Summary
The best semi-open worldRPGscaptivate players by offering a perfect balance between freedom and direction. Instead of focusing on a gigantic map to explore, these games stand out by featuring multiple interconnected scenarios with open and richly detailed environments. This approach combines exploration with consistently fresh content, keeping the player experience always novel.
What makes asemi-open world RPG truly memorableis the ability to transform each section of the map into something unique and intriguing. These games avoid monotony bycreating areas filled with challenges, stories, and secrets. When well executed, they offer the freedom of open worlds without sacrificing the pace and quality of the gameplay.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker, inspired by the Adventure Path of the same name, features a dynamic semi-open world RPG for players, bringing the exploration freedom of tabletop RPGs to video games. In this game, the story is tied to the Stolen Lands and their significance to different people, with new regions of this area unlocking as the story progresses.
However, at the same time,Pathfinder: Kingmakerdoes not have gigantic maps but adopts a moreclassic isometric RPG approach, where each location is a small scenario to explore. Thus, the mix of free exploration and challenges aligned with a high-stakes story makes the game a unique experience in the genre.
In addition to Obsidian’s traditional humor,The Outer Worldsstands out by taking players on asmall space adventure, exploring different planets in an effort to overthrow the megacorporations destroying the colony where they lived. Although it is not a long game, it is possible to visit several planets throughout the journey, each with its unique settings.
However, despite some locations, like Monarch, being relatively large in terms of size and available content, the other locations inThe Outer Worldsare more modest and smaller. Still, exploring these different settings remains a fun and worthwhile experience for fans of semi-open world RPGs.
Capturing one of the franchise’s greatest traditions,Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republicoffers excellent exploration of exotic planets and space travel for players. Each destination visited by players is a fundamental part of world-building, presenting environments that contribute to the story’s development.
Additionally, it is possible to visit someclassic planets from the moviesinKnights of the Old Republic, such as the deserts of Tatooine, but the game also goes beyond, featuring a vast variety of planets with unique cultures and settings. These well-crafted scenarios, combined with one of the best stories in an RPG, make the game a milestone for those who enjoy exploration in semi-open worlds.
TheYakuzafranchise, now known asLike A Dragon, has always been known for exploring the semi-open world formula in its games, but inYakuza: Infinite Wealth, the JRPG has achieved perfection in this form of exploration. Here, in addition to traditional regions like Kamurocho and Yokohama, it is also possible to explore Hawaii, the series' first overseas setting.
Moreover,Yakuzagames are known for their highly detailed maps, as each region is considerably small compared to other open-world games, but the JRPG is one of the best for exploration. Each location offers aplethora of available minigamesand missions, many of which are focused on the absurd, to be completed.
Dragon Age: Originsis one of the best RPGs ever produced, utilizing the same formula as other classic titles in the genre, such asBaldur’s Gate, by offering maps with a semi-open world design to explore. In this BioWare title, players travel through human, dwarf, elven kingdoms, and even a tower of mages in an epic story.
Being an older game with smaller maps, the semi-open world formula of the firstDragon Ageworks very well, providing ample opportunities for players to enjoy side missions and interactions with characters. Additionally, each of these regions has its own visual identity, showcasing more of the cultures of the peoples who live there, further enhancing player immersion.
Divinity: Original Sin 2stands out as one of the best semi-open world andmost complex RPGsever created. Larian Studios delivers expansive and detailed maps, each with its own identity and purpose. From lush forests to bustling cities, each game location is filled with secrets, challenges, and stories that enrich the journey.
The game offers rich and unrestricted exploration with vast interconnected map sections. Thus, players can freely navigate locations like Fort Joy and the Nameless Isle, each area brimming with creative missions and impactful narrative choices. This approach ensures thatDivinity: Original Sin 2is a benchmark in providing player freedom without sacrificing quality or immersion.
The semi-open world formula shows much of its potential inThe Witcher 3, one of the best exploration and freedom RPGs for players. Including DLC content, there are over six open regions for Geralt to adventure in, all varying in size but with a high content density, especially side missions.
Each of the different areas Geralt visitsalso has unique settings, making the experience of exploring them unique. This approach ensures that the story offers a rewarding journey, with memorable characters and moments introduced in each new chapter, making the semi-open worlds ofThe Witcher 3both captivating and expansive.
Larian Studios is one of the leading modern references when it comes to semi-open world RPGs, delivering incredible games that excellently explore these formulas.Baldur’s Gate 3is the prime example, presenting, in each of its three acts, amazing settings with plenty of content to be discovered in each.
The exploration of each of these regions also works in a completely open manner, with playersable to visit different areasin the order they prefer. In Act 1, for example, it is possible to go to the Goblin Camp before heading to the Emerald Grove, as is usually done, with this freedom remaining in the subsequent chapters.
