10 PS3 Open-World Games That Reward Exploration

The PS3 was the era where the open world game came into the forefront of the video game world, and it taught players a new way to play games. It wasn't just about moving from area to area anymore. It was about embracing an entire landscape and figuring out where to go and where you want to go.

So many different series banked their reputations on their open-world games, and luckily, many of those efforts paid off in huge ways. It made game worlds feel alive and real in a way they previously couldn't have. We're going to check out some PS3 open-world games that reward you for exploring.

10 Risen

The Path to Greatness

Risen comes from the bones of the Gothic franchise and if you know anything about Gothic, you know that exploration is the name of the game. Exploration is everything in Risen, from your opening moments in the story to the quests where the world really opens up for you, Piranha Bytes were one of the masters of open world exploration, and they showed off their chops in this underrated RPG as well.

There are no map markers here, so your exploration is based on your curiosity and view of the world. There are countless things to discover here, as you can find information on factions just by exploring specific areas, you can find alternate paths that make traversing the world easier, you can find weapons, equipment and unique side quests that you'd never find otherwise and overall, expand the feeling of a world that starts off so small into something enormous and impressive to behold.

9 Sleeping Dogs

The Busy City

Sleeping Dogs is an awesome open-world game that makes you feel like you're in Hong Kong. It might not be a huge world to explore, but it's incredibly dense, with something to see or find on every block. While there are the normal map markers you'd find in most open-world games, you can find a lot here just by using your eyes. Health Shrines, Lockboxes, and Jade Statues are all available to find, and each of them manages to improve your experience in some way, whether it's gaining experience, expanding your health bar, or discovering awesome new moves to unlock at the dojo.

It's one of those games where you can just lose yourself walking around and taking the city in. You'll see emergent events happen at a time long before Red Dead Redemption 2 made it the standard. You can also hear unique conversations that help flesh out the world and sometimes, these people need your help and have rewards for you if you decide to help out. I did this once, and ended up chasing down someone who stole a woman's purse and, for my efforts, I got jumped by 6 people. Stuff like that happens all the time in Sleeping Dogs if you're willing to look for it.

8 Infamous 2

Cole's World

Infamous 2 is arguably the best game in the series, and part of that is the amazing exploration in the fictional city of New Marais. While the city may look dead and deserted, there is a lot of stuff going on here for you to seek out. There's territory wars that you can take part in, Blast Shards to find that make you stronger, and hidden encounters that you can find that flesh out the world. You can also find that after you've improved your powers, you can go back to previously inaccessible places and find new items there that you can now access.

Perhaps the coolest part of the exploration is finding the dead drops, which are tapes that explain so much about the world, from the nature of the plague ravaging the city to the state of the world and the characters that inhabit it. It's an impressive world to explore, and the more the story progresses, the more the city changes, and you can see new areas opening up because of it. There are also some great side quests to find just by exploring the world too, so you can always be sure that wandering around will be rewarding in some way or another.

7 Two Worlds II

The Jank Gem

Without guilt, I will say I really enjoyed Two Worlds II. It's janky as hell, ugly at times, and full of strange systems that aren't exactly wieldy to the player. Regardless of that, it's a ton of fun to play and has some of the most rewarding exploration of the PS3 era. There is so much to find here, and it's all up to you. No map markers guiding you to anywhere in particular, just your thirst for adventure fueling everything.

You can find crypts, tombs, bandit camps, ancient ruins, shipwrecks, and so much more just based on you wandering out into the world. You'll also come across hidden side quests, amazing equipment, and tons of incredibly tough enemies to encounter as well. A random note you find can start a whole quest line, you can find spell cards that will augment a simple fireball into a crowd-clearing explosion, and you can find a simple cave that turns into a deep dungeon. It's an amazing explorative experience, and if you can deal with the jank that comes with a game of this nature, you're going to be absorbed by the deep and rewarding exploration.

6 Red Dead Redemption

The Old West

Red Dead Redemption was a landmark moment for the open world wave that hit the PS3 generation. It gave us a vision of the old west that seemed so real, and just riding around on your horse was endlessly rewarding, and it's not necessarily because of items or weapons you receive, but because of how it shapes the world you're in. For example, the abandoned town of Tumbleweed is entirely optional, and it's one of the creepiest places in the game, just by its atmosphere alone.

