The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeis still the best-reviewed game of all time, with a score of 99 according to Metacritic. Does that mean it is the best in the series? For some, the answer is yes, while others may put a classic likeA Link to the Pastor a more modern entry likeBreath of the Wildabove it.
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WhileOcarina of Timewas groundbreaking when it was released, there are some things that haven’t aged well about it, like the camera. That’s a whole other conversation, but it brings up a related topic. Are there open-world game franchises that released their first game and haven’t improved upon the formula since, according to review scores?
8Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawnand its sequel are close in review scores.Horizon Forbidden Westis a bigger and bolder entry for the series, but it ultimately is a case of being more of the same. That’s probably why the original still fairs a bit better by some marginal review points.
Fighting robots, harvesting them for parts, andoccasionally riding themis what made the original stick out. The funniest or most tragic thing to take away from this series is the poor planning on Sony’s part regarding release dates. Launching againstThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwas a mistake for the first entry, and it was a bad idea to go againstElden Ringfor the sequel.
7inFamous
InFamoushad a good run for a few years as the premiere superhero exclusive on PlayStation consoles. It came out before everything in the gaming industry was covered in Marvel or DC tie-ins.The open-world citywas cool to explore, and the powers were fun to toy around with. It was also a neat idea to tie powers to story decisions to help create some replay value. If players were good, they had one skill tree and if they were bad they went another route with their electric powers.
6Marvel’s Spider-Man
Marvel’s Spider-Manis the aforementioned Marvel tie-in direction that Sony went afterinFamous: Second Sonon PS4. They have more Marvel stuff in the cooker, likeWolverine, but it would be nice to get some original stuff too.
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Anyway, this game and theMiles Morales-based sequelare almost tied in reviews. They proved that Spider-Man games could legitimately be good. Like theHorizonseries, Miles’ journey felt more of the same. It was a fun interquel between this and the next full-on sequel, but the original is the better of the two as of now.
5Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordorhas one of the most unique mechanics in an open-world game. The Nemesis system made sure that each playthrough would be different than the last. Enemies were generated to look different, and they learned from the mistakes of the player on the battlefield. If an orc kills the players, then that orc rises in the ranks.
It’s wild that the sequel is the only game to use the Nemesis system again because WB Interactive should get all of its gaming teams to test it out, orTalion should come backfor one more adventure.
4Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witchis one of the most beautiful RPGs to come out of the first wave of HD consoles. It looks even better with the remaster, but both versions look stunning, thanks to the use of colors. Famed anime company, Studio Ghibli, teamed up with Level-5 to make itaPokemon-like RPGworth remembering. The second game looks similar aesthetically, but Studio Ghibli wasn’t involved meaning there it looked a bit off-brand, and the story wasn’t as heartfelt or charming. It’s a good RPG too but the original was reviewed slightly better.
3South Park: The Stick Of Truth
South Park: The Stick of Truthis another great-looking RPG with cartoon influences. It’s amazing that the first game launched at all because it was in trouble. Thankfully, Ubisoft picked up the tab after THQ left it alone due to some company problems.
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It’s also a miracle that it turned out to be good since mostSouth Parkgames prior to this were poorly received, butit got inspirationfrom the right places. The sequel,The Fractured But Whole, did well in reviews too but the surprise of aSouth ParkRPG working wasn’t as impactful as the original.
2Tom Clancy’s The Division
AfterDestinycame out, companies were trying to cash in on the looter shooter genre.Tom Clancy’s The Divisionwas one of the first competitors, and for some, it was a better launch experience than the firstDestiny.
Set in New York City during Christmas, it was like theDie HardChristmas story of video games. Had the servers been kept up, it might be one of those games that got replayed on a yearly basis around this time. The sequel is slightly below the original in scores. It took place in the Washington D.C. area and is technically better in some regards like the party and shooting mechanics.
1Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicleswas a swan song for the Wii. The console had very few open-world games and even fewer exclusive RPGs. The original is absolutely massive, and it is a miracle the Wii handled it as well as it did. The first two sequels lost a bit of the original’s vibe but were not bad games by any means.The newest game,Xenoblade Chronicles 3, was a return to basics, but it still did not review as well as the first. Fans may disagree on which games are the best in the series, but the sheer impact of the original cannot be understated.
