PPG Game Of The Year 2024 - 18 - The (Open) World Is Your Oyster
Typically the holy grail of AAA game design, there's a burgeoning cadre of indie developers finally starting to take a look at the idea of "wide open space" and creating their own take on the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink style of design typically hedged to try and maximize sales. Mostly, the take away is that games don’t actually have to be hundreds and hundreds of hours of endlessly mediocre copy/paste content - a contained open world, filled with engaging bespoke things to see and do, is actually pretty great!
Archaelund (EA)
Open World RPG
A neat open world RPG where you explore in first person, but then play battles more akin to turn based CRPGs.
9 Days
Man To God In 9 Days
Experimental premise: you have 9 days only to wander the open world, gain godlike superpowers, then take on the ultimate bad guy with a strategy you've honed for yourself. Third person over the shoulder perspective, is a bit buggy.
Pathless Woods (EA)
Cozy Sandbox Survival
A much more chill than usual open world to build up your own little space, do some farming, and live a cozy little lifestyle that blends a ton of popular game mechanics into it's own setting.
下一站江湖 Ⅱ (Next Stop Jianghu 2)
Chinese Sandbox Action
While the game is only in Chinese, there's a neat looking open world wuxia action adventure here that seems a ball to play around in.
BURGGEIST（ブルクガイスト）
Walking Fortress Weapon
Genre is a hard one to pin down with this one. Part tower defense, part action, part wildly freeing platformer, part hardcore narrative. Unique, for sure.
The Axis Unseen
Metal Horror Hunting
From an ex Skyrim artist comes an open world game about hunting down nightmarish creatures with a bow and arrow enhanceable with some pretty trippy powers. Also quite metal.
The Black Grimoire: Cursebreaker
Single Player Runescape
There's definitely a crowd out there who has a huge amount of nostalgia for Runescape (me) but finds modern day implementation of the game lacking in a sense of discovery, and also annoyed with the MTX (also me). This has that classic feel, a whole world to explore, skills to level, quests to complete - all single player, BUT there are still social elements of seeing people in towns, just with no trading, pking or anything like that. Hits a certain sweet spot for sure. An MMO for solo players.
The Matchless Kungfu
Build An Anything Sandbox
A very wide possibility space comes with this very systems based build-your-own-world experience. Very Kenshi in its inspiration. Even the fighting system is extremely unique.
And The Best Open World Game Of 2024 Is…
Dread Delusion
Morrowind Hold My Beer
A first person Morrowind style RPG with legitimately fantastically original and fascinating lore. Some of the coolest worldbuilding and excellent writing you'll find in a fantasy RPG out there full stop. Easily one of the best open world RPGs that's come out in years. Absorbing and engrossing, strange in all the right ways, compelling right up until the very end. A journey I won’t be forgetting any time soon.