5 Of The Best Open World Games On Android To Check Out In 2023
Recent years have seen a rapid rise in the popularity of mobile gaming. Dedicated PC and console gamers might turn their nose up at playing games on their Android device. Still, with smartphones getting increasingly powerful and mobile games developing at such a high pace, they might have to acknowledge the presence of mobile gaming pretty soon.
The rise of mobile gaming is thanks to the continuous development of better, more powerful smartphone processors and graphics chips. The convenience of video games on smartphones also plays a massive role, with Android users accessing an enormous library of games by simply opening the Google Play Store. Many mobile games there are free of charge, while the ones with a price tag are much cheaper than PC or console games. This means mobile gamers get a perfectly sound video gaming experience for just a fraction of the cost undergone by people using other platforms.
An open-world game allows players to freely explore the game's landscape as they see fit. This gaming genre has made its way to mobile and is not looking back. A person playing "Grand Theft Auto 3" on a PS2 in the early 2000s would have never guessed the same game would be available to play on a mobile phone a few years later. High-quality open-world titles for Android are aplenty in 2023, and the demand for them just keeps growing.
Minecraft
Of all the open-world games that give players the freedom to unleash their creativity, only a few (if any) are as popular as the 2011 sandbox game "Minecraft" developed by Mojang Studios. The game is one of the most beloved game titles in history, holding the record for the most sales ever for a video game (238 million+). Even though it was initially released for PC, "Minecraft" also has a mobile edition with the same features and level of creativity (available on the Google Play Store for $6.99).
The game offers a virtual world without limits, with forests, giant water bodies, snow-capped mountains, villages, and much more just waiting to be explored by players. You can craft your own tools, delve deep underground to mine for resources and build beautiful, large structures in whatever design you like. Players are also given the ability to cultivate crops and create animal farms for their food. Veteran players even automate these processes by building intricate pieces of machinery. The survival aspect of the game includes fending off hostile creatures called "mobs" that appear at nighttime.
The game offers a multiplayer feature through which you can join a shared server and play with friends. This is an extremely popular way to play the game since it allows players to team up and collaborate on constructing houses and exploring the highly detailed virtual world.
Genshin Impact
Developed by miHoYo, this open-world role-playing game has taken the world by storm since its release on multiple platforms in late 2020. "Genshin Impact" is heavily inspired by the video game series "The Legend of Zelda," consisting of similar stunning graphics with an anime-like design. Players explore its vast, gorgeous world, Teyvat, on multiple platforms, including Android (available on the Google Play Store).
Players get to embark on a fantastic adventure to reunite with a captured twin sibling by taking on the role of The Traveler. You can choose the male or female twin as your character. The game has an extensive map to be explored, filled with various landscapes and features. "Genshin Impact" also offers challenging combat, designed with careful attention to detail. You can unlock more unique characters and items using your game progress or even real money. The highly engaging storyline is backed by many creative features, such as crafting weapons. The game's content constantly evolves to keep players hooked, adding new gameplay features and storylines.
"Genshin Impact" also offers an online multiplayer mode, allowing players to form teams to tackle the challenging obstacles provided by the game. You and your team could engage in activities ranging from treasure hunting and taking on boss fights to fishing and taking pictures in-game.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
This iconic game by Rockstar Games needs no introduction. "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" is a cultural phenomenon, capturing the hearts of gamers around the world since its release in October 2004. Rockstar Games brought several of their beloved games onto the Android platform, including "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Bully." "San Andreas" also made it onto mobile, bringing back the nostalgia in full force ($6.99 on the Google Play Store).
The game leaves no room for boredom, packed with content. Tons of collectibles, side missions, and the captivating main storyline keep players busy. "GTA: San Andreas" follows the protagonist, Carl "CJ" Johnson, as he returns to his childhood home following his mother's murder. The game is set in the fictional state of San Andreas and allows players to explore its cities, Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas. The gigantic open world teems with huge deserts, mountains, forests, and deep waters. The game developers attempt to pay close attention to detail, allowing players to get driver's licenses and conduct business. Specific game locations get unlocked with player progress, but players get complete freedom in the virtual world afterward.
You can complete missions and side missions, purchase properties, interact with NPCs, and even engage in illegal activities like street racing and gambling.
Pokémon Go
In 2016, Niantic, Inc collaborated with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to develop and release "Pokémon Go." Since then, the game has become very popular among loyal Pokémon fans for one specific reason. It was designed to be a unique open-world game, i.e., not a virtual world but your actual world. "Pokémon Go" is an "augmented reality" game that blends the gaming experience with the real world, meaning players can experience what it is like to be a Pokémon trainer.
The game, available for free on the Google Play Store, accomplishes this with location tracking and mapping technologies. Using these insights, the game map recreates your actual map in the game's design with names of real-life landmarks swapped out. After you sign up, this map directs users to various Pokémon characters that show up when they move around. After following the map and arriving at a certain distance from the designated location, the Pokémon will appear on the mobile screen, ready to be captured by one of the player's Pokéballs. "Pokémon Go" has no end per se, with the goal for players to collect as many different characters as possible. After collecting and training your pocket monsters, you can challenge fellow trainers to Pokémon battles.
Niantic, Inc has rolled out regular updates to the game over the years, adding new content such as celebrations and other events.
Ark: Survival Evolved
Studio Wildcard launched this open-world survival game in collaboration with Instinct Games as an early-access title for PC gamers in 2015. Later, in 2018, "Ark: Survival Evolved" was also launched on other platforms, including the Google Play Store.
Like most survival games, the Jurassic Park-esque experience leaves players stranded on an island known as the "Ark" with no resources. But this one has a catch: the island and the surrounding sea are thoroughly occupied by pre-historical and mythological creatures that will attack you on sight. You can choose a first-person or third-person perspective when starting the game. Players are tasked with building a base for themselves and a fire to make it through the night. They must also craft weapons, including blades and firearms, by finding resources and the required technology. The base can also be constantly upgraded using various materials ranging from hay to a futuristic element known as Tek.
While exploring the game, Players must watch their character's vital statistics, like health, oxygen, and stamina. One of the game's most robust features lets you tame predatory creatures like dinosaurs using different taming techniques. Tamed creatures are rideable and give players access to their special abilities like flight. In addition, like most survival games, this one also offers a multiplayer mode, allowing you to play with other people and explore the open terrain as a tribe.