Games come in all shapes and sizes. Speaking of sizes, did you know that there are games out there you’d need weeks in order to explore in their entirety? These games, mostly RPGs and MMOs, as well as a few others, are at the top of their list when it comes to environments, details, and surfaces where gamers can do their walking, driving, questing, and exploring.
There’s always been a fascination in the gaming world with the explorable world. From the days of the arcade games, it was something surreal being able to go further and further into a map. Even jumping its borders, and reaching a glitched zone no player has ever gone before. Think Game Master Island in World of Warcraft. Why? Because of the joy of discovering the unknown.
The Importance Of Gaming Maps
Why is it so important for a game to have an extensive map? First of, the unknown, as we’ve mentioned above. You go and go, and are never sure what lies after that next bump in the road. Second, the opportunities in terms of questing, meeting new NPCs, finding treasures and so on. The larger the map, the more you can bump into these missions or tools that will enhance your game.
Third, the liberty of being able to do exactly what you wish. In a game like GTA V, you can drive to the beach, fly to the tallest mountain and then parachute over it, and then go rob a bank and have a shootout with the police. All in one game, and in different cities around the huge map. Having the freedom to do what you want and go where you want to go, that’s why gaming maps, large gaming maps, are so appreciated.
The Best Selling Largest Maps Games
We’ve got a ton of games with large maps here on Egaming. For the heck of it, we’ve summoned our top 12 most famous, best selling, most appreciated of them all. You’ll find games from all genres here, from shooters to racers, and from MMOs to puzzlers.
Far Cry 4 - There's no gamer on this planet who's never heard about Far Cry and the impossible to resist series of shooters and adventurers. With 11 square miles of land, Far Cry 4 is a... well, a far cry from the really large maps games, but it's still a pioneer in designing an extensive world for the hero to explore at will. This tiny map is still considerably large and has a great density of nature, manmade objects and buildings, as well as NPCs. Bottom line is, you won't get bored here at all. Far Cry 4 was released in November of 2014, on many platforms, and still is a best-seller today.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar Games are notorious for putting up large maps on many games. Grand Theft Auto as a series is a pioneer of letting players go out and about in large cities, with no apparent reason but exploration. And missioning, of course. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the largest game in the Western genre, with a map going about 12 squared miles in size. It spreads across 5 fictional US states, and it is quite darn big, this map! The only thing here is, the map looks mostly the same, as there's not as much variety as you'd get in a GTA game. Still, if you want to ride a horse, you've got space!
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Coming in the Game of the Year Edition thanks to Egaming, this Elders Scrolls is intensively large. It comes with a 16 squared miles map, a whole square mile more than Skyrim, the younger brother. The open-world tradition is therefore enhanced as the series moves forward, regardless of Oblivion's release year, 2006. Although it does show signs of old age, this game is particularly and peculiarly modern-feeling. At the time, Oblivion boasted the largest map in video gaming history. It was sold in around 2 million copies a month after its release. Big map, big success!
Grand Theft Auto V - It's crazy to think about this but the fifth and newest Grand Theft Auto is already 7 years old! Developed by Rockstar North and released back in 2013, GTA V comes with a whopping 49 square miles of a map. All of the terrains are ready to be explored on foot, by car, boat, plane and other modes of transportation. Including cable car! The environments are all extremely detailed, coming with tons of things to do, see, and explore. With the online mode that Rockstar Games introduced later, players can get on the web and engage in many cooperative or combative modes of gameplay, just like any respectable MMORPG. But with guns and heists.
Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag - If you thought Grand Theft Auto V was huge, this Assassins Creed is almost double in size when it comes to its map. Black Flag is the action-adventure that changed the game in 2013, getting nothing but positive reviews and a lot of acclamation from gamers and experts in the industry. The map is totalling an immense 55 square miles of nothing but open-world environments to explore. There's endless exploration here, no less than that. You will go through wilderness, cities and towns, weird single-building locations, graveyards, barracks and so on. Black Flag was one of the most popular games of 2013, and still is an icon of the series.
World of Warcraft - The most famous MMORPG of all times has been increasing its map with almost every new expansion Blizzard Entertainment has put out. This hero-growing game has fascinated everybody ever since its creation back in 2004. A game like none other WoW takes players on an adventure through Azeroth, the mystical lands where everything is mystery and magic, and beyond. How large is the map? It's over 80 miles of exploring, questing, dungeoning and raiding. One of the most famous games ever made, World of Warcraft still has around 10 million active players monthly, making it the most played game online in existence.
