Minecraft (Switch)

You know Minecraft, right? The open-world sandbox game where you mine and, indeed, craft materials to survive and shape the world to your liking. Not much else to say really. The Switch version is very solid, and portable to boot. All in all, rather good.

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Green Hell (Switch eShop)

Green Hell is a brutally tough, deep, and satisfying open-world survival sim. It suffers from the same inherent repetition and often infuriating difficulty as most other examples of its genre, but these are problems offset here by satisfying crafting and construction systems, clever smartwatch and body inspection elements, and a story mode that easily trumps the vast majority of offerings we've come across in a survival sim.

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If you can make peace with the Switch's graphical downgrade, missing multiplayer aspect, and some minor control issues, what's here is sure to satiate any cravings you may have for some seriously tough survival sim shenanigans.

Subnautica + Subnautica Below Zero Double Pack (Switch)

When Unknown Worlds announced they were bringing Subnautica to Switch we were hugely excited, this is one of our all-time favourite games after all, but it was excitement tempered with a degree of scepticism as to how on earth they'd manage to cram the entire experience onto Switch in a properly playable manner.

As it turns out, we needn't have worried as this is a super solid port of Subnautica and its sequel that — besides a few loading stutters here and there and some scenery pop-in that's present in every other version of the game — successfully delivers one of the very best open-world experiences on any platform to Nintendo's hybrid console.

If you're purchasing one or the other separately on Switch we'd still plump for the original game, as Below Zero's fleshed-out narrative and on-foot sections dilute the overall experience ever so slightly, but, regardless of which you choose, you're in for a mighty good time here with two of the best survival games available anywhere.

Immortals Fenyx Rising (Switch)

Immortals Fenyx Rising tries to capture lightning in a bottle with its Breath of the Wild-inspired open-world gameplay, but ends up being more of a lightning thief; it's not as nice to look at and the puzzles aren't as satisfying. Still, the combat is fun, the storytelling is excellent and, despite not being anywhere near as polished as Nintendo's 2017 effort, it certainly does a passable impression.

If you crave more Zelda and don't mind the off-brand version, go for it, but if for some reason you still haven't played Breath of the Wild, then that's the game to go for.

Dying Light Platinum Edition (Switch)

Dying Light on Switch is quite a remarkable achievement. Its ambitious open world full of zombies is unlike anything else in the Switch’s library and, between the core campaign and six years of constant DLC updates, there’s potentially hundreds of hours of enjoyment to be had here.

Granted, all of this comes at the cost of performance that can be middling compared to other platforms, but this is neatly balanced out by the convenience of playing in handheld mode and developer Techland has done a mighty fine job getting this open world running well on portable hardware. Switch owners who rarely play in portable mode may want to pause and consider buying it elsewhere, but we'd strongly encourage handheld gamers to consider this excellent Switch port.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a genuine masterpiece and a highlight of Monolith Soft's superb series thus far.

There's an emotionally charged and surprisingly edgy epic to get stuck into here, a sprawling and hugely engaging narrative populated by a cast of unforgettable characters that's backed up by some of the very best combat we've had the pleasure of getting to grips with in this genre.

Over 100 hours into this one, we were as captivated as we were when we first booted it up and it more than delivered every bit of the adventure, emotion, and action that its excellent key art promises. Aionios awaits, it's time to seize the future.

NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition (Switch)

NieR:Automata is a modern classic. Most importantly for Switch owners, this is a top-notch port that has clearly been produced with respect and focus, often surpassing our expectations in both visuals and performance.

Finding a comfortable seat and a pair of headphones makes the Switch version a wonderful way to experience the game, and it is an unforgettable journey. Nothing is as it seems, either in the story or gameplay, and it's one of the finest gaming achievements of the last decade.

No Man's Sky (Switch)

No Man's Sky on Switch is a fantastic port of a game we genuinely didn't really believe would make the transition to Nintendo's console without some serious technical issues. Hello Games has made the necessary cutbacks and downgrades to get this intergalactic survival sandbox playing at a super solid frame rate and the colourful, chunky graphical style here ensures that it all still looks pretty fantastic to boot.

With all of the game's previous updates and content included — barring multiplayer at this point — and a plethora of customisation options, exploring its many and various open worlds is an easy recommendation for survival fans.

Red Dead Redemption (Switch)

Red Dead Redemption on Switch is a straightforward port of 2010's masterpiece with no added bells or whistles for a rather high price tag. If you can get over that, this is a game we highly recommend digging into, especially if you've yet to experience it.

Rockstar's Western epic holds up surprisingly well, its story is as powerful as ever, its knockabout action still feels great, and it looks and plays perfectly well on Nintendo's console. Multiplayer has been cut, which is a sore but understandable excision, and we'd really have liked to see effort put into adding gyro controls or touching up the graphics a little, but it is what it is.

This is a proper all-timer ported successfully to Switch and, if you can stump up the cash, you'll have a great time here regardless of the lack of TLC.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)

It’s impossible to talk about everything that makes The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom so incredible, and making many of those discoveries yourselves is part of the magic. It’s also impossible to overstate just how much there is to do in Hyrule this time around.

Much like its predecessor, this is your playground for the next however many years to come, with a little sprinkling of that older Zelda fairy dust mixed into Breath of the Wild’s formula. It’s a glorious, triumphant sequel to one of the best video games of all time; absolute unfiltered bliss to lose yourself in for hundreds of hours.

Feeling worldly after all that? Nice work trekking through those.

Open-World Switch Games FAQ

Before we take the weight off, let's answer a common question or two.

Or one...

Hold on, where's [insert open-world game here]?

There are three possibilities:

  1. We didn't think much of it, likely due to the Switch port being below par (see: Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Kingdom of Amalur);
  2. It doesn't quite fall in the 'open-world' category in our opinion (see: Monster Hunter Rise, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Ni no Kuni, various other huge RPGs); or
  3. We did forget it and the customary, "Can't believe you forgot X, Y, Z!!!11" is accurate

Think we've missed a brilliant open world on Switch? Don't agree with the selection above? Let us know below and we may massage the list above to include other open-world games!