Cyberpunk’sworld Night City is this futuristic neon dream, with so many things for the player to do it’ll keep the players from playing the main missions. When the game was first announced byCD Projekt Red,fans hoped that the map size would be around the same size as Geralt’s playground inThe Witcher 3,which is credited as one of thebiggest mapsin gaming.
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Since the game dropped, players are finding out that Night Cityis in fact smaller, while not bad as it seems it helps that Night City is so dense and is big in terms of what players can do. Much like Night City, these games are big for different reasons other than the map size.
10Mirrors Edge Catalyst
This first-person free-running game doesn’t have the biggest map on the list, but it’s big because of its popularity. Ever since the first game launched back in 2008, fans have been beggingDICEfor a sequel, and they delivered. The sequel has an open world, which the first game didn’t.
While it’s not a big map, the denseness and being compact gives the game more life and allows it to be more believable. What also makes the game bigger than it is, is that players can only run which adds more time to travel from point to point.
The world ofMad Maxseems huge because of the wasteland that the game is set when in reality, it’s just over 8 km wide. The other thing that cuts down the feeling of having a big map is the driving, player can easily traverse the world.
Flying under the radarfor many gamers, it’s interesting seeing a world kind of empty but yet massive without it being a big world.Mad Maxis also big just based on the fact of its legacy and movies, so it’s massive in terms of the following rather than the game itself.
8Sleeping Dogs
Running around in modern-day Honk Kong is pretty cool, running around in Honk Kong in a video game is better. The 2012 hit offers just that, this dense city with life within it makes the game seem bigger.
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Even though it’s not a full-fledge scale of the city, it’s pretty close. Players can don’t have to far to find the next mission or event, because the world isn’t that big. Rather than running around in a desolate countryside inSleeping Dogs,it’s the opposite of that.
7Far Cry Primal
The caveman’s world in Orso is one of the smaller maps theFar Cryseries has to offer, and it works. Most of the time players will be wandering through unclaimed forests and other areas which made it one of the mostanticipated games of the year.
What makes this game “massive” is that eerie feeling players have when exploring this untamed land. The lack of humans shows how big a game can be even if it’s small, and that’s whats happens here. Without the hustle and bustle of a lively city, it does seem huge when it’s not.
6Rage 2
Much like the other games on this list, it’s smaller, and because it’s an apocalyptic setting it feels big. Going from settlement to settlement in this deserted wasteland feels like the world goes on forever.
However, it’s the people and the characters the players meet throughout that expand the scope.Sadly whileRage 2was aletdown, it’s the world itself that stands out for being small enough to still be fun.
5Saints Row
Some callSaints RowtheGrand Theft Autoclone because of the similarities but they’re different enough tohave some distinctions. The big one the separates the two is the map especially in the newer games. InSaints Rows’case, it doesn’t need a sprawling map, it’s the wackiness that makes it.
It being self-aware of its size helps the game be more relatable. The unrealistic nature of the game makes up for the size, but makes it massive is it what it offers. From gravity-defying feats to bulky boss fights. It’s big in its own way without having a larger than life map.
4Spider-Man
ThePlayStationexclusive works so well because of its limited map size because after all,Spider-Manmanly resides in New York.Insomniachas done a pretty good job making the superhero experience 1 to 1, so map size is secondary.
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Being the definitive superhero players spend more time swinging webs, doing pretty cool stunts, and beating up bad guys. When all these are put together, the map doesn’t matter, the player is having fun beingSpider-Man.
3Forza Horizon 4
Traveling from point to point in a car can make the world seem small around the player. While most car games or racing games don’t employ an open world, it can work if done right. InForza Horizonscase the open world can feel vast but isn’t.
Set during a racing event in Great Britain that takes place all year round gives the player tons to do. The scope of the game relies on the events and activities because that’s what the game is. It also helps being set during a whole year, theseason changesthis gives the game a different feel every time.
2Watch Dogs 2
Much like Night City, the setting ofWatch Dogs 2takes place city of San Fransisco and much like Night City, it’s dense. What makes this game stand out is how grand the game is in terms of the city. From the hacks to the fighting it’s a pretty vibrant place.
Much like the other games on the list, it’s not the map size it’s what players can do. With the map size being small, the game justifies itself with length and more things. The game is a good example of filling it with stuff to do.
1Assassin’s Creed: Unity
Ubisoftis really good at making classic cities like Venice or London looking life-like, french revolution Paris is no different. Looking past thedebacle at launch, the game is massive. Even though the game makes players relive Paris during the 19th century which isn’t big as opposed to later games.
It’s the people wandering the streets and the random things that happen that give the came huge feel. Buildings like Noter Damn are pretty big, exploring what Paris has to offer makes it better than going out of the way. It puts players in the action, in the heart of it all so it small map works here.
