Greatest adventure games of all times

To be more precise, the Borderlands franchise is incredibly unique in its art style, comedic writing, and interesting character "classes". The Vault Hunters don't follow the standard warrior, mage, rogue classes, which makes it innately more interesting to play. And, the second game managed to fine-tune just about everything players liked from the original game and expand upon it with characters like Handsome Jack or the immense number of DLCs Gearbox steadily added after release, which is exactly why it's the most well-regarded of the three games and how it earned itself such a big-budget movie adaptation.

The sequel to Borderlands 2, this iteration just hasn't quite matched up to the second game in its charm or Vault Hunters, but it improves on just about everything else. There are more worlds to explore, the flaws of BL2 have mostly been fixed or improved upon, and the visuals are a step above.

But, the Calypso Twins are no Handsome Jack in terms of memorability, and the comedy just doesn't seem to hold up as well in comparison to 2. It has the body of BL2, but not the soul.

Thankfully, Gearbox did put a good amount of work into all its DLCs, and with Tiny Tina's Wonderland not all that far off, we're starting to get excited once again for a new Borderlands entry. The original Borderlands, understandably, holds up the least of the three when viewed in the present day. That said, it is undeniably the most simplistic version of the game, so if the millions of guns in BL3 or the long campaign plus 5 DLC campaigns of BL2 seems overwhelming. But, as an open-world game, it pales in comparison to the second or third entry in the franchise.

Despite Monolithsoft having two other Xenoblade Chronicles games that came after this one, the entry on the Wii and the definitive edition on Nintendo Switch remains the best of the bunch according to the fans.

The story is downright masterful as it explores its hero and his motivation for going on his quest. It also has one of the most unique settings in any JRPG to date, as the game takes place on the bodies of two world-sized titans. The combat is intense, rewarding, and exciting, and the soundtrack is perfect.

That said, compared to more modern open-world mechanics, it is a bit dated, but still absolutely holds up as both a JRPG and open-world game. The "second" entry into the Chronicles franchise isn't technically a direct sequel to the first game, but it does develop and improve upon a lot from the original.

In terms of combat, people seem to favor this game a tad more, thanks to it coming out five whole years later, giving it a lot of time to clean up and incorporate concepts from other open-world games. Plus, the sheer amount of explorable terrain and customization found in this game overshadows both 1 and 2 by a mile.

The only real department it falls behind in heavily is the story, which is about as forgettable as they come. Now comes the actual sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 which came out almost a decade after the initial one 7 years.

So, how does it stack up compared to the founder of the franchise? Well, it's certainly a fantastic game, but the general opinion seems to be that it still falls a fair distance short. This is due to a variety of divisive differences, from the overly sexualized female characters to the combat that goes on for much longer or even the hilariously bad English voice acting.

Nier Automata is a game that probably should work conceptually, but somehow, with all its gameplay styles and crazy ideas thanks to it being the brainchild of Yoko Taro , makes for one of the best games in It has tight action made by Platinum Games known for the Bayonetta series , brilliant graphics thanks to a big budge from Square Enix , and a world that's so unique and immersive again, thanks to Yoko Taro.

Like its predecessor, Nier Automata has a multitude of optional endings, most of which expand upon the main story in some way. So, by design, the game has a ton of replayability and ways to re-explore its rather small but dense open-world. This is one of the games that excel in the mechanical department but falls a bit short in the open-world department.

Plus, its Steam port was so poorly supported by Square Enix that it took four years to finally get fixed. The first Nier game isn't Yoko Taro's original work, he was actually the mastermind behind the Drakengard series as well, and Nier is technically the continuation of Ending E from the first game in that series. While the open-world in Nier is absurdly small and the game is rather linear overall, the masterful writing, loveable cast, and innately entertaining combat earn it this spot.

While some might consider Super Mario 64 the best of the series, we have to give it to Super Mario Odyssey. Nintendo perfected their old formula this time around. Mario controls and moves around better, and each new kingdom is a small sandbox where players are free to explore at their own pace. With dozens of new characters to meet and hundreds of Moons to find, this game will keep players busy for dozens of hours.

This is an interesting one, as it is sort of an "extra game" bolted on top of the Nintendo Switch port of Super Mario 3D World, as well as Nintendo's first real attempt at an "open-world" Mario game, as Odyssey is a special-case that technically doesn't truly fit the bill for "open-world".

Super Mario 3D World is a fantastic Mario game that didn't do amazingly mostly thanks to the fact that the Nintendo Wii U was such a low-selling console. But, thanks to this port and Bowser's Fury, this game was the highest-selling game of February for Nintendo, hands down.

As for Bowser's Fury itself, the game is a ton of fun but obviously flawed in its experimental nature. The poor performance, un-finished concepts, and odd design choices land it far below Mario Odyssey, but it's still a pretty incredibly open-world game overall.

Zipping around Paradise City is a breeze as each location connects to another, making each race and each chase feel like they have greater significance. On top of that, the driving itself remains a pure thrill as players bust through gas stations, take shortcuts through construction zones, and figure out the lay of the land to best avoid the police.

Developer: Naughty Dog. Developer: Rockstar San Diego. Developer: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal. Developer: Ubisoft Montreal. Developer: FromSoftware. Developer: Irrational Games. Developer: 10 Chambers Collective. Developer: Remedy Entertainment.

Developer: Team Ico. Developer: Asobo Studio. Developer: MercurySteam. Developer: Techland. Developer: Pipeworks Software, Ubisoft Montreal. The father of Parkour games. Developer: 2K Marin. Developer: Aspyr, Core Design. Developer: Team Ninja. Developer: Ninja Theory. Developer: Traveller's Tales. Developer: Bandai Namco Studios. Developer: Aspyr, BioWare. Developer: Supermassive Games. Developer: Fishlabs. Developer: Prideful Sloth.

