By Sharon Smith
Over the past few years, crossplay has become a much bigger topic of conversation, as more games have integrated the feature into their product, thus bringing players together across every platform. One of the most interesting genres to be affected by this shift is open-world, as suddenly, players can not only experience gigantic landscapes and epic adventures, but they can also share the joy with virtually anyone in the world, regardless of what console they decide to buy.
There are so many great games within the genre already, so the ability to enjoy them together on any platform just makes them even better. Yet even within such a stacked space, there are a few titles that manage to deliver a more enjoyable, engaging, and fun experience, ticking every box for players who love the large-scale worlds as well as the cooperative nature of the gameplay within them.
Sea of Thieves
Charting The Waters Together
Details:
- Casual multiplayer with surprising depth
- Slightly limited progression for longer-term play
Sea of Thieves sends players to the open waves, giving them all the tools they need to become swashbuckling pirates without a care in the world. A lot of the gameplay revolves around exploration, as rather than overwhelming players with an endless list of mechanics and features, the game instead focuses on the joy of sailing and the emergent activities that come with it.
Because there aren't too many major routes of progress, players are free to jump into a lobby with any of their friends, regardless of how much they have played the game and what console they are playing on. It might not have a huge range of end-game loops to aim for, but the core gameplay is fun enough to keep players happy for plenty of time.
Grounded
Survival On The Smallest Scale
Details:
- Comedic take on open-world survival
- Narrative drive rather than pure freedom
Grounded shrinks the traditional survival gameplay down to a miniature size, forcing players to navigate a gigantic world full of bugs and spiders that now tower over them. The story and characters are very charming, never taking things too seriously, and are constantly self-aware of how absurd and silly a lot of the gameplay elements are.
Playing with others turns the game from a light survival experience into a coordinated push to thrive, as players slowly progress towards stronger gear and carve out their own place in the backyard world. Within the open-world space, it is one of the most unique games that players will ever find, and it will quickly become a favourite for both PC and console players alike.
Satisfactory
Feeding Into Every Automation Fantasy
Details:
- Heavy emphasis on optimization and scale
- Accessible yet highly complex at the same time
Satisfactory is a problem-solver's dream, with players being presented with an alien canvas on which to create whatever mad and insane creations they can think of. Because the game is cooperative, players can build sprawling factories together, turning otherwise basic progression into a shared logistical puzzle.
The open world isn’t about combat or story, but learning how to optimize and refine production lines over larger and larger scales. And with so much depth behind every build path, players can easily sink over a hundred hours into the game without ever running out of things to do, purely from the insane amount of paths available to them right from the start.
Borderlands 4
Back To The Glory Days
Details:
- Satisfying looter shooter gunplay
- Co-op campaign and late-game content
Borderlands 4 feels like a return to the early greatness of one of the best open-world franchises of all time. Starting as one of several distinct classes, players are thrust head-on into the action, blasting their way through enemies and picking up weapon after weapon, each with their own unique properties and powers.
The game was made with co-op in mind, and playing with others makes every encounter feel so much more enjoyable than in solo play. Despite being available on virtually every platform imaginable, there are no advantages for playing on PC or a specific console, ensuring that all players get to experience the same fun and action regardless of where they choose to play.
Where Winds Meet
The Start Of Something Great
Details:
- Visually stunning world
- Shared cinematic narrative
Where Winds Meet is a breathtaking MMO that sends players to a mythological ancient China, where magic and blades coalesce into a single force. From a visual standpoint, the game is truly breathtaking, and despite how large the world is, players are able to traverse it in style and reach long distances in no time.
Because the game has crossplay, players can not only engage with fighters across different platforms but also progress their own characters on the go with the mobile version. This transforms traditional loops of daily activities and quests into a much more fluid experience that isn't limited to a single device, giving players more ways to play and progress at no additional cost.
Read the full article on GameRant
This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