The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt - Coming to you in the "Game of the Year" edition, thanks to our Egaming crew of unbeatable prices finders, Wild Hunt is one of the top Witcher games ever made. This game is an adventurer that will set you back days upon days of gameplay. In the best sense possible. The map of the game comes in at a monstrous 82 miles of terrain, environments, and landscapes. It is going to take the average person weeks to go through the entire map if they can even cover it all. The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt is an incredible game, one that will surely keep you entertained for a long time.
Arma 3 - Looking for a game that's part tactics, military, future and realism? Arma 3 is the title for you. Very popular with PC fans of the shooter genre of gaming, Arma 3 comes in with an enormous map, at over 103 square miles of land to navigate. Yes, there aren't many details put in the actual environments, which can get a tad boring at times, but to boast such a large map in a shooter, that takes dedication. And is appreciated by fans from all over the world. The futuristic 2030s military tactical shooter has won many PC Gamers titles, including "Game of the Year" back when it was released in 2013.
Burnout Paradise - It's clear that video games about racing are very popular with large maps lovers. With 200 square miles of land, Burnout Paradise is one of the largest games ever made in terms of open-world racing. It was released in 2008 initially and then remastered for newer consoles in 2016. The game happens in Paradise City, a fictional city where race roads come in spades. Players can go as singles and do the campaign, or turn their internet on and play in a multiplayer format. The game was a hit from the very start and was well received by the gaming community and reviewers. It was the best driving game of GameSpot back in 2015.
Just Cause 3 - Making it on the list as one of the largest video gaming maps ever made, Just Cause 3 has over 400 square miles of environment to be enjoyed by its players. This release from back in 2014 is still at the top of its franchise, although it received mixed reviews by gaming critics upon its arrival into the world. The game tells the story of an evil general, Di Ravello, who's taken over the sublime republic of Medici in the Mediterranean Sea. A thirsty for power individual, he's put the lives of many in jeopardy. As the sole hero of the republic, it is your job to get rid of this figure before it's too late.
Final Fantasy XV - One of the most famous Final Fantasy games ever also has one of the largest maps in the gaming industry ever made. Clocking in at around 700 square miles, this is a mammoth of a gaming map. The landscape is virtually endless, being in the top 5 largest gaming maps ever created by a studio. Players can experience fantasy fighting, quick weapons changes, magic and vehicle-based travel, as well as camping if they wish. Besides the huge landscape, Final Fantasy XV was acclaimed for the graphics, the sounds, as well as for the emotions it brings to players. It has sold more than 10.000.000 copies everywhere so far.
The Crew - You thought Grand Theft Auto had a big map to explore from the comfort of your wheel? Wait until you meet "The Crew"! This game has taken the entire map of the United States of America and turned it into a virtual environment over which you can drive. Think about that for a second. You've got 1.900 square miles to drive over, with all sorts of terrain, cities, states, canyons, lagoons, mountains and deserts. Players of The Crew can go anywhere they wish, anytime they want, although the game is also about online battles, street racing, and stunts.
How To Never Get Lost In A Game
Games with large maps might be freeing but they’re also confusing. You can easily get distracted from your goals and just spend time over time exploring mindlessly over the huge map. In order to stay out of trouble and waste valuable time you could use playing the actual game, here are a few tips on how to handle those games with the almost infinite ground to cover.
Learn the map - It might sound simple, but learning the map in a game is no easy feat when the entire thing stretches for hundreds and even thousands of miles. In order to learn the map, you need to categorise the entire thing on zones, which is usually what maps come with naturally. Once you do that, take one zone at a time and explore it. Use checkpoints to mentally map the most important places in one zone. The more checkpoints you can remember, the better you will be able to navigate the map in accordance with where you are at a certain time.
Use external maps - One of the most attractive features of the Grand Theft Auto V DVD release back in 2013 was the extra printed map you’d get in the case. A novelty, this physical map helped gamers from all over the globe to get familiar with the sheer size of the environment they were about to play in. You might think a map is no big deal, but a physical map is extremely helpful to right navigation. It saves you tons of struggles and gets you familiar with the land much faster than a virtual one. This works in real life as well, not just in games.