The best open world game of 2026 so far, by critic score, is Big Walk, House House’s co-op walking adventure, just ahead of Forza Horizon 6 and the 1.0 release of Valheim. This list ranks the 8 best open world games released between January 1 and October 30, 2026, across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2, and every one of them scores 80 or higher on Metacritic or OpenCritic.
A game counts as open world here when its developer’s own store description sells it as one (Nioh 3’s says “open field”), or when Steam players put Open World among its top five tags. Only games that were new in 2026 count: remakes and full 1.0 launches of Early Access games qualify, but ports, remasters and expansions of older games do not, which is why The Witcher 3 Remastered and Elden Ring Tarnished Edition are missing.
We rank the same way as our best games of 2026. A game needs 80 or higher on Metacritic or on OpenCritic to be considered. We then rank by the Metascore of the version with the most critic reviews, and that Metascore has to come from at least 20 reviews. Ties go to the game with more reviews, then to the higher OpenCritic Top Critic Average. Every entry lists both scores, with the platform and review count behind the Metascore, as of October 30, 2026. Open world games that clear 80 with fewer than 20 reviews, and the big ones that fell just short, are in the honorable mentions.
8. The Blood of Dawnwalker
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC. Critics: 83 on Metacritic (PS5, 80 reviews), 84 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
Rebel Wolves’ debut, published by Bandai Namco, is an open world dark fantasy action RPG set in 14th-century Europe. You play Coen, human by day and vampire by night, fighting to save his family across a hand-crafted world of forests, plains and towns, and Rebel Wolves gives each of his two forms its own strengths and weaknesses. The big idea is the clock. Coen has a limited number of days and nights to save his family, so every side quest you take is time you are not spending on the main story, and our time limit guide explains how much slack you really have. It scored a touch higher on PC and Xbox, 84 on both. Our review covers what held it back, and the Dawnwalker hub has every guide, from fast travel to romance.
7. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch 2. Critics: 83 on Metacritic (PS5, 89 reviews), 84 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
TT Games, the studio behind LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, tells Batman’s story from the start: Bruce Wayne trains with the League of Shadows, becomes Gotham’s protector and builds a family of allies in Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl. Warner Bros. Games sells it on an “open-world Gotham City,” and that is where it earns its place here: you grapple, glide or drive a full range of Batmobiles and Batcycles, the Tumbler included, between crimes, challenges, secrets and landmarks such as Arkham Asylum, Ace Chemicals and Wayne Tower. Split-screen co-op means a second player can join on the same couch. The Xbox version reviewed best, 86 from 16 reviews, and the Switch 2 version sits at 80 from 12.
6. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC. Critics: 83 on Metacritic (PS5, 101 reviews), 84 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
Ubisoft’s July 9 remake of the 2013 pirate favorite puts you back aboard the Jackdaw as Edward Kenway, in what Ubisoft calls “a seamless open world built with the latest Anvil engine.” The Caribbean is still the star: you sail between islands, dive into underwater shipwrecks and push through jungles, and combat has been rebuilt around parries and takedowns, with new alternate fire modes for naval fights. It also adds new storylines for Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. It edges the two games below it on review count, and the PC version scored 84. Start with beating the Legendary Ships and New Game Plus, and the Assassin’s Creed hub has the rest.
5. Demon Tides
Platforms: PC. Critics: 84 on Metacritic (PC, 24 reviews), 86 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
Fabraz’s February 19 platformer is the surprise of this list: a 3D platforming adventure built on “a seamless, open ocean to explore at blazing speeds.” You follow Beebz and her crew across the seas of Ragnar’s Rock, and every structure on the horizon is a platforming challenge you can reach and pick apart. Talismans change your move set with paragliders, hookshots and bubbles, you place your own checkpoints wherever you want, and you can race other players’ ghosts for speedrun times. Demon Tides is a PC game, priced at $24.99 on Steam when we checked, and the best pick here if you want an open world that is all about movement rather than combat.
4. Nioh 3
Platforms: PS5, PC. Critics: 86 on Metacritic (PS5, 105 reviews), 86 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
Nioh has always been a mission-based series, so the headline of the February 6 sequel is structural: Koei Tecmo describes “an open field that challenges you to the fullest,” which keeps the series’ tension while “allowing you to explore to your heart’s content.” The setting is an alternate Warring States period overrun by bandits and yokai, and the fighting lets you switch instantly between a head-on Samurai Style and a fast Ninja Style in the middle of a fight. Online co-op returns, so a friend can help with the hardest yokai. Like every Nioh, it is demanding, and the PC version scored 85 from 42 reviews. See where it lands among the year’s PlayStation releases in our best PS5 games of 2026.
