Let’s get the explanation of a sandbox game out of the way first and inform you that this genre includes all kinds of games that are open in nature. It started out with simple titles like Body Harvest on the N64 or The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall on PC, and it's blossomed into literally the most lucrative form of interactive entertainment.
The best sandbox games out there, however, are those that have incorporated the open-world within their stories, and we’ve placed the greatest emphasis on these titles as they offer you a complete experience. Remember, this list is ordered in no particular rank, so you can start playing whichever one of these sandbox games you like the sound of.
Updated on March 16, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: Sandbox games are the most widespread and accessible forms that gaming has adapted in quite some time. Pretty much every second game that comes around the corner has adopted the design of an open-world sandbox in some form or the other. Given the immense player freedom and amazing depth of these games, it's easy to see why the greatest video games around are generally open worlds. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the greatest sandbox video games ever made, in no particular order.
15 Elden Ring
The latest open-world game that has become all the rage right now is Elden Ring. FromSoftware's stellar video game design is present for everyone to see in this incredible title that hasn't just lived up to its hype, but surpassed it.
Fans all over the world absolutely love roaming around the vast world of Elden Ring, which is full to the brim with secrets and hidden encounters. It deserves the title of being FromSoftware's greatest and most popular video game of all time.
14 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red might not have the greatest reputation right now, but there was a time when the studio was considered to be a master of its craft. This was around the same time that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released to critical and commercial acclaim.
The Witcher 3 ends Geralt's journey on a high note, with its two amazing DLCs adding even more quality to this brilliant title. It might not be a perfect video game... but it definitely reaches these heights for many fans of the series.
13 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Speaking of groundbreaking open-world games, it would be hard to not mention the brilliance of Breath of the Wild. Nintendo threw everything but the kitchen sink into the development of this amazing game that is still raved about to this day.
With Breath of the Wild 2 coming in some time, fans can't wait to see how Nintendo has improved on the brilliant formula established in the first game. If the sequel manages to top everything from the first game, then it's already a bonafide masterpiece.
12 Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a game that is considered by many in the fanbase to be the greatest modern Fallout game of all time. It combines the sharp writing and brilliant role-playing of the first two games with the awe-inspiring open-world design of Bethesda's efforts.
The end result is a brilliant and amazing title that is easily one of the greatest role-playing video games ever made. The Courier might not speak a single line of dialogue, but he's still infinitely memorable... as is the rest of the experience.
11 Sleeping Dogs
No one expected Sleeping Dogs to be such an amazing open-world game. Emerging from the shadows of the True Crime franchise, Sleeping Dogs came out of nowhere and established itself as one of the most stylish and engaging open-world games of all time.
Sleeping Dogs doesn't waste any time in letting players know that they were in for a wild ride indeed. The game is full to the brim with amazing action set-pieces, brilliant combat, and a surprisingly engaging story to boot.
10 Grand Theft Auto 5
Rockstar made GTA 5 firmly with the intention of not releasing a new game in the series for about a decade because this one is just so darn massive. Even if you ignored the main missions and online mode, you’d have tens of hours of fun with the side missions and exploration.
The true sandbox element came with the addition of mods, after which GTA 5 is now basically its own world, as people have created one ridiculous thing after another. Really, though, there’s no type of mod that isn’t available now, and online options bring with them hundreds of hours of creativity.
9 Assassin's Creed Origins
There was never a more expressive Assassin’s Creed game released when this one was out brand new, and casual gamers will take a year or more to explore every part of the map. There’s literally a sandbox for you here, considering the environment is placed within the sands of ancient Egypt.
The side missions are all extremely abundant and rich in variety, and your additional options come with modifying the main character with his appearance and his weaponry. With so many different places to see on the map, uncovering one environment after another reminds you of when you were a kid and the world seemed impossible to ever fully explore.
8 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Before modding was commonplace, GTA: San Andreas was among the first to truly make the world yours to manipulate and have fun with. Several different mods of the game allowed you to replace the main character with different skins, such as CJ becoming Batman or Superman.
The main appeal here, though, is the fact that you can have just about any power, weaponry, and travel means by using the cheats available. At the time of release, GTA: San Andreas had achieved unfathomable levels of creative freedom for the player. This was a world where you could be dressed as Batman but perform drive-bys while flying your car.
7 Assassin's Creed 2
Yes, we are aware that there aren’t nearly half of the creative options for players to do in this game than your average sandbox games, but we’re considering the impact that Assassin’s Creed 2 had on us. After all, this was the first game that made us feel we were truly back in the past... so long as we didn't desynchronize.
The game wasn’t without its creative sequences either, as you had the option to renovate your headquarters and the city around it based on your earnings. In your other spare time, you could explore almost all of Italy for yourself — something that was awe-inspiring back in 2009.
6 Hitman
Unlike the games on this list, Hitman technically isn’t a complete open-world game due to it being restricted to missions. However, within these maps, you still have a world to conquer. The player can go anywhere and do anything during these times, and there are hundreds of ways for you to choose from to finish your targets.
The addition of dozens of weapons that players have the option of modifying only adds to the sandbox elements within it, with the best part coming in the form of stealing others’ identities and earning a whole new perspective in terms of environmental accessibility.
5 Marvel's Spider-Man
A lot of previous Spider-Man titles had also been sandbox games in their own right, but they didn’t offer the abundance of choices to the player as this one did. Within this universe, you can feel as if you yourself are Spider-Man, as the inclusion of so many movement options grants you freedom in your decisions.
Add to that, you have the entire city at your disposal, and this is incredibly massive to sink your teeth into. Within every nook and corner, you can find something to do, with Spider-Man’s powers giving you the gameplay option of diversifying your playthrough as far as aggressiveness is concerned.
4 Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
Don’t think of becoming a pirate if you want the pirate life, just head on to Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and live as one. This is the most inclusive game of the series for players, with everything you do involving a direct action from you.
From hunting sea creatures to searching the globe for animus fragments, there’s no part of the map that you don’t want to visit—and, yes, you also dive deep into the ocean whenever you want to. Your creativity flows with the modifications to be made to your ship, along with all the freedom bestowed upon you because of your life as a pirate.
3 Red Dead Redemption
When you’ve gotten bored with being a pirate, you can easily go off and become an outlaw in the American Frontier. Red Dead Redemption puts you in the shoes of John Marston as he circled the Old West from top to bottom.
It’s a very unique game for you to get your hands on, as the creative parts come to you rather than you having to bother to think it up. Within each area that you venture to, you’ll find a new character or setting that invites you in; it could be a duel with another outlaw an exploration of the deepest parts of the desert while you run away from rabid wolverines.
2 Terraria
We remember the simple life quite a lot these days when the world hadn't developed so much, so Terraria gives us the old-school 2D style to jump in to feed out nostalgia. Here, you need to start from scratch as the world is required to be built by the player.
Equipped with tools like your ax, sword, and woodcutting supplies, it’s up to you to head off wherever you want and start planting your legacy one foundation at a time. There are still goals to accomplish and bosses to battle, but these can easily take a backseat to your imagination running wild.
1 Minecraft
Of course, we can’t sign off without mentioning the king of all sandbox games. The most unique thing about this game is that, not only is it an open world, but it has nothing for you to do specifically. Everything is up to you; the challenge is on you to create something legendary enough to be worth mentioning.
It is basically an infinite world with no end, as you can craft to your heart’s desire and let your imagination take shape and form. There’s really nothing more we can say to explain Minecraft to you because it is a game that needs to be experienced to understand. Once you start, you definitely will not be stopping unless you’ve crafted your greatest creation imaginable.