There’s no better feeling in an open-world game than getting to the point where you are an unstoppable force of brute strength. The world is yours and nothing can stop you. Even after getting through the story and finishing every objective, these games will offer replayability in the form of just being a nuclear force. So many times in video games we’ll meet a boss or level that makes us remember why checkpoints were invented. Sometimes it’s nice to just forget about that and feel like the most powerful being in the game. These games usually have their destruction levels set to max to allow players to feel like nothing can stop them. If you’re looking for that escape, here are 10 open-world games that make you feel unstoppable.
10. Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-Stered
Red Faction Guerilla has redefined the idea of destructive gameplay. Here there are no boundaries. If you want to run a car through a building then so be it. Players don’t have anything that makes them super-powered technically speaking, but the fact that the physics-based destruction allows you to set off a chain of explosions that completely decimates half the map makes you feel as if anything is possible in this game. Even just going about the open-world terrain of the Martian planet with your trusty hammer and making your own doors has you feeling like a force to be reckoned with. There has yet to be a game that has destruction as fantastic as Red Faction Guerilla.
9. Marvel’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man is one of the greatest superheroes ever created. A super-powered, intelligent teenager that has trouble talking to people he finds beautiful. Growing up, many kids idolized Spider-Man and wanted to be him. Insomniac Games made that happen in the greatest ways. Marvel’s Spider-Man allows you to don the mask of your favorite neighborhood vigilante and protect the people of Manhattan in the most heroic ways possible. When you’re swinging down the city and able to drop down on some grunts only to hit a perfect combo and leave them webbed up to a light post it feels as if you are Spidey. Nothing can stop you from saving the day.
8. Dying Light
Dying Light takes zombie killing to a whole new dimension with open-world parkour extravaganza. Once you get past the initial part of the game and learn to craft some of the higher tier items there is very little that can stop you. From weapons that make you feel like Static Shock to grenades that will suspend zombies in the air for a short while, Dying Light presents you with many ways to dispose of the undead. Did we mention that you also have a lethal flying kick? Using your parkour to quickly climb up the side of the building and ending it by running towards a zombie and using a flying kick to send it over the edge of the building is a feeling we can’t quite describe.
7. Batman: Arkham City
If you thought that beating grunts up as Spider-Man was cool, well you need to head over and try Batman Arkham City. The initial stages will be a little tough as you get used to the combat system and all your bat gadgets, but once you’ve learned your way around you’ll start to feel like the dark knight. Batman can go about stages in multiple ways. He can take his foes down with stealth or drop down and deliver a beat down. Both will leave you feeling rewarded. On one hand, you can feel like the next 007 or you can feel like you just provided a smackdown at a bar fight. The world-building itself is enough to hop into, but we can stress enough how invigorating it feels to beat down some grunts as the caped crusader. Once you get the gliding down traveling through the incredible open-world of Batman Arkham City is satisfying and therapeutic.
6. Just Cause 3
Just Cause 3 is what happens when you create a sandbox game where you’re only objective is to find out how many different ways you can blow up an enemy post. Yes, you can drive a plane and send it flying towards your enemy as you safely make your escape using your handy dandy wingsuit. Just Cause 3 doesn’t take itself too seriously and allows players to explore this dynamic island on their own rules. The beautifully crafted open-world is fun to explore and glide through which is a nice break from blowing up stuff every now and then.
5. Saints Row 3
Now we’re getting down to our top choices. These games all have a certain personality to them that makes the destruction that much more fun. What better way to start the top five than with Saints Row 3. If you thought that Just Cause 3 went off the rails, well Saints Row will have you slapping enemies across the open-world map with anything you can imagine. We mean anything. The Apoca-Fist is a weapon that turns your fist into a doom bringing device. Don’t like someone? Punch them. They’ll be seeing much more than just stars.
4. GTA V
GTA V is king when it comes to open-world sandbox-style games where you just want to roam around and blow some things up. There’s a reason why this game has managed to stay alive for so many years and sell over 160 million copies. That’s more than most consoles including the PS2. GTA V allows you to just be yourself. Want to just drive through the street and follow the local driving laws? You can. Want to summon a UFO, blast people away, and cause the military to come after you like if you were a monster-level threat? That’s also possible. Get the right weapons and equipment and there will be no one that can stop you. The game will send tanks, helicopters, special agents, and anything at their disposal while you brush them away with ease. All while stopping at all the red lights like a model citizen.
3. Infamous 2
Now we’re getting to the great parts. These next few characters will make you feel like the world is yours. These open-world games have defined what it’s like to make the world yours. Starting with Cole from InFamous 2. His lightning powers already put you in a seat of power but InFamous 2 introduces us to pyro and cryo abilities as well depending on the morality of your choices. As you progress through the story players will be able to unlock different abilities. Now if you’re a good hero then you will get more precise abilities. This is so that you don’t hurt any bystanders are can be more focused on the bad guys. If you choose to ignore all that and want to be a little more chaotic, the InFamous morality line will leave you with more devastating abilities. Either way, no one is going to be able to stop you.
2. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
This is not only a spotlight on one of the most underrated games of my childhood, but also a plea for a sequel and remaster. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a game that was released on the PS2, and to this day has met no equal. Bruce Banner himself has no equal in the superhero world when it comes to destructive, unstoppable power. His brute strength is enough to propel him through a city with a single jump. He can bring down any sort of weaponry the military possesses and his claps are powerful enough to cause shockwaves. Ultimate Destruction allowed you to live your best Hulk life. Players were able to make cars into doom fists, helicopters into bats, and just rain down destruction on the city while also saving it. Just stomping around the open-world of Ultimate Destruction as Hulk is one of a kind feeling and there is yet to be another game that puts you in the shoes of Bruce Banner like this.
1. Prototype
The cream of the crop. Every open-world game based around superpowers should aspire to be as destructive as Prototype. You play as Alex Mercer, someone who has lost all memories and somehow has this symbiote-like shapeshifting ability that resembles Carnage. Your hands can go from blades to a giant ax in an instant. Players also can shapeshift into their enemies. This makes infiltrating enemy bases simple and allows players to go full destructive mode once they do make it inside. This game seems like a combination of InFamous and Ultimate Destruction. It’s a blast and once you’ve leveled up all your abilities you will feel like an unstoppable force hellbent on finding out why you are the way you are. It’s also a ton of fun to just roam around the city and take down a few helicopters and blow up a few bases. The choice is yours. It’s why it’s one of the greatest open-world games ever made.
