is marketed as "open world".

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Alpha protocol. I don't know why but codex likes this crap so it must tick all the boxes.

Alpha Protocol is the diametrical opposite of an Open World game: gameplay occurs through missions in areas entirely separate from each other, and outside of missions the player is confined to tiny safehouses.

And codex like Disco Elysium too which is not a true RPG and is marketed as "open world".

Disco Elysium is a good example of how a game with a tiny area can easily meet the other criteria of Open World classification, demonstrating the importance of a size requirement; a small neighborhood does not constitute an Overworld.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

Alpha Protocol is the diametrical opposite of an Open World game: gameplay occurs through missions in areas entirely separate from each other, and outside of missions the player is confined to tiny safehouses.

I dunno but codex likes it so it must be everything even if the game is shit

 

[NecroLord]

Arcanum is close, but you cannot go to certain areas right off the bat (areas like Caladon and Qintarra come to mind).

You already mentioned Fallout.

You actually can, you just need to know about how to find one of the two mountain passes and bridge, which is practically only doable with prior knowledge or manually checking the entire mountain range (I don't think the southern pass is even revealed through in-game info at all). Still can't access the final dungeon or isle of dread though. That kind of single quest dungeon will kill virtually every game's eligibility.

Ah, I see.
Never tested it myself, but that's good to know.
Can you ask a ship captain to take you to Caladon or do you have to find it yourself?

 

[BruceVC]

A working definition of Open World:

• Constant scale relative to the player-character(s), for the entire overworld
• Continuous movement through the overworld
• Seamless map spanning the entire overworld
• Sizable enough that it can be considered an overworld
• Individual character(s), rather than a vehicle simulator
• Non-linearity, to at least some degree

Some Open World RPGs:

• The Faery Tale Adventure (1986), created by one person in seven months
• Times of Lore (1988), the only imitator of FTA
• The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (1996), but self-defeating since fast travel is always used between map locations
• Faery Tale Adventure II: Halls of the Dead (1997), by the creator of FTA with a much larger team
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002), established the 3D Open World RPG
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), massive decline from Morrowind but still Open World
• Fallout 3 (2008), Oblivion with guns
• Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Oblivion with guns and skill-checks
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), further decline from Morrowind
• The Witcher III (2015), close enough though the entire Open World is not contiguous (one very large zone, one large zone, two small zones, and one tiny interior space)
• Fallout 4 (2015), Skyrim with guns
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018)
• Kenshi (2018)
• Outward (2019), close enough though the entire Open World is not contiguous (four sizable zones)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), except it's based around one city almost all of which is just for display (lacking interior spaces)
• Elden Ring (2022), Action RPG meets Open World
• Dragon’s Dogma 2 (2024), Action RPG meets Open World
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2025), presumably

I agree with this list but why you omitting Gothic 1-3 or any other PB game?