We wanted to acknowledge some open world games with truly convincing looks and atmosphere - the places where it feels like people really inhabit. Subscribe for more: ru-vid.com?su...
I feel the empty spaces in rdr2 actually make it feel more real.. how they're filled with animals doing their thing, filling ecological niches... It just feels natural
That’s what I enjoy too, a lot of games now have too much city in the game, GTA has a similar style but its map is just a city and mountains, RDR2 has environment changes everywhere and it’s nice being able to experience different environments
Also its not entirely empty, theres active campsites with people doing unique things, abandoned campsites, abandoned homesteads, and all kinds of random encounters.
Not just that but they even have different star cycles on clear nights, people getting robbed, people out hunting shop keepers going home at a certain time everyday the little things make this game phenomenal
One of the better details that's in rdr2's world is that over time since you play through years of Arthur's life there are houses and regular buildings that start off as just foundations and if you go back to them through almost every chapter there's progress made to them. Like there's a house where a guy is building it with his 2 sons and it actually gets finished later on. Really nice attention to detail that rewards you for paying attention to subtle details
A weird but in my opinion worthy addition to the list: Dying Light. For an open world game inhabited mainly by undeads, with so many repeated assets featuring in every loot centered interior you can visit while roaming around, it really gives a dynamic and satisfying feeling when you parkour your way through it. It was very unexpected to me when I played this game, and I think that a large part of DL's success was due to the surprisingly enjoyable open world it features.
I went back to Dying Light after only playing Dying Light 2 since it’s release last year. I couldn’t agree more, Dying Light 1’s open world feels so real and you really feel like you’re living in it. I only wish Dying Light 2 was like this as well.
Witcher 3 for me is the best experience i have ever had with a video game and i have played 8 out of 10 on this list. There is just so much to do. The side quest stories are so in depth and well written, you'd come off it thinking it's part of the main quest.
My favorite thing about the worlds in Witcher 3 and RDR2 is the weather. In the Witcher I sometimes felt glad to be inside and out of the harsh winds of Skellige. And waking up in the morning as Arthur in the cool light with that distinct morning fog... You can almost smell the forest! Amazing stuff!
"Arthur is just a visitor there, it's not a world made for Arthur" exactly, unlike most video games you can literally feel how helpless your character is
RDR1 was great too. I remember in Armadillo you could shoot the top hat gang members, and the sheriff wouldn't care. I once shot the gang members, caused a lot of ruckus, the deputy drew his gun and pointed it at me, I had mine aimed at him, then I holstered, and he holstered too, and we went our separate ways. Really amazing and fun sandbox interaction for me.
I'd give an honourable mention to Horizon Zero Dawn. Both on the animal/wild side (or should I say machine?) and on the human side, everything feels so insanely REAL for a post apocalyptic future
Yea but watching this channel it seems they only really know about like 30 mainstream games, and some odd indie games. Apparently that's not one of them. Seriously, watch a bunch of this channel's videos and you will see the trend of the SAME GAMES (and games of the same series) coming up over and over for every single category. It's kind of frustrating. Just anecdotally, I can bet that a Fallout, Elder Scrolls, "Souls like", Yakuza, Dead Space, Duke Nukem, Doom, Final Fantasy, or one of the few other games in their roster will appear in any given list. No matter what the category or title of the video, they will find a way to fit the same games on every list. Idk why I watch. Probably mostly because I do like hearing about games that I haven't played, and I mostly scroll the comments as a means of a forum to discuss them, but by this point I don't even need to play something like Elden Ring. Off this channel alone I pretty much know everything about it. Not saying that replaces actually playing it for the entertainment experience, i'm just driving home the point that they talk about it so much that they covered everything.
Saint Denis is so jarring after spending hours connecting to the wilderness and wildlife of RDR2. The moment I set foot in Saint Denis I felt completely out of place and just wanted to run back to the open planes and mountains and pick herbs and shot animals.
@Toxic Gaming I fully just went and completed vice city last week, never got the chance as a kid cause i was always doing stuff in San Andreas, loved it. After completion I couldn't find much to do though, whereas SA being a newer game they must have thought of that aspect a lot harder cause the replay-ability is wonderful. I spent a lot of time in GTA IV as a kid as well, the open access interiors made it hella immersive, something I feel like 5 really lacked.