Developer: Gato Studio. Developer: CyberConnect2. Developer: Ubisoft Toronto. Developer: Crystal Dynamics. Developer: Feelplus Inc. Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

Developer: Looking Glass Technologies, Inc. Developer: Nintendo, Capcom, Flagship. Developer: Frogwares. Developer: Ashby Computers and Graphics Ltd. Developer: Rogue Entertainment. Developer: Sega AM2. Developer: Gunfire Games. Developer: 4J Studios, Rare Ltd. Developer: Silicon Knights. Developer: Tecmo, Team Ninja.

Developer: Matrix Software. Developer: Kronos, Kronos Digital Entertainment. Developer: Hydravision Entertainment, Eden Games. Developer: Nihon Falcom, Hudson Soft.

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal, Griptonite Games. Developer: Acclaim Studios Teesside. Developer: Terminal Reality. Developer: Double Fine Productions. Developer: Game Republic. Developer: Turtle Rock Studios. Developer: Realtime Worlds. Developer: Starbreeze Studios, Tigon Studios. The gorgeous visuals and memorable music supplemented the touching story and fun real-time combat, which let you pause the action with the ring-command system.

Journeying across the world to collect monsters and use them in battle is instantly appealing. Successfully melding together elements of stealth games, first-person shooters, and RPGs, Deus Ex embraced player choice in a way few games had attempted. The dystopian, near-future setting empowered its players to approach missions in any way they saw fit, spending skill points to unlock new augmentations that complemented their play style.

The cyberpunk backdrop proved fertile enough to foster several more Deus Ex games, but none come close to matching the inventiveness of the original. The amnesiac immortal The Nameless One is still one of the most complex and memorable characters in all of gaming, and even small choices players made rippled through the narrative with unforeseen consequences.

Ditching series conventions like the isometric camera and turn-based battles in favor of a first-person perspective and real-time combat, Fallout 3 brought the post-apocalyptic RPG to mainstream audiences, selling more than 12 million copies and winning several game of the year awards along the way.

A trek through a waking nightmare, the player is treated to surreal delights accompanied by a haunting soundtrack and a plethora of wicked weapons. Bloodborne serves an enthralling, challenging experience infused with fear and wonder. This tactics adventure told the story of a group of highborn cadets thrust into the middle of a war for the throne, which felt more mature and political than previous Final Fantasy games.

However, the gameplay is where Tactics really shines. Square evolved its familiar job-class structure into a progression system so deep that you could lose yourself in the thrill of modifying your heroes for hours. Tactics lived up to its name by providing a series of clever encounters that challenged our adept heroes at every turn. Blizzard clearly has fond memories of the game, too, releasing updates long after its release — and as recently as BioWare delivered memorable characters and pushed the boundary of voice acting in RPGs, creating the blueprint used for many of its later RPGs.

Once catering solely to the longtime participants who would race to conquer dragons and raids before other elite guilds, WoW has continually transformed and evolved over 12 years. It now offers a wealth of activities and challenges for both the causal once-a-week-login and the world-first raid leader.

Its superb open world hosted hundreds of quests and meaningful decisions around every bend, always giving you something to do. Seeing your choices ripple across the vast landscape was a highlight itself, and the masterful writing added unpredictability and shades of gray to every dilemma. Seeing a game with such an ambitious scope deliver so fully in terms of quality is rare, but The Witcher 3 did just that, while also raising expectations for what an open-world RPG should offer in terms of depth, breadth, and polish.

It also introduced The Illusive Man, a humanity-first puppetmaster who serves as one of the most interesting and complicated villains in gaming. The product of a development dream team at Square, it was full of charming characters, colorful visuals, and fantastic music. The time-bending story had players exploring settings that ranged from prehistoric to post-apocalyptic, all while taking advantage of a clever battle system that encouraged cooperation among characters.

From heroes dying to villains joining your cause, the tale was full of twists and turns. From the unsettling opening sequence to the god-killing finale, Final Fantasy VI kept players hooked with innovations around every corner.

The plot juggled perspectives brilliantly, shaping the setting and story through multiple interesting viewpoints — even when the world literally fell apart thanks to the deliciously deranged villain, Kefka. Each of the 14 party members could shine thanks to well-written dialogue and unique combat abilities, and the exceptional graphics and music gave the experience an undeniable magnetism. That sense persists even today, making Final Fantasy VI a timeless classic.

Co-created by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, this seminal game was born from the miniatures wargaming scene, but introduced the idea of singular characters that moved through a dangerous world while a dungeon master controlled the flow of action, giving structure to imaginary narrative play in a brand-new way.

The game captured the imaginations of players around the world. Its many subsequent editions, offshoots, and descendants continue to do so to this day. Character leveling and progression, exploration and questing, a defined statistical ruleset, randomness through dice rolls or number generation, and narrative player choice all trace their roots here. Join Sign In. Post Tweet Email. Follow Us. Share Facebook Post. The games certainly helped improve my problem-solving skills as a child.

A teacher in the UK named Tim Rylands was recognized by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency for his use of the Myst series to help his students become more literate. Now how many other games have been praised for helping to actually increase literacy? And I like to think it still does. Although the multiplayer game Myst Online failed to meet the expectations set by developer Cyan Worlds, a group of devoted fans have kept it alive.

Cyan recently allowed user-generated content to be added to the game, fueling hopes of an expansion at some point in the future. There is also talk of a Myst movie that just might see the light of day.

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