Updated September 2026
This is the ranking of the best Open-World Action Games, sorted by NextGameLike Score: a 0-100 metric blending Steam reviews, IGDB ratings (community and critic), Metacritic, OpenCritic and the NextGameLike community votes into a single number. Unlike opinion-based editorial lists, this order is computed from real data and applies a Bayesian shrinkage adjustment so games with few reviews can't inflate the top of the chart. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Ori and the Will of the Wisps lead the chart — the highest-rated titles in the genre according to our data. The top-25 average NextGameLike Score is 87/100, out of 99 games catalogued. The ranking updates continuously as new reviews and votes come in.
Top 3
Top of “The 20 Best Open-World Action Games (2026)”: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (92.4/100). Close behind: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Ranked by NextGameLike Score · 99 games catalogued
No argument here: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City wins over players and critics alike. Hence the first place.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the few Open-World Action Games where players and critics say the same thing. That puts it at number 2.
No argument here: Ori and the Will of the Wisps wins over players and critics alike. That puts it at number 3.
Players and critics agree on Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, which is rarer than it sounds in Open-World Action Games. That gets it into the top 10, at number 4.
No argument here: Grand Theft Auto IV wins over players and critics alike. It holds the best critic score on the whole list, 95/100. Number 5, inside the top 10.
Players and critics agree on Grand Theft Auto III, which is rarer than it sounds in Open-World Action Games. Number 6, inside the top 10.
Resident Evil Village is one of the few Open-World Action Games where players and critics say the same thing. Number 7, inside the top 10.
No argument here: Rise of the Tomb Raider wins over players and critics alike. Number 8, inside the top 10.
Far Cry 3 is here because of its players — they are who it won over. Number 9, inside the top 10.
Critics were lukewarm on Mafia II (Classic); players were not. Number 10, inside the top 10.
Players and critics agree on Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, which is rarer than it sounds in Open-World Action Games. No other entry of the 20 has a higher share of positive reviews: 98%. It lands at 11 of 20.
Saints Row: The Third is carried by its players more than by its reviews. It sits at 12 of 20.
No argument here: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag wins over players and critics alike. It sits at 13 of 20.
Battlefield 1 is one of the few Open-World Action Games where players and critics say the same thing. It is the most reviewed of the 20: 219,447 Steam reviews. It lands at 14 of 20.
Supraland Six Inches Under is here because of its players — they are who it won over. It is the newest on the list (2022), and has already earned its place. It sits at 15 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Metro Exodus, which is rarer than it sounds in Open-World Action Games. It lands at 16 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Control, which is rarer than it sounds in Open-World Action Games. It sits at 17 of 20.
No argument here: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart wins over players and critics alike. It lands at 18 of 20.
Twinsen's Little Big Adventure 2 Classic is carried by its players more than by its reviews. It is the oldest game in the ranking (1997) and still here. It sits at 19 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Far Cry 4, which is rarer than it sounds in Open-World Action Games. It sits at 20 of 20.