There is also the Strange Man encounter, the giant skeleton you can find, the Repentance Rock mystery, and it goes on and on. These are places you can find simply by going out into the world on your own. There aren't necessarily map markers pointing you anywhere, but just the game giving you little bread crumb trails to follow. It might not be the traditional rewarding exploration with crazy weapons and the like, but it really makes the game world feel more interesting as a whole.

5 Batman: Arkham City

A City of Secrets

Batman: Arkham City is arguably the best game in the series, and it's the first one in the series to embrace the open world formula. Unsurprisingly, it turned Gotham City into a fascinating place to explore. There are hidden stories all over the place to discover and each of them is thoroughly rewarding, at least from a storytelling perspective.

There are so many cool easter eggs to explore. For example, you can find a boat with Scarecrow's belongings in it, hinting at what will happen in the next game in the series. You can find a positive pregnancy test from Harley Quinn, hinting at a possible Joker offspring coming into the mix at some point, and you can even have surprise encounters like with Killer Croc or discover side quests like one with Azrael, which foreshadows the future of the series. It's just an amazing world to explore, and while it's not that big, it's got a ton to find within.

4 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

A Colorful and Dark World

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is one of the all-time underrated RPGs that is so full of life and whimsy that it's shocking it never recovered to become a successful franchise. The exploration, in particular, is absolutely fantastic. There is so much to discover here that it is simply staggering. Just wandering into a random town off the beaten path can result in multiple side quests, new weapons, and armor.

On top of that, there are incredible amounts of lore to be discovered, amazing-looking locations to explore, and powerful enemies to encounter. It's got this magic to it that makes every area a complete mystery in terms of what you may find or who you might encounter. There are tons of characters to converse with, too, who might send you on a mysterious treasure hunt or who might illuminate some of the world's more mysterious aspects to you. It feels great to explore here, whether it's in the depths of an old ruin or just combing every nook and cranny of the main world.

3 Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

The Strange Journey

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is an awesome game with so much missable content that despite having a lengthy main storyline, you can miss out on a ton if you don't explore. For example, entire chunks of lore from the story, including an optional path to go down for the ending, exist in the Witchwood. But you will only find that area by exploring on your own, because Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen has no interest in holding your hand.

In fact, it spits at that idea, having you remember to mark places throughout the game you want to, and punishing you for forgetting to save during long journeys. But the journey is integral to the whole experience here. And exploring is incredibly rewarding, as just returning to previously completed areas like Bluemoon Tower will net you tons of great equipment and even some new fights if you venture far enough. Then there are areas like Soulflayer Canyon, which is an area full of insanely tough fights if you're brave enough to venture out that way. It's a game that invites you to beat it's toughest challenges, and exploring is the best way to find out just where those fights are.

The World is Yours

Skyrim is now a 15-year-old game and still, to this day, no other open world game has come close to the level of exploration that you can experience here. It's the most alive any open-world game has ever felt, and the exploration is consistently rewarding, and it's honestly the highlight of the game. I've been playing Skyrim on and off for 15 years now, with hundreds of hours in the game, and I still haven't seen the ending of the game. The reason is exploration. You can get lost for hours on end exploring caves, dungeons, catacombs, mountains, ruins, and it goes on and on.

Each of these places invites you in with a distant map marker that suggests something is in there, it's just you don't know what exactly that something is until you get close and discover a new place of interest. Then you find yourself pulled towards finding whatever may lie within, and it's usually a healthy amount of gold, armor, weapons and sometimes even Dragon Shouts to keep you going back to the places of interest going forward. It's just a brilliant system that begs the player to look beyond the beaten path.

1 Dark Souls

The Interconnected Hell

Dark Souls is one of the best examples of an open-world game. Before the term souls-like was invented, this was just another open-world game that did it very differently. The way the world is interconnected is something that is marveled at to this day. This exploration is incredibly rewarding here, in that you can find entire optional areas based on nothing but your curiosity to explore the environment, or see what specific items can actually do.

Dark Souls is an achievement in world design for the ages, with so many hidden secrets to explore and hidden items and weapons to find that you can easily lose hours just combing the environment looking for hidden pathways and strange ways to interact with your surroundings. It's an amazing experience and one of the biggest reasons people still can't stop playing the original to this day.