You can find our complete list by visiting our full ranking of the best open world games for iPhone & iPad.
10. Gangstar Rio: City of Saints
This entry by Gameloft for the Gangstar series is set in Rio de Janeiro where the mission-based story will take you to five different neighborhoods: the favelas, business district, beaches, and even the jungle. You’ll have hours and hours of fun with 60 different missions, and even some random events are thrown into the mix. The action doesn’t stop there because you’ll be able to play with many different weapons including handguns, rifles, bazookas, grenades, and a freaking explosive football.
You can make your character reflect your style through the unlockable shirts, pants, hats, glasses, and more. The game also features some rad tunes while you’re playing. Access the awesome music that comes with the game through the in-game radio channels that broadcast hip hop. Electro, Funk, and tracks from artists like M.I.A, Bonde do Role, and MV Bill.
This open world adventure game is truly a worthy sequel in the Gangstar line up as it improves on its predecessors by showcasing Rio de Janeiro in a way that makes it seem big and very unique.
This fun to play game has a playscore of 7.9
9. Goat Simulator
Ever wonder what life would be like if you were a goat? Worry no longer with Coffee Stain Studios’ Goat Simulator.
Sure, it’s probably one of the buggiest games out there, and the graphics are not really what you call top-notch… but you get to play in a world where there are absolutely no rules. You can headbutt a car, lodge yourself into space with a rocket, be the prom queen, and cause all the other mayhem you want to induce into the unfortunate little town you are playing in. This simulation game may be downright stupid, but at least you’ll get to brag to your friends that you’re an alpha goat with all of the destruction points you are getting in this game.
There’s really no point in playing this game except for collecting achievements -- not your everyday boring achievements, but cool achievements like the one you get for jumping on a trampoline for a few times, playing flappy goat, or human sacrifice.
If you have an absurd sense of humor, then you’ll surely enjoy this game that has a playscore of 7.94
8. Simple Planes
This app from the developer Jundroo is not as simple as the name implies. This creative simulation game can actually teach you the very basics of building actual planes. It’s the very definition of edutainment.
You can build planes by snapping its parts together, designing the wing sections, and attaching the engines. After you’re happy with your custom plane, you can test how it flies with realistic physics. How the plane is designed actually matters to how well it’s going to fly. Weak parts might break off easily mid-flight because of over-stressing or if it hits something. However, if you have the skills, you might still be able to fly even with a missing wing.
If you’re extra proud of your creation and you want to share it with the world, you can! Rise through the ranks of airplane builders and become a gold level builder. If you’re not so keen with building your own plane, you can download over 50 000 airplanes from world war 2 bombers to sci-fi spaceships.
This single-player game for flight aficionados has a playscore of 8.06
7. Lineage 2: Revolution
Lineage 2: Revolution is an MMORPG from Netmarble that is such a treat for the eyes -- all thanks to the stunning visuals powered by the Unreal Engine 4. There is just so much beauty to behold in this large scale, open-world combat game.
You might think that all this awesome graphics might hinder the multiplayer mode, but this game can hold 200 players battling in real-time on a single screen -- which is awesome when you wanna form clans and guilds with your friends so you can raid dungeons, beat boss monsters, and compete with other players around the world together.
While customizing your character isn’t this game’s forte, you can still choose between four races: human, elf, dark elf, and dwarf. Then you can pick to be one of the three classes: warrior, rogue, and mystic.
This game is perfect for chill gamers who just want to relax and let the gameplay itself with the auto-questing feature. This is exceptionally handy when you just don’t want to grid and just focus on winning PvP battles.
We also have our own review of this game, so check that video out if you want an in-depth view of this game.
This game has a playscore of 8.16.
6. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
You remember what life was like in 2004? Back when life was a little calmer? No need to travel time to feel like a kid playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas again.
If you have never played this game on the PC before, now’s the perfect time to get to know life in San Andreas, a mixture of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas on your iOS device.
The 6th entry on our list is a mobile port of the famous Rockstar title. The game receives a bit of an update on the visual department with remastered graphics, enriched color palette, and enhanced character and car models.
Come back to the chaotic city of Los Santos, San Andreas as Carl Johnson also known as CJ. After you’ve been gone for five years, returning only after your mom’s death, you find that your family has fallen apart, and your friends are all on a dark path of gang trouble, drugs, and corruption. Where will CJ go from here? Steal a plane? Work out at the Gym? Take over gang territory?
This game is well-loved for a reason. It has a playscore: 8.32.
5. Portal Knights
“Craft your adventure. Forge your hero. Become the ultimate Portal Knight.”
