Best open world games for PS5 — top 19 ranked (June 2024) (2024)

Update: With a new, awesome PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade now out in the wild, Staff Writer Sean has added it to the list of the best open-world games for May 2024. You can find it below!

19 best open-world games to play on PS5 right now

Open-world isn't a genre per se, but a descriptor of the game format. In short, we're looking for the most interesting game worlds that are free to explore. That means we are putting a big emphasis on how unique the places and spaces you journey through are and how that weaves with narrative, gameplay, and environmental design.

Here are the best open-world games on PS5.

• Release Date: January 24, 2023
• Developer: Luminous Productions
• Is it on PS Plus? No

It's a shame that the dialogue was so dreadfully managed here as to turn people thoroughly off the game, although if you feel like pushing through and having a good time, I do have a quick fix for you. Simply go to the audio options and switch the language from English to Japanese. I promise, Frey and her standoffishly quippy nature become a lot more palatable in the Superior Nihongo. Make the switch and have fun learning spells and gliding over this wonderous PS5 exclusive open-world!

• Release Date: April 26, 2019
• Developer: Bend Studio
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes; PS Plus Extra

Amongst the best PS4 games we voted Days Gone higher than Kingdom Come Deliverance, but those positions have swapped for the best open world list. Why? Well, we think that the Oregonian world of Days Gone is gloriously open and wild, but doesn't quite have the depth of the aforementioned medieval RPG. By no means take that as a slight, though. I think it's a glorious game with American story-telling cheesiness and bombast — I love it!

• Release Date: April 26, 2024
• Developer: Shift Up
• Is it on PS Plus? No

However, with Shift Up separating the open world into segments, each area feels fun and fresh to explore. I honestly enjoyed searching every nook and cranny trying to grab all the collectibles, finishing all the side missions, and uncovering the open world's many secrets. I explored every inch of Stellar Blade’s open world twice to grab all of those glorious Stellar Blade trophies and never once felt bored or fed up.

• Release Date: February 10, 2023 (PS5), May 5, 2023 (PS4)
• Developer: Avalanche Games
• Is it on PS Plus? No

With tight, twisting castle corridors and an open courtyard dominated by twisting towers, there is something so special about the place. That feeling is heightened with brilliant music and the mumblings of students, teachers, and moving paintings as you wander the corridors. There is much more than that, of course.

On your voyage through the Hogwarts Legacy trophies you'll discover interesting characters like the morally compromised Sebastian Sallow. You'll also get to explore the rich Scottish Highlands with their odd villages and damp caves filled with magical creatures. I think the game gets a little lost during the main story, but everything else is here to round out a great package — strong gameplay, creative ideas, and fun side missions. Hogwarts Legacy is a great open-world game for PS5 players!

• Release Date: November 8, 2019 (PS4), Sepember 24, 2021 (PS5)
• Developer: Kojima Productions
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

A character named Die Hardman? Sure, mate... sure. But some of the characters like Fragile (Lea Seydoux), Clifford Unger (Mads Mikkelson), and Mama/Lockne (Margaret Qualley) are impeccably written. Ultimately, you are delivering parcels from one place to the next. The game part comes from the voyages you make to and fro, over mountains and chasm, through snow and river, or through crowds of strange creatures as acidic rain falls overhead.

With bikes, trucks, grapples, and cannons to help you negotiate the empty American landscape with your deliveries, you'll find an open-world game that is gorgeous and unique, and certainly something I've never seen anything like before. The environment is the game and that is truly innovative to me. You might think it pretentious and rubbish or you might end up loving it like me, but isn't it worth finding out?

• Release Date: February 29, 2024
• Developer: Square Enix
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth pulls off this style of open-world gameplay beautifully, in my opinion. You can get lost doing side quests and messing around for hours at a time, but you never just abandon the story for days at a time. Eventually, you’ll max out everything there is to do in a certain area (at least on your first pass) and need to press on and see what’s next.

What’s next also usually happens to be another stunning chunk of open-world gameplay to enjoy, so it’s really a win-win for both story-focused gamers and anybody who just likes to get lost in a game. If you’ve read my Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review, you’ll also know I think the rest of the game is pretty incredible too. So, if any of that sounds appealing, you should check out those Final Fantasy VII Rebirth trophies.