For all its flaws, I feel Fallout 4 needs a spot on this list as well. There's so much detail in the environment, the ruined city and the gear people wear. There's history in every bit of scrap on the ground, and every cobbled-together piece of equipment.
Ahh yes, love the outpost customisation too. Building bases and what not. Wish game developers would implement this more. Only game I saw that has base building is no man sky, state of decay but limited to prefab bases, skyrim but also limited to prefabs, and no im not gonna mention minecraft, ark , rust or other multiplayer games. Wish a game like middle earth would pop out too where you can customize fort and build a kingdom and be an overlord conquering other kingdoms and choosing generals, so much potential in middle earth som and sow.
Dude I love how you actually quoted out dishonored hear that game had a good place in my heart. the atmosphere, the story, everything seemed so real AND YES RU-vid ALGORITHM ACTUALLY DECIDES TO SHOW THIS A YEAR LATER
I am currently in the middle of Assassin's Creed Odyssey and having visited Greece many times I find it utterly convincing. To be able to walk around places you have really been to and seen as ruins such as the Parthenon in Athens and experience them as they were is just mind-blowing. I love RDR2 too and agree it is the best. In 4K on a large monitor, these worlds are like being on a vacation during these dark COVID-19 days and keeping me sane.
Bro u MUST try a vr system. Like oculus quest 2. Just the other day I bought the virtual desktop app so I can mirror my pc screen to the oculus, and so I was able to play doom eternal and rdr2 on the oculus quest 2. It was amazing. Worth it just to mirror ur computer screen.
The cities are really nice but i felt the wilderness in odyssey is kinda meh. Same ish and lot of filler, not much to stumble upon. RDR2 on the other hand has something unique in every square meter. (Incase u haven't yet, dont visit the small hut located west in the great valley, just south of the creek, West Elizabeth.)
They have games out where it's just the assassin's creed cities and you can take tours and history lessons and it will tell you the real history of the places you are. It's actually quite cool. There is zero fighting or danger or assassin's creed but just the world and history and tour guides. It's called discovery tour. They have ancient greece and ancient egypt.
@@Kerveros1904 don't buy the assassin's Creed game for that feature it doesn't have it. It's a totally different game you have to purchase called discovery tours
would love to see a “least lived-in worlds” or something along those lines basically for games like Dark Souls or Hollow Knight, or similar titles that make you feel alone
Kingdom Come Deliverance felt very lived in for me. And what makes it even more awesome is that the area is real, and you can see pictures of it! The developers really put their heart and soul into it and it shows, definitely waiting on KCD 2. Another one is L. A. Noire. I love how as you go through the story, the people on the street react to you and how you've been handling cases.
It was lacking stuff to do and more balanced mechanics to feel truly immersive. If they do Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.. with the experience of the first part and the cashflow from the sales.. that could be something truly special.
RogueAssassin finally someone who agrees with me, I thought the game was cool in gameplay with the boxing rings, the gang attributes, the train HQ, the two assassin’s, ect. But the story was completely forgettable, so when I say I like the game people always attack me 😂
The Watch Dogs series, especially 1 & 3 deserve a mention. In all three, the NPCs behave very realistically. They made Chicago, Sam Francisco and London very explorable after you finish the game.
Watchdogs 2 is the best one in terms of NPCs. The NPCs in 2 are whack, having their own conversations, drama, and fights and doing stuff on their own. In Watchdogs Legion though the npcs just feel like a background prop. They don't really do much aside from walk around and do loop animations. You get someone being arrested or mugged once in a while but that's about it, no story with it whatsoever.
Jup it was fcking fun and cool loocking with the black and white turning into colour and the moulin rouge vibes. Tho7ght the tumbnail whas from that game at first
Indeed ! I played a while in the cabaret and around, even before going forward and meet any danger. I was driving, appreciating all the details evokating the era, including the car, the houses, the landscape. It has a well realised ambiance and deserve this mention.
@@gerricdraconis5296 Truly a redemption arc. Of a man doing his best to right the wrongs of his past, and to do the best for his family. *Cut to you slaughtering innocents, and kidnapping lmao.
