Massive open worlds may seem impressive, butsize doesn’t mean everything.The most important thing about any open-world game isn’t the beautifulvistasor the sheer scale of the map, but what you may do in the world.
While many open-world games likeFinal Fantasy XVandJust Cause 4have impressively massive worlds for the player to explore,there’s actually not a lot to do within those areas other than walk around.
Butsmall open-world gamesdon’t need to concern themselves too much withimpressing the player with landscapesstretching for miles. Instead,they rely on density, each area chock-full of content that will always have something for the player to doat every turn.
We’ll be ranking thesmallest open-world games,based on the sizes estimated by fans or from official sources. Otherwise, we’ll be usingrough estimates based on the scale of the game world.
10 Open World Games Where You Conquer The Map
Take those zones. Victory demands it.
12Outer Wilds
An Explorable Diorama
Outer Wilds
Outer Wildscan be considered a smallopen-world gamebecause it’s essentially a world that’s densely packed to be explored within a strict22-minute timeframe.
In case you don’t know much about the game, I’m not going to spoil the magic for you.Go play it and experience this game yourself.
You’d think it would be around the same size as otherspace exploration gameslikeNo Man’s Sky, butOuter Wildsonly has enough celestial bodies where you can travel within a minute or less.
With each planet no larger than a kilometer in diameter and the distance between them just a few kilometers as well, space travel is quite fast.
But don’t let the tiny solar system fool you—each planet, from Hourglass Twins to Dark Bramble, is densely packed withsecrets that you may discover during your expeditions.
Outer Wildsis abeautiful once-in-a-lifetime experiencethat doesn’t boast a massive playable area, buteach square inch is enriched with detailsthat can only be made with love and care.
11Sleeping Dogs
Hong Kong Represent
Sleeping Dogs
The map of United Front Games’Sleeping Dogsis a pretty accurate facsimile of Hong Kong’s main island.With four explorable regions based on the real-life districts of Hong Kong Island,Sleeping Dogsgives afairly accurate portrayal of the cityI grew up in.
While Hong Kong is small both in-game and in real life,its narrow streets and roads are filled with people and vehicles, making it a city that never sleeps.
With a map that’s justunder 3km across and approximately 8 square kilometers in total,Sleeping Dogsalso perfectly translates the tone and aesthetic of each district,from Central’s commercial and metropolitan vibes to North Point’s more urban and working-class environment.
It’s a shame that therewon’t be a sequel to Sleeping Dogs—otherwise, we might’ve gotten an expanded map of Hong Kong to include Kowloon and New Territories, perhaps even Lantau Island. Who knows? We might have even gotten the MTR metro system.
Sleeping Dogshas some amazing gameplay, includinga fleshed-out combat mechanic, hacking, and even lockpicking mini-games that let you infiltrate dangerous and hidden areas.
Stay In School
Sometimes affectionately referred to as a morePG version ofGrand Theft Auto,Rockstar’sBullyis known as one of the studio’s best works.
Sadly,we highly doubt that this underrated gem is getting a remasteror a sequel anytime soon.
With the game’s world set in the small town of Bullworth in New England and its local boarding schoolBullworth Academy,Bullyis populated with interesting NPCs and a realistic town that makes the fact thatit was made in 2006 even more impressive.
Not only can the player run around the two-story campus and explore more of the available classrooms and offices,but they can also explore Bullworth, though that might risk getting chased by cops who want to ensure you stay in school.
9Grand Theft Auto 3
“I See Nothing But Good Things For You, My Boy.”
Grand Theft Auto 3
TheGrand Theft Autofranchise, along with most other games made by Rockstar, has always been known to deliver dense open-world sandboxes for the player to explore, but this wasn’t always the case throughout the series.
3D open-world games just didn’t exist until the early 2000s, whenGTA 3pioneered the formula byallowing the player to explore every corner of Liberty City.
While it has a small map size compared to the newerGTAgames,Liberty City is a functioning city with 4.38 square kilometers of land to explore,giving gamers at the time a glimpse of the possibilities that would eventually be revolutionary for the gaming industry in the form ofGTA 5.
8Subnautica
Try Not To Have Thalassophobia Challenge: Impossible
Subnautica
As if crash-landing and getting stranded on an alien planet isn’t bad enough, inSubnautica,you’re forced toexplore the depthsandsubsist on the flora and faunathere,unsure of when you might turn into a predator’s next meal.
The entire map ofSubnautica, including its underwater caves, reefs, and ruins,is situated on an underwater plateau called “The Crater” that’s 2km across.Swimming from one side of the Crater to the other doesn’t take too long, provided you have a vehicle like a Seamoth. There’s not much on the surface of the Crater. Dive deeper, and you’ll uncover the secrets of this planet.
If you swim off the edge of the Crater,you’ll find nothing but the deep dark depths of the void,but not before you hear the haunting words: “Warning: Entering ecological dead zone. The prospect for survival is fast approaching zero.”
