Having just finished Far Cry 3 I gotta go with that one. Running up the tallest hill and being able to see every single inch of the world and then taking a running leap and wingsuiting off that hill was an incredible experience.

Sleeping Dogs. Blazing through rain slicked streets at night, so many pretty lights reflecting.

As I said a big part of the appeal is just the technical level of detail and long field of view however a handful of high up spots are nice to look at. The quick look ended on one of them. AC has the artistry of millions of craftsmen throughout history to support their aesthetic so naturally its going to have more interesting things to look at.

Proteus.

Love the color scheme, and the low-poly, paper cutout feel of it all. Plus it's a new world every time you play it.

I think Dragon's Dogma has a fantastic open world in part to it's visuals and the mechanics that force you to literally walk it's routes. There was something utterly mesmerizing about traversing the world by foot for the first few hours of that game. If the game encourage exploration rather then a quest system I would have been fine with no fast travel system at all.

At times the world felt like it had more immersion then Skyrim where eventually you just pinball between cities. In Dragon's Dogma even when you quickly get to the max fast travel item markers in your inventory they're still items in the world and each use of fast travel dwindles your supply of a disposable item. That system lent weight to the world and combined with visuals whose only weakness was dreadful ground texture repetition.

@bargainben: Well, yeah. But the fact they have more people doesn't mean it's less impressive looking. I do get what you are saying though.

I tried to installing various mods for Skyrim. If it weren't for glaring pop ins and distant mountains flickering, distant landscapes without any details along with waterfalls that remain static, then I'd pick that game. Too bad I can't fix it like so many other people have.

Red Dead and AC4 are up there for me.

When I eventually did grab a PC able to play modern games, the first game I bought was Sleeping Dogs. It may be my favorite for that reason, or because it just looks so god damn good. I mean, that rain.

Just Cause 2s mountains and rivers are the most beautiful open world environments I can think of immediately. Skyrim's nights on top of a snow-covered mountain was also quite something. I thought Assassin's Creed 2's Venice was very pretty. If we're counting it, Wind Waker has the greatest style.

Far Cry is probably the easy winner here for it's time though i'm not sure everyone would qualify it as open world though it did basically invent the format for fps.

I'd vote Just cause 2 otherwise.

Skyrim was quite amazing in parts as well considering how hamstrung it was graphically when released, the post processing really did some work.

Totally forgot to mention one of my absolute fave open worlds... Don't Starve!

Sick, sick, sick art, sound and music.

Dunno. Can't really pick one.

I actually really like the world in Watch Dogs. Something about the size and spacing of everything looks like a more believable city than anything other city I've played in.

Assassin's Creed 4 is fun to sail around in too. Also, at the time, World of Warcraft was the most amazing open world.

@slag @thephantomstranger Dragon's Dogma is weird. It looks ugly to begin with all gray and brown, then you see it in motion and it just all comes together. The wind in that game really does create an atmosphere. The foliage moves more in that game than any else.

Edit: What's the deal with referring to someone and having it hotlink all the text afterwards?

Proteus. Nah, just fuckin' with you.

Far Cry 3 or Red Dead. The Mexico section of Red Dead, although a totally unneeded section of the game, is real purty. Oh, also the desert areas of Just Cause 2. I like deserts.

Yes! so much this.

You're not wrong. Also don't know why the site does that, I've seen it happen to other users although it never happens to me. What browser are you using?

Lots of people saying Wind Waker, I have to agree. The feeling of sailing on the open seas is really something else.

Also, maybe an unconventional opinion, but I find a lot of beauty in the world of Minecraft.

@sunbrozak: just made me wanna play Red Dead again

Red Dead is one of the few games I have ever played that lived up to the hype, such a fucking amazing game.

Re-seeing Red Dead; it's kind of crazy how good that game still looks. I wish they'd do a PC version so bad.

No love for Second Son? The neon lighting, the particle/smoke effects it was a joy to watch. Gameplay certainly lacked diversity but the rapid traversal systems encouraged me to explore every corner of the map and give it a bit of flair with the spray paint mini game.

They have all already been said, but Red Dead Redemption, Wind Waker, and Sleeping Dogs.

EVE online. I can get tired of trees, rocks, clouds, etc. after an extended period of time but there's something about space which never got old while I played the game

It's haunting, and pretty much perfect for what the game is

Muramasa Rebirth. Not sure if it counts as a full open world like the other games listed, but I spent hours exploring it

@hailinel: I'll jump on the Xenoblade train as well. The gorgeous environments on the two immobile titans more than overcame the Wii's technical limitations.

The semi-open world of Outcast will always have a special place in my heart. Not that beautiful technically, but wonderfully stylized and executed to feel like an alien world.

I'd guess World of Warcraft takes the first spot, even if it has lost some of it's charm after having played it for around nine years.

Skyrim, I spend many a day playing that game.

Gotta be Dark Souls, the art direction is just stunning throughout the entirety of that game. Each environment has its own personality yet they fit together so well.

Started playing Watch Dogs on PC, with those graphics mods. It looks pretty damn good.

Red Dead, the first Deus Ex on PC, & Fallout 3.

Red Dead Redemption and LA Noire.