5 Expansive Fantasy Games to Fill the Elden Ring Gap

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In many instances, games struggle to balance action-combat with immersion into the story, lore, and environment. However, Elden Ring stands out as one of the rare exceptions that effortlessly achieves this balance while also embracing open-world mechanics. This strategic move by FromSoftware not only broadens gameplay possibilities but also offers players a rich tapestry to explore and get lost within.

In today’s contemporary gaming landscape, there’s a noticeable decrease in the prevalence of extensive open-world fantasy projects compared to the past. The period where gamers boasted about the expansive maps of fantasy games appears to have faded away, leaving fans of Elden Ring yearning for another game that captures its immersive world feel as effectively. Here are five games that can satisfy your craving for open-world fantasy adventures until the next FromSoftware masterpiece emerges, promising another engrossing experience.

5. Outward

Introduced in 2022, the game titled “Outward” is a fantasy adventure that takes inspiration from the Souls series and offers an immersive exploration of the world Aurai. Players can embark on this journey either solo or with a companion in co-op mode. The game’s map is expansive, and those familiar with “Elden Ring” will appreciate its challenging nature and flexible character builds that allow for diverse playstyles, as players are able to navigate the world freely according to their chosen build.

Without a doubt, one of the standout aspects of Outward is its cooperative play feature, which even provides the uncommon choice of split-screen local co-op. Though it may not shine as brightly as Elden Ring in terms of polish, it successfully captures a comparable atmosphere.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

While some might have initially doubted if a title from The Legend of Zelda series could be comparable, both “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” exhibit a discovery and world ambiance reminiscent of Soulslike games. In contrast to Elden Ring, the combat and puzzle-solving in these games are more straightforward and user-friendly. The bosses are less challenging, creating an immersive fantasy exploration that is less daunting. Players who appreciated the world-building aspect of Elden Ring but found it too demanding might find themselves deeply engaged in this experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is widely acclaimed for its intricate open-world design, making it seem unlikely that the series will revert to its previous methods following this game’s success. Similar to Elden Ring, players are immersed in a sprawling open landscape with minimal direction, offering them complete autonomy in deciding their approach.

3. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

At its core, the allure of Elden Ring lies in its emphasis on player choice, a factor that sets it apart from its predecessors and makes it truly stand out. In comparison, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt provides action-oriented combat within a fantasy realm whose course can be altered by the player’s decisions. The game boasts non-linear elements, enabling players to tackle tasks in their preferred sequence, although certain regions remain inaccessible until advancement in the primary storyline is achieved.

Though not as expansive as some other open-world games, The Witcher 3 boasts a vast play area that easily keeps players exploring. More significantly, its captivating characters and world development ensure a deeply immersive experience. Even today, fans of The Witcher 3 continue to uncover new content after countless hours invested.

2. Dragon’s Dogma 2

In the sequel known as “Dragon’s Dogma 2,” players guide a group of “agents” through perilous encounters with fearsome beasts, embodying the unique role of the “Chosen One,” who possesses the power to command other agents and is fated to confront the dragon. While the combat mechanics vary, the game shares similarities with “Elden Ring,” particularly in its atmosphere, and it often incorporates the term “Deity” into its items and narrative occurrences.

Dragon’s Dogma 2, although not strictly following the Soulslike format, retains the same essence in its expansive world. The game offers versatile character builds by merging various classes, known as vocations, providing a unique twist. Managing a team of pawns gives rise to a multitude of combat approaches, empowering players to mix and match skills to invent innovative strategies for vanquishing adversaries.

1. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Without a doubt, Skyrim isn’t known for Soulslike combat, an aspect often criticized by critics. Yet, when it comes to captivating and immersive fantasy open worlds, it’s challenging to find any game that surpasses Skyrim. Since its debut in 2011, no other fantasy game has managed to approach its alluring replayability or the promise of total player freedom. It rightfully holds a distinguished position among the top Bethesda games.

If you found yourself immersed for hours in Elden Ring, then Skyrim might be the ultimate challenge that even Elden Ring can’t conquer. In 2012, Todd Howard declared during a keynote address that over 10 million players had dived into Skyrim, averaging an impressive 75 hours of gameplay each. Today, more than a decade later, players continue to lose themselves for extended periods in this game, nearing a record-breaking number of concurrent players this year, surpassing the peak set when the Special Edition was launched on Steam in 2016. Even if you’ve experienced Skyrim before, its allure is difficult to resist after a sufficient lapse of time.

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2025-09-02 20:43