To celebrate 60 years of Doctor Who, Magic: The Gathering is releasing four ready-to-play Commander decks and a Collector Booster box (and individual packs) for Whovians to enjoy. They’re set to release this year on October 13, so you can pick them up before the show returns for the anniversary specials in November.
Below, you can find links to all of the Commander decks and Booster packs that are up for preorder on Amazon, along with where to pick up a Starter Kit if you’re new to the world of Magic!
Magic: The Gathering Starter Kit
For those who want to learn the basics of Magic, this is another excellent preorder to jump on. This 2023 two-player Starter Kit serves as an easy and fun introduction to the game with everything you need to learn how to play, including two ready-to-play decks and two codes to play online. It’s set to release on September 8, 2023, so you can have it before the new Doctor Who set drops, too.
Doctor Who Magic: The Gathering Collector Boosters
Magic: The Gathering has revealed a Doctor Who Collector Booster box of 12 packs and a single Collector Booster pack of 15 cards for the show’s anniversary. According to their website, the Collector Booster box features “your favorite Doctor Who characters with 12 boosters full of Rares (7-14 in every pack!), TARDIS Showcase frames, and more shiny foils than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at.” You can see links to both below.
Doctor Who Magic: The Gathering Commander Decks
And for those who want to jump right in, Magic: The Gathering has also revealed four ready-to-play Commander decks. These decks are called Masters of Evil, Blast From the Past, Timey-Wimey, and Paradox Power. According to MTG’s website, “each deck will contain 50 new cards and a new set of Planechase cards featuring famous locations from the Doctor Who universe.”
For more from the world of Magic: The Gathering, you can also preorder the brand new The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander decks, set boosters, jumpstart boosters, collector boosters, and more on Amazon. These are set to release on June 23 this year.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Pokemon Go developer Niantic is launching its first new IP in a decade: Peridot. The AR-focused, location-based pet simulator is out today for iOS and Android, and it looks to be a massive technological leap from Niantic’s previous AR and location-based endeavors.
Peridot puts each player in charge of a Peridot (or Dot), a cute and mythical creature that can be raised from a baby to an adult. Players pet, play with, walk, and train their Dot, each of which has its own completely unique appearance and “DNA” of sorts. Like a little Tamagotchi, Dots can express their needs for food and stimulation, and will grow as those needs are met.
Using Niantic’s Lightship platform, Dots can also dynamically interact with the real world, as unlike previous Niantic endeavors, the game is fully in AR. Dots are able to differentiate between different kinds of terrain, different objects, and even other humans and animals. Their movements in AR, at least from company-provided footage, also seem to be far more intelligent than what we’ve seen with Pokemon Go, with Dots moving realistically around obstacles and across distances. In my early hands-on time with Peridot, I’ve seen Dots jump onto chairs, desks, move behind furniture, chase balls under the couch, and even sit in a colleague’s open hands.
Aside from raising Dots, one of the main goals of Peridot is to “diversify the species” by breeding adult Dots with those of other players to create new Dots with new sets of unique DNA. Dots can be bred by working together with other players using Niantic’s social app, Campfire, to connect with other players and their Dots. Rare traits can be unlocked through various means, and Dots can take on different archtypes resembling mythical creatures and real animals, with new archtypes to be introduced during in-game events. However, while Peridot is free to play, it does cost real money to hatch each new Dot – you need an item called a “Nest” that costs $4.99. It is unclear if players will be able to acquire free Nests through events or other activities in the future.
Additionally, Peridot will include a feature called Amazon Anywhere, which integrates Amazon shopping to purchase Peridot merchandise in the real world through an in-game store.
Long-term, Niantic says its vision is to release Peridot not just on mobile devices, but eventually on future AR hardware, including wearable MR or AR glasses. Peridot is now available for download on iOS and Android devices.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
Metroid Prime: Remastered has sold one million copies since it launched in February while fellow Nintendo Switch titles Splatoon 3 and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have also hit major sales milestones.
Scarlet and Violet are still performing well compared to most Switch games, however, as they’re currently seventh on the list of best selling software behind only Super Mario Odyssey, Sword and Shield, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Animal Cross: New Horizons, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in first.
