The best open-world games for PS5

When it comes to open-world adventures, few games are on the same level as Horizon Forbidden West. This is the sequel to 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, taking place in a post-apocalyptic world full of machines. Forbidden West feels very much like a sequel, featuring gameplay enhancements and improvements to the overall story and experience while introducing new mechanics to keep things fresh. In this game, you have access to a glider that allows you to get around much easier and even have the ability to swim underwater. The open world is absolutely littered with things to do, from main quests to side missions and lots of other activities to keep you busy. Aside from its excellent design, Forbidden West is one of the most beautiful games we’ve ever seen, with stunning character models and an equally impressive-looking world. This is easily one of the best PS5 games to date, and we highly recommend trying it out.

Although 2009’s Demon’s Souls is excellent and influential, it doesn’t hold up as well over a decade later. But that’s precisely why Bluepoint Games’ 2020 remake is so important, as it somehow preserves the integrity (and soul) of the original, while improving upon nearly every aspect of it, from visuals to gameplay. What’s fascinating is that the remake is nearly a one-to-one recreation of the original, which is particularly exciting if you know your way around the 2009 game. When it comes to its design, it’s certainly more linear than a lot of the games on this list, but its labyrinthian structure makes it feel open-ended. It’s debatable whether it truly falls into the open world category, but an argument can certainly be made since each of the stages are so massive. Either way, this is one of the best games on the platform. Of course, Demon’s Souls is notorious for its unrelenting difficulty, though the remake does address some of the frustrations, making it easier to play. It still feels very much like Demon’s Souls, but without many of the limitations from the PS3 edition. It’s not for everyone, but to the fans of the Souls games (or action RPGs in general), this PS5 launch title is a must-play.

Calling No Man’s Sky an “open-world” game is a bit of an understatement. That’s because this game is an open universe. It consists of 18 quintillion planets, all of which are fully explorable. While some planets might have some similarities, no two are alike. No Man’s Sky is fascinating because it started as one of the most disappointing games of the previous generation. But since its launch in 2016, developer Hello Games has made good on its promises and then some. In fact, looking at the vanilla version of No Man’s Sky compared to the current edition is a sight to behold. Nearly everything has been revamped, from the visuals to its multiplayer component, base-building, and exploration. Best of all is that every update is free, along with the PS5 upgrade, so long as you already owned the game on PS4. From a design standpoint, it’s impressive this game even exists.