15 Open-World Games With Incredible Combat

Ever since Grand Theft Auto III blew the doors wide open (pun intended) for the format back in 2001, open-world games have continued to draw in millions of players thanks to the different elements they offer. Each new open-world experience provides something different that appeals to a certain type of gamer or aligns with a specific genre, with exploration and collecting at the forefront alongside other elements like base-building, crafting, side quests/NPC interactions, and, of course, combat. Combat is almost always a focal point of a great open-world game, and the following 15 titles are open-world experiences with some of the best combat systems available, to the point where they’re worth playing purely for their engaging and addictive encounter design.

• Release Date — September 12, 2025
• Developer — Gearbox Software
• Publisher — 2K
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

The latest entry in the long-running Borderlands franchise is the first in the series to fully embrace an open-world format (with the other games having separated their maps into different open-world zones), and it’s perhaps the best the series has been since Borderlands 2. A large part of what makes Borderlands 4 so special among the rest of the series is its impeccable combat, which takes the classic “looter shooter” formula the franchise is known for and injects some life into it with new movement abilities that make it feel surprisingly like Destiny 2. Between the new sense of speed and momentum in combat and millions of exciting new guns to discover, Borderlands 4 has some of the best open-world first-person combat around.

• Release Date — February 29, 2024
• Developer — Square Enix
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5

Square Enix had already proved it could reach an ideal middle-ground between classic turn-based RPG combat and a real-time action game with the first chapter in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, and it further refined that system to a point of near perfection in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. What’s so exciting about Rebirth‘s combat is how effortless it is to swap between your different party members on the fly, applying each of their different strengths appropriately depending on the enemies you’re facing and gaming the incredibly flexible and deep Materia system in ways that can outright break combat. Best of all, the skill floor for Rebirth‘s combat allows it to be fun and engaging as an average player, but an incredibly high skill ceiling presents some truly impressive encounter design on harder difficulties.

• Release Date — February 28, 2025
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Monster Hunter World flirted with the idea of the series going open-world, which Monster Hunter Wilds fully embraces as the first true fully open-world game in the franchise. And while its endgame isn’t quite as engaging as previous entries in the series, the actual mechanics and moment-to-moment gameplay of Monster Hunter Wilds deliver some of the more thrilling monster hunts in the entire franchise. Like every other Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter Wilds is incredibly dynamic with its encounter design, impressively making each new hunt feel different depending on what weapon a player decides to use and whether they bring along one or more friends in co-op. When you’re facing off against a high-level hunt with two friends and an ideal build, Monster Hunter Wilds‘ combat shines as some of the best in the series.

• Release Date — March 12, 2015
• Developer — Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
• Publisher — Sega
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

As much as I love the RPG pivot that the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has taken in recent years, the original run of open-world beat ’em ups is still one of the best sagas in gaming, and Yakuza 0 is a personal favorite, both in terms of its gameplay and its story. Yakuza 0 benefited from releasing after Yakuza 5, effectively utilizing the innovations introduced to the series’ action-oriented beat ’em up gameplay to deliver a hard-hitting and satisfying combat system that made switching stances and pulling off impressive combos easier than ever before. Yakuza 0 was such a clear high point for the series’ combat that it even served as the foundation for the Kiwami remakes of the first two games in the series.

• Release Date — March 22, 2024
• Developer — Team Ninja
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment, Koei Tecmo
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5

As an open-world game, Rise of the Ronin tends to be a bit formulaic and long in the tooth. But the clear high point of the experience is its excellent combat, which sees developer Team Ninja firing on all cylinders. All the Team Ninja action RPG/Soulslike games — from Nioh to Wo Long and beyond — place combat at the forefront of the experience, and Rise of the Ronin is no different. One of the more impressive aspects of Rise of the Ronin‘s combat is how flexible it is, including the ability to bring allies into combat that complement your own personal playstyle and getting to swap between drastically different weapon types and stances on the fly, effectively giving you multiple builds to choose from and rotate between in each encounter.

• Release Date — September 30, 2014
• Developer — Monolith Productions
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Taking the “Freeflow Combat” of the Batman: Arkham games and using it in a title based on The Lord of the Rings wasn’t something that most players expected we would ever get, but it’s exactly what both Middle-earth games gave us, and the first game in that series still stands out as having some of the best combat of any open-world game. Together with the incredible Nemesis system, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was able to make you feel both powerful and vulnerable at the same time; capable of mowing down hordes of orcs and other creatures while also constantly on the lookout for a previously downed orc or Uruk-hai commander who had become your sworn enemy and was seeking you out with a vengeance and increased aggression. Throw in some surprisingly great stealth sequences, and you have the best of both worlds when it comes to encounter design.

• Release Date — September 1, 2015
• Developer — Konami Digital Entertainment
• Publisher — Konami
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Kojima’s final masterpiece in the saga he created, Metal Gear Solid V is the first and only open-world game in the series. To help Venom Snake meet the challenges of this new open world, the game gives him plenty of exciting new tools that make the stealth sequences more versatile and the all-out action sequences more engaging (and easier to control than in past entries). Of course, to compensate for Snake’s improved toolkit and the open-world sandbox, enemies are also smarter and more varied in their AI movements, making the combat design of Metal Gear Solid V some of the best in the series; enough so that you barely notice that all the missions kind of start to blend together after a while.

