Open-World Games Better Than Starfield

Starfield is one of those games that became a modern sensation after Bethesda announced it as their next big thing, supposedly spanning 25 years of development. And while it got strapped with a rocket and everything else to create an absurd amount of hype alongside Elden Ring, let's just say the release was... interesting.

It did a lot of things right with which it marketed itself, but on the deeper level, some other elements were quite shallow. Bethesda's tried-and-true formula present in their other notable RPGs didn't quite feel the same here, perhaps showing that RPGs have begun to move beyond where the scope of Starfield ultimately ended up.

With that in mind, I've put together a list of my personal picks for the best open world games that quietly outclassed Starfield in pretty much every regard. Some are quite glaringly obvious, while some you may not have truly experienced to give an unbiased opinion on. Let's get started.

Skooma Bad, Skooma Good

Bear with me if you're an Oblivion or Skyrim fan; I wanted to switch things up and kick us off with Morrowind, an RPG from Bethesda's golden-age catalog that is unapologetically cozy and oozes with charm despite the dated gameplay.

Every NPC, town, and landscape piece in the hand-crafted world of Vvardenfell is intended to serve lore that makes exploration a valid incentive for the player besides the usual RPG gameplay elements. Faction consequences and the story's branching reactivity play a key role in making it a unique experience for everyone who plays it.

I understand that the game may feel janky to play today for many, and that's hard to argue agaisnt. However, where Starfield's thematically inchoate sci-fi nature can leave many people in disarray, Morrowind’s exotic yet slightly alien fantasy aesthetic is unforgettable and unique in RPG history, enough that it warrants your attention in case you haven't ever checked it out.

7 Red Dead Redemption 2

May I Stand Unshaken

Many consider Red Dead Redemption 2 to be Rockstar's magnum opus, and rightfully so, considering it's one of the best representations of a meticulously designed open world title. To this day, you'll find fans and critics praising not just the story but also how utterly rich and dense the attention to detail is at the core.

And not just the cinematics or models, but the entire environmental fidelity is easily the greatest that the industry has to offer. RDR2 maintains a cohesive sense of immersion by letting you take your time to explore everything it has to show you, from random NPC world events, each NPC's own routine in towns, to the Van Der Linde gang's ever-growing individual stories, and that's just scratching the surface.

Most importantly, the emotional weight of Arthur Morgan’s journey and how it affects every aspect of the experience is something few games match—a lot of people still regard it as one of the most powerful character-driven stories in Western gaming. Starfield doesn't match the level of writing here, and GTA 6 even has a tall task to ultimately measure up to RDR2 as well.

6 Elden Ring

Lowly Tarnished In The Lands Between

Speaking of magnum opuses, not mentioning Elden Ring here would be a bigger crime. And that's mainly because FromSoftware and Miyazaki took their sweet time with hand-crafting this game, just like Bethesda did with Starfield. The only difference is that one game stood above everything and overdelivered on the hype train.

Elden Ring was the culmination of everything FromSoftware had worked on until that point. The Dark Souls trilogy's legacy was preserved, and the experimentation with Sekiro's grueling yet rhythmic combat paid off in high demand. All roads led to this open world culmination, and boy, was it perfect.

It resulted in a whole year that saw people discovering bewildering secrets and dying countless times at the hands of a certain Rot queen. Then, an expansion that saw high praise everywhere. While Starfield also presents an expansive world to explore, it still isn't enough to rival what the madmen at FromSoftware achieved the prior year with a dark fantasy world that had catacombs, caves, castles, massive underground maps, and larger-than-life legacy dungeons tucked away at almost every corner.

5 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

All About The Glider

Nintendo shook the industry and set a foundation for other titles to achieve when they released Zelda: Breath of the Wild, an open world take on the beloved adventure of an elven boy who stood against calamity. It's a world that becomes your sprawling playground, filled with puzzling shrines that test your wits, as well as quests that allow you to tackle their core objective in any way you please.

Starfield likely offers more complexity in RPG elements, narrative branching, and sheer size. But if we're talking emergent exploration, world interaction, and player-driven discovery, Breath of the Wild checks all of that with zero effort, unlike Bethesda's modern RPG. There is a consistent sense of discovery here that I'll even go as far as to say that Elden Ring doesn't hit with its vast array of content.

Plus, with the dynamic gameplay and physics engine, there's an endless layer of creativity present here, from manipulating the game's environmental physics for cheating puzzles to using Link's abilities in unimaginable ways for resolving enemy encounters, one that evolves further with Tears of the Kingdom.