• Release Date: November 15, 2013 (PS4)
• Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

The seas are littered with explorable islands, enemies, and merchants for protagonist Edward Kenway to raid in his customizable ship the Jackdaw, earning Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag trophies on the way. The cities are dense and full of debauchery for your traditional Assassin's Creed missions. Crammed into all of this is a truly wonderful tale of the downfall of Edward Kenway the pirate and the rise of Edward Kenway the Assassin as he grapples with the world of buccaneering he helped build. It's an open world for the ages, so give it a go on PS5 with backward compatibility.

• Release Date: March 22, 2024
• Developer: Capcom
• Is it on PS Plus? No

In fact, Dragon’s Dogma 2 wants nothing more than for you to explore its huge world and get absorbed into all of the little stories. It feels like there is more of a focus on exploring than on the main story (which is still a lot of fun). The open world is where almost all the fun is to be had and I loved delving into all the different caves and scouring the areas for treasure (that I would usually end up selling). Capcom has left no stone unturned by designing a beautiful world for you to wander around.

Those Dragon’s Dogma 2 trophies will also reward you for exploring every nook and cranny you can. You’ll need to find Seeker Tokens, solve riddles, acquire materials, snatch weapons, explore the different vocations, and slay dragons to earn the platinum trophy ‘The True Arisen.’ Are you ready for the challenge?

• Release Date: November 11, 2011 (PS3), October 28, 2016 (PS4), November 11, 2021 (PS5)
• Developer: Bethesda Softworks
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

I had so much fun earning all those The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim trophies (three times thanks to the PS5 version) and spent two months playing nothing but Skyrim. I was enthralled with its world and all of the different lives I could play out in the same game. I remember running around the world finishing odd jobs and didn't even progress the main storyline for dozens of hours. There aren't many games that allow you to focus on anything but the main story and reward you for it. It's Skyrim for goodness sake, just give it a go.

• Release Date: February 13, 2018 (PS4)
• Developer: Warhorse Studios
• Is it on PS Plus? No

This realistic RPG is, for our money, the most underrated game of the PS4 generation. You'll take silly peasant Henry from life as a Blacksmith's son to life under the arm of true knight Sir Radzig. Teaching Henry everything is one of the most rewarding gameplay loops I've ever experienced. The world is a glorious recreation of the medieval Czech Republic and the narrative is one of the most captivatingly earnest in all of video gaming — it's funny because Henry doesn't quip (he bumbles), it is emotional because love was put into every character, and it's exceptional because it is modest.

Sure, you'll put loads of time into the Kingdom Come Deliverance trophies and have to replay it a few times, but you won't mind. Add in DLC that has finished the game's story and a fair amount of bugginess, this isn't the most AAA experience on this list. But, if I am being honest dear reader, it's the open-world game I love the most. If it wasn't for reason and objectivity, it'd be even higher!

• Release Date: February 18 , 2022 (PS5, PS4)
• Developer: Guerrilla Games
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

It helps that the lighting is stunning, the small environment tells like ferns moving from beneath you giving it liveliness, and that Aloy physically reacts to the environment. The game also has a really strong story even if the central protagonist doesn't quite engage you in the way she should.

The RPG-lite does run into issues with the HUD and isn't trying to reinvent the Ubisoft-style open world — but it does refine everything to a tee. Throw in an unbelievably good combat model featuring giant robot dinosaurs, and there is no reason you shouldn't try and platinum the Horizon Forbidden West trophies.

• Release Date: January 26, 2024 (PS5, PS4)
• Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
• Is it on PS Plus? No

That odd storytelling that grips you and refuses to let go? It's got that again and it's got you in a chokehold this time. That side-content feast is back and as liberatingly insane as ever. Hawaii is genuinely a gorgeous setting with scale, density, and charm, but make no mistake that returning Japanese settings make this the most complete open-world of the Yakuza games, too. I can't recommend the game to you anymore. If you like Yakuza, hop right in!

• Release Date: July 17, 2020 (PS4), August 20, 2021 (PS5)
• Developer: Sucker Punch
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

Firstly, the island of Tsushima (and Iki Island if you play the DLC) is a landscape that definitely feels different for a Western audience. With long rushes swaying in the wind and small Japanese farmsteads providing real architectural contrast to the usual fair. As we covered in our Ghost of Tsushima review, though, it also uses the environment to its advantage. You'll be guided by the wind towards objectives which reduces the clutter from the menus.