Splatoon 3 doesn’t quite crack the top ten but comes in at 14th place on the list of best selling first party titles, while Metroid Prime: Remastered currently sits in 22nd place. Regardless, both games are part of the million-sold club that only 23 first party Switch games are a part of so far.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
It’s almost summertime—(yeah, where has the time gone?!) As E3 is canceled, don’t fret; there will be plenty of exciting video game announcements and reveals to come this June. From IGN’s own Summer of Gaming event to the Xbox Showcase, be sure to mark your calendars accordingly so you don’t miss a beat. Here are 10 of the biggest events you can look forward to this summer, with more details to come!
Here’s a running list of every upcoming gaming event planned for June 2023
June 1-30 – IGN Summer of Gaming 2023
June 7 – Guerilla Collective Showcase
June 8 – Summer Game Fest
June 10 – Future Games Show
June 11 – Final Fantasy XVI Pre-Launch Celebration
June 11 – Xbox Showcase
June 11 – Starfield Direct
June 12 – Ubisoft Forward
June 11 – PC Gaming Show
June (TBD) – Upload VR Showcase
June (TBD) – Wholesome Direct
Possibly – Nintendo Direct
Possibly – Sony State of Play
June 1-30 – IGN Summer of Gaming
IGN’s Summer of Gaming is returning for its fourth year this June for a multi-day event filled with tons of game and developer content. IGN is excited to share exclusive reveals, interviews and more; (see what was announced last year). As part of our Summer of Gaming programming, tune in on June 8th for Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest stream and all of our analysis!
June 7 – Guerilla Collective Showcase
Guerilla Collective’s Showcase will officially kick off June’s games events on June 7th. If it’s anything like last year, there’s a “truckload” of announcements to expect. There were a whopping 40 new trailers and game announcements from Guerrilla Collective in 2022!
We’re proud to bring you the official date of the amazing Guerrilla Collective event we have planned this summer:
— Guerrilla Collective (@GuerrillaCollec) April 19, 2023
June 8 – Summer Game Fest
Summer Game Fest is still on for 2023, and has been confirmed for Thursday, June 8, Noon PT/3p ET. It’s once again a free livestream hosted by Geoff Keighley, with big partners and anticipated announcements to come throughout June 8th-9th. Be sure to check back here on IGN.com for the Summer Game Fest stream and catch our real-time reactions as part of June’s Summer of Gaming event!
See what’s next in video games when @summergamefest goes live!
Future Games Show (FGS) is still a go for June 10th and is one of Future’s three total gaming showcases of the year. If you’re wondering what Future Games Show is all about, FGS debuted in 2020 with a mission “to celebrate the most exciting, unusual and innovative upcoming games across all formats”. For June 2023, you can expect gameplay footage from indies and the like, with some new surprises and “tweaks to the show format” according to their site.
June 11 – Final Fantasy XVI Pre-Launch Celebration
Final Fantasy fans can anticipate a pre-launch celebration stream for FFXVI on June 11 at 3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. ET, hosted by Square Enix. More details to come, but you’ll definitely want to mark your calendars for this special sneak peek around the 16th chapter of this anticipated franchise release (June 22). Catch up on the latest Final Fantasy 16 Showcase from Sony State of Play.
June 11 – Xbox Showcase
As usual, Xbox will be hosting its summer showcase (and extended showcase again, perhaps?) this June. Here’s what went down last year with almost three dozen games announced during Microsoft’s event; from Starfield to Forza Motorsport to Redfall and more!
June 11 – Starfield Direct
Immediately following the Xbox Showcase will be Starfield Direct. After a couple of delays, Starfield is confirmed to launch in September 2023 for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and people are stoked!
According to PC Gamer’s announcement, the start time for the PC Gaming Show will be shared at a later date, and will be broadcast on Twitch and other platforms on June 11th.
June 12 – Ubisoft Forward
See the latest from Ubisoft during their livestream on June 12th. Ahead of the event, catch up on everything announced from Ubisoft Forward in Fall 2022 to give you an idea of what’s to come still. Reveals in September 2022 included a sneak peek into the future of Assassin’s Creed, Rayman coming to Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, and Skull and Bones Trailer showing ship customization to name a few.
June 14 – Upload VR Showcase
While last year’s summer showcase contained several announcements for the Meta Quest 2 and major VR headsets, this showcase should focus on VR games. Although we’re not likely to get any new VR headset announcements, if VR is your jam, you’ll want to see what VR games will be announced. Timing TBD.
