Open world RPGs are numerous and have very high quality licenses, such as the Bethesda saga The Elder Scrolls with its most emblematic title The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, all the Fallout games produced by the same studio, but also The Witcher and its famous The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a license adapted from the literary universe of the same name created by Andrzej Sapkowski, without forgetting the excellent Elden Ring and the medieval RPG from the Czech studio Warhorse Kingdom Come: Deliverance, with its sequel Kingdom Come: Deliverance II planned for release by the end of the year. However, there are some well-known but still unexplored universes that would deserve to have their open-world RPG adaptations.
#9 Planet of the Apes
Although we've already had a few games based on this universe, such as the very average Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier and the passable Crisis on the Planet of the Apes, this franchise based on the novel by Pierre Boulle has yet to provide us with a game worthy of the name. It would indeed be interesting to see an open-world RPG from this license, where you could choose to play as a human or a monkey and where you would have the opportunity to explore this futuristic universe. A universe where monkeys have taken over from humans and where the vestiges of the past, like the savagery of this post-apocalyptic world, can serve as the basis for many quests of all kinds, ranging from the simple search for resources, to fighting enemies in the remains of the old world, or even becoming the leader of his tribe (human or ape).
#8 Underworld
This B-movie saga is considered by many moviegoers to be entertainment without much plot interest. However, When we look a little closer at this universe, we discover a whole mythology that is much richer than many current film or game licenses. With a scientific origin for vampires and lycans (overpowered werewolves) and work on the history of the different factions that have been fighting for centuries, we have here a good foundation for a high-quality open-world RPG. Being able to take place centuries ago or even today, this game would offer quests deep in crypts, in snowy forests, castles or sewers. A lot of possibilities for a good open world!
#7 Pirates of the Caribbean
If at the base, it is a very popular attraction of the Disneyland parks which has its origins in the 60s, Pirates of the Caribbeanhas become since the 2000s a license for adventure films, where piracy rubs shoulders with the legends of the Seven Seas and where dangers come as much from the East India Company as from the depths of the oceans. With a few video games based around the films, but not really offering an RPG experience and even less of an open world, the pirate license would definitely deserve a game with a twist. the height of his films. We could start the adventure as a cabin boy and over the course of treasure hunts and collisions of all kinds, we would arrive at become a ship captain and even have your own fleet. So of course, there are a few pirate video games, but none with the mythology of Pirates of the Caribbean. The possibility of fighting cursed crews or even sea monsters would bring a supernatural dimension to the game. this RPG, which would greatly enrich the universe of the franchise. Furthermore, Turtle Island would allow for an MMO dimension, where players could be recruited by other captains, in order to successfully complete a treasure hunt, board a ship from the East India Company or free a prisoner.
#6 Westworld
Some might find little interest at first glance in adapting this universe into an open-world RPG, knowing the complexity of the series. However, this work, inspired by the 1973 film of the same name, is above all a story of androids who become more human than humans themselves. With no less than 6 theme parks, the possibilities are immense. If we also have a scenario that allows us to explore these different environments, with quests that are crazier than each other and the possibility of embodying a human or a “host”, the promise that an open-world RPG adapted from Westworld would make to us would simply be never seen before.
#5 Game of Thrones
Even though we had a few strategy games and also an RPG called Game of Thrones: A Game of Thrones released in 2012(one year after the series began airing) and even though this game offered us a new story within the universe of Westeros, it was not an open world like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released a year earlier and even less like the games we have today, on the scale of a The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or a Elden Ring. When we look at this universe, there is no shortage of quest subjects and just by embodying a small knight or even a simple squire, the possibilities of immersion are immense. Each period of the history of Westeros could have a dedicated game, in the style of the saga The Elder Scrolls; this is why it seems obvious to us that this license would largely deserve a new open-world RPG worthy of the name.
#4 Earthsea
A universe totally ignored by video game developers, Terremer is basically a literary cyclewritten by Ursula K. Le Guin between 1964 and 2018, where magic reigns supreme and everything has a common name as well as a “true” name, the knowledge of which grants power over that thing. With this world full of islands where the technological level corresponds to the Iron Age, but where the use of magic is a real science in decline, we have here an excellent foundation for an open-world RPG. Between quests galore on the different islands, the possibility of submitting everything to one's will by knowing one's “true” name, the mastery of powerful magic, there is no shortage of game mechanics for a game adapted from this fantasy universe.
#3 The Lord of the Rings
Yes, there are plenty of games in the J.R.R. Tolkien universe. Among them, we have had great successes like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, with its sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of Warand even an RPG that takes place at the same time as the events of Lord of the Rings, but no real open world game faithful to that. the original work. There is no need to explain how rich the world of Middle-earth is, both in environments and in quest possibilities. We could have the choice of our race and depending on that our starting place in the adventure would be different. Why not have a game that would take place in the Beleriand of the first age, or during the fall of Númenor and the rise of Sauron. The possibilities of this universe are immense and J.R.R. Tolkien, as the father of modern fantasy, would deserve to be paid a great tribute with an open world RPG that lives up to this universe.
#2 scAvengers reign
This science fiction universe is still new in France, but for the lucky ones who managed to watch this excellent animated series, the trip to the planet Vesta could only have left its mark. With a graphic style and themes reminiscent of comics like The Worlds of Aldebaran by Leo, a calm narration and a simply grandiose planet, Scavengers Reign transported us to the survivors of an interstellar freighter on a singular planet. If the series has not yet been renewed for a second season, we can easily imagine an open-world RPG set on this planet called Vesta. We would play an explorer who would evolve through his adventures in this wild world, where each animal and each plant can potentially give rise to a quest in its own right. It would therefore be a universe of possibilities that would open up to us and we would have there an open-world RPG that is exotic and never seen before.
#1 The Chronicles of Narnia
We have seen that the Middle-earth universe has not been given an open-world RPG worthy of the father of modern fantasy, but what about the The World of Narnia imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien's close friend, Clive Staples Lewis? Because if The Lord of the Rings has had a few video game adaptations, this is not the case for The World of Narnia. This second major work of 20th century fantasy is simply titanic in terms of storytelling potential for video games and even more so for an open-world RPG. With the Wood Between the Worlds, which allows those who access it to travel from one world to another – planet Earth, the world of Narnia, the world of Charn, for those we know – but also all the characters and creatures likely to take us on great quests within these worlds, without forgetting the whole spiritual dimension – very dear to C.S. Lewis – that would be brought to a game of this magnitude, we would undoubtedly have here the best open-world RPG adapted of a renowned license.
Tell us in the comments section which of these licenses you would most like to play in an open-world RPG, or if another license inspires you and to stay on the theme, don't miss discovering the 8 playable races of The Wayward Realms, the next game from the creators of The Elder Scrolls.