Key Takeaways
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild revolutionized open worlds by focusing on exploration, creativity, and puzzle-solving instead of traditional grinding mechanics.
- Ghost of Tsushima emphasizes learning combat mechanics and exploration over grinding, making it unnecessary to engage in tedious processes.
- The Witcher 3’s vast world and interesting side quests make grinding unnecessary as players naturally level up through progression.
One of the greatest things about open-world games is that they offer a ton of possibilities to players, including multiple upgrades, side quests, NPCs, and massive skill trees. And while having so many options available is often great, sometimes grinding is required to get to a certain level or obtain a certain skill.
Since open-world games are so big, getting to a certain level should not be a tedious process; however, in many cases, even after exploring for hours and completing several side quests, the earned skill points can fall short, putting players in a position where they have to engage in tedious, repetitive actions. To avoid this, here are some of the best open worlds with no grinding.
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Players Can Explore The World At Their Own Pace
- There’s no specific leveling system required
- The game puts creativity and puzzle-solving over rigid rules or prerequisites
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild revolutionized the concept of open worlds and brought the franchise back to the spotlight in the best possible way. Instead of relying on traditional grinding mechanics to get certain items or reach certain levels, the game veered toward letting players explore the vast world at their disposal to upgrade and grow stronger. Virtually every area in the game can be accessed from the start, giving players a lot of control in terms of how they want to progress and how challenging they want their experience to be.
Naturally, areas meant for the later stages of the game will be more difficult, but if players want, they can take on them and collect items to increase their health and stamina. More than relying on demanding specific levels from players, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild opts for puzzle-solving and creativity.
4 Ghost Of Tsushima
Many Upgrades Are Unlocked Through Progression
- Learning the game’s combat mechanics is far more important than having all the available upgrades
- Exploration takes precedence over grinding, as it helps players discover many points of interest and side quests
Set in a fictional version of the real-life Japanese island of Tsushima, Ghost of Tsushima puts players in the shoes of Jin Sakai, a nobleman who must reclaim his beloved homeland from the Mongols and rescue his uncle in the process. Since the game emphasizes story-driven progression and many combat upgrades require players to complete certain missions, there’s no real use for grinding. As in other open-world games, players can choose to take on enemies much stronger than them if they want a challenge or visit lower-level areas to breeze through and gain skill points.
In Ghost of Tsushima, planning, strategic moves and choosing the right fighting stances, as well as learning how to dodge incoming enemy attacks are far more important than having the highest damage katana upgrade or hundreds of arrows. Exploration is also a key aspect of the game, as it allows players to discover shrines, hot springs, and other points of interest.
3 The Outer Worlds
Players Can Discover Items And Upgrades As They Explore
- Character progression comes from personal decisions and area exploration, not grinding
- Players have a lot of options when it comes to combat and how they want to approach it
Moving away from feudal Japanese stories, there’s The Outer Worlds, which takes on an entirely different concept and focuses on deep space exploration. In this game, players can explore various planets and space stations as they engage in quests given by the different NPCs spread throughout the galaxy. Character progression comes more from personal decisions and the natural discovery of every area rather than senseless grinding. This title’s combat system is rather flexible, allowing players to take on enemies and other challenges in the way they prefer.
As in other games in this genre, leveling is recommended, but not mandatory, allowing players to decide whether they want to take on a specific area or enemy with all the tools they need, or at the bare minimum, to face a true challenge.
2 Batman: Arkham Knight
The Game Gives Players All The Tools They Need
- Gadgets are unlocked through game progression
- The game rewards skill over upgrades and requires critical thinking for puzzle-solving
Taking on the role of Batman once again, in Batman: Arkham Knight, players will have to save Gotham from the forces of villains like Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight, whose identity is a mystery. The game features a big open area of Gotham that players can explore however they want and is filled with many stories, side quests, and various optional activities. Batman: Arkham Knight rewards skill over upgrades and forces players to learn how to chain their attacks for maximum efficiency.
This title also requires players to use more than their fists, as puzzle-solving plays an important role in game progression. Gadgets and some of the most important upgrades available to Batman are automatically unlocked as players progress through the story, so there’s no need for grinding—things will come when they have to come.
1 The Witcher 3
Upgrades And Mutagen Slots Must Be Unlocked, But The Game Is So Vast, That There’s No Need For Grinding
- The game is so vast, that grinding isn’t necessary, even when leveling up is often the right choice
- Side quests are interesting and complex, so skipping over them is not recommended
Saying that The Witcher 3 requires no grinding would probably spark debate, as there is a strong upgrade system that is unlocked through skill points and victories over monsters and other creatures. However, the game is so vast, that gaining skill points and leveling up comes naturally as players progress through the game. Even those who only want to focus on the main story’s missions and leave the great side quests in the game behind should have no trouble unlocking the abilities they want without ever feeling like they’re having to grind for them.
Besides, side quests are so well crafted, that not only is skipping them advised against, but almost impossible, as they’re all over The Continent and have the power to draw players without them even noticing. So, in any case, while leveling up is recommended in The Witcher 3, it’s unlikely that players will ever have to repeat a single task to do so.
