Nothing beats ignoring an open-world game's narrative and spending inordinate amounts of time walking around and messing with the environment. We're not even kidding. What else are you supposed to do with an open-world game? Bum-rush the main story beats?

Related: Most Anticipated RPGs Coming In 2022

Most open-world titles are a significant time investment, something you sink hours into. The release of one of these gargantuan games guarantees your days will be booked for weeks to come. As such, we here at TheGamer choose what open-world titles we play with great care (and great anticipation, clearly). So if you don't know what open-world game should absorb all your time in 2022, we've got you covered. Read on to check out our most anticipated open-world games of 2022.

The Sequel To The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

By Michael Christopher

BOTW2

As a lifelong, hardcore Zelda fan, I remember tearing up when one of the first trailers for BotW came out and I saw the Master Sword in its pedestal. I'm not ashamed of that.

Very rarely do games capture the magic feeling that the first Breath of the Wild did. It was only inevitable that the game would eventually receive a sequel, and after what feels like an eternity, that sequel is set for a 2022 release.

There are plenty of reasons why I, and many other people, are ecstatic about the upcoming sequel. But the main reason is this: BotW is still fun. All these years later, I can still go back to it and feel just as happy and satisfied while running around an open-world Hyrule as I did in the early days of its release. There's some indescribable magic to BotW, and even though I can't always quite put into words exactly what it is, there have been few games that have ever come close to matching it in the years since. Knowing that there's a whole new adventure coming, set in the same world, and giving me an opportunity to experience that thrill all over again with new features and more? That's a rare pleasure, and one I cannot wait to have in 2022.

Saints Row

By Sam Hallahan

SAINTS_ROW_characters stood together by wall

From the Third Street Saints to the presidential brand-centric rulers, Saints Row has always stood out. What started as a game tackling the Grand Theft Auto genre soon stood on its own, with oh so much personality behind it. I have always loved this series, but you have to admit, it became a little too much in Saints Row 4.

With the announcement of a reboot set for 2022, I couldn’t be more excited for the return of the Saints — and in what looks to be their best entry yet. For me, this new origin of the Saints looks like the perfect mix of Saints Row 2 and Saints Row The Third, both being the strongest points of the overall series. The games have always strived for freedom and customization, and the devs have stuck to this for the new game. We’re back to hectic fun and street gangs — no more intergalactic, superpower-fuelled, alien invasion simulations. Yeah, maybe Saints Row 4 was way too much.

Horizon Forbidden West

By Issy van der Velde

horizon forbidden west gamescom

I know Stacey already wrote about this as her most anticipated RPG of 2022, but a game can be two things. Among the endless scores of open-world releases, none of them pulled me in more masterfully than Horizon Zero Dawn did. I famously struggle to finish these types of games due to the sheer abundance of side quests that all detract from the main, often urgent, narrative, but Horizon is different. Its story is so fascinating to me that I ignored everything else and rushed the whole thing in a few sittings.

Related: Most Anticipated Indie Games Coming In 2022

I’m excited to see where Forbidden West picks up, and can’t wait to learn more about the ruined world Aloy traverses. The first game looked inward, at Aloy and how she and the world came to be — now it’s time to find out what her place in it is. Also, more giant robot dinosaurs. Who doesn’t love those?

Forspoken

By Ryan Bamsey

Forspoken Visuals On PS5
via Square Enix
Forspoken Visuals On PS5

I can’t say I play very many open-world games, but there is one that I am incredibly excited about and it is Forspoken. When it was first teased, many theorized that it would be the next Final Fantasy and that was enough to sell me on it. And while it isn’t joining that illustrious series, it’s still looking extremely promising – especially seeing as it’s coming from the same development team that gave us Final Fantasy 15.

Not much has been revealed about Forspoken as of yet, but we know three important things. First, it’s an open-world RPG with an emphasis on fast movement. Second, its protagonist is a young woman from New York thrust into a magical world who gets a talking bracelet. And third, it looks stunning. Seriously, the game looks like it’s dripping with polish. I have every confidence that Luminous Productions will deliver a fantastic product and I can’t wait to play it.

Dragon Age 4

By Meg Pelliccio

A screenshot of Solas in Dragon Age 4

Dragon Age 4 is arguably going to be the most highly anticipated game in the series to date. The main reason for this is that although both Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 had some unresolved plot points, Inquisition had a pretty hefty cliffhanger moment of 'Oh, by the way, your ally Solas is actually the elven god Fen'Harel and he kind of made the events of Inquisition happen'. Yeah, we were all pretty shocked, despite the rather obvious clue of Solas being in the place of Judas in the homage to the last supper scene on the back of the game case.

