The best open-world RPGs that get better as you play

Not every game starts with a high. In some cases, the story and gameplay may take some time before the real action and intensity kicks in. That's not to say the opener itself is weak, but compared to where the game ends, the intro can feel like a starter for the final main course that players are eagerly waiting to tuck into.

Also, because of how Open world games In action, players can find themselves drifting off the main path for hours, never progressing on the main path unless absolutely necessary, which can make early sections feel slow or sluggish. However, once they get to the heart of the game, players will be greeted with a truly remarkable experience that only gets better and better, until the end credits and DLCs, late-game sections, and even the second playthrough become increasingly enjoyable.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

A slow start turned into an epic journey

• The introductory section is notoriously slow paced.

• The world slowly opens up in every direction.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Grounded begins as a monster-hunting adventure, but its true power emerges over the course of a much longer playthrough. Early quests introduce regional politics, folklore, and the harsh realities of life in war-torn lands, and as the journey expands into new areas, the story deepens, revealing complex characters and long-running story arcs, both side and core to the game.

Character progression adds another layer of depth, as those early conversations begin to take on more weight in the context of a much larger story. On the mechanical side of things, new abilities and upgraded gear transform Geralt from a competent swordsman into a master of combat, allowing the player to face greater threats and more complex quests than were initially hinted at.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Unraveling a very big mystery

• The best content will be found later.

• The depth of combat increases significantly.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen Starts off with a modest world with some simple objectives, but as players delve deeper, they are treated to a surprisingly deep set of initially fairly basic systems. The opening hours are spent learning combat and getting introduced to the environment, but the real strength of the game comes much later from the advanced professions and late-game abilities that transform each fight into something more spectacular.

The final game dungeon, Bitterblack Isle, changes the experience completely, introducing tougher enemies, rarer gear, and encounters that demand mastery of combat systems much earlier than initially expected. On top of that, all the work the player puts into their builds becomes more specialized, with individual pieces of equipment growing more powerful and specific, allowing later fights to feel incredibly weighty and satisfying, no matter how long it took to get to them.

Kingdom Come: Redemption

From Farmer to Warrior

• Limited skill access at first.

• Rewarding progress to the end.

Kingdom Come: Redemption Begins as a humble tale of survival, placing the son of an untrained blacksmith in a harsh medieval world far removed from the ideals of knighthood. Before any training or progression, combat feels clumsy and unforgiving, reflecting the protagonist's lack of skill, and the lack of power begins to feel like a game of patience that can only be overcome with slow, painful steps.

As Henry's skills improve, the change is quite dramatic. Swordplay becomes more fluid, and the player's social abilities improve significantly, unlocking new dialogue options and options in conversations. However, due to how organic the progression is, there aren't any huge skill jumps, allowing the final payoff to feel both well-earned and natural at best.

Gothic 2

Cruel yet incredibly rewarding

• Poor early stages.

• Training and faction progression unlock new areas and abilities.

Gothic 2 Opens in a very similar fashion to the first game, thrusting players into a dangerous world where almost every creature poses a threat. Every small step in those early hours demands caution, and most progress comes from careful planning and steady improvements rather than reckless leaps into the unknown.

Over time, through training and faction choices, the experience begins to look like a completely different game. As players become better equipped and more capable, combat feels more structured, and quests grow in complexity, the once-fragile hero transforms into a fearsome warrior capable of facing powerful foes and directing the fate of an entire world.

Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord

Great wars are hidden

• Sandbox progression in story focus.

• Small skirmishes turn into big skirmishes for the kingdom.

Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord Begins as a small-scale survival experience where the player can only command a handful of recruits and must avoid large armies at all costs. Scarcity is the best way to describe the opening as money is scarce and the equipment available is fairly basic, making the world feel vast and terrifying before things really get going.

Over time, the gameplay evolves into something much greater, as armies grow larger and the player's political influence evolves into a power that commands respect from all allies and enemies of the world. What begins as bandit hunting eventually becomes full-scale kingdom management, allowing those late-game battles to feel like the culmination of a long journey from obscurity to real power.

An iconic opener that just gets better

• The initial sections are quite simple.

• The wide world introduces new factions and regions.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Has one of the most iconic opening sequences in all of gaming, kickstarting each playthrough with an epic dragon attack that sets the pace for a truly epic affair. However, as soon as the dust settles, players are presented with a fairly basic set of quests and dungeons to explore. While they may be accessible, they leave a lot to be desired in terms of challenge, reward, and overall “wow” factor.

However as those levels rise, the experience expands in every direction. Faction questlines reveal deeper stories, while higher-level enemies and dragons provide tougher challenges. Along with the growth of this world comes personal progression, new sounds, enhanced subclass abilities, and a huge range of weapons to choose from, giving players the ultimate RPG fantasy they've been looking for.

Fallout: New Vegas

A true role playing excellence

• The complexity of the story increases with the involvement of factions.

• Player choices reshape the world over time.

Fallout: New Vegas Opens with a simple revenge story for players to follow, with nothing more than a basic set of tools to help them along the way. From the limited resources to the brutality of the enemies, and the many choices the player makes feeling so small in the context of the wider world, the harshness of the wasteland is immediately apparent.

Those humble beginnings steadily progress into a politically complex playthrough fueled by player decisions and the consequences they bring. As major factions emerge, new agendas come into play, and those initial choices begin to carry a different kind of weight, determining the fate of individual characters, and in some cases, the future of the ruins.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Bringing legends to life

• Level-gated areas that are eventually accessible.

• Later more powerful and special fighting styles.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey Initially presents players with a personal story of exile and survival in ancient Greece. Early missions focus on local conflicts, small bounties, and exploration of nearby islands. Everything about the game, even the combat, is pretty basic at this point, and it's not until a while later that those simplicities fall away.

As the level increases, the world opens up dramatically. More locations become available, and the action within them becomes grander and grander. The stories also start to get heavier, expanding more personal stories into legends, while giving players more ways to express themselves through skill and ability trees that in themselves are reason enough to stick with the game.