However, a large map can also slow the player down if there is no content. It is one of the most criticized aspects of cyber punk 2077, whose buildings are completely empty, and the missions are not delivered by characters, but by phone. Another clear case is use of fast travel.
If the player continuously uses teleport instead of exploring the game map, it won’t matter how big the terrain is, it will be useless. In this case, video game critics usually say that it is a game of “linear open world” because the only use of the map will be to unite the different missions of the game, something that could be done with a simple list. And if you’re more into entertainment games, you should visit here https://onlineslotsx.com/ca/no-deposit-bonus-canada/ to find no deposit bonus codes for online casinos or get this Bluechip mobile app for more fun right on your phone.
Which video game has the largest map?
Measuring the extension of a virtual terrain is not easy, since we are talking about three dimensions. In the same way, it is not the same to speak of a pre-designed map another one leaving automatically generating. In the first place, we will only talk about pre-designed maps, and at the end we will comment a little on the possibilities of procedurally generated maps, that is, those that are created by algorithms.
To put some order to the comparison, we will focus only on the surface, ignoring the height of the map, since not all video games allow vertical exploration, although we will have to make a slight exception in galactic exploration games. We will also take into account only games designed in 3D, so that the comparison is as fair as possible. Once these bases are established, let’s do it:
The Crew (5,180 Km2) and The Crew 2 (5,700 Km2)
Based in the United States, you will employ more than 45 minutes of your life to travel the map of original TheCrew from coast to coast. They are both racing games. The former had some RPG touches and a pretty interesting criminal story behind it, while the latter is more similar to Forza Horizon.
Fuel (18,130 km2)
Is a racing game from open world with apocalyptic style. In 2009, it won multiple awards for its huge expanse of land. Its creators thought it would be interesting to make a huge map for players to take advantage of the freeroamas well as going from race to race by dodging the game’s environmental disasters instead of going through a simple loading screen.
Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (1,616 km2)
Although it came out in 1996, Elder Scrolls II beat the very Skyrim as far as map is concerned. Its graphics won’t be anything to write home about, but the game is bigger than England. The world is huge, and you can spend hundreds and thousands of hours exploring all the secrets that are hidden in the video game.
Elite Dangerous
In Elite Dangerous we will be able to travel multiple interplanetary systems and fight all kinds of battles. its developers used actual measurements to create the map, so we cannot speak of square kilometers, but of astrophysical units. We can visit some 32 galaxies, the farthest being almost 160 thousand light years.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (510,000,000 km2)
Microsoft’s flight simulator is currently the largest 3D game you can play today. The latest version of this airplane video game, released in 2020, not only has an absurdly photorealistic design, but is also as large as our own planet.
Procedurally generated maps
On the other hand, we have maps that are generated on the fly, either using algorithms or artificial intelligence. In these cases, the limits are in the amount of data that current computers can handle, the most extreme case being Minecraft.
No Man’s Sky
This exploration and survival game that was talked about so much in its day is based on a procedural generation system. Basically, what the video game algorithms do is select from a series of planets, ecosystems, and animals and combine them to create a universe every time we open the game. Calculating the surface of the explorable universe would be absurd, but we can quantify the total number of planets that we could explore, which are neither more nor less than 8,446,744,073,709,551,616. However, the game was criticized for not having variety, which is quite paradoxical, although over the years, they polished the title until it became a fairly decent game. Or at least close to what they had promised.
Star Citizen
Although the video game still in development, his promises point directly to placing this title on the podium. Is a space simulator with mechanics MMORPG in first person. The promise is that the game will have a final extension of 2 million trillion cubic kilometers. Currently, the map measures 400 kilometers on each axis, so you have to settle for second position.
Minecraft (3,600,000,000 km2)
The game with the largest area of land that you can play today is Minecraft, and everything indicates that it will continue to be a leader for many more years. This video game has a series of algorithms capable of create terrain extent randomly. It’s not infinite, but quantifying the surface becomes difficult without something to compare it to. As a picture is worth a thousand words, it is best that you see with your own eyes this short video that compares the maximum extent of a Minecraft terrain with the size of the planet we live on. Scary, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BUpJTnLnLg
Other games with noteworthy maps
With games becoming more extensive, it is not surprising that titles that led the ranking years ago are now completely off the list. Have you been wanting more? Here are a few honorable mentions of games that don’t have the largest map in the world, but you’re sure to be curious about the extent of their maps, and a final video where they compare quite visually.
- The Witcher 3: if we add all its DLCs, the game area stays in 125 square kilometers. The next development of CD Projekt Red, cyber punk 2077has a similar extension of about 110 square kilometers. However, those of us who bought the game back in the day hope and hope that at some point a DLC or some extra content will come out that will allow us to enjoy the experience again — yes, with fewer bugs, if possible.
- Red Dead Redemption: the first installment had an extension of 40 square kilometers. Red Dead Redemption 2 duplicated the map with a few 75 square kilometers.
- ForzaHorizon 4 and his monotonous map of England has an area of 72 square kilometers, about 12 more than its predecessor. And this, without counting the islands of the DLC. The most recent installment ForzaHorizon 5, takes us to Mexican lands with a map of 107 square kilometers.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: is the Link game with the largest map we’ve seen to date. Its open world has an extension of 72 square kilometers.
- Skyrim: A few years ago he would have been in a high ranking position, but now he can only settle for an honorable mention with hiss 37 square kilometers of map. Still, it’s still a great game.
- Fallout 76: from a success of Bethesda we go to the title that came out frog. West Virginia, with an area of 62 kilometers squares did not convince the survivors of the nuclear apocalypse. Its predecessor, Fallout 4, had a map with a terrain of 25 square kilometers. However, I think we all settle for the 22 square kilometers of Fallout:NewVegas, that marked the high point of the franchise.
- DayZ: The survival has an impressive map of 225 square kilometers. More than enough to keep you away from zombies.
- Assassin’s Creed: This game could do for an entire section, but we’ll just stick with its largest maps. The record takes odysseywith 256 square kilometers (of which, half is water). follows him black-flag with 235 square kilometersalso with enough ocean surface. Valhalla has only 22 square kilometers of land, which combined with the sea, make a map of 120 square kilometers. Finally, Egypt has an extension of 80 square kilometers in Origins.
- Farcry 5: has a size of 60 square kilometers.
- Ghost Recon Wildlands: This installment, based on Bolivia, has an absolutely spectacular map of 440 square kilometerswith an impressive orography and a lot of roads to get lost with your military Jeep between missions.
- Just Cause 4 could not stay out of this section with his gigantic map of 1,024 square kilometers.