• Release Date — January 27, 2015
• Developer — Techland
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Trying to “crack the code” on first-person melee combat is something that a lot of great open-world games have done, but you could arguably point to 2015’s Dying Light as the game to do it first and best. Ironically, avoiding combat in Dying Light is as effective a strategy as engaging enemies (and often the best approach early on in the game), but going toe-to-toe against rival scavengers or zombies using a variety of ramshackle melee weapons is a visceral thrill. Fights look and sound appropriately heavy, and the fact that using guns draws plenty of unwanted attention makes it so that relying on hard-hitting melee weapons is your best (and safest) bet.

• Release Date — November 9, 2022
• Developer — Santa Monica Studio
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5

Like a lot of other great sequels (including some that are on this list), God of War Ragnarök took an already strong foundation and made it even better, especially when it comes to its combat system. Kratos’ Leviathan Axe and Chaos Blades are still two of the most fun and versatile weapons to use in combat, especially when swapping between them with ease, and there’s an impressive amount of depth in how you choose to build out the abilities for each with Ragnarök‘s expanded and improved gear system. Ragnarök‘s combat was so good, in fact, that it ended up becoming the crux of an entire post-launch roguelike mode that is an absolute blast to play.

• Release Date — July 17, 2020
• Developer — Sucker Punch Productions
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5

Speaking of Sony exclusives with awesome post-launch modes, Ghost of Tsushima stands tall as one of the best open-world games based solely on how addictive and engaging its encounter design is. Best described as “Sekiro-lite”, Ghost of Tsushima emphasizes realistic and dynamic sword combat, but its windows for deflection and parrying are far more forgiving than what you’d find in other similar games like the aforementioned Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Rise of the Ronin. The result is that Ghost of Tsushima strikes a perfect middle ground between challenge and accessibility, where rushing into encounters head-first will get you killed quickly, but the difficulty curve has a smoother on-ramp and plenty of options to make encounters less frustrating. Plus, its options for stealth are just as fun as engaging enemies in open melee combat.

• Release Date — March 22, 2024
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

There’s an interesting blend of influences in Dragon’s Dogma II‘s combat that makes it unlike anything else. It’s governed by a stamina meter like a FromSoftware game, but it also focuses on taking down larger-than-life threats that can be climbed, much like Capcom’s own Monster Hunter series. That blend of influences, combined with the wide variety of approaches that the game offers thanks to a strong RPG class system and the ability to bring different AI companion “Pawns” into battle, makes Dragon’s Dogma II‘s combat the arguable highlight of the entire experience. Dragon’s Dogma II isn’t afraid to throw you to the wolves without holding your hand, and it stands out among open-world games as a result.

• Release Date — February 4, 2025
• Developer — Warhorse Studios
• Publisher — Deep Silver
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

The original Kingdom Come: Deliverance had an interesting approach to first-person melee combat that favored realism above all else, and the sequel smartly toned that down a bit to focus on another, arguably more important metric: fun. Meeting enemies’ melee swings head-on using the right direction and angle of attack is still important in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, but the speed and fluidity with which you’re able to do so are far more engaging and forgiving. It strikes a careful middle-ground between making you consider whether engaging a group of enemies is worth it and wanting to put your skills to the test, which only adds to an already immersive RPG experience that’s one of the best in the genre.

• Release Date — October 20, 2023
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5

Either Batman: Arkham City or Arkham Knight could have easily landed on a list of open-world games with the best combat, but we’re choosing to give that spot to a different superhero game: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Nearly everything about Spider-Man 2 improves upon an already strong foundation from Insomniac’s first go at the property, including combat. You have both Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ Spider-Man to choose from when exploring the open world and engaging enemies, both of whom have completely different approaches to encounter design and combat toolkits, despite each of them still embracing the same “Freeflow Combat” that the Batman: Arkham games popularized. And that it’s hard to choose which one to use in each fight speaks to how fun and varied Marvel’s Spider-Man 2‘s combat sandbox is.

• Release Date — December 10, 2020
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

When it comes to flexible combat systems with plenty of variety, few games do it as well as Cyberpunk 2077. Thanks to its impressive buildcraft and different progression pathways, Cyberpunk 2077 allows you to tailor combat precisely to your liking, and it’s a good thing, as you’ll be doing plenty of fighting throughout your playthrough. But what’s most impressive about Cyberpunk 2077‘s combat is how great a first-person shooter it is, especially when you consider that CD Projekt RED had no prior experience in the genre. The melee combat in Cyberpunk 2077 is great, but that it’s equally as strong an FPS as it is an RPG is amazing.

• Release Date — February 25, 2022
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Dark Souls became the go-to foundation for modern action RPG design and birthed the “Soulslike” subgenre largely because of how engaging its combat was, and Elden Ring feels like the ultimate evolution and refinement of that system. Unlike the other FromSoftware games, where players eventually hit progression bottlenecks that force them to either improve or remain stuck, Elden Ring gives the player every tool they could ever ask for and sets them free in an open world. Can’t get past a certain boss? That’s fine. Just go explore this other part of the map, gain some levels, get some new gear, and try again. Summons, weapon arts, and a treasure trove of different weapon and armor loadouts to try give unprecedented variety and tactics to approach each encounter, and present Elden Ring as the ultimate hybrid between open-world game and combat-focused action RPG.