Summary
The open-world subgenre of gaming has skyrocketed in popularity to the point where open-world games now populate the top portion of many sales charts. Evenlong-running franchisesknown for their linearity have started to get in on the act, withHalo InfiniteandSonic Frontiersbeing two fairly recent examples
Although open-world games have been around since the ’70s, the PlayStation 2 helped popularize the style of game and gave audiences an unparalleled level of freedom that would influence the gaming industry for years to come. It’s hard to deny that thebest PS2 open-world gamesdon’t compare to the size, scale, or visual quality of the ones seen today, but many of them are still great fun and deserve recognition for their influence on the genre.
Updated June 15, 2025 by Mark Sammut:The PS2 era saw the rise of modern open-world games, producing a few classics that would go on to shape the genre for decades to come. Even if not all of these projects have aged gracefully, thebest open-world games on the PS2deserve to be remembered and honored.
Cut from a similar cloth toGTA,The Getawayplays out like a British gangster movie created by Guy Ritchie. The story is split into two parts, initially following a bank robber and then shifting focus to a detective. The narrative is the game’s strongest point, and it features fairly good voice acting for its era.
While gunplay is part of the experience,The Getaway’s primary gameplay mechanic is driving, which is facilitated by an impressive recreation of London. Team Soho really put together an impressive sandbox considering the limitations of the PS2. Now, there is not all that much to do within this world beyond story missions, but players do eventually unlock the freedom to just drive around and explore the city streets.
The PS2Yakuzagamesare in a weird spot. While they are both impressive projects for the era, they are hard to revisit in this day and age, particularly due to the existence of theKiwamiremakes. Along with being more accessible, the newer games are just way more polished due to implementing quality-of-life improvements seen in entries likeYakuza 0. As such, someone might be tempted to simply ignore the franchise’s pre-PS3 releases, a decision that mostly makes sense for the firstYakuzagame. Putting aside its pretty good story, the 2005/2006 original is too clunky and rough to warrant a recommendation beyond as a historical piece that die-hard fans might wish to check out to see where Kiryu’s journey began.
However,Yakuza 2has aged far better than its predecessor. Despite debuting fairly close to the first entry, the sequel made notable improvements in nearly every area, especially the combat. Just to be clear, the gameplay is not quite on the same level as most of the newer entries, but it is challenging and generally satisfying. The open-world is split into three districts, with most of the campaign taking place in Kamurocho and Sotenbori. The series has always prioritized small but dense maps, andYakuza 2showcases the franchise’s mantra when it comes to open-world design. That said,Yakuza 3was the entry that really nailed the exploration.
Movie tie-in video games played a significant role in the sixth generation of home consoles, with countless major film releases receiving a video game adaptation. Unfortunately, due to the tight release schedules that these games often had to adhere to, movie tie-in games were often a disappointment, which led tothe sharp decline of the genrethat has made them a rarity today.
Spider-Man 2is an example of a movie tie-in game with a tight schedule, as it was released on Jul 31, 2025, one day before the film of the same name was released in conventional and IMAX theaters. Despite this, the game was a major success, largely thanks to how enjoyable it was to traverse the game’s open world with the wonderfully well-designed web-swinging and wall-climbing mechanics.
Not to be confused with the 2012 release of the same name, 2005’sNeed for Speed: Most Wantedwas, at the time, a top contender for the best racing game on the market. Even all these years later, EA’s title still stands asone ofNeed for Speed’s crowning achievements, and it has aged pretty well considering it is nearly two decades old by this point. Now, admittedly, the Xbox 360 version is the one to go for nowadays, but the PS2 release was great in its own right.
Most Wantedfeatures Rockport as its main city, granting players access to three districts throughout the silly but enjoyable storyline. While not particularly stacked with content, the map is reasonably large for a PS2 game and is generally fun to explore thanks toMost Wanted’s rock-solid controls. Once players complete the campaign (which involves taking on Blacklist drivers), they unlock the ability to just roam through the city.
