I love myself some open-world FPS games, but good ones aren't easy to come by. Separately, both genres are so active that they arguably need to go away for a short while. Fused, we get maybe a couple of games per year, and that is being optimistic. From the ones we do get, most of them have a habit of shining in one area but not the other. Rage 2 is an awesome shooter stuck in a mediocre open-world, while Fallout: New Vegas is an all-time masterpiece that has barely serviceable gunplay. Seriously, Homefront: The Revolution is among the best 20 open-world FPS games of all time, and that really shouldn't be the case for the second-best Homefront game.
While certainly not finding quantity, we have at least a couple of quality examples of this combo. Releases that are, at the very least, decent open-world AND FPS games, and their combination creates a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. When done right, there is nothing better than an open-world FPS game, and these masterpieces do it right.
Note
The goal is to highlight games that can qualify as "masterpieces," so I'm not listing my personal favorite shooters. For instance, I would rank Rage 2 among my top FPS open-world games, but there is no way I can classify it as a "masterpiece."
Halo Infinite
Open-World Halo Is Still Halo
Ever since 343 took over, Halo has been perpetually stuck in a rough patch. Although none are outright terrible, the developer's efforts have consistently fallen short in ways that make them, at best, polarizing. Halo Infinite is far from an exception, in terms of both the multiplayer and campaign, but it is 343's best effort to date. Putting aside the PvP modes that are not open-world, the campaign drops Master Chief on Zeta Halo and tells him to shoot every Banished that he comes across, while telling a forgettable story that feels incomplete at times. The world is segmented into parts that need to be gradually opened, but they can otherwise be explored freely.
Frankly, I went back and forth on whether to include Halo Infinite, as the open-world is just OK. Halo simply works better as a traditional shooter with mostly linear levels, with some of them being a touch open. Still, the gunplay is comfortably 343's most satisfying so far, and Infinite is fun to play on a basic "I want to shoot things" level. Although it could have used a few different biomes, Zeta Halo is fine as a sandbox to facilitate the action.
Note
Out of all the games in this article, Halo Infinite is the only one I'm hesitant to describe as a "masterpiece." Still, it has moments when it feels like a masterpiece, even if it is not consistent.
Metro Exodus
When It Is An Open-World FPS Game, Metro Exodus Is Incredible
Similar to Halo Infinite, Metro Exodus is a borderline inclusion, as only two sections of the campaign qualify as open-world: Volga and Caspian. Other areas, like Taiga, allow for some exploration but are primarily traditional Metro levels. Some people might automatically disqualify this game due to its structure, but I would argue that this structure is what makes Metro Exodus one of the best open-world shooters.
Rather than overwhelm players with millions of map markers that mostly exist to consume time, Metro Exodus delivers a far tighter experience that retains some of the strengths of linear level design. Like the rest of the game, Volga and Caspian feel hand-crafted, like every building and bunker is there for a reason. Exploration leads to information, along with some more tangible things like loot. On the FPS side of things, Metro Exodus is relatively slow-paced and deliberate, a style that can be divisive but fits the game's tone. The weapon system lets you do what you want.
Echo Point Nova
The Best Indie Open-World FPS Game
Who needs triple-A? In recent years, independent developers have started to create open-world games that defy their classification, considering the limitations they would have faced. The best indie games tend to craft their own identity and avoid copying AAA releases, and Echo Point Nova is a prime example of what a smaller studio can achieve.
Building on the eyes of Severed Steel, this title is part of the fairly modern movement shooter genre, one that is mostly synonymous with linear games like Ultra Kill and Turbo Overkill. The switch to a sandbox design works surprisingly well, as Echo Point Nova's world is entirely designed around player agency and seamless exploration. Split into floating islands, you can go anywhere and do anything straight away, with things like a hoverboard and grappling hook making traversal easy and satisfying. The gunplay is rock-solid, too.
Far Cry 3
The Open-World FPS Blueprint
Far Cry 3 is difficult to rank. It is the most influential open-world first-person shooter of all time, and the genre's history can be split into pre- and post-Far Cry 3. However, this article's goal isn't to provide a history lesson but to recommend a few games that might hit the mark in 2026. Far Cry 3 is a masterpiece that also shows its age. While hardly unplayable nowadays, the gunplay isn't quite as crisp as more modern releases, including its sequels.
Yet, Far Cry 3 is still and will always be a "must-play" open-world FPS game. Yeah, its gameplay isn't perfect nowadays, but it is still decent and doesn't get in the way of the incredible setting, gold-standard villain, and revolutionary map structure. The latter was subsequently beaten to death as the dreaded "Ubisoft formula," but Far Cry 3's radio towers, outposts, and territories were fresh concepts in the early 2010s.
Note
Full disclosure, I think Far Cry 4 is better than Far Cry 3, but only the latter is a masterpiece.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
