The PS5 offers robust opportunities for the open world genre, with multiple upcoming titles focusing on letting gamers progress through the story at their own pace. Densely populated areas with prominent side quests and captivating tales give players countless hours of enjoyment.
The Best Open World Games to Play on PS5 in January 2022
While the industry prepares for the launch of 2022’s most anticipated open world entries, ten open world video games on PS5 are already available to prepare fans for approaching additions.
Lost Judgment
Developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega, Lost Judgment is an action-adventure title. As private detective Takayuki Yagami, players will take on the Yakuza—Japan’s most well-known organized crime organization—while investigating sexual harassment, murder, and other offenses in a fictional rendition of Tokyo, Japan. Featuring different combat styles, fans can upgrade Yagami’s capabilities to make them more formidable, true to any action RPG.
From karaoke minigames to tackling side missions and exploring an open world that is smaller than most but no less immersive, fans of action RPGs, open worlds, or the Yakuza series will find themselves satisfied by this title’s take on the genre. The relatively macabre narrative alone is worth the journey.
A sequel to 2018’s Judgment and a spin-off of the popular Yakuza franchise, Lost Judgment released worldwide in September 2021.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise has received consistent entries since its inaugural release in 2007. Though the series took a break between additions from 2015’s Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate to 2017’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins, it has been a mainstay in the French publisher’s repertoire. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla launched alongside the Xbox Series X, though, it is not exclusive to Microsoft’s next-generation console.
Continuing the franchise’s tradition of setting players in a historical open world, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla takes place in the Ninth Century during the Norse invasion of England. The protagonist, Eivor, leads a band of Vikings to settle in Mercia after fleeing Norway due to rising tensions with other Norse clans. After settling in England, gamers—through Eivor—will establish alliances with English kings, lead raiding parties on settlements and forts, collect treasures, complete many side quests, and much more while exploring a vast open world.
The scenery itself is worth picking up the latest entry in a franchise that has been around for almost 15 years.
Resident Evil Village
Since 1996, Resident Evil has been a staple among horror games. Last year, Capcom released Resident Evil Village. The franchise’s eighth main installment maintains many of the survival elements of previous entries while also adopting more of an action RPG dynamic. Players must find new weapons, ammo, and resources around the game’s environment, using their supplies wisely and conserving ammo when able.
While the open world is not as robust or expansive as the games listed above, it does offer players freedom in terms of progressing at their own pace. Solving minor puzzles, exploring different areas for equipment and items, and dealing with grotesque enemies are a mere few of the thrills gamers will experience during their fight to rescue the protagonist’s—Ethan—infant daughter, Rosemary.
If nothing else, the perpetual first-person perspective does a tremendous job of providing a more personalized horror experience when navigating the world and viewing cutscenes.
Far Cry 6
Another mainstay in Ubisoft’s arsenal, the Far Cry series debuted in 2004, with the original title being developed by Crytek. Far Cry 6 continues the franchise’s complete first-person perspective, the entire plot viewed through the main character’s (Dani Rojas) eyes. As is tradition with the Far Cry franchise, the sixth primary installment pits players against a tyrannical antagonist to topple a dictatorial regime.
Whether navigating the open world on foot or utilizing one of the many land, air, or sea vehicles, Far Cry 6 contains multiple areas for fans to explore. Discovering treasures, hard-hitting weapons, and other trinkets to further the fight against Antón Castillo. Choosing which strategy best befits a gamer’s play style is a hallmark aspect of the Far Cry series, and Far Cry 6 is no less freeing in that capacity.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Though The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is over a decade old, it consistently receives breaths of new life from Bethesda. The game’s anniversary edition allows players to experience the game in all its glory, including all DLC, while utilizing the new hardware in the PS5 for a cleaner, smoother, and more beautiful experience.
As one of the most immersive and vast open world experiences to date, TESV: Skyrim has countless caves, dungeons, mountains, forests, and more to explore. Couple the exploration aspect with the combat, fantasy setting, and intriguing main story (as well as so many side quests that it’s difficult to ever consider the game beaten), and Skyrim remains one of the largest open world experiences to date.
Moreover, the modding scene remains alive and well, though, Sony is a bit more restrictive in what is permitted or feasible on the PS5 compared to Xbox or PC. Regardless, while preparing for 2022’s upcoming open world titles, one can hardly go wrong with giving Skyrim a first, second, or one-hundredth playthrough on PlayStation.
