By Evan Regan
There are a lot of open-world games out there. It's one of the most popular genres in gaming, and for many, these games are favorites because of how much they offer. There's lots to do, lots to see, and not a lot of restrictions on when, where, and how you do and see them.
Unfortunately, as popular as the genre is, some great games still fall through the cracks. For every Skyrim and The Witcher 3, there are incredible open-world games that deserve way more attention than they get. The following games are just a handful of examples, but they don't get talked about nearly enough. If you're looking for an open-world game you might not have heard of, and that might offer something new in the space, these are the titles to check out.
Sunset Overdrive
Insomniac's Hidden Gem
For how popular Insomniac Games is today with their recent Spider-Man and Ratchet and Clank games, it's almost inexplicable how little attention is given to Sunset Overdrive. Sure, it may not be a recognizable franchise, but it's a fantastic game, showcasing the exceptional traversal mechanics that Insomniac iterated on for Spider-Man and the weird weaponry that Ratchet and Clank is famous for.
One factor may be that Sunset Overdrive was an Xbox One exclusive, which limited its wider appeal, but now that Game Pass is on PC, it's the kind of game more people need to check out. The story isn't anything revolutionary, but it's the kind of off-beat action comedy vibe that made games like Hi-Fi Rush and Saints Row sing. With its fantastic high-speed movement and combat, the game's lack of popularity is one of the biggest head-scratchers of the previous console generation.
The Saboteur
Killing Nazis In Black And White
It's a shame that Pandemic Studios wasn't around in the modern era of gaming, where developer auteurism is more prevalent. The studio behind Destroy All Humans!, Mercenaries, and Star Wars: Battlefront would have been riding a massive word-of-mouth high heading into the release of The Saboteur. Instead, the studio was shuttered by EA just two weeks before the game's launch, effectively guaranteeing that it would never receive the attention it deserved.
"Deserve" is indeed the right word, because The Saboteur is awesome. It's an open-world game set in Nazi-occupied Paris where players control Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver who is roped into a resistance effort after losing a race to a cheating SS driver. It's primarily a stealth game, but there are lots of shooting, driving, and parkour opportunities to engage with as well. The standout feature is the district liberation mechanic. Every district Sean liberates from Nazi control will go from black-and-white to full color. These kinds of games simply aren't made anymore, and while The Saboteur may have been one of the last of its kind, it sent Pandemic Studios out on a high note.
Far Cry Primal
Prehistoric Perfection
Far Cry Primal is definitely a weird entry in the Far Cry franchise. Even Far Cry 2, the de facto outlier in the now-iconic FPS series, sticks closer to the formula than Far Cry Primal does. The thing is, that doesn't make it a bad game at all; it's just one of those games that didn't seem to know who it was appealing to. It certainly wasn't Far Cry fans, but it also didn't really do anything to draw in first-person action fans, or even Skyrim fans, who may have been eager to give it a try if the "Far Cry" header weren't stapled to it.
Far Cry Primal is a prehistoric open-world action survival game. Players control Takkar, a hunter who seeks to rise through the ranks and become the leader of his tribe. Due to its setting, guns are replaced with spears and clubs, although the series' typical bow and arrow remains. The main mechanic that differentiates it from the standard Far Cry experience is Takkar's ability to tame animals. Once tamed, these prehistoric predators — from sabertooth tigers to mammoths — can then be summoned into battle. It's not exactly surprising that Far Cry Primal wasn't a hit, but it's definitely a game that deserves more love than it gets.
Rage 2
A Vibrant Post-Apocalypse
Similarly, it's not all that surprising that Rage 2 wasn't a hit, as the first Rage wasn't really a hit either. Both games were developed by id Software, a developer with an untouchable pedigree in the first-person shooter space, and that alone put these games on many people's radar. However, with series like Fallout dominating the post-apocalyptic FPS niche, Rage struggled to find a dedicated audience. Rage 2 did a lot to try and change that trend, but it never quite got there.
One of the major changes made was infusing an abundance of color. Rage 2 absolutely leaps off the screen, with purples, oranges, and yellows filling in where the first game's muted browns struggled to stand out. It also took more of a power fantasy approach. Nanotrite powers, which were more like skills in the first game, are treated like combat boosters in Rage 2. They make guns do more damage and passively heal players, allowing them to forgo self-preservation entirely and charge right into the fray to pull off cool action movie-like stunts. It's no masterpiece, but it's also a damn shame that Rage 2 has all but vanished from the open-world FPS conversation when it has so much fun to offer.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Don't Sleep On The Spellwork
Tango Gameworks, Shinji Mikami's startup studio following his departure from Capcom, dabbled in all kinds of interesting genres. They stuck to their roots with The Evil Within, but then dipped into open-world horror with The Evil Within 2. Then they went fully open world with Ghostwire: Tokyo, an action-horror FPS that emphasizes psychic abilities over guns or melee weapons. Players use these abilites to defeat ghosts and spirits throughout an open-world Tokyo.
Combat isn't anything groundbreaking, but it is certainly unique, especially with its use of the PS5's DualSense controller. Exploring the world is breathtaking, and the story and characters are all tightly written. Enemy design is great (which is nothing new for Tango) and the mix of stealth and action — and how the game flows between the two — keeps things fresh throughout. Maybe the best part is the side quests. While the main narrative is interesting, the side quests get weird in a really great way. They're absolutely some of the most memorable parts of the game.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
