Connect with us

World

10 Best Open World Games with Character Creation, Ranked

Published

5 hours ago

on

10 Best Open World Games with Character Creation, Ranked

Being able to create a character in video games allows players to either place a close approximation of themselves in the virtual world or let the creative juices fly and handcraft a specific character with their own internal backstory and life. This level of character creation works best in an open-world environment, where the reigns for choices, paths, and priorities are all in the hands of the player. One playthrough could see gamers act as a tyrannical warlord, while the next, they could play as a charitable hero.




Open world games allow players to make all of these choices and more. Some games, such as the Dragon Age series, will even allow players to port over choices made in previous games to provide each player with their own unique world and lore. Below is a list of open world games with character-creation mechanics for those seeking freedom in the virtual realm.


10 Stardew Valley Has a Huge Fan Base of Loyal Players

One of the Most Heartwarming Games on the Market

Yes, the character creation in Stardew Valley is pretty basic, but that’s what makes it so charming. The pixelated graphics and straightforward controls create a hugely relaxing atmosphere. The game begins with players inheriting their grandfather’s land in the valley, leaving behind the rat race to start a new life. From there, the newly minted farmer has the freedom to shape their life in a delightful open-world environment.


Related

15 Things to Know About Stardew Valley Before You Start

Stardew Valley requires a significant time commitment, so it’s good to know what you’re getting into before you clear your schedule to play it.

Stardew Valley offers players a wealth of choices and freedoms. Players can focus on life as a fisherman, letting crops take a back seat, or delve underground as a miner and monster hunter. They can choose to romance a variety of unique characters, such as the local artist seeking solace from a past relationship, the whimsical goth, or the town jock. Players can even decide whether to let a big corporate entity move into town and begin taking over.


9 Mount And Blade II: Bannerlord Is Vastly Underappreciated

Huge Conquests, Trade Deals, and Family Lineages Await

Sieging Walls Bannerlord

Not many games offer the level of player agency that Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord does. It’s a mixture of genres, blending tactical gameplay with first and third-person real-time combat, along with RPG elements and settlement creation. The story is typical for a game with a medieval setting. After the protagonist loses their parents, they go on a journey to take down the bandits responsible for their deaths. During this adventure, they discover that a piece of a banner held by their family connects them to an ancient lineage. From there, all choices are in the hands of the player.


Players have total freedom in Bannerlord, and even the main overarching narrative can be ignored with minimal consequences. On top of that, players can customize their character’s appearance, choose their civilization of origin, and answer a series of questions to build a background that influences their skills. After that, players are free to pursue their own path, whether as a merchant, a trusted general commanding a large army, a leader of a smaller mercenary band working for the highest bidder, or an independent lord seeking to conquer as much territory as possible.

8 Elden Ring Made Huge Waves After Its Release

This Game Perfected the ‘Souls-Like’ Formula

A Prophet in Elden Ring's character creator.

  • Elden Ring has 10 classes: Hero, Vagabond, Warrior, Prisoner, Astrologer, Confessor, Prophet, Samurai, Bandit, and Wretch

Elden Ring has won around 20 Game of the Year awards, and for good reason. It has some of the finest mechanics, designs, and gameplay ever seen in the history of video games, perfecting all of the mechanics seen in the other iconic games in its series. Elden Ring allows players to choose the gender of their protagonist, their age, what class they are in, what keepsakes they can bring with them on their adventures, and their physical appearance.


The titles that have preceded this, Dark Souls and Demon Souls, provided an open world experience but with some set paths. Elden Ring is the most open and non-linear of the Soulsborne games and is also the first to give the players a mount to speed up world traversal.

7 Fallout 4 Allowed for Huge Levels of Customization

It’s Not the Best Story in Fallout, but It Is the Best Open World

Fallout 4 character creator screen with the player currently slecting Nora over Nate

The Fallout franchise is a high point in the game world, and most titles in the series are extremely fun to play. Fallout games tend to be visually striking and full of interesting characters and plots with twists and turns. While Fallout 4 has been criticized for its story, it offers the most expansive and free open world in the franchise. The Green Jewel of the Commonwealth, Diamond City, doesn’t quite measure up to iconic locations like New Vegas, Rivet City, or Megaton, but in this game, it doesn’t matter. Settlement building offers the most freedom ever seen in one of these games and any Bethesda title.


The settlements in Fallout 4 can be built and customized to serve all kinds of purposes, like establishing trade routes, cultivating farmland, providing clean water, and setting up long-range defenses. The story also offers some freedom, mainly in choosing which faction the Sole Survivor aligns with. Players can side with the zealous Brotherhood of Steel, the idealistic Railroad, the controversial Institute, or the neutral Minutemen. There are then, of course, countless moral decisions to be made throughout the various quests in the game, which can be approached from a place of hope and light or from darkness.

6 Baldur’s Gate 3 Has Incredible Characters

This Dungeons And Dragons Experience Took The World By Storm

A dystopian-looking Avernus in Baldur's Gate 3.


The fun of Dungeons & Dragons lies in its open approach to collaborative storytelling. Every character, whether they’re a protagonist or an NPC, can have a richly developed backstory with unique fears, traits, and ambitions driving them. Baldur’s Gate 3 is the closest the virtual world has come to perfectly capturing the essence of D&D.