In doing so, the world seems larger and more immersive because you aren't living your digital life guided by a glowing point on the screen. It's subtle and perfect. If you do go for all those Ghost of Tsushima trophies, then you'll find fantastic combat and a really strong narrative to boot, rounding out the game into the perfect package.

• Release Date: December 10, 2020 (PS4), February 15, 2022 (PS5)
• Developer: CD Projekt Red
• Is it on PS Plus? No

I was skeptical going into Cyberpunk 2077 but within the first five minutes the game reassured me that all of the issues of the past were just that, distant memories of a buggy mess. Nothing beats taking down the various Cyberpsychos, using your enhanced abilities to annihilate foes, and finishing up engaging side-quests. There is a lot to enjoy in Cyberpunk 2077 and don't even get us started on how awesome the recent expansion is.

Earning every one of the Cyberpunk 2077 trophies along the way (which I did) is one of the best gaming experiences in recent memory, so if you're still sleeping on this epic open world title — what are you waiting for? Jump into it now!

• Release Date: September 17, 2013 (PS3), November 18, 2014 (PS4), March 15, 2022 (PS5)
• Developer: Rockstar North
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes; PS Plus Extra

I mean, no doubt the Grand Theft Auto V trophies will make you want to put your head through a wall. But when the wall is this well-made, why not? The GTA Online mode is genuinely decent so long as you hide your wallet away and we can't stress enough how much enjoyment you can have just mucking about. So, go on! Have some fun by picking up our most 'boring' pick if you somehow haven't yet!

• Release Date: October 20, 2023 (PS5)
• Developer: Insomniac Games
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Where Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trumps its predecessors is in upping the video game elements of its open world with the addition of wind tunnels, vents, and Super Slingshots. These elements glow green in the game's HUD because the developers want you to see this open world more like a freeform race track than just another wide space that separates you and your objective. Zipping around always felt good in these games, but it's hard to imagine going back to the older games without Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Web Wings. So, head out and grab the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trophies — you know you want to!

• Release Date: February 25, 2022 (PS5, PS4)
• Developer: FromSoftware
• Is it on PS Plus? No

The constant risk and reward balance of exploring the world in Dark Souls is amplified magnificently in Elden Ring, letting the player tackle the game in whichever direction they want so long as they've got the skills. It's the ideal water cooler open-world game, as everyone who plays it comes away with their individual story to tell. Plus, despite being massive, The Lands Between doesn't feel boring to traverse due to all the variety out there. That, and the double-jumping horse, of course.

• Release Date: May 19, 2015 (PS4), December 14, 2022 (PS5)
• Developer: CD Projekt Red
• Is it on PS Plus? No

However, what I think separates CD Projekt Red's incredible fantasy RPGs from others like Dragon Age, Skyrim, and even Final Fantasy is that its open world is grounded. It uses landscapes that feel rooted in a world you know. That means it feels as though you could reach out and touch the sodden cliffs of the Skellige Islands, smell the rancid bogs of Crookback, or hear the bustle of university students in Oxenfurt.

With this tangible world operating in the background you get sucked in because, despite the magic, mutagens, and Gwent cards, it's all something relatable. So, when you also plug in characters that have these perfectly curated emotional arcs, wonderfully complex creatures with perfectly woven narrative context surrounding them, and deliciously underrated hardy Eastern European humor — the result embarrasses every other RPG I've played in the last 10 years. Those The Witcher 3 The Wild Hunt trophies are calling!

• Release Date: October 26, 2018 (PS4)
• Developer: Rockstar North
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

It's so well written that it might be my favorite story in video gaming, but it almost certainly wouldn't be if the open world didn't push it up a notch. The story isn't just great because of the writing — it's how it interplays with the truly revolutionary environment design. You can interact with everyone and feel like part of this world. You'll come across random events in the forests and end up on a forty-minute journey that'll make you laugh and cry as you try and help a widow in need.

You'll see gorgeous views that will have you settling down for five minutes just to drink it in while you eat some meat you carved down the muddy way. Nothing you do feels arbitrary here — none of the missions feel grindy or frustrating. It all just feels like one true moment. The result is the best game I've played for a long, long time and one that I don't think I've recovered from yet. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best open-world game you can play on PS5.

That is our list of the best open-world games! Many of these also appear on the best PS5 games list, so check them out for more game recommendations. Is there anything missing from the open-world games list you want to point out? Well, get in the comments below and let us know and I'm sure one of us will see you there!