Summary
Gamers often associate the notion of an open world game with a sprawling journey that will take months to beat. That might be the case most of the time, but not always. There are actually a few open-world games that, despite featuring huge gameplay areas, also feature short main quests that players can finish rather quickly if they put their hearts and minds to it — and sometimes even if they don’t.
Beating a game with a huge world will always feel like quite an achievement, especially for busy gamers who might not have as much time to play. Let’s look at some of the most surprisingly easy-to-beat open-world games out there.
An essential piece of information to take in before diving intoTwo Worlds 2is that it is not a fantastic game,unlike the other gameson this list. It is, however, the easiest-to-beat open-world game on the list — to a comical degree, even — and thus one that’s likely to make players feel incredibly accomplished.
Speedrunners have found out that, right at the start of the game, they can lure the final boss into a regular village, where he will get obliterated by the villagers. This, becauseTwo Worlds 2isn’t a very good game, will trigger the game’s final cutscene. It may not be the best out there, but who doesn’t like to be crowned the hero of a huge nation after having played there for no longer than 10 minutes?
Shelter 2is a game with a big world and a simple premise. The players step into the role of a mother lynx who needs to protect her offspring as they traverse a dangerous land. Despite its dangers,Shelter 2looks beautiful with its unique art style. It will scratch the itch for players who enjoyedThe Last Of Us,but wished it could be stripped down to the basics.Shelter 2is a great way of spending 2 hours.
One of the coolest aspects ofThe Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdomwas its introduction of multiple floating islands that injected the game with a further sense of wondrous verticality.Grow Homedid that beforeZelda, and navigating its land is just as fun.
InGrow Home, players are tasked with helping BUD, a robot, save its planet.Grow Home’sopen world is rather small, but the development team at Ubisoft Reflections opted instead to spend their time makingGrow Home’sworld more interesting and fun to navigate, and they sure did pull it off.
Pupperazzifeatures one of the simplest concepts out of all open-world games out there. The player simply roams around its cute world and snaps cute pictures of cute dogs. The world is fun to explore, the vibes are comfy, and taking pictures of dogs is just as soothing as one would expect.Pupperazziis proof that a game doesn’t need a high concept to provide a lot of fun for a few cozy hours.
WHERE TO PLAY
Concept-wise,Proteusis the simplest game on this list. It’s what many would describe as a “walking simulator,” but that’s not a bad thing. InProteus,players simply have to walk around this beautiful environment while they witness the passing of a season. There are no enemies, no big mysteries, just a chance to explore this beautifully unique and stripped-down world for a short while.Proteusis an excellent way of spending an hour traveling inside.
The Outer Wildsis one of the most interesting open-world titles ever made, as its world is actually solar system-shaped.Outer Wildshas alot of mysteries to uncoverand fun places to visit, but it’s not impossible to beat the game in one day. In fact, speedrunners have beaten it in less than 30 minutes, though that’s already quite a stretch for anyone looking to engage with the game in the more or less relaxed way that one should engage with it. Either way, for a game featuring various planets and satellites,Outer Wildsis a surprisingly tight place.
Anyone looking for an open-world game based on exploration and chill vibes will have a hard time doing better thanSable.It tasks players with ridinga futuristic Jetbike(extra cool) and roaming around in a beautiful landscape that’s filled with all sorts of secrets for players to explore. Like most games on this list,Sableemploys some unique looks that enhance the quality of the already one-of-a-kind experience at hand. Though it features a wide play area, players can beatSablein less than 7 hours.
Oblivionis one of the hottest games of 2025, even though it’s a remaster of a game from ‘06. Even though it already featured animpressively huge open worldat the time of its original release, the main quest is surprisingly short.
Unlike the previous games in theElder Scrollsseries,Oblivionfeatured a new fast travel mechanic players could use from pretty much anywhere, with no need for the presence of a specific item in one’s inventory. This allowed players to beat the game’s main quest in not much longer than just 4 hours. Best of all, players can either spend dozens of hours enjoying everything the game has to offer, or just jump in to save the world as quickly as possible. Either way, it’ll still be a blast.
TheForgotten Citysees the main character, a man from modern times, stranded in a city made to resemble ancient Rome. On top of that, he soon learns this city is under a bizarre set of rules that will cause the city’s whole population to die should anyone break a rule. Whenever someone (usually the player) messes up, theyget to restart the game, with the knowledge earned from past cycles being the only thing carried over to the new one.
It’s a fantastic exploration game that delves into some fascinating philosophical questions at its deepest moments, and still dazzles with some fantastic writing at its most normal ones. Finding out all the secrets inThe Forgotten Citymight take a little bit over 7 hours, but just finding out all that’s needed to get out will take much less. Either way, this is one of the best games out there right now, out of any genre.
