Open-world games are insanely fun. They explore the player's creativity more than linear-level games and also immerse players in a living breathing world to play in. The only thing that would make a singleplayer open-world experience better is if this world can be shared with others. This creates a fun hub where players can get lost together in everything the world has to offer.
Heists in GTA Online are definitely more fun with friends than doing them solo in the singleplayer campaign, slaying dragons is more fulfilling with a party in Elder Scrolls Online than sieging them solo in Skyrim, and taking down enemy hordes is simply just more fun with a team dynamic than a lone wolf run.
10 Elder Scrolls Online (Metascore: 71; User Score: 5.8)
Elder Scrolls Online is an online RPG with a rich beautiful world that players may share. Gamers who have played Skyrim and loved the creativity it allows will surely get hooked into the shared-world experience of Elder Scrolls Online. It's a lot like Skyrim but multiplayer.
Instead of doing quests with computer-controlled NPCs, players embark on quests with their real-life friends and other players. There's much to do in the world of Tamriel and much fun to have. Sure, bugs are here and there; after all, it's a Bethesda game. But these can be completely ignored as they don't ruin the true Skyrim experience.
9 Far Cry 5 (Metascore 82; User Score: 6.7)
On top of a compelling story and intimidating villain, Far Cry 5 has a beautiful countryside world riddled with open roads, wild animals, and thick jungles. An entire open world that can be explored headfirst into danger. Far Cry 5 allows players to experience this world and story together through co-op.
Though Far Cry 3 is arguably the best game in the franchise, it is nowhere near the shared-world experience that Far Cry 5 brings to the table. Unlike the previous Far Cry games, the entire story and open-world of Far Cry 5 are open to two players without limits.
8 Destiny 2 (Metascore: 87; User Score: 4.4)
Ever since going free-to-play, Destiny 2 has dominated the looter-shooter RPG genre. But, every MMORPG comes with a huge shared-world full of events and activities for players to sink their teeth in. Destiny 2 doesn't fail in the open-world aspect of things. It has a great class system, action-packed combat mechanics, and true RPG customization.
Along with this, Destiny 2 takes place across different planets, each being a unique landscape of their own with different areas, enemies, and biomes. Hoverbiking alone across the wide-open spaces is already a ton of fun in Destiny 2.
7 Monster Hunter: World (Metascore 90; User Score 7.1)
The world of Monster Hunter: World is riddled with huge beasts and monstrosities. Each quest in Monster Hunter is a task to take down gigantic behemoths. Players can harvest parts from fallen foes to make bigger weapons; allowing them to take even bigger monsters.
The world of Monster Hunter is full of surprises and can be experienced with other players as well. A player may take on a foe God Of War-style, or he may team up with up to three other players to slay the goliath together.
6 Borderlands 2 (Metascore: 91; User Score: 8.2)
Borderlands has ushered in its own unique art style and feel into the gaming industry. The scrap punk world of Borderlands 2's Pandora, along with its psychotic enemies and torn-down architecture makes it a perfect funhouse for carnage and mayhem. As fun as it is for one player, Borderlands 2 quadruples the chaos by allowing a party of up to four engage in story missions.
With six classes to choose from, Borderlands is insanely replayable and dynamic. Weaponized vehicles are present in the game to add to the horde-plowing arsenal. The game also has quirky characters and over-the-top storylines, crafting an experience that can only be described as-- 'Borderlands.'
5 Forza Horizon 4 (Metascore: 92; User Score: 8.1)
Forza Horizon 4 is set in a fictionalized Great Britain made even more realistic with the game's stunningly optimized graphics. Forza Horizon 4 is a blend between a racing simulator and an arcade over-the-top action-packed racing game.
The open world of Forza Horizon 4 serves as a hub for players to drive and speed across with other players. With the game's many biomes and weather system, it feels like going on virtual road trips with the boys. Just like how they do it in Fast & Furious movies.
4 World Of Warcraft (Metascore: 93; User Score: 7.4)
World Of Warcraft is one of the greatest pioneers of the MMORPG genre and stands as the prominent figure of that area. Along with one of the best RPGs comes also the best shared-world experience in any game. In the mystical world of Azeroth, players can embark on journeys and take on quests and raids with other players.
With 12 different classes to choose from, the party dynamic of WOW is unparalleled. However, though WOW remains as geek culture's hottest topics, the game's appeal leans more towards quests and the ever-flourishing community and culture of the game than the world itself.
3 Minecraft (Metascore: 93; User Score: 7.9)
The world of Minecraft is what players make it to be. The Wizarding School of Hogwarts, the gates of Hades, medieval England, one big mansion, the list goes on. Minecraft brings out the creativity in players by being a fully sandbox world where players can craft structures and landscapes as they wish.
They can also craft weapons, create a fully functioning underground mine, plant crops with seamless irrigation, and so much more. The best part is that up to 30 players can take part in this constantly shifting sandbox so that every in-game day is a different experience. However, given the many tools under players' belts such as TNT, toxic griefers may ruin a perfect world a group of friends has spent years on. So, that's something to consider.
2 GTA V (Metascore: 97; User Score: 7.8)
GTA V's online mode is an urban landscape for in-game gangsters. GTA Online is a world where everyone can do what they can't do in real life. Including but not limited to stealing a car, speeding down the highway, robbing banks, punching pedestrians, and blowing up traffic.
What's amazing about GTA Online is that all this can be done in the fictionalized San Andreas together with other players. Wreaking havoc in a modern-day cityscape is a kind of freedom everyone deep down wants. But since it's set in a virtual world, there's absolutely zero guilt and compromise.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2 (Metascore: 97; User Score: 8.4)
The only developer that could beat the open-world king is the open-world king themselves-- Rockstar. Like GTA Online takes place in modern-day America, Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode takes place more than a century before that. In 1898 Wild West America. Players head into a world well after the industrial era. In this shared-world experience, players are outlaws taking bounties and making moonshine.
Red Dead Online fully captures the look and feel of the wild west from the small towns with only one saloon to the bustling city with a factory. Since cars haven't been mass-produced for the public yet, people still get around on horses and wagons in this open-world. Red Dead Online stands to this day as one of the most prominent wild west games, and also one of the best open-world games.