While swimming under thebeautiful seacan be a relaxing experience,the trenches and depths ofSubnauticacan be terrifying,especially combined with the fact that there is no real way to defend yourself against theLeviathan-class creatures that are straight out of Lovecraftian horror.
Are you sure you want to risk your life exploring the depths?
7The Witness
It’s All About Perspective
The Witness
The open worlds we look at may get smaller and smaller, but that doesn’t mean they’ve decreased in complexity.
Not to be confused with theDestiny 2big bad or theLove, Death, and Robotsepisode,The Witnessis a puzzle game thatrevolves mainly around panel puzzlesthat let players figure out the rules themselves around an island roughly estimated to be about 2km by 2km.
Made by Jonathan Blow and published by Thekla, the island ofThe Witnessmay be small, but it is big enough to explore and solve the 500 puzzles scattered across the map, each harder than the next.
Inspired by Cyan’sMyst, the difficulty and esoteric nature of the puzzles inThe Witnesshas divided the gaming community since its initial release. Whilesome might praisethe level design andphilosophical themesas clever and inspiring, others might call itunbearably difficult and overrated.
6Assassin’s Creed Unity
Vive La Revolution
Assassin’s Creed Unity
As with the longstandingAssassin’s Creedtradition to be based on historical events,Unitybrought the franchise to thebloody French Revolutionand created an almost1:1 model of Paris during the late 1700s.
With winding paths and branching alleyways,Unity’sParis is populated by civilians and enemies alike on the ground level,giving you a sense of claustrophobic immersionthat you can only experience in the narrow streets of any heavily populated city.
But once you climb up the polished stone walls and land on any roof of Paris' many buildings,you’ll find yourself in a sprawling playgroundperfect for anyparkour enthusiast.
Still, this map clocks in at about 2.4 square kilometers, making it one of the smallest in the franchise.
9 Open World Games With Diverse Biomes
Explore vast worlds with environments, both strange and familiar.
5Disco Elysium
White Mourning
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysiumtakes place inMartinaise, a small district in the larger city of Revachol. You play as anamnesiac superstar/apocalypse/sorry/boring/honor/art/hobo copwhose task is to trudge around Martinaise tosolve a mysterious case of a hanged man.
The only area you get to explore is Martinaise,which is divided into three smaller sections on the map:the main Waterfront, thepoverty-stricken Fisherman Shacks,and an abandoned Church.
Each area, complete with apre-rendered background, has a unique story to tell that ties intothe sociopolitical struggles of the people of Martinaise,and while there is no precise measurement of Martinaise or Revachol, it doesn’t take long to travel from one end of the district to the other.
While there’s no official measurement of Martinaise,we’re basing this ranking on the distance calculated viaa successful Visual Calculus check,which states that the distance between thesniper’s nestand Whirling in Rags was approximately a few hundred meters away, making the rest of Martinaise a little larger than that.
Thanks to the small scope of Martinaise, the district itself feels alive yet tense, as you’re caught in the middle of a workers' strike that’s threatening to throw the city into utter chaos.
4Batman: Arkham City
Justice… For Gotham!
Batman Arkham City
Perhaps one of the mosticonic collection of superhero-inspired games, theArkhamseries has always been beloved for itsaccurate portrayal of the Batman aestheticthat fans have known and loved.
While it is the second game of the series,Arkham Cityshifts the world from linear level progression to a free roamof the isolated city-like mega-prison that houses Gotham’s most dangerous criminals.
Despite its smallmap size of roughly one square kilometer (around 0.93km),Arkham Cityis densely packed withuniquely themed areas that are easily recognizableand clearly indicate the kind of enemies encountered there.
Arkham Citynot only set the standard for how the rest of the series tackles traversal and free-roam,but cemented the dirty, gritty, and dark aesthetic for the rest of the franchise as well.
The Gaming Industry’s Version Of “The Room”
Shenmueis an action-adventure game released in 1999 for the Dreamcast. Because of its overly ambitious budget and lukewarm reception,Shenmuenever becamethe hit that SEGA wanted it to becomedespite it getting a sequel years later.
Withhilariously bad voice actingand lackluster combat that pales in comparison toVirtua Fighter,Shenmuehas gained a cult following because of its small yet immersive world.
To those fans, what makesShenmuespecial is itslife-sim model where each NPC has their own routine,along with the game’s desire to further immerse the player into the game through what some might consider as excessive realism.
Shenmue’smap is alsotiny in comparison to the rest of the maps featured on this list,as you can run across the suburban town of Yokosuka in just barely three minutes. Despite the tiny map size,Shenmuestill has a lot to offer.
Fans lovedShenmueso much that theycrowdfunded the third gameout of development hell in 2019,though the quality of the game itself might still be an acquired taste.
