Open world games are known for allowing players the freedom to explore the game world and to participate in main and side quests on their own leisure. It is this feature of allowing players to personalize their own game experience that makes open world games one of the most popular genres of the 21st century.

The open world genre has created a number of popular video game franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Saints Row and Just Cause. In this article, we’ll be listing down the top 10 open world video games that gamers should definitely have on their laptop or desktop computers. Keep in mind that we’ll be using one game per franchise to make our list as diverse as possible.

Just Cause 3 combines over-the-top, Hollywood-style, explosive action with open-world style gameplay. As former mercenary Rico Rodriguez, you can liberate towns, outposts and military bases scattered throughout the island of Medici by destroying key objects located in the area. You can also complete challenges to unlock powerful mods that can help drive faster, glide further and cause even more mayhem.

Besides using cars, boats and planes to explore the island, you’re also equipped with a grappling hook, wingsuit and parachute to get to hard-to-reach places and even help you find hidden collectibles. The grappling hook is also useful for kicking enemy soldiers, hijacking vehicles or destroying objects.

Though Batman: Arkham Knight brought a mediocre close to an otherwise epic superhero franchise, it’s stunning visuals, challenging combat mechanics and the ability to drive around Gotham City in the Batmobile make the game a thrilling experience.

As the Batman, only you can restore order to the crime-infested Gotham City. Strike your enemies with fear or overpower them with your martial arts prowess as you go toe-to-toe with some of Batman’s dangerous villains. However, the game’s action-packed gameplay conceals elements of horror as the Dark Knight must confront the nightmares of his past as a result of being infected with Scarecrow’s fear gas. It is a dark and gritty story that is sure to keep players at the edge of their seat.

In Watch Dogs 2, you play a hacker who uses his talents to take down corrupt institutions and companies in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area. In this game, you can hack traffic lights or cars to cause a massive accident, steal people’s cash from their bank accounts, cause a nuisance and send gangs after innocent civilians (you know, for the good of the people.).

The game lets you take on each mission your own way. It doesn’t matter if you’re sneaky or if you’re going in guns blazing as long as you get the job done. The game also has an online co-op mode as well as other minigames for you to try out like remote kart races and taxi jobs.

If you’re a fan of mafia films like The Godfather and Scarface, then Mafia II is the game for you. Unlike most open-world games, the game’s storyline is more structured and split into different chapters. However, the game still gives you the freedom to explore the old-timey fictional city of Empire Bay.

In this game, you play as Vito Scaletta, a former burglar and U.S. soldier who has returned to his hometown after serving his country in World War II for some time. Through a childhood friend of his, Vito is introduced to the dark and dangerous world of organized crime. As the story progresses, Vito begins to realize that being a member of the Mafia is not as glamorous as everyone makes it out to be.

We’ll try not to spoil too much of the story but basically, Mafia II is a story of a man who wanted to make it big in the world but got more than he bargained for in the end.

Moving from gangster-style games to historical, medieval-style games, Assassin’s Creed follows the story of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, a high-ranking member of the Middle Eastern-based Hashashin guild of assassins. After his arrogance cost the life of one of the guild’s members and brought a war with their enemies, the Knights Templar, to the guild’s doorsteps, Altaïr is forced to go on a quest of redemption to kill 9 key figures associated with the Knights Templar.

In Assassin’s Creed, stealth and intel are key in the game. To know where your target is at, you need to eavesdrop on conversations, pickpocket items, do favours for informants and interrogate persons of interest. Certain items in the game world allow you to blend in to avoid the risk of getting spotted and failing the mission.

With your trusty Hidden Blade, you can assassinate your targets in a low profile manner but in case things get hot, you can defend yourself with your sword and daggers.

Taking place in modern-day Hong Kong, you play as undercover police officer Wei Shen who has infiltrated the Sun On Yee triad organization. The game’s story focuses on Wei having to balance between maintaining the trust and loyalty of the triad and his duties as a police officer.

As Wei Shen, you can fight enemies using martial arts or guns (much like a Hong Kong crime movie). The game also has parkour elements where you can chase enemies while hopping from rooftop to rooftop. You can also do investigation missions to arrest dangerous criminals while also working with a triad loan shark to collect debts. When you’re not helping out the triads or the cops, you can take female characters out on dates or help out random strangers with favours.

Combining first-person shooter elements with the open-world gameplay, Far Cry 5 puts you in the shoes of a deputy sheriff who is about to arrest cult leader Joseph Seed. When the arrest goes extremely wrong and Joseph escapes, the deputy and his team must work together with the local townspeople to bring down Joseph Seed’s cult, the Project at Eden’s Gate.

Throughout the story, you will not just be dealing with Joseph Seed, but his siblings who control much of the cult’s operations. Outside of the story, you can also destroy cult properties, free hostages and liberate outposts which brings you a step closer to freeing Hope County from the cult’s influence.

Besides human allies, you also have animals like Boomer (a dog) and Cheeseburger (a bear) to fight by your side.

The fourth main installment of the critically-acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series, you play as Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant who arrives in Liberty City (Grand Theft Auto’s version of New York City) to reunite with his cousin and to escape his crooked past by building a new life in America. As he settles in his new home, he begins to realize that you can’t get what you want in America unless you kill for it.

Throughout the story, Niko works with crime bosses, gangsters and government agents to earn money and live the American Dream. In combat, you can take cover behind walls or objects which was not available in previous entries of the game. It is also the first main game in the series to allow the player to swim on water.

Outside of missions, you can hang out with friends and do activities with them such as bowling or darts. You can also work on various side missions such as stealing cars and taking assassination jobs. Because in Liberty City, crime pays a lot.

Considered to be one of the best video games of all time, Minecraft encourages players to be creative and free to play their own way. In Minecraft, you can mine blocks to build things while also surviving against monsters who will randomly spawn while you’re exploring the block-like game world. There are no objectives to complete so you can do whatever you want in the world of Minecraft.

Minecraft also has a multiplayer mode where you can play alongside other players or fight against one another if the PvP combat feature is enabled. The best part is that the game is frequently updated with new content that offers something fresh for Minecraft players.

If you’re a fan of Western cowboys and revolver standoffs, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the game for you. Created by the same studio behind the critically-acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series, you play as Arthur Morgan during the closing days of the Wild West. A member of the van der Linde outlaw gang, the gang hopes to pull off one final heist to have enough money to retire from being outlaws.

Throughout the story, Arthur and the gang come into conflict with various organizations such as the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the O’Driscoll gang and the warring Gray and Braithwaite families.

The main feature of Red Dead Redemption 2 is the Honor system which is based on your past actions and influences the story. Doing morally good actions like helping strangers, abiding the law and sparing opponents in a duel increases your Honor level but doing morally bad actions like stealing, murdering and hijacking people’s horses decreases your Honor level. Having a certain level of honor also provides certain gameplay benefits for the player.

Like every open world game, you can participate in random or side activities in the game such as dueling, searching for treasures, hunting, gambling and helping people who are in trouble.

These top 10 open world games are suited for gamers who enjoy both action and adventure. They are also great boredom killers to have on your PC, especially during the pandemic season. If you want to be comfortable while playing these games, you can get a TTRacing gaming chair which supports your posture during long hours of sitting. Visit ttracing.my to get a comfortable gaming chair for yourself today.