The Trespasser post-launch DLC seemingly set Solas up as the 'big bad' of Dragon Age 4 as he reveals his plans to tear down the veil and destroy the world as we know it, but I'm not actually convinced he will be the main enemy in the sequel. Either way, I can't wait to catch up with Solas — even though it will be as a completely different protagonist — and try and convince him he is being a wally and should stop. Additionally, Dragon Age 4 will be the first time we get to check out Tevinter, which has been referenced in all games to date, and maybe this means we'll also catch up with Dorian too (another favourite of mine).

I think Dragon Age 4 is going to be a great mix of old elements and brand new surprises for players, and I can't wait to see how Bioware has built upon the success of Inquisition. I'm ready to get lost in a brand new map that I spend far too much time in doing optional side quests while the world is on the brink of disaster. And there better be Nugs too.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

By Stacey Henley

Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad game

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has Harley Quinn in it, which makes it the game of the year. MultiVersus also has Harley Quinn in it, but — fun fact! — it looks bad, meaning it's out of the running. Suicide Squad however looks excellent, with Rocksteady building upon the Arkhamverse it established with the Batman: Arkham trilogy. Batman's adventures introduced a form of hand-to-hand combat that has been mimicked multiple times but never improved upon, and if anyone is going to do it, you'd expect it to be Rocksteady itself.

Related: Most Anticipated Horror Games Coming In 2022

The tone seems a little off for Arkham, sure. For one thing, this game seems to have colours beyond black, darker black, and even darker black. It's also not perpetually raining. That aside, this Harley doesn't seem all that much like the Arkham Harley, but seven years on since Arkham Knight, I don't think anyone is expecting a faithful sequel that ties everything together. Certainly I'm not, and no one else really matters now, do they? We haven't seen much of Suicide Squad yet, but you get to a) be Harley Quinn and b) beat up Green Lantern, so that's all I need to know.

Elden Ring

By James Troughton

Mount Combat in Elden Ring

Most-anticipated open worlds, eh? This list wouldn't be complete without Elden Ring — it just so happens I managed to nab it first. FromSoftware has a formula perfected that all its games have been following since Demon's Souls; we saw it in Bloodborne and even Sekiro despite them dropping the Souls moniker.

But how many times can you slightly alter that formula before it gets dull? Bloodborne lowered the pool of weapons, opting to make each one more interesting, and it upped aggression in combat; Sekiro emphasized story, stealth, duels, and singleplayer, stretching the Souls formula to its limits — it got tough. But FromSoftware is due a real shake-up. After all, the state of the studio's work before Demon's was very different, albeit familiar — just look at their dungeon crawler, King's Field, a tough-as-nails RPG.

That's what Elden Ring is. It's FromSoftware's next Demon's Souls, a game that could redefine the studio's future. Taking the Souls formula and applying it to a less linear, more open environment is exciting because it's a complete juxtaposition to the tight-knit, Metroidvania-like levels of past games. That's what creates the potential to push Souls to the next level, and I can't wait to see it in action.

Dying Light 2

By George Foster

Dying Light 2 is exciting for many reasons, but chief among them is its open world and how you get around it. Beyond being infested with zombies, what sets Dying Light apart from the rest of the pack is its focus on first-person parkour and how you can use it in both movement and combat. One minute you're leaping between buildings, and the next you're dropkicking a zombie off a banister. One's just as awesome as the other. The original game proved how well this concept works and Dying Light 2 looks to evolve it in key ways while introducing a whole new world to explore — here's hoping it sticks the landing.

DokeV

By Harry Alston

DokeV open world

What to say about DokeV? Pronounced "doh-keh-vee", maybe, it's an open-world creature-collecting game (you collect Dokebi) with outstanding graphics and a skateboard. It also appeared almost totally out of the blue. You probably remember its catchy trailer music that went something like: "I wanna be a rockstar, chickytowchickytee." Developed by the team at Pearl Abyss, who developed the ongoing MMORPG Black Desert, we really have no idea what this game is about. First glimpses suggest that it is an action-adventure game with a branching storyline and an open world full of different activities for you and your Dokebi. The open-world Pokemon game we've all been waiting for? Move over Arceus, there's a new challenger in town. Except...we don't really know when this game is coming out. 2022? 2023? Uh. We're not sure. Hopefully 2022, though.

Next: Video Game Release Dates 2022