4 Death Stranding

Post-Dystopian FedEx

A game that holds a very special place in my personal life is Death Stranding. You'll likely either hate or adore its placement here, depending on your experience or viewpoint. Regardless, the game is much more than the delivery worker walking simulator they paint it as—it's a beacon of emotional resonance and hope.

It's the prime definition of an open world title that quietly outclasses Starfield, given its lukewarm reception on launch, even though both games have drastically different gameplay elements or properties.

The Strand Multiplayer System is one of the finest examples of an asynchronous online network in a single-player game that encourages players to actively help and support other Porters with their structures, resources, and connections.

Even though the world is bleak, desolate, and harrowing, there's a deep sense of comfort for those who seek it, especially when you embody Sam's character, who seems emotionally guarded at first glance but slowly opens up, increasing empathy for others in need through his time spent with BB, along with the rest of the cast. This is all further amplified by the recent sequel.

If you can give it the right amount of time and attention, as well as conquer that one hurdle in the beginning region, you'll be well on your way to being treated to a game from Hideo Kojima that provides the most meditative yet emotionally enchanting experience ever.

3 Outer Wilds

Race Against The Sun

Let's get the obvious out first: Outer Wilds is in a league of its own compared to Starfield. Sure, the latter is built on the foundation of a traditional RPG, but that still doesn't make up for it being shallow compared to the awe-inspiring experience that Outer Wilds delivers through its time-loop, discovery-driven storytelling.

Starfield may have gone the extra mile with its procedurally-generated solar system and planets, but the entirety of Outer Wilds feels way more dense and hand-crafted here.

Every planet in the solar system has clues, landmarks, ruins, and environmental twists that have meaning and purpose. And you're forced to carefully navigate everything on short notice and with no clear objectives, since the sun will go supernova every 22 minutes.

Your knowledge and curiosity are the driving forces to help you overcome and resolve the game's looming mystery, and even if you fail, that failure of a run is actually a learning curve for you to understand the puzzles and scriptures hidden on each planet's surface and to better tackle them on the next one. Most importantly, everything feels seamless and wonderful to explore—no loading screens or technical limitations to constrict your voyage.

2 Cyberpunk 2077

Never Fade Away

The resurgence that Cyberpunk 2077 received after that horrendous launch will be talked about in the industry for generations. In its current, highly-polished state, you can feel how much it leaves Starfield behind in a few areas. Most specifically, both games being RPGs warrant a fair argument on which one executes its elements the best for the player.

Cyberpunk is easily among my favorite games of all time, strictly because of how immersive Night City feels for me, as well as the characters V meets along their journey. From seeing Johnny's slow growth from his cynical self to spending a leisurely hangout with Judy in the apartment, there was never a dull moment in this game for me, right from the first act.

Both CP2077 and Starfield feature branching narratives that can lead you to discover new things depending on your choices or character stats. And while the latter has an emphasis on Factions and exploration as a whole, you can find just about that same kind of magic here. If you're looking to really witness how the devs went miles ahead in their morally-conflicting narrative experiences, the Phantom Liberty expansion doubles down on that with its noir-thriller storytelling.

I'll give props to Starfield's modding community for their contributions and all. Still, I'll always prefer the customization and player agency you get with the REDEngine, from hundreds of cosmetic mods for V to custom vehicle ones that I've worryingly stuffed into my own copy to truly excessive amounts. It all makes cruising and traversing this glamorous yet bleak dystopia that much more alluring.

1 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

Embodies The Meaning Of Role-Play

Coming off my sore loser aftertaste of it not winning at least Best RPG at The Game Awards 2025, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an open-world RPG that blows the roof off of Starfield, or actually, any other kind of modern role-playing title.

Although Starfield delivered somewhat on being the most ambitious entry in the genre, KCD2 just has way more depth, immersion, and realism in its RPG mechanics and simulation gameplay. It's 15th-century Bohemia setting feels alive—NPCs have believable routines, political systems matter, and you even have a better notoriety system with clear rules and logic for committing treason or other crimes.

The gameplay is obviously like comparing apples to oranges; KCD2 has one of the most grueling, steep combat systems out there, which can be the make-or-break point for many players, especially notable in the original game. Starfield's combat is fun, don't get me wrong, but it’s generally less about mastery and more about stat rolls and gear scaling, with gunplay feeling more generic compared to the tactical nuance of KCD2’s swordplay.

Both games deliver a tightly-knit yet consequential narrative. Still, Kingdom Come 2 nudges just above solely because of how much player agency and freedom you have here, from having a multitude of ways to resolve quests to solving general matters with your wits alone, sometimes without even engaging in any immediate action.