Scarface: The World Is Yoursis essentially a sequel to the classic filmScarface. The game picks up where the film left off, but with Tony Montana surviving the shootout in the mansion at the end of the movie. Like many action-heavy open-world games released on the PlayStation 2,Scarface: The World Is Yourswas clearly inspired byGrand Theft Autoand offers a similar brand of gameplay.
The game puts players in the shoes of the iconic Tony Montana and tasks them with taking down rival gangs and trying to regain control of the drug trade in Miami. The story is ultimately what setsScarfaceapart fromGTA, as the player gets to role-play as a well-defined character with a strong personality. The mechanics also reflect the protagonist’s position and attitude, including things like a rage meter charged by executing law-breaking actions or purchasing property to fuel Tony’s drug empire.
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remixis an arcade-style racing game that cares little about realism and simply offers a high-speed,adrenaline-pumping experienceas players race through the game’s superbly well-designed cities that looked fantastic for the time. Following the game’s critical and commercial success, a revised version of the game was released titledMidnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix, which featured several new additions such as new songs, new vehicles, and an updated version of Tokyo fromMidnight Club 2.
For its era,Midnight Club 3’s open-world is impressive, especially since the game contains three cities that are all fairly expansive and have their own identities. While players are free to explore these locations via an Arcade mode, they will want to dive deep into Career, which offers plenty of content, depth, and entertainment.
Mercenaries: Playground of Destructionwas developed by Pandemic Studios – the team behind the originalStar Wars: Battlefront 2andDestroy all Humans!–and was released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 in 2005.
The third-person shooter has many similarities toGrand Theft Auto 3, as players can hijack vehicles to drive around an open world and are free to take on missions and side tasks at their own pace.Mercenaries: Playground of Destructionis an absolute blast, delivering widespread destruction on a scale that had not been experienced before. The game rewards creativity by granting players freedom in how they approach missions, which generally means causing as much carnage as possible. Unfortunately,
Mercenaries 2: World in Flamesstruggled to capture the same magic as its predecessor, to the point of being one of the more disappointing PS2 sequels. Still, it can be fun.
SSX 3is an extreme sports triumph that holds up surprisingly well considering it is now more than 20 years old. While supporting online at the time, the snowboarding game generally leaves players to themselves on an expansive and intimidating mountain, one littered with activities and races that are just waiting to be completed.
Obviously, the world is fairly small compared to similar modern releases likeRiders Republic, butSSX 3makes the most of each square meter, packing every inch of snow with joy. Like most of the later-daySSXgames, EA’s title controls well, offering an accessible system with plenty of room for experimentation and depth.
Final Fantasy 12was the first entry in the long-runningFinal Fantasyseries to implement an open world. The open world wasn’t the only innovation to the iconic RPG series, however, as the game also implemented a seamless battle system for the first time, as well as a controllable camera.
Although a critical darling,FF12was initially divisive with fans, which is understandable due to the many changes it introduced. However, its reputation has only grown over the last two decades, and it is now hailed as one of the franchise’s crowning achievements. Admittedly, new players should stick withThe Zodiac Ageversion rather than the PS2 original, but the latter is still fantastic by most metrics.
Technically,FF12is not really open-world since it is segmented into clear sections. Still, it was the most open JRPG on the PS2. Consequently, the game is being highlighted here, even if it is a borderline case.
Grand Theft Auto 3is regarded as one ofthe most influential open-world games of all time. Rockstar’s game ditched the top-down perspective of its predecessors in favor of a third-person perspective and gave players an open world to explore that felt enormous and incredibly realistic at the time.
It’s hard to deny thatGrand Theft Auto 3has aged poorly, especially when comparing it toGrand Theft Auto 5; however, it can still be good fun today for those willing to look past its visual and technical shortcomings. Even though the setting is quite empty, the game was nevertheless an important step forward for open-world design.