Set in the fictional Forgotten Realms, Baldur’s Gate 3 follows player characters as they embark on a perilous journey to remove a parasite a mind flayer has infected them with. Every quest and story beat is laden with choices influenced by the player’s moral alignment. These decisions culminate in the option to betray all allies and seize power as the new Absolute.


5 Dragon Age: Inquisition Is the High Point of the Series

An Enormous World to Shape and Save

Dragon Age: Inquisition is still the pinnacle of the Dragon Age series. It has the biggest world seen in any of the games, even surpassing the newest title in the series, Veilguard. At launch, the game generated huge amounts of hype with its character creator, which featured an enormous amount of customization options. Notably, Inquisition had one of the first character creation screens with neutral and dynamic lighting. This feature made it easier for players to create a character they could be happy with.


Each race and class in Inquisition provides a unique backstory for the protagonist, like being an envoy attending peace talks at the Conclave or a representative of a magical faction. Following a magical incursion during this peace talk, a huge tear in the fade is opened in the sky with demons pouring through. The player walks out of this explosion with a mark on their hand and the new moniker of the Herald of Andraste. From here, the choices are endless. Should the player add factions as their agents in the field, side with the mages over the Templars, or use their newly bestowed power for the greater good or personal gain?

4 Monster Hunter: World Opened the World of Monster Hunter Up

This Franchise Blossomed In a New Genre

A group of hunters facing an attacking Rathalos in Monster Hunter: World.

  • Before release, fans started an “adopt-a-hunter” program, which paired long-serving veterans of the series with novices.

Monster Hunter: World really plays up the “world” part of its title. This installment of the Monster Hunter franchise brought the beloved series into a more modern style of gaming. The virtual world was opened up, and players had more freedom than ever before. The developers also placed significant emphasis on the AI interactions between the flora and fauna, which made the world feel more alive.


This title offers players the most in-depth character creation system in the Monster Hunter series to date. It allows extensive customization of hunters, with a wide range of options that blend various art styles. Notably, hair, makeup, and voices aren’t gender-specific, so players can create exactly the kind of character they want to make.

3 GTA V Online Has Become a gaming Institution

It Is Hard To Imagine A World Without This Game

The Oppressor Mk II from GTA Online


Grand Theft Auto V is easily one of the most popular games of all time. The base game story has more than enough freedom to keep players occupied for years, but the Online mode has taken things to a whole other level. The online section of this game starts with the chance to create a character with an innovative, if slightly odd, character creation system. Characters are created by choosing two sets of grandparents and then two parents and deciding which family line to take after more, becoming an amalgamation of them all.

With countless updates and new additions, players in Grand Theft Auto V can now jet around Los Santos in a hovering Delorean or carve out a living as a taxi driver, nightclub owner, or president of a motorcycle club. The game’s thriving mod scene gives players even more options. Each path introduces unique missions, rewards, and opportunities to acquire real estate. While it may not offer the same level of open-world choices as some other games on this list, Grand Theft Auto always provides the most freedom.


2 Cyberpunk 2077 Focuses on Uniqueness

After Numerous Updates, It’s Lived Up to the Original Hype

Character creation screen in Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 had one of the most tumultuous launches in gaming history, with countless bugs and game-breaking issues that nearly killed the whole game in week one. However, after numerous patches and the release of the huge Phantom Liberty DLC, the game has finally reached the heights teased before its release. Players begin by creating their version of the protagonist, V, selecting a backstory that influences unique dialogue options and even how the game starts. Beyond backstory, the character creation system allows players to modify and customize nearly every aspect of V’s physical appearance.

Cyberpunk 2077

Related

10 Best Cyberpunk 2077 Story Missions (Including Phantom Liberty)

Cyberpunk 2077 had a rough start, but the game has really come around to give players a great experience, especially when it comes to its story.


Even with the differences in backstory, each character has the same life ambition—notoriety, respect, credits, and freedom. Cyberpunk 2077 starts almost as a buddy-criminal game, with V and his friend Jackie taking various low-level jobs before getting their big break. This break has them steal a chip from the Arasaka, the largest corpo in the world. However, the heist goes catastrophically wrong, resulting in the death of Jackie. Even worse, the stolen chip begins to malfunction, putting a ticking clock on V’s life as it attempts to overwrite their personality with that of Johnny Silverhand, played by Keanu Reeves.

This Fantasy Epic Can Top Any List


It’s hard to find a video game list where The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim doesn’t rank at the top. Whether it’s Best RPG, Best Fantasy Game, Best Game, Best Mod Community, or Best Soundtrack, Skyrim excels in every way. Outside the opening mission, nothing in the game is truly mandatory. Players can complete an entire playthrough without ever joining the Dark Brotherhood, picking a side in a civil war, or even fully embracing their destiny as the Dragonborn. The sheer freedom and flexibility help make Skyrim a timeless classic.

Lucien LaChance

Related

Elder Scrolls: 5 Ways The Dark Brotherhood Is Better In Skyrim (& 5 It’s Better In Oblivion)

The Dark Brotherhood debuted in Oblivion, but was also carried over into Skyrim. Which game showcased the more interesting version?


Skyrim allows players to choose from 10 distinct playable races, each with unique skills, strengths, weaknesses, and dialogue options. However, players aren’t confined to ready-set paths. For example, the Bosmer, or Wood Elves, are typically smaller and well-suited for lightly armored scout roles. Still, nothing stops players from turning their Bosmer into a bloodthirsty, warhammer-wielding tank clad in heavy armor. It’s a game where players can be anyone they want to be.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading