Game reviews can (sometimes) be funny, and it’s ironic of me to say that, given my job here. See, a handful of critics can spend weeks picking apart an open-world game, while thousands of players jump in on release, spend dozens or even hundreds of hours with it, and come away thinking, “Yeah, I don’t know what they were talking about.”
Sometimes a game simply clicks with its audience in a way that isn’t reflected in the critic score, whether it’s because of the freedom it offers, the sheer amount of stuff to do, or just that hard-to-explain feeling of getting lost in a world you don’t want to leave just because every corner of the map is captivating. That’s exactly what makes these games so interesting. The user score tells a very different story from the critic score, and sometimes the gap is surprisingly big.
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10 Badly Reviewed Open-World Games That Are Actually Pretty Great
Even in the saturated open-world genre, these games deserved a better reception than they got.
So for this one, join me as I discuss a list of open-world games where the User Score is higher than the Critics’ aggregate score on Metacritic, from underrated adventures that found their audience after launch to divisive open-world games that players ended up loving anyway.
10
Yakuza 0
Critics: 85 | User Score: 8.8
Since we have a bunch of more surprising picks up ahead, it seemed fair to me to begin with a very personal and dearly beloved game of mine from RGG Studios: Yakuza 0. It’s a game that doesn’t have much difference between user and critic ratings, but I can safely assure you it’s worth more than any number given to it, simply because of its sheer fun factor.
Anyone who’s played a Yakuza game will understand immediately, but it has a riveting dual-protagonist story that sets up their legacies for the mainline games, plus two different compact, yet sizeable cities packed with mini-games, side activities, and sub-stories. I mean, c’mon, this is your sign to play the Yakuza series if you still haven’t, thus far.
9
Days Gone
Critics: 71 | User Score: 8.5
Look, I’ll be honest: to anyone who low-key adores Days Gone as I do, its placement at the bottom here isn’t me dismissing this game’s enjoyability or reception. To me, it really is one of those open-world games that I think gets better the longer you actually spend time with it. I can see why critics were initially put off by its numerous problems and repetitive structure. Heck, even a large minority of the actual consumer base surprisingly agrees sometimes when this game’s brought up in discussions.
The world can certainly feel repetitive at times, but there were plenty of moments where I would head somewhere for one reason and end up getting completely sidetracked by something else, from nests to burn down and clear, NERO checkpoints to investigate, or even ambushes annoyingly halting my smooth-sailing ride on our motorcycle.
But the one aspect I always rave about to others who haven’t played is the game’s Freaker hordes, easily the secret sauce for pure satisfaction. Few things in an open-world game are quite as satisfying as spending the early hours being terrified of these swarms, only to eventually return with better weapons, explosives, and a plan for taking the whole thing down by planning your loops around them.
8
Scarface: The World Is Yours
Critics: 75 | User: 8.5
Scarface: The World Is Yours
On paper, it’s easy to dismiss Scarface: The World Is Yours as another GTA clone, especially when you’re looking at it nearly 20 years later, but it actually reminded me why these older open-world games have so much personality, especially these golden-age licensed ones. The old-school gunplay is punchy, Tony Montana is an absolutely delightful lunatic to play as, and there’s a surprisingly satisfying progression to rebuilding his empire from nothing.
If I’m being honest, even the absurd fact that the game essentially creates its own “what if?” continuation after the original film’s ending gives it this ridiculous charm. The Metacritic Critic scores understandably pointed out the repetition and the game’s rough edges, but those flaws become much easier to overlook when you’re having this much stupid and nonsensical fun.
7
Mount & Blade: Warband
Critics: 78 | User Score: 8.8
On Metacritic, Mount & Blade: Warband sits at 78 from critics and an 8.8 from users, which I know is a pretty sizable difference. Understandably, it’s torn apart by various things like its dated visuals and clunky animation quality, but those things become surprisingly easy to overlook once you actually get sucked into Calradia here.
This isn’t a game that necessarily makes the best first impression (obviously), since it looks old, some systems are just plain obtuse, and the presentation is nowhere near as polished as modern open-world RPGs. But once you get past that initial roughness, there’s an almost ridiculous amount of freedom underneath it that I’m sure everyone can enjoy or at least appreciate even if the game isn’t their cup of tea.
6
Mafia 2
Critics: 74 | User Score: 8.2
As someone who’s loved the series since the first game and even revisited Old Country with the Man of Honor DLC this past month, I like to believe the original release of Mafia 2 is what people appreciate most over time. Right off the top, Empire Bay isn’t the most interactive open world; there aren’t endless side activities waiting around every corner, and the game clearly prioritizes its cinematic story over giving you a sandbox full of distractions. But honestly, that’s part of why I still think Mafia II holds up so well.
The game doesn’t constantly pull me away from the main narrative with dozens of unrelated objectives, so experiencing Vito Scaletta’s rise through the criminal underworld feels much more laser-focused this way. I get that the game has plenty of rough edges, from its relatively limited open-world activities to some of its mission design, but I hope that doesn’t deter someone from experiencing one of the best-written crime stories this medium has to offer.
5
Fallout: New Vegas
Critics: 84 | User Score: 8.7
There’s a reason Fallout: New Vegas has developed such a ridiculous level of longevity among its fans. Like this time, I don’t even need to point out both the scores here; the game really is a cult classic for many, one that gets ridiculously enjoyable once you dabble into the modding scene. As I can genuinely point out a friend of mine who’s got over a thousand hours in FNV solely because of his endless mod collection, it’s crazy.
The game’s overall writing, faction system, companion quests, and sheer number of choices give almost every playthrough its own identity. Even more so, the deeper I got into exploring Mojave, the more I appreciated how much Obsidian trusted me to make my own decisions. Plus, New Vegas was notoriously buggy at launch, with crashes and technical problems dragging down its critical reception, so modding it (preferably after you complete a vanilla playthrough) feels even more validating.
4
Mad Max
Critics: 69 | User Score: 7.7
Mad Max is one of those open-world games that feels like it should have been a much bigger critical success, especially since it was my 15th birthday present from my parents when it first launched, so it has a bit of personal sentimental value for me too. The world is definitely repetitive, and you spend a lot of time clearing out enemy camps and taking down convoys, but there’s something weirdly addictive about gradually turning Max’s car into an absolute monster.
Once you stop expecting every side activity to feel completely different, the core loop becomes really enjoyable if you give it adequate time and attention, so I think that’s a big reason the user score has aged better than the original reviews. You really feel a slightly rewarding sense of progression as you clear the wasteland along with each stronghold. Moreover, with an engaging combat system that’s akin to the Batman Arkham games, you really don’t have a whole lot to complain about here.
3
Shenmue I & II
Critics: 75 | User Score: 8.5
This one’s for one of my oldest friends who hand-held me through the first game a few years back, as well as one of my good friends and colleague here. Shenmue I & II have developed such a devoted following despite their age and the rough edges that critics pointed out. The 2018 collection has a big gap: a 75 Metascore compared to an 8.5 user score, and I can honestly understand why many of its beloved players have rated it so much higher.
For a game this old, it has far more detail than you’d expect. Ryo has to ask people for information, remember where he needs to go, wait for certain events, and simply spend time wandering around. Even your own player agency: NPCs follow their own schedules, shops have opening hours, and even seemingly insignificant locations can become part of your overarching investigation.
And then there’s Shenmue II, which expands the formula considerably with Hong Kong while making the adventure feel more focused and varied than the prior entry. The end result is a pair of games that can feel strangely ahead of their time, even when their mechanics clearly show their age on the surface, at least.
2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Critics: 76 | User Score: 8.0
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is THE game where I got my rear-end handed to me embarrassingly because of the steep combat learning curve and the deep gameplay systems. And that’s mostly why the opening hours can be rough for someone, but needless to say, that intentionally slow and trial-and-error progression is exactly what makes the game so satisfying.
Quests can play out differently depending on what you’ve learned, who you’ve spoken to, or how prepared you are, while small details like needing to maintain your equipment, sleep cycle, hunger, or actually learning how to read make the world feel surprisingly grounded. It can be inconvenient, sure, but that inconvenience is also part of the charm.
Thankfully, now that enough time has passed since the initial launch, you can play the game with a whole next-gen patch along with the Royal Edition, allowing you to purchase a complete package with all five DLCs included. And if I may speak on that, I genuinely recommend playing this first game before diving straight into KCD2, no matter how polished or modernized it feels.
1
Dying Light
Critics: 74 | User Score: 8.0
One of my most-played games of all time is Dying Light; I even still boast about the full-blown coverage I did for Dying Light: The Beast as well, mainly because of how much I adore this series. I have an unparalleled appreciation for the original game, especially since most of my playtime comes from exploring Harran with my friends, including the DLC expansion. So it only felt right to wrap this list up by mentioning this game.
The biggest reason the user score makes sense to me is simply how good Dying Light feels to play. The hand-crafted parkour gives practically every rooftop, alleyway, and abandoned building a purpose, while the survival mechanics and crafting give me reasons to explore those spaces in the first place.
And then nighttime completely changes the mood. Suddenly, the same city I’ve been comfortably sprinting through all afternoon becomes somewhere I don’t necessarily want to be. That contrast is still one of my favourite things about the game. Just wish they kept the grappling hook the same in later entries, since spamming it to effortlessly reach high ground in a matter of seconds felt gloriously satisfying.
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10 Best Games With Near-Flawless Steam User Reviews
The people have spoken!