Or when u wake up on the ground in ur underwear on top of a mountain with a bottle of whiskey in hand hungover. And ya have to walk LOL Loved switching to trevor ya never know what hes doing
Living near the Bohemian border, climbing and hiking thete for about 25 years, Kingdome Come is for me the most lived-in game ever. Even the maps are similar, only shrunken. The villages, the country side the fortresses. It looks like that till this day, only with modern paint and flush down toilet. Even the food is recognizable.
thanks for posting this. You must've been very excited when you found out about Kingdom Come Deliverance being developed. BTW, so the area you hiked is near Czech Republic?
@Pig in a Blanket i have a friend that actually spent 700 hours on this game and the game files got corrupted at the end. Lifeless bitch I spent lots of times of video games But 200 hours is my max Such as witcher 3 Persona 5 Or RDR2 But Not 700......
I finished RDR2 and I cannot set my mind into anyyy game I play after it. RDR2, Arthur, John the vast open world and the music just sticks into the mind for a long long time to come. Every other game feels nowhere near satisfying
@@gageky RDR2 was so good it made me disinterested in replaying GTA V. The next two games I played I definitely didn’t care as much about, but then I tried Fallout 4, and with everything that happens in the first twenty minutes, I was completely hooked.
@@danielmoktar since AC3 it doesn't have really much to do with history. :D Don't get me wrong, games are really cool (new ones too, but not origins for obvious reasons). I've had a feeling with AC3, that the more this series will keep going, the less realistic/ history based it will be.
I'm surprised that Kingdom Come: Deliverance didn't make it on the list... Say what you want but that game has a very realistic world. Every citizen doing their day to day work, takes a break and eat, go to sleep at night and locking their doors at homes, guards patrolling at night and takes shifts and cares about their hygiene sometimes.
In my depressed younger years being in a crappy toxic relationship and going to a uni I didn’t want to be in, Skyrim was an escape. Now that I’m older and married (to a better person), I’m glad I don’t feel the need to escape to such open world games anymore.
@@kevinmach730 ...and hopefully soon sharing it with them. 😏 In the meantime playing with your spouse for the pleasure. Seriously though, past the fact that some games helped you in time, glad to read that you are living happier times... 🙂
i disabled the fog effect inthe settings ini file for AC Syndicate and it made the game look so much better. the view distance was something else with that.
sleeping dogs creators nailed a ton of accurate details about hong kong, it really feels like you're immsersed in this city (except possibly what they depict as north point would be more like mongkok with the night market but that's a minor detail). i was dying for a sequel, it's a bummer that this is not happening
I only played a few hours and man it's so massive. Wish i had more time to enjoy games. I'd pick up the Witcher and a few others if I could. I have 4 Yakuza games but only played the first 2!
@Oasis have you played watchdogs 2?! You can talk to the npcs, fined loads of cool stuff. If a car bumps into you the driver will get out and you can have a full on conversation with them
@@overkill726 he definitely hasn't played it. The people who don't like the game are likely people who just assume the game is as bad as the first one. That definitely isn't the case.
Great list fan of a bunch of your titles and the ones I dont know, I will soon. The only honorable mention I feel is needed : Mass effect saga ... andromeda even has such an expansive and interactive world experience
I found myself stopping lots just to listen in on the npc chat in AC Syndicate. And the music really adds to the lived in experience; tavern songs, brass and string bands in the parks and the choirs. Same thing with the Witcher, outstanding soundtrack !
I definitely root for the Elder Scrolls games here simply because everything is accessible, every house can be broken into and so on.. I'd really rather see a new GTA etc being a lot smaller, but sharing more of this philosophy. That's to me what makes the world feel lived in... Much more interiors!
witcher 3 has outstanding human settlements by far every region feels like a whole different culture how they talk different dialects and everything i just love it
Bradley Rae The thing is, Skyrim is a great game, was my favourite game for years, then i played Witcher 3. And for me Witcher 3 is 100 times better than Skyrim
Fantastic list, good job. To me however the first open world game to really nail the lived in world concept was Gothic 2 (came out around the same time as Morrowwind). NPC sleeping and work schedule. Also, you could find some of the NPCs in the local bar after work hours. Sadly the world was really pretty small compared to the games that came out later. But many of the game mechanics that were used in Gothic 2 were used in all the games on your list.
I feel like Watch Dogs 1 and 2 should have been here. The amount of animations, dialogue and the NPCs interacting with one another on the streets while they were just walking simply astounded me.