Marvel’s Spider-Man & Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
As one of the most captivating superhero titles to date, Marvel’s Spider-Man originally released in 2018 for PS4. However, the bestselling game was remastered for the PS5 and received a standalone expansion in the form of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Both games stand on their own as astounding open-world experiences in which players take control of the famous webslinger.
Nevertheless, it’s as a duo that these games shine best, as players will experience the origin story of Miles Morales as Spider-Man by playing through the original title. Plus, there’s nothing like fighting iconic Spider-Man villains, such as Rhino, Vulture, Scorpion, and Doc Ock, and players will have to pick up the original game to do so.
That said, the Miles Morales standalone expansion offers unique abilities that are explosive and extra flashy. The DLC also offers a riveting story of its own in which both webslingers appear, though, the focus is certainly on Peter Parker’s young protégé. In both games, fans can swing around New York at will, fight crimes that pop up randomly across the cityscape, collect trophies, and complete various activities and side quests in several hours of superhero fun.
Demon’s Souls
No open world list specific to PlayStation 5 would be complete without mentioning Demon’s Souls. As a remake of the 2009 game of the same name, Demon’s Souls was a launch title for PS5 in November 2020. The original kickstarted the advent of the Souls genre and has maintained a reputation as being particularly difficult in terms of combat for many gamers, though, whether the genre is truly hard depends on the individual player.
Regardless, Demon’s Souls brings players back to a gritty, gruesome realm that is as unforgiving as it is compelling. Upon death or resting, enemies reset and players must fight through them again if they wish to return to an area already traveled. However, resting is essential to improving the player-character’s stats and skills.
Progressing through the story requires recognizing landmarks, signs, and other symbols that hint at the way forward. While exploring, players will find items, equipment, and other treasures to improve their chances against increasingly difficult foes. Equal parts interesting lore and challenging gameplay, Demon’s Souls is an open world experience that any action lover with a PS5 should give a chance.
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut
From the creator of the Metal Gear Solid franchise (Hideo Kojima) comes Death Stranding, originally released for PS4 in 2019. The game’s Director’s Cut features an extended storyline, a graphics remastering for PS5, and haptics feedback for the current-generation console’s patented controller.
Set in a bizarre world where the rain is acidic and deadly and humans are hunted by invisible creatures known as BTs, players take control of a freelance courier named Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus). The goal is to deliver cargo to various isolated cities, but journeys are interrupted by bandits and BTs. Death Stranding gives gamers license to explore a large open world, accept side missions, and interact with other players indirectly through the game’s shared network system.
Astronomically different from Kojima’s Metal Gear series, Death Stranding provides a peculiar world in which the word “strange” is an understatement. However, it’s that same offbeat aspect that makes this title worth a look.
Immortals Fenyx Rising
In a vibrant world where gods and monsters collide, Immortals Fenyx Rising puts players in the driver’s seat of Fenyx. Walking, climbing, riding a mount, and flying are all methods used to traverse the game’s different regions, which players can explore from the outset. Given the heavy Greek Mythology basis for the title’s story and setting, gamers will also notice the brilliant, flashy colors of the game’s world.
As with most open world titles, Immortals Fenyx Rising offers side quests, as well as puzzles to be solved. The narrative is a bit more whimsical than many tales of Greek Mythology, akin to the cartoony vibes of Kung Fu Panda, but that does not detract from the fable’s entertainment value. If someone is looking for a change of pace, this pivot away from more grounded adventures by Ubisoft is a good choice for PS5 users.
Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut
The Director’s Cut for 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima features an expanded experience. With an additional mini-story on an all-new island and added mini-games, new enemies, and more, Sucker Punch Productions’ open world action RPG was given a new lease on life.
Taking advantage of the PS5’s advanced hardware, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut finally adds lip sync for players who want to hear the game’s characters speak in their native tongue (Japanese). In the original release, selecting Japanese as the spoken language made it appear as if the dialogue was merely dubbed.
Players can explore the island of Tsushima during the Mongol Invasion of Japan, navigating to shrines, fighting Mongolian adversaries using various sword techniques, and completing side quests while unlocking new equipment, cosmetic items, and more.
Furthermore, Ghost of Tsushima offers one of the most emotional narratives in modern gaming. Players will take control of a samurai named Jin Sakai, who will have to cast aside his honor—a core tenet of Bushido—to defeat Japan’s invaders. The combat is visceral, the characters are unique, and the graphics are magnificent. This is one of the best experiences players can have on PS5.
And that does it for the Best Open World Games that you can play on the PlayStation 5. Have any suggestions as to other open world games on the PlayStation 5 that we missed on this list? Let us know on Twitter @FanboyAttack.
Published: Jan 18, 2022 01:59 am