Open-World Games Designed for Players Who Love Getting Lost

For a long time, open-world games were all the rage. If you couldn't spend hundreds of hours uncovering every single POI on the same map, then what was really the point?

Eventually, this led to games becoming incredibly bloated, and more of a literal chore to explore rather than to discover and enjoy. It's a shame, because when done correctly, open-world titles can get players lost and fully immersed like nothing else in the gaming world.

These eight titles are the good examples. The games that are so dense with content and real estate to uncover, but also dole it all out in a way that you're practically begging to get lost within its world and stay there forever.

8 Final Fantasy XV

Boy Band Roadtrip

Look, I know Final Fantasy XV isn't usually mentioned in the GOAT conversation of the franchise. And yes, other series members, like FFVII: Rebirth, also have a massive open-world to get lost in. Still, there's something about the process of exploring FFXV.

If you want to simply tool around in a Final Fantasy title, there's really no better option. Your royal boy band roadtrip takes you across breathtaking vistas and biomes aplenty. Maybe it's tapping into my nostalgia for family vacations on the road growing up, but this formula just feels so nice in FFXV.

The map is huge and full of secrets, but it's also just as rewarding sometimes to kick back and watch your car full of friends drive off into the sunset. And don't even get me started on the first time I was able to hop on a Chocobo and roam around lush forests and sparkling ponds. I could get lost in FFXV forever.

7 Ghost of Tsushima

When Video Games are Art

Take your pick from either Ghost of Tsushima or Yotei here. If you've played either of these open-world titles, you know they can easily be considered second-to-none in terms of beauty per pixel packed into an open-world video game.

The maps are massive and realistic enough, but also stylized in a way that exploring every peak and forest alike is dotted with perpetual incredible moments in terms of presentation. It's a world and map you truly want to exist in, which makes getting lost and simply roaming around looking for things to do all the more enjoyable.

The games you want to get lost in forever are often times the visually stunning ones, and Ghost of Tsushima fits the bill tenfold.

6 No Man's Sky

Literally Lost for Eternity

No Man's Sky isn't an open-world game, if we're being honest. It's a genuine open-universe adventure. Procedurally generated and essentially infinite in galaxies to explore, there's really not a better option in sheer terms of "getting lost" potential.

I'm very strangely an apologist for Vanilla NMS, as maligned and hated-upon as the game's original launch was. Even back then, before the steady stream of updates and improvements over the years, the idea of infinite planets to discover had me captivated.

Now more than ever, with the incredible shape that Hello Games currently has NMS in, it's practically the poster child for an open experience you can quite literally lose yourself in forever.

5 Elden Ring

You, Torrent, and the Open-World

My favorite games of all-time are FromSoftware titles, but I was a bit trepedatious when I heard that Elden Ring would see the team venture into the open-world space. I loved their previous work for being tight, curated, tough-but-fair experiences. How would that translate to the open-world?

Well, we all know the story by now. Elden Ring is incredible, and its appeal has since been bolstered even more with the release of the absolutely amazing Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

There was nothing quite like exploring The Lands Between for the first time when the game launched. Each new discovery felt monumental, and some of my best memories of the game in general came when I felt bold enough to get off the beaten path and see what FromSoftware had hidden away for me to find.

4 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

Bohemian Backwoods

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is a game that you can get lost in more ways than one. Of course, the map is massive compared to your ability to effectively explore it, and packed with dense forests and points of interest to investigate every nook and cranny of.

From this perspective, you're going to get lost in KCD2 all the time. And then there's also the fact that, mechanically, you're also going to feel lost for perhaps a dozen or so hours as you come to grips with how you're even supposed to play this game.

KCD2 is a game of systems on top of systems on top of (you guessed it) systems. The map will keep you lost for sure, but even if it somehow didn't, the game would make you feel that way anyway. Thankfully, it's also one of the most rewarding feelings ever when KCD2 clicks, making every bad sense of direction worth it in the end.

3 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Every Horizon a New Discovery

The open-world game that categorically changed the genre forever afterward, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild felt like such a fresh, incredible experience when it came out way back in 2017. As a lifelong Zelda lover, I wasn't sure how I felt about this series going open-world either. Silly me. Nintendo absolutely cooked here.

Quite intentionally, I got myself lost in BOTW as soon as the game let me off my leash. My first order of business was climbing every tower in the game to open up the entire map, which was a core gaming experience I don't think I'll ever forget.

Every corner of Hyrule's map in BOTW feels mysterious and exciting, highlighted even further by 120 base game shrines you'll find in whichever direction you choose to go next. Truth be told, the formula didn't work as well for me personally in Tears of the Kingdom, and I'm ready to see Zelda go a different direction from here. Still, nothing can ever change the magic of getting lost in BOTW for the first time.

2 Red Dead Redemption 2

I'm a Cowboy

At this point, Rockstar are the kings and queens of packing more content into a game than players can even wrap their heads around. And surely, GTA6 will take this idea to whole new levels if/when it does actually release in 2026.

As it stands, however, their game that's the most fun and rewarding to get lost in is undoubtedly Red Dead Redemption 2. Just when you think you've seen it all in RDR2, the map expands. And then it happens again, and again. It's not just map size for the sake of it, either.

Throughout the game, you'll come across towns and settlements that are truly alive with NPCs on unique schedules, activities to partake in, and unthinkable numbers of secrets to discover. Yeah, the main story of RDR2 is amazing, but you can also spend forever simply existing in the rich world that's laid out for you here.

1 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Getting Lost in Every Detail

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has an absurdly large map, and taking the time to explore every single marker on it will definitely keep you lost for dozens, if not hundreds of hours. This in itself is perfect for gamers that are searching for this feeling, but The Witcher 3 doesn't stop there.

In addition to getting lost in the game world, you'll also get lost in quest after quest of incredibly well-written, endlessly memorable stories. From a writing perspective, people really aren't exaggerating when they call this game a masterpiece. Impossible decisions to make, and side characters with unbelievable actions are common place in the world of The Witcher 3.

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the world is yours. Find someone to play Gwent with. Investigate every question mark. Decide whether to kill an evil tree spirit or let it run wild and free. There's no other game where getting lost is as easy, nor as consistently interesting.