An open world game features a large map that you are completely free to explore as you wish. There are no levels to speak of, with the entire game taking place in this world, maybe with one or two excursions. While you will be guided, you can just go off and do what you want. A lot of genres can fit into an open world game, so they don’t all share the same characteristics, but there are usually a few similarities. The biggest is the ability to explore areas and, if you want, go in totally the opposite direction to where the story directs you. Freedom is key to a good open world game.

Defining which game has the largest open world is a bit of an impossibility, with some games making use of procedural generation to create infinite worlds. Then there’s the open world space games that technically have the largest open worlds, because space is massive. The consensus is that No Man’s Sky has the largest open world, with over 250 galaxies to explore. The dev team estimates it would take a single person millions of years to explore every inch of the game. However, if you are looking for a more earth-like open world that award would go to Minecraft, which has a near infinite open w

Zombies and open worlds just work, with perhaps the best example being Techland’s Dying Light that puts you in a detailed city with zombies that get stronger at night and a gripping story to keep you hooked. It’s terrifying at times, and still the best open world zombie game. Other options include the likes of Day’s Gone from Bend Studio, which is really all about the giant hordes that can follow you around and being able to ride around on a motorcycle, or Project Zomboid from The Indie Stone which is a brutal isometric zombie survival game.