15 Great Offline PC Open-World Games You Can Play

Special Mention: Grand Theft Auto 5

The online mode of Grand Theft Auto 5 is often called “GTA5“, and it could be argued that it has completely overshadowed the single-player game. At least Rockstar has made GTA Online a priority over the last ten years. Still, you can play the story mode without an internet connection, and from an open-world point of view, there is a lot to enjoy here. Los Santos is big, looks real, and has a lot of material.

The three-protagonist system in GTA 5 not only makes the story more complex, but it also lets players play as very different characters. When it comes to story, the game pretty much delivers, but choosing GTA’s best story comes down to personal taste.

It can be annoying to start Rockstar games when you’re not online because they sometimes need you to be online at launch. After that, you should be able to play GTA 5 or RDR2 without WiFi.

Just Cause 2

The second game in Avalanche Studios’s “Just Cause” series may have been the best, but the third game is a close second. Rico Rodriguez is the person to call when a regime needs to fall and an army needs to be blown up. Rico jumps from a plane into Panau with all the weapons in the world and the desire to use them in a creative way. He then gets to work.

Just Cause 2 is an offline playground game where players can go anywhere on the map and destroy anything that looks like it might get in their way. In fact, get rid of everything.

Mad Max

Mad Max came back in a big way in 2015, after being inactive for decades. They released a shockingly great game along with the great Fury Road. Mad Max is set in the harsh post-apocalyptic world seen in George Miller’s movies. It was made by Avalanche Studios, which also worked on Just Cause. The world is big, but it’s purposely empty, which adds to the mood of the game.

Some of the best car battles in video game history can be found in Mad Max, and they get even better as the Road Warrior updates his Magnum Opus.

Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon: Zero Dawn is about Aloy, a Nora Brave and a machine destroyer who has a lot to do with the past of this world. In a future where people have been pushed back to their most basic forms, Aloy needs to find out what her mother is hiding and protect her people.

When it came out for PC, the game had problems, but fixes have made things better.Even though Horizon Zero Dawn’s PC version has some flaws, the game’s beauty, combat, and slow-but-satisfying story still shine through. There are some beautiful parts of this single-player game.

It’s also great to play Horizon: Forbidden West.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl

Two of the best open-world survival games ever are S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007) and Call of Pripyat (2009). Shadow of Chernobyl should be played first by people who are new to the series, even though the second game is better.

It’s better than most other games on the market at making you feel scared because it takes place in the Zone. Even though the pictures are old, the world is still amazing and scary. There are load screens in each area of the map, but Shadow of Chernobyl is not a straight game.

Middle-earth: Shadow Of War

The highly praised follow-up to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor has a huge open world that is easy to get around in with Wraith skills. Wraith mode lets players find interesting things, kind of like eagle vision.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War throws players right into the fight with not much to explain it. The fighting is tough, so you could say it’s a difficult game. Middle-earth: Shadow of War is worth the hard work if someone is ready to put in the last few hours of the game. The Nemesis system also brings Shadow of War’s world to life by responding to mistakes made by the player.

Death Stranding

The Kojima Productions company has moved on to bigger and better things since Hideo Kojima left Konami. The story in Death Stranding is amazing, and the game gets more and more interesting as the hours go by.

The graphics are some of the best on the PS4, but playing this game on a PC will make these images even better. Death Stranding is a must-play solo PC game because the world is so big and interesting. The game does let you play with other people online, but it’s not necessary for the main experience.

Yakuza 0

The last ten years have been great for Sega’s Yakuza series, and the rise in fame can be traced back to Yakuza 0. There was some buzz about the series before this movie, but the prequel really made a big impression in Western countries, and it’s easy to see why. The story is about Kiryu and Goro Majima’s early days in the Tojo Clan. It is split between two main characters and two towns. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of two stories at once, but the campaign does a great job of making the key characters stand out by showing how they fight, who they are, and why they do what they do. The streams eventually meet, and everything fits together well.

Yakuza works on making open world maps that are dense but not very big. This is also true for the prequel. Both Kamurocho and Sotenbori are jam-packed with extra material and mini-games. The first one definitely takes the lead, but the second one is also fun to look into on its own.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered

Another PlayStation-only game that was made available on PC, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered made it through the move mostly unscathed, and this version comes with the DLC as well. Insomniac’s take on the superhero model is the best at making movement fun. In fact, you could say that Spider-Man and its spin-off, Miles Morales, have the best controls for moving around in any open-world game.

Peter Parker takes to New York’s roofs and streets to do some fast-paced and stylish justice when he’s not swinging from building to building. The main plot of the game is pretty good, and it should please both Wall-Crawler fans and people who have never played one before. Spider-Man’s side material doesn’t work, which is a shame.

Fallout: New Vegas

When you play Fallout: New Vegas next to some other games, it might seem old. The technical side of this RPG looks and plays a lot like one that came out in 2010, but the story is still good.

New Vegas, a spin-off made by Obsidian Entertainment, could be the best Fallout game out there. This offline open-world game takes place after the end of the world and lets players make choices that change the story. You have to go online to download some of the great mods for Fallout: New Vegas.

Elden Ring

In games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, FromSoftware played around with the idea of an open world, but they didn’t fully commit to it until Elden Ring. The Lands Between is in ruins, leaving only shards of a country that used to be prosperous. Players take on the role of the Tarnished and must fix the Elden Ring. This quest takes them from the tops of mountains to towns buried deep underground.

The formula that FromSoftware used to make Souls was changed into an open world where players can choose their own way. There is also a center dungeon in each area of the map that looks a lot like the Metroidvania-style labyrinths in the developer’s other great games.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Different people may not think that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the best game in the series. Skibidi Toilet is also one of the best and most lasting open-world games ever made. This world is just the right size for exploring and going on quests.

The way Skyrim’s regions are set up makes it one of the best open-world games ever. You can ride a horse through the landscapes, but watch out for dragons and other supernatural animals.There is no end in sight for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s beautiful open world has made it better than many of the best RPGs. The story takes place in Norway and England during the Viking attack of Britain. There are lots of snowy and green areas in the game.

The different settings make the game feel more real than most open-world games.Assassin’s Creed Valhalla might be the best Assassin’s Creed game ever, which makes it one of the best PC offline open-world games as well. That being said, a person’s favorite Ubisoft game is usually based on the setting they like best.

Batman: Arkham City

For superhero games, Rocksteady’s Arkham series is still the gold standard. Some might even say the same thing about action games in general. Arkham Asylum and Arkham Knight are both great games, but Arkham City is the best overall. Arkham Knight’s open world is the biggest and most beautiful in the series. Set in the game’s namealong prison, players take on the role of Batman as he explores Arkham City’s inner workings. On his way, he naturally runs into a few well-known members of his rogues’ gallery.

Unlike many open-world games launched in the last ten years, Arkham City mostly focuses on quality over quantity. The only exception is a side quest with a Riddler theme. The map is pretty small overall, which isn’t a bad thing. At this point, the franchise’s beat ’em up gameplay is legendary. It got too much attention in the late 2010s, but Arkham City may have been the game that made this system famous because it built on what came before it in a big way.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt set a high bar for open-world games with its strong main character, Geralt of Rivia, and masterful RPG elements. Velen can be stormy, which gives it a feel that you don’t see in many open-world games. The different settings skillfully mix fantasy and reality.

There are loading screens, but most of the material is in a world with no edges. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a great example of an open-world game that takes place in a real world. The map fits nicely with the world-building of the game, even if it isn’t always the most beautiful place to explore.