Especially the 2, it's very detailed, you can interact with NPCs, they have conversations with each other, hacking them and seeing texts and phone calls that rarely get repeated, petting dogs, bars and restaurants, it's excellent
Viktor Antonov worked on Dishonored and Half Life 2, he has a really distinctive design style that's characterised by those Lebbeus Woods-esque dark metal structures which is why they feel similar. I love his work so much.
awesome job with the video and commentating. I love open world games. If i may add in my 2 cents any of the Far Crys preferably 5 were awesome open world games.
Kingdom Come Deliverance is one of those living in worlds I consider to have some of the best AI. The AI has a full day and night cycle, and I must say one of the most memorable stories. Made by an Indie Developer which was crowdfunded, it puts CyberPunk and most of the games here to shame.
It's easy to remember the good parts instead of the constant need to sleep, eat, wash, dying constantly, learning a fighting control scheme that seems to be hard just to be hard, not to be enjoyable. But yeah, other than that, it was a pretty amazing experience. Oh yeah, almost forgot about dealing with artificial scarcity for saves.
I haven't played AC Syndicate (yet) but Origins and Odyssey also did this so SO well. People just growing their crops, all sorts of industry, shopping in the markets, worshipping at temples, just hanging out in the streets. The whole time travelling thing is real in those games. Cyberpunk 2077 does well for a lived in world as well.
The Witcher 3 is the only game I've ever played that I want to replay the story and really explore the world. It's become impossible for me to find a game that can top the Witcher 3.
My pick is Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Each NPC is scripted with their own daily routines, from getting up in the morning, working during the day and hanging out in the taverns in the evening. Guards have designated patrol routes and you can have so many random encounters during your travels. It really feels like a genuine 15th century world.
It makes me sad that Metro Exodus was overlooked for this list. It was released the same year as RDR2, and it 100% matches or exceeds its attention to detail, environmental storytelling, atmosphere, and that lived in feeling. Such an underrated game by a stupidly talented team.
yup 100 percent agree, Metro is one of my favourite franchises to date, the world building through all three of them was amazing. The only problem I had with Exodus was I was surprised when it ended. While I belive its better to have a short polished brilliant game. Rather than one that's padded out, open world bullshit. I still reckcon an extra 5 to 8 hours on Exodus would have been right on the money.
While I enjoyed Metro, the game was buggy and boring, if I remember rightly also had a glitch where one of the trophies is unobtainable, preventing platinum which is annoying as I didn't find out till had all other needed for plat
Metro Exodus is great, but calling it open world is stretching it a bit? Sure, there's freedom to move on the maps, they're on the small side compared to some of these and the later levels are rather...fenced.
I recently played Dishonored for the first time and I fell in love with the art style. It's a mix between cartoon and realism but on a grand scale. Dishonored is a great example that an artistic style can be more compelling than pure visual realism.
I really like that The Division was included here. I played it with a Friends and it was one of the best open world games I played. It's hard to describe it but it just feels like you are really experiencing that world. I totally agree that there are better options then that but I'm glad to see it made the list.
I've been wondering for years why noone seems to pick up on how amazing some aspects of that game are which aren't the core gameplay. Yes the enemies are bullet sponges extraordinaire but the world is so atmospheric, looks amazing, the weather effects are superb, even the UI and sound design stand out. I normally don't play any looter shooters at all but that one keeps reeling me back in.
To be fair yeah. Started riders republic yesterday and the world is big and its got loads of details. No where feels dead. Its crossplay platforms. Fun game .
Pelican Town (Stardew Valley). And I think what's even more impressive is the fact that it's all beautifully manifested within a 2D-8bit-top game-engine
Have you heard of mafia 2? The mafia series really is kind of the only series which has the potential to compete with the gta series but sadly the devs are not being ambitious enough with it. Mafia 2 is a masterpiece Just give it a go It really is as good as gta 4 if not better (both came around the same time)
@@exploretheinternet2334 Mafia is definitely a great game but it's not underrated. Many, many people have played it and almost everyone have good things to say. Sleeping dogs, compared to mafia, is way underrated
Lively world doesn't necessarily mean having a lot of npcs. It means you can almost interact with every npcs, have random things happening around the world, details, etc
The assassins creed syndicate world was one of the best. I loved the open world aspect. Everything was so smooth. You could climb big ben. The minute details were nailed accurately. The game itself is pretty good too.