Summary
When getting into an open-world game, you’re not just taking into account how vast and beautiful the areas will be to explore, but also just how much you’ll enjoy the combat. Thankfully, there are games out there that strike a remarkable balance between both and can leave a lasting impression with the story, worldbuilding, and gameplay action.
It’s nice to see how combat has evolved across various types of video game genres over the years, and some here truly do something different than any other game (the detailed systems will astonish you). So consider jumping into these worlds if you want to get the best out of the combat!
Updated on Jun 21, 2025:There’s nothing like open-world games, and there’s nothing like a solid combat system - put them together, and you have a damn good time. We’ve got a video up above if you want to take a closer look at these fantastic games.
10Kingdom Come: Deliverance
If you’re searching for a rich medieval RPG withauthentic swordplay combatcrafted within an open-world design,Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis the game for you. For others, who aren’t up for the detailed and difficult-to-master combat this game offers, you may want to consider games further down on this list.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is terrific at being an immersive first-person adventure game that takes you to the medieval castles and battlefields of Bohemia. It’s only further complimented by an extensive combat system based on historical sword-fighting techniques that were captured by actual experts. Aside from the animations, the game also utilizes inverse kinematics to heighten the realism.
On par with just about every Triple-A video game sequel that launches,Horizon Forbidden Westpolished and tweaked a lot of whatHorizon Zero Dawnbrought to the action RPG genre. It expands the open world to new areas of the post-apocalyptic Western United States (same with its Burning Shores expansion) and includes a more diverse animal-like robot enemy variety.
The machine combat is really the main pull of the game, as they can range from smaller creatures that you can stealth kill to much more enormous beaststhat require more strategy and skill to deal with. You’ll have to scan the machines for weak points and target them with Aloy’s bow, with tons of different player upgrades to give you the upper hand.
Dying Light 2is unlike any other zombie game out there you can play. The sequel continues to push the envelope of first-person parkour and traversal systems in open-world games, along with its engaging off-the-rails brutal combat, whether it’s with zombies or enemy factions you face throughout the map.
Things will get massively bloody, gory, and sometimes just wildly funny with all the melee, kicking, stomping, upgrades, and use of your environment involved, such as knocking enemies into spikes. Dying Light is also unique in how it handles zombies, making them more active and dangerous at night and weak to UV light.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth? More like infinite action and fun! The Yakuza series is onethat just keeps getting better and betterwith each subsequent release, no matter if it’s a spin-off or continuation of the main story, with 2024’s installment a perfect example of that. The magic is all in the characters and combat.
Like its predecessor, Infinite Wealth continues the story of Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu and has turn-based combat in store. The main differences to consider here are the greater expansions to the open-world locations, which now take you to Hawaii and your very own private resort island called Dondoko Island. The job system is also a clear winner with how it works and how to use it,allowing classes like Housekeeper, Pyrodancer, and Samurai.
This is perhaps one of the most scenic and gorgeously realistic open-world gamesyou may want to live inand not just play. The combat experience inRed Dead Redemptionis also one that fulfills your ultimate cowboy outlaw fantasy, as you can shoot at enemies on horseback, rob trains, rig explosives, engage with your fisticuffs, and use the bullet time Deadeye system to kill multiple targets at once.
The title is incredibly immersive and cinematic, Rockstar being as rockstar as ever with the design of its video game worlds. There are countless emotional and unforgettable moments, quotes, missions, characters, and set pieces that make this one of the most important gaming masterpieces next toThe Last of Us.
Any Marvel’s Spider-Man game on the PS4 and PS5will be a smooth and satisfying ride in terms of combat and traversal since it’s all tied to the web-slinging abilities and mechanics largely inspired by the Batman: Arkham games. WhereMarvel’s Spider-Man 2truly shines is expanding the open world of New York, allowing you to swap between Miles and Peter, and offering many new enemy types and bosses.
The combat likewise receives new adjustments and additions, like expanded stealth with a web line system to form multiple web tight ropes to take down enemies from a greater variety of directions. Miles' new abilities, Peter’s symbiote suit, and both characters' iron armor suit with the spider legs as seen in Avengers: Endgame add a whole new dynamic as well.
Open-world and action-adventure can’t get any better than theJust Causeseries, which is built around the very idea of mindless fun and creative destruction in a gorgeous open-world setting. The main aspect of all the fun beingthe grappling hook mechanic, which allows you to get away with all sorts of hilarious and dangerously brilliant maneuvers.
The combat can get so chaotic and fast-paced the larger the number of enemies you face. you may tether two enemies together with the grapple, grapple onto them directly, use the grapple to explode containers, or grapple then parachute to hit targets as you fly. The traversal, weapon variety, and explosions are also just top-notch and give GTA a run for its money.
All of FromSoftware’s Soulsborne gamesare wonderfully immersive and challenging in their approach to combat. However, the award for best combat would have to go toSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This game went in a different direction than Dark Souls and Bloodborne with its historical Sengoku-era premise, while still keeping in fantasy elements and extremely difficult boss fights.
That also influenced the way combat works, as it’s heavily centered on swordplay and needing to parry enemies' blades at the precise moment to build up their posture meter to ensure a pocket where you can inflict a deadlier attack. Then, on top of the Posture buildup, you also have a grappling hook that you can use to take down enemies.
You won’t ever see another combat system like what Warner Brothers Games achieved inMiddle-Earth: Shadow of MordorandShadow of War. These games elevated the Orc-slaying segments of The Lord of the Rings to a whole new level, giving you an entire map with non-stop hordes of Orcs to slaughter in brutal ways with your extraordinary Wraith abilities.
The counter system works exactly like in the Mad Max video game adaptation and Batman: Arkham games, with even more fluid animations and added details, like continuing to fight an Orc when they’re on their knees. The best part, of course, is the patented Nemesis system, where you can rattle the hierarchy of Orc commanders and turn them over to your side in the fight against Sauron.
Dragon’s Dogma 2takes the cake for how fun and emergent combat design can get in games. Tough fantasy creatures you’re battling can unpredictably grab you and take you away from your party, toss you off a mountain if they’re a flying-type foe like harpies, or even make a bridge for you if you’re clever enough to trick them.
How you actually fight the creatures is so uniquely designed. Not only can you climb onto them to inflict damage, or merely use Medusa’s head to have them turn to stone and crumble, but there’s the pawn companion system with some of the most impressive AI capabilities in combat. Pawns can catch you after disembarking from an enemy to break a fall, you can toss your pawns, and they’re all customizable in appearance.