3. Valheim
Platforms: PC, Xbox, PS5, Switch 2. Critics: 89 on Metacritic (PC, 26 reviews), 90 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
Iron Gate’s Viking survival game spent years in Early Access before its 1.0 release on September 9, which is why it qualifies for 2026. You and up to nine friends are dropped into a procedurally generated afterlife inspired by Norse mythology, and the world is the point: each biome has its own resources, enemies and boss, you sail the open seas in search of new lands, and every new region you push into demands better gear, food and building. Version 1.0 finished that journey with the Deep North, and our guide to everything new in 1.0 and every boss in order are the places to start. It supports crossplay across PC, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2, which our crossplay guide walks through, and the Valheim hub has every other guide.
2. Forza Horizon 6
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (PS5 version due January 26, 2027). Critics: 90 on Metacritic (Xbox Series X, 83 reviews), 91 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
Playground Games finally took the Horizon Festival to Japan on May 19, and the studio calls it “Forza Horizon’s biggest open world driving adventure yet.” It has more than 550 real-world cars, and the map runs from neon city streets to mountain roads and cherry blossom lanes in the shadow of Mount Fuji. The new Estate is a mountain valley where you can build freely inside the open world, creating nearly anything you can imagine. Its 91 is the highest OpenCritic score of any game on this list, and only a single Metascore point separates it from the top spot. PlayStation owners have a date now: Playground announced on October 8 that the PS5 version arrives on January 26, 2027. Until then, it sits near the top of our best Xbox games of 2026.
1. Big Walk
Platforms: PC, PS5, Switch 2. Critics: 91 on Metacritic (PC, 30 reviews), 89 on OpenCritic, as of October 30, 2026.
House House, the studio behind Untitled Goose Game, made the most original open world of the year. Big Walk, published by Panic on August 4, sends a group of friends out into “a wide-open world full of challenges, puzzles, and discoveries,” and the whole game is built around talking. Its proximity voice chat makes voices fade across distances, echo down corridors, muffle through walls and crackle through walkie-talkies, so getting lost and finding each other again is the adventure. You point, wave and gesture when talking is not an option, and the toolbox runs from binoculars, laser pointers and megaphones to flares and cowbells.
What makes it number one is how well the world fits the people walking through it. It plays with as few as 2 players or as many as 12, with crossplay between platforms, but there is no solo mode, so you need at least one friend. It is also a hand-crafted adventure with an ending, meant to be played from start to finish rather than forever. The PS5 version matches the PC score at 91 from 13 reviews, while Switch 2 trails at 78 from 8, so PC or PS5 is the way to play. It is also the best-reviewed game of the year across every genre in our best games of 2026, and one of the standouts in our best PS5 co-op games of 2026.
Honorable Mentions
These open world games clear our bar of 80 but have too few critic reviews on any version to rank:
- Enshrouded: 88 on Metacritic (PC, 14 reviews), 83 on OpenCritic, where reviews from its Early Access years still count. Keen Games’ survival action RPG reached 1.0 on October 15, and our guide to the 1.0 changes covers what is new.
- DragonSword: Awakening: 78 on Metacritic (PC, 9 reviews), 83 on OpenCritic. Hound13’s anime-style open world RPG came out on PC on July 22.
- Aniimo: 78 on Metacritic (PC, 15 reviews), 80 on OpenCritic. Pawprint Studio’s free-to-play creature-catching open world RPG launched in September.
A few of the year’s biggest open worlds fall just short of 80 on both sites. Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss’s open world action-adventure, drew more critic reviews than any game on this list, but sits at 77 on PC from 119 reviews and 78 on OpenCritic. The 1.0 release of Palworld holds a 79 on PC from 17 reviews, Arknights: Endfield a 78 on PC (79 on OpenCritic), and RuneScape: Dragonwilds a 76 (77 on OpenCritic).
Phantom Blade Zero (88 on PC) is not here because S-GAME itself says it is neither a typical open world nor a linear game; our open world explainer covers how its connected maps work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best open world game of 2026 so far? Big Walk, with a 91 on PC at Metacritic from 30 reviews as of October 30, 2026. Forza Horizon 6 is a point behind on Metacritic and has the highest OpenCritic score in the genre, a 91. If you play alone, Forza Horizon 6 is the pick, because Big Walk needs at least two players.
How is this list ranked? A game must be new in 2026, open world by its developer’s description or its top Steam tags, and score 80 or higher on Metacritic or OpenCritic. We rank by the Metascore of the version with the most critic reviews, which needs at least 20 reviews, and break ties on review count and then OpenCritic.
Is GTA 6 on this list? Not yet. Grand Theft Auto VI releases on November 19, 2026, and our GTA 6 unlock times guide has the details. It will be considered once it has enough critic reviews.
Why isn’t Crimson Desert on the list? It scores 77 on Metacritic and 78 on OpenCritic, just under our bar of 80 on either site.
What is the best open world game on PS5 in 2026? Big Walk, which also scores 91 on PS5. Nioh 3, Valheim, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, LEGO Batman and The Blood of Dawnwalker are all on PS5 too, and Forza Horizon 6 follows on January 26, 2027.
Which of these open world games are on Switch 2? Big Walk, Valheim and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Our best Switch 2 games of 2026 covers the rest of the year on Nintendo’s console.