Best Open-World game that lets you explore freely from the start

Tutorials are a necessary evil sometimes, but not everyone wants to be told exactly how to play the game. It can be more fun to jump right into the world and just start exploring, even if it's risky, and some of the best games with systems and worlds that allow for this are Minecraft, Kenshiand No Man's Sky. You're not forced to watch long cutscenes or engage in lots of busy work. Go wherever you want, at your own risk.

If that sounds like the best time for you, then follow along as we discover other games that also let you in right away without too much fuss. Some of them may have a bit of an intro section, while others explain absolutely nothing to you, and even push you to rely on wikis for information.

Fresh off the boat and ready to explore

One of the fastest starts in recent memory Elder scrolls game is without a doubt Morrowindthe third part. You arrive in the province by boat, go through a quick character creation section where you also get to pick up some items, and as soon as you leave the offices you're pretty much free to go anywhere.

There are very few restrictions, in typical Bethesda tradition, but you'll probably have a hard time going anywhere without proper weapons and gear. Still, if you're not a fan of the longer intro sections that take place in Oblivion's prisons and i Skyrim's The weekend, this is the perfect choice for you. In addition, Morrowinds the world is unparalleled, and is arguably one of the more exotic environments we've seen so far Elder scrolls game.

No Man's Sky

Spawn in and start your adventure Starside

No Man's Sky has a very sandbox-like beginning. You spawn in, your color activates, and you're pretty much free to do whatever you want. There are of course some initial tasks that pop up when you get started that you should take care of, but for the most part you're completely free to do whatever you want.

Go and explore the planet you are on in more detail, collect resources and start building right away. Or you can get on your boat and head out to explore the stars and see all the universe has to offer. No Man's Sky has grown a lot since its rocky release, so there's no shortage of things to see and do, and you're free to tell the kind of story you want about your own exploration.

Project Zomboid

Choose your spawn location and start the survival games

The advantage of Project Zomboid is that its tutorial is completely optional, and if you really wanted to jump in blindly, you absolutely could. Would I recommend it? Probably not. The tutorial is short and gives you basic information that barely scratches the surface, so complete it before exploring the game's default sandbox difficulty. You choose your profession, your spawn location, as well as your difficulty level, and from there it's game play.

Your only job is to just survive in this big open world against a horde of zombies, gather resources and deal with the threat that water and electricity will eventually be cut off all over Knox Country. If you want to stay alive in the long term, it's better to establish yourself quickly and start scavenging for equipment, food, water and materials, while building up your skills. The world of Project Zomboid is huge, and you need a car to get around efficiently. Once you find a couple of keys and get enough gas, the whole world is your oyster.

Minecraft

Instantly explore an endless procedurally generated world

Mojang's darling needs no introduction. Minecraft is pretty much the ultimate exploration sandbox game, a title that has served as a blueprint for many who followed in its footsteps. Loading a world produces a random seed for you, with biomes and structures arranged differently each time you start a new game. Even better, the world is infinite. You can continue for thousands of blocks if your machine can handle it.

With each update, the game has added new structures, mobs and things to do, so how you experience the game and go about playing it is up to you. Exploration is one of the more exciting things to do, with dungeons and huge underground caverns filled with ores to find. And that's without mentioning the other two dimensions and the riches and enemies they have to challenge you. It's a game known for not holding your hand or telling you what to do, and immediately dropping you into exploration as soon as you spawn in.

Outer Wilds

Once you've launched your spaceship, you're free

Although there is a bit of an intro section in the Outer Wildsit doesn't take very long to get through it. And once you do, you're pretty much free to do whatever you want and go wherever you want. There's an entire solar system out there, and as an astronaut of your kind, your main job is to explore it and see what you can find. Very quickly you realize that something is not right.

The whole system is actually stuck in a time loop that sends you back to the beginning at the end of each day. Each loop you try to piece together the mystery to reveal what's really going on. All exploration and mystery fans will fall in love with this game and how little it holds your hand. Go into it without any spoilers or cheats, and it will be a game to remember.

Kenshi

Spawn in and get instantly ganked

If you are not afraid to face a challenge and possible major setbacks from the beginning, Kenshi is the perfect open world game for your exploration needs. You're basically dropped in after creating your character, and you can do and go wherever you want. Now, whether to go where you want is another matter, like the world of Kenshi is known to be punishing for players who jump in blindly.

It doesn't explain anything to you, nor does it point you in any specific direction. That said, if you're constantly annoyed by how fiddly some games can get these days, Kenshi is the perfect palette cleanser for you, as it will respect your ability to figure things out on your own, usually through brutal trial and error.

7 days to die

Just like Project Zomboid, you are free to try and survive right away

7 days to die is a zombie survival game that is basically exactly what the title suggests: a race to survive before the Blood Moon that rises every seven days. You've found yourself in a huge world full of cool places to raid and explore, and potential shelters and terrain to build your own base in.

In the beginning, you basically spawn in almost naked, with nothing to your name and sheer willpower as your sharpest tool. While there are a few things to prioritize first for an ideal start, technically you can just wander out there and figure it all out on your own terms to see if you could reasonably survive a zombie apocalypse, come the seven-day horde. Bonus points if you have friends with you, as things get even more fun in co-op while you explore and build.

Fire Ring

Tutorial? Only if you want!

Fire Ring has a mandatory starting section, which is extremely short and teleports you to Limgrave after you fail to kill your first boss. Then, in Limgrave, it's very easy to miss the actual, real tutorial part of the game if you never drop into the cave below. You can just walk past and go straight into the Lands Between. In fact, you can go straight to Margit, the game's first big boss, if you want, without doing any preparation at all.

That's the beauty of this game: you get to choose where to go, although the world is full of powerful enemies far stronger and more cunning than you (at least in the beginning), so you may want to focus on exploring and unlocking some necessary equipment as much as possible (as well as your trusty stronghold, the Tower). Still, it's always nice to know you can start a new game quickly and just get into things without going through a long intro section.