June (TBD) – Wholesome Direct
You can expect truly wholesome aesthetics shown again this year at the Wholesome Direct event, including new trailers in tandem with new release dates and windows. 2022’s Wholesome Direct event showed off 90+ games in total, with three new games announced including Bubblegum Galaxy. What new cozy games can we look forward to this time around?
With a new, big release coming up on May 12th for Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it’s hard to imagine what fans will care about even more than Zelda come June! This event is TBD at the moment, but there were a ton of announcements from September’s Nintendo Direct event to recap if you need an idea of what news comes from these showcases.
(Unconfirmed) – Sony State of Play
Although unconfirmed for now, if Sony comes through again with a showcase in June, we’re likely to see a handful of new reveals for PSVR2 and PS5, along with new character reveals and new looks at upcoming releases like we did in February’s State of Play event. Earlier this year, we got the news about new Street Fighter 6 fighters and saw new Suicide Squad gameplay to name a couple of the bigger highlights.
What are you hoping to see this summer from these gaming events? Let us know in the comments.
Capcom announced that it will be hosting an open beta for Street Fighter 6 from May 19-21. It will contain the same content as the closed beta test from December 2022 and the released version will be updated with further character balances.
Those who want to participate in the open beta will need to register a Capcom ID and link their desired platform, as PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S are included. The available playable characters are Luke, Jamie, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Kimberly, Juri, and Ken. The available stages include Metro City Downtown, Genbu Temple, Carrier Byron Taylor, Tian Hong Yuan, Macho Ring, and Training Room.
You’ve all been asking!
Play the Open Beta for #StreetFighter6 from May 19-21. Experience the content from Closed Beta Test #2, including 8 characters and various ways to play online!
There are also a variety of different modes to play online with, such as ranked matches, casual matches, open tournaments, and more. Additionally, cross-play functionality will let players from separate platforms enjoy the game with each other.
Street Fighter 6 will continue to be supported following its launch on June 2. Rashid from Street Fighter 5 will start off the game’s first year of DLC characters starting in the summer and newcomer A.K.I. will join in November. Ed from Street Fighter 4 and Akuma from Street Fighter II Turbo will be added in Winter 2024 and Spring 2024, respectively.
In IGN’s Street Fighter 6 final preview, we said, “Street Fighter 6 is shaping up to be the whole package, and certainly the most fully featured a Street Fighter game has ever been at the beginning of its lifecycle.”
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
GEC.inc announced on Twitter today that it has ported Doom 2 RPG to PC. Originally released in early 2010 for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the Doom 2 RPG is set one year after the events of the first game. It focuses on group consisting of two space Marines and a scientist investigating a demon-infested research facility on the Earth’s moon.
Doom 1 & 2 RPG stands out from the rest of the series, known for fast-paced first-person shooting and a lot of gory demon-slaying antics. In contrast, the Doom RPG games still take place in the first-person perspective, but utilizes turn-based RPG mechanics.
While there is a store listing on the app store for Doom 2 RPG, it is not playable on recent versions of iOS. Even searching for the game on the App Store, you won’t find it. However, the store listing on a web browser notes that it will run on Macs that have macOS 11.0 installed and are powered with an Apple processor such as the M1 chip.
In our original review for Doom 2 RPG, which we gave an 8, IGN’s Levi Buchanan noted that Doom 2 RPG’s battles “come fast and furious but are paced well with story segments and puzzle play.
Doom 2 RPG’s PC port is available on DoomWorld, at no cost, and GEC.inc confirmed the port supports touchscreen behavior like the original version of the game, with support for gamepads like an Xbox wireless controller.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
I don’t have to tell you The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom comes out May 12, because the very subject of this article self-selects people who already know that. I also don’t have to tell you about how the Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED model is still available pretty much everywhere, but the Tears of the Kingdom Pro Controller and the Tears of the Kindgom Collector’s Edition sold out fast and probably aren’t coming back.
But hey, at least you can still get the Tears of the Kingdom Link amiibo, right?
Well, yes. You can get the Tears of the Kingdom amiibo at Best Buy and GameStop, but it’s already sold out at Amazon. And those Link amiibo reprints? They’re also hard to come by. In fact, pretty much everything The Legend of Zelda-related seems to be in short supply (other than the OLED Switch, which is both hugely popular and widely available).
As an excercise in torture, I guess, I went ahead and built up a list of every Legend of Zelda amiibo, ever, and threw in links (pun intended) where you can see them for sale and decide not to buy them. Well, I take that back: you’re free to buy them, but with very rare exceptions they’re all two or more times their original price. People don’t even know what role amiibo might play in Tears of the Kingdom, but just in case, they’re buying them anyway.
Every Legend of Zelda amiibo
Link (Super Smash Bros. Series) November 20, 2014
Zelda (Super Smash Bros. Series) December 14, 2014
Shiek (Super Smash Bros. Series) February 1, 2015
Toon Link (Super Smash Bros. Series) February 1, 2015
Ganondorf (Super Smash Bros. Series) September 11, 2015
Wolf Link (The Legend of Zelda Series) March 4, 2016
Link: Ocarina of Time (The Legend of Zelda Series) December 2, 2016
Link: 8-Bit Link (The Legend of Zelda Series) December 2, 2016
Toon Link: Wind Waker (The Legend of Zelda Series) December 2, 2016
Zelda: Wind Waker (The Legend of Zelda Series) December 2, 2016
Bokoblin (The Legend of Zelda Series) March 3, 2017
Guardian (The Legend of Zelda Series) March 3, 2017
Link Archer (The Legend of Zelda Series) March 3, 2017
Link Rider (The Legend of Zelda Series) March 3, 2017
Zelda (The Legend of Zelda Series) March 3, 2017
Link: Majora’s Mask (The Legend of Zelda Series) June 23, 2017
Link: Skyward Sword (The Legend of Zelda Series) June 23, 2017
Link: Twilight Princess (The Legend of Zelda Series) June 23, 2017
Daruk (The Legend of Zelda Series) November 10, 2017
Mipha (The Legend of Zelda Series) November 10, 2017
Revali (The Legend of Zelda Series) November 10, 2017
Urbosa (The Legend of Zelda Series) November 10, 2017
Young Link (Super Smash Bros. Series) April 11, 2019
Link: Link’s Awakening (The Legend of Zelda Series) September 20, 2019
Zelda and Loftwing (The Legend of Zelda Series) July 16, 2021
Link: Tears of the Kingdom (The Legend of Zelda Series) May 12, 2023
Will There be More Tears of the Kingdom Amiibo?
So far, the Link Tears of the Kingdom amiibo is the only new amiibo we know of for the new Zelda game. However, if you look at the release schedule of the amiibo around Breath of the Wild, you see a whole lot more than just one. Either Nintendo has a bunch more scheduled, and they’re afraid of spoiling the game, or they just won’t make any more than one. I’m leaning towards the first possibility myself. Time will tell.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases this Friday, May 12 (yes, the day is so close!), and for those who want to get their hands on a guide to help them explore every inch of it, both the Standard and Collector’s Edition Official Guides are now up for preorder with a release date of June 16, 2023.
With these, you’ll have a detailed overview of Hyrule, a helpful walkthrough to get you through the game, and much more. Not only that, but they have gorgeous covers as well, especially the Collector’s Edition. The Standard Edition is available for $29.99 and the Collector’s Edition runs for $44.99. You can find preorder links to both Editions on Amazon below.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – The Complete Official Guide: Collector’s Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – The Complete Official Guide: Standard Edition
In the lead-up to Tears of the Kingdom’s release this week, you still have time to jump on preorders for various collector’s items as well. If amiibo are up your alley, you can still preorder a variety of reprinted Link amiibo alongside the latest amiibo release of Link for the new game. As far as the reprints go, there’s a Majora’s Mask Link amiibo, Twilight Princess Link amiibo, and Ocarina of Time Link amiibo that you can still preorder.
And, more importantly, if you’re still looking to preorder the game itself, head to our preorder guide here to see every retailer that’s carrying it. Not only that, but in this preorder guide you can also still find links to the gorgeous new Tears of the Kingdom-themed Switch OLED, which is available at a variety of different retailers, and the Tears of the Kingdom Switch carrying case.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Are you tired of searching every nook and cranny in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for hidden collectibles? You can change that by obtaining secret map upgrades by completing challenging exploration puzzles, Jedi Meditation Chambers, and complex Rumors. These map upgrades will display all unfound Seed Pods, Chests, Upgrades, Databanks, and Treasures on your Holomap.
While map upgrades are worthy of seeking out, understanding exactly how to get to collectibles will still bring its challenges, so be sure to check out our Collectibles Guide, where you’ll find detailed descriptions for locating all Cosmetic Chests, Stims, Databanks, Essences, and more, that can be found across the planets of Coruscant, Koboh, Jedha, and Shattered Moon.
Before continuing, please keep in mind that the following guide will contain minor spoilers, such as mission names, locations, and unlocked abilities, so proceed with caution.
While exploring the Phon’Qi Caverns, you’ll discover a terminal at the very bottom of the cavern that BD-1 can slice to unlock the Chests map upgrade. This upgrade will uncover all unfound Chests, Stim Upgrades, and BD-1 Upgrades on your Holomap.
Prerequisites: Plant all ten species of plants and unlock all gardening plots.
Location: Plyoon’s Saloon, Koboh
After recruiting Pili Walde, the Gardener from Jedha, you’ll unlock the ability to start planting the Seeds you have discovered throughout your journey. Once you have planted all ten species of Seeds and unlocked all available gardening plots, BD-1 will be able to access the terminal that’s found by the water feature, which will no longer be covered in vines. Upon interacting with the terminal, you’ll unlock the Seed Pods map upgrade.
You can learn more about the requirements to unlock all plots in our Gardening Guide.
Location: Alignment Control Center, Untamed Downs – Koboh.
Upon completing all seven Jedi Meditation Chambers, make your way to the Untamed Downs and enter the Alignment Control Center, where you’ll find that all the mysterious computer screens have now turned green. Opposite these screens, have BD-1 slice the newly unlocked terminal, where you’ll gain access to the Upgrades map, which will display all unfound upgrades on your Holomap.
After completing all three ruin puzzles on Jedha, you’ll unlock the ability to access the Central Ruins, where you’ll find an elevator leading to the Wayfinder’s Tomb.
Inside the tomb is a terminal BD-1 can slice, earning you the Treasures map upgrade, which uncovers all unfound Priorite Shards, Jedha Scrolls, and Datadiscs on your Holomap.
After defeating Lank Denvik during the main mission, Nova Garon – Locate the Traitor, head right of his desk, where you’ll find a terminal that BD-1 can slice.
Upon doing so, you’ll unlock the Databanks map upgrade, which will display all unfound Databank entries on your Holomap.
It’s an incredible feeling when you’re fully immersed in an open world game. Whether it’s the vast wild west or sprawling magical worlds, there’s so much to take in and explore and interact with. This year will see the arrival of even more exciting new ones to play in as well, from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Starfield. But jumping into a new open world game often requires you to set aside an abundance of time to work through it, and if you don’t have 50 hours to devote to a new save, it helps to know about shorter open world games to play that won’t take up too much of your time.
In this list, we’ve collected the top 12 shortest open world games, according to How Long to Beat, to help you find something quick to get through. To complete their main stories, these games range from a little over an hour long to around seven hours. They offer a wide variety of experiences as well, from short and sweet indies to stellar action-packed expansions for games you already know and love. Starting from the shortest open world game on How Long to Beat’s site, here’s our list of the 12 shortest open world games to play in 2023.
Time to beat: 1h 20m, on average, for the Main Story
Platforms: Available on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita (Note: sadly not on PS Store)
If you’ve got an hour to kill and are looking for something simple to pass the time, look no further than Proteus. This game just requires you to roam around, listen to the sounds of the world around you, and watch the season’s change. Our review called it a, “a joyous experiment in exploration from start to finish – even if it is a very, very short-lived one.” They also explain that there’s “a beauty in Proteus’ unmatched simplicity,” which makes it a great fit for those who just want to sit back, relax, and take in its pixelated scenery. It’ll only take you a little over an hour to complete as well.
In a similar vein of simple (and very, very short) open world games, Copoka is a little indie that takes you on a journey where you play as a bird flying around a city. You can also listen in on the conversations unfolding in the city below, but it’s mainly for flying around and exploring. Its main story only takes around an hour and a half to complete, or two hours if you feel like completing it in full, so you can easily cross it off your list in an evening.
From playing a bird to playing a lynx, Shelter 2 has you playing as a mother lynx trying to protect her babies in the snowy wilderness. It boasts a lovely art style and a big open world to roam around in, with a main story that’ll take you about two hours to complete. If you want to be a completionist with it, though, it takes (on average) upwards of 13 hours to accomplish everything in it.
