6 games to explore

Action-Adventure Games with Worlds Worth Exploring

Big journeys, satisfying combat and worlds worth exploring. Find your next adventure.

Which should you try first?

For sword fighting and a roaming adventure, start with Ghost of Tsushima. Choose God of War for a more focused character journey, or Red Dead Redemption 2 for a slower world to inhabit. Zelda rewards invention, Horizon rewards studying machines, and Spider-Man 2 makes movement itself part of the fun.

About this selection

Start with the part of an adventure you want to remember: a story, a place, a great fight or a clever solution. These six games offer different balances of exploration and direction, so you can choose more precisely than simply asking for another open world.

A mix of recognizable adventures with different pacing and combat. These are starting points, not a ranked list. Check each game page for supported platforms and the edition available to you.

Compare two games before you choose

Keep the kind of play you want. Compare what you will spend time doing and what might put you off.

First game

Second game

Ghost of Tsushima

Choose it for: Sword fights, stealth and a roaming adventure
What you will do: Katana combat, archery and stealth give you different ways to approach occupied territory. A clear central journey anchors the freedom to explore the island between confrontations.
Consider first: Choose it for action and exploration rather than deep dialogue choices. Side activities can repeat familiar patterns.

Explore Ghost of Tsushima →

God of War (2018)

Choose it for: A focused journey with weighty combat
What you will do: Kratos and Atreus travel through a Norse setting where close combat, puzzles and their relationship share the spotlight. It suits someone who wants a strong narrative direction between discoveries.
Consider first: This is the 2018 game, not the original Greek adventure. Combat is hands-on rather than a system you can pause and plan.

Explore God of War (2018) →

Sword fights, stealth and a roaming adventure

Ghost of Tsushima

Katana combat, archery and stealth give you different ways to approach occupied territory. A clear central journey anchors the freedom to explore the island between confrontations.

Consider first: Choose it for action and exploration rather than deep dialogue choices. Side activities can repeat familiar patterns.

Find games like Ghost of Tsushima →

Compare with God of War (2018)Choose this for a more directed journey built around Kratos and Atreus, rather than roaming Tsushima between objectives.

A focused journey with weighty combat

God of War (2018)

Kratos and Atreus travel through a Norse setting where close combat, puzzles and their relationship share the spotlight. It suits someone who wants a strong narrative direction between discoveries.

Consider first: This is the 2018 game, not the original Greek adventure. Combat is hands-on rather than a system you can pause and plan.

Find games like God of War (2018) →

Compare with Ghost of TsushimaChoose this for a samurai story with open-world travel and sword duels, rather than God of War’s more directed journey.

A slower world to live in

Red Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan’s story unfolds alongside travel, camp life and encounters away from the main missions. Pick it when atmosphere and spending time in a place matter as much as reaching the next objective.

Consider first: Its deliberate travel and animations demand patience. It is a less direct fit for quick, uninterrupted bursts of action.

Find games like Red Dead Redemption 2 →

Compare with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Choose this for fast city traversal and superhero combat, rather than Red Dead’s slower travel and camp routines.

Learn a machine, then take it apart

Horizon Forbidden West

Aloy’s weapons and tools encourage you to study mechanical opponents and target their components. Exploration and preparation feed back into fights rather than leaving every encounter to the same approach.

Consider first: It continues an existing story. Starting with Horizon Zero Dawn gives the characters and setting more context.

Find games like Horizon Forbidden West →

Compare with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomChoose this for building devices and experimenting with physics, rather than Horizon’s more structured machine hunts.

Movement with immediate appeal

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Switching between Peter Parker and Miles Morales brings different abilities to a city built around superhero traversal. Choose it when getting from one mission to another should feel like part of the reward.

Consider first: This is a directed superhero adventure rather than a branching RPG. Familiarity with the earlier stories helps.

Find games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 →

Compare with Red Dead Redemption 2Choose this for slower travel, camp life and a Western story, rather than Spider-Man’s fast movement through a city.

Invent your own route through a problem

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Exploration and construction let you experiment with ways through Hyrule. Pick it when testing an improvised solution sounds more exciting than following a single intended path.

Consider first: Its freedom asks you to set some of your own goals. Check the Nintendo edition and hardware support on the game page.

Find games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom →

Compare with Horizon Forbidden WestChoose this for machine hunts built around weapons and weak points, rather than Zelda’s improvised building and physics solutions.