Have you ever wanted to be a photographer for dogs? I mean, who wouldn’t want to be? And thankfully, Pupperazzi gives you the opportunity to do just that. Roam around its open world and take pictures of all the sweet pups that you come across while building your career along the way. It’s a quick play as well, only taking a little over two hours on average to finish its main story, so you can easily spend an evening perfecting your photography skills while petting cute dogs. Perfect, right?
And, if you feel like leaving the world of dog photography behind, perhaps you’ll be interested in a game like Sludge Life, where you play as a tagger named Ghost. In this game, your open world playground is a polluted island that’s yours to explore and make a name for yourself. The main story will only take around two and a half hours to complete, but if you feel like completing all that Sludge Life has to offer, it’ll take you close to five hours.
For when you get tired of Sludge Life’s pollution, you can find fresher air in Grow Home. This is a sweet and short little game where you play as a robot named BUD (which stands for Botanical Utility Droid) who’s on a mission to save his home planet. Upon release, our review stated that it’s “not particularly long, or dense, or even deep,” but it’s “completely comfortable in its own skin, and that makes it a joy to play.” It won’t take too terribly long to complete, either, as the main story runs for a little over two and a half hours, while getting 100% will take you about eight hours.
If you long to explore more planets, Lost Nova follows a young adventurer named Mia who crash lands on an alien planet and finds her ship in need of repair. Throughout the game, you’ll explore the planet, make new friends, and salvage materials, craft, and trade to repair your ship. To complete the main story, you’ll need just over three hours, and if you want to see all that Lost Nova has to offer, it’ll take you around seven hours.
If adorable characters win you over easily, you’re sure to love the titular Lil Gator from Lil Gator Game. This ridiculously cute adventure game sees you roaming around and exploring a small island where you can make new friends and beat up cardboard baddies that get in your way. It was even our Game of the Month on IGN Plus in March! It’ll only take you around three and a half hours to complete the main story, but if you feel like going for a full 100% playthrough, it’ll take you a little over five hours.
If you crave an open world game with a lot more action than Lil Gator Game, look no further than Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. This standalone expansion for Far Cry 3 is one wild ride, with our review at the time explaining that, “Nobody in their right mind would create something as wonderfully absurd as Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – so I’m glad someone in charge at Ubisoft is at least a little nuts.” In this game, play as Sergeant Rex “Power” Colt and save the world. It’ll take you just over four and a half hours for the main story and roughly nine hours to complete everything.
While not as action-heavy as Far Cry, No Straight Roads: Encore Edition still offers some exciting gameplay. This little game drops you into Vinyl City, where you’ll form a rock band to take down the EDM Empire, NSR. It also features rhythm-infused combat that’ll keep you on your toes as you battle each district’s boss. The main story will take you around five hours to complete, and going all-in on this battle of the bands for 100% completion will take you around 24 hours.
In keeping with the action genre, Retro City Rampage DX has plenty to offer but in 8-BIT form. This game parodies games like the Grand Theft Auto series and comes complete with a full Story Mode, over 60 missions, over 40 arcade challenges, and much more. It’s a big world to explore, but won’t take up too much of your time. The main story only takes around five and a half hours, while 100% completion will take around eighteen and a half hours.
This remake of 2005’s Shadow of the Colossus is a fantastic, must-play open world game for those wanting something short and thrilling to dig into. It was awarded a 9.7 from us upon release, with our reviewer calling it “outstanding” thanks to “improved controls, performance, and sheer graphical beauty.” Its main story will only take you just over seven hours to complete, but if you want to go in for a full completionist playthrough, it’ll take you roughly twenty six hours.
Best Reviewed Short Open World Games
While it’s rare for games to reach as high as Shadow of the Colossus’ 9.7, there are other games on this list that still earned high review scores. Proteus, for instance, earned an 8.5 from us and was praised as “a beautiful getaway from gaming traditions.” Grow Home is another that earned an 8.8 due to its “charming personality, feel-good physics, and satisfying controls”.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon also earned high praise from us in the form of an 8, with our reviewer calling it “a nutty, hilarious shooter you deserve to play.” The expansion remains one of the best Far Cry games and beloved in the franchise as well, making it well worth your time to play.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