Escape reality with this award winning 3D sandbox role playing game developed by Keen Games and published by 505 Games. Play as a warrior, ranger, or mage as you explore the islands and bring back peace to a world that has been torn apart by The Fracture. The islands are randomly generated so every game is a new experience.
Level up your character, and gather resources to craft your gear and make them more awesome. You’ll need to have powerful gear to defeat your enemies and bosses in real-time strategic combat
The fun doesn’t stop there, however. This game has a colorful cast of non-playable characters who inhabit the land, who you can then complete quests for or recruit to your home.
Playing with friends is also not a problem as up to 4 players can play with shared wifi or you and 3 of your friends could have a private server all to yourselves.
Play for hours and hours and get lost in this game that has a playscore of 8.4.
4. Radiation Island
This mysterious survival adventure game by Atypical Games is set in a strange island with lots of natural and mutated predators, radiation, anomalies and harsh weather. Your character must survive this inhospitable island after being stranded in this parallel, alternate reality because of the Philadelphia Experiment.
It’s not all bad though, this iOS Exclusive open-world game is not only compellingly ambitious, it is breathtakingly beautiful, and gigantic. There are huge forests in this game where you will find wolves, bears, and mountain lions. You can investigate ghost towns and abandoned military compounds where zombies lurk guarding tools, weapons and curious clues.
While you can have a grand time swimming and diving as you are avoiding hungry crocodiles, you must also attend to your own needs like hunger, by hunting wild animals, fishing and foraging. You will also need to construct your own shelter and craft your own weapons, tools, and even basic vehicles.
Always remember that even in this parallel world, the world is filled with danger in the day, but more so at night. So, keep warm, keep safe, and survive.
This game has a playscore of 8.53.
3. Terraria
Terraria is a pretty faithful mobile version of the PC game of the same name. It has the same graphics, enormous open-world maps, and hours of fun to be had.
This is a sandbox survival game released by 505 Games set in a randomly generated world. The elements remain the same, but with each new game, you won’t know where the different biomes, the large dungeon, the floating islands, or the caverns that contain chests, valuable materials, and dangerous monsters are.
With each new game, you will have to explore the world by walking on land or mining your way into the depths. You need to explore because you need to mine the materials you will need to craft items that will make your character stronger and be able to fight the 5 difficult bosses of the game. There are more than 200 items, such as tools, weapons, and home decorations like chandeliers and bookcases to craft.
Build swiftly because your character can’t survive the night with >zombies lurking about out in the open. You will also have to build homes for NPCs who will arrive in your life as your game progresses. This game has a playscore: 8.55.
2. The Blockheads
This survival game from Majic Jungle Software will have you create your own world or explore an infinite number of worlds filled with oceans, caves, deserts, mountains, forests, and floating sky islands you can traverse. You can find towering cliffs, sprawling caverns, and a variety of biomes.
You will need to explore these worlds so you can gather resources which you will use to craft, build and then trade streak trains, electric elevators, jet packs, titanium swords, carbon fiber armor and more. You can also build your own massive structures.
This game is playable offline in single-player mode, but the multiplayer mode is filled to the brim with fun. You can explore a thousand other worlds hosted by other players, trade your goods with your friends, or battle your enemies in the PVP mode.
What differentiates this title from other games in this subgenre is that it utilizes a side-scrolling perspective. Your Blockheads are also extra needy because hunger, sleep and environmental factors like the time of day and the weather will affect their efficiency. Plus, there’s always new content, and this game is ever-evolving.
This super immersive game has a playscore of 8.55.
1. Junk Jack X
This 2D Sandbox game from Pixbits is set in a randomly generated world filled with monsters, hidden treasures, and beautiful landscapes -- every adventure is always a new experience. It’s a real eye candy because of its polished pixel graphics, full retina display, and its vibrant colored lighting engine that is sure to help you enjoy every minute you spend in Junk Jack’s worlds.
There’s a Creative mode where you are free to create anything and everything you can imagine. There are more than 1000 crafts to build, like explosives, shelves, signs, and many more to keep you crafting. You can farm more than 70 plants, including alien and exotic plants.
There’s also an Adventure mode where you can travel between 12 different planets each with their own interesting environments filled with liquids that will stop you on your tracks like lava, or help you explore, like a surface lake you can swim. Your exploration will be rewarded by more than 2000 treasures to find, and tamable animals like cats, dogs, and many other critters. Be careful though, because there are also more than 270 creatures and monsters that won’t be quite as friendly.
If you’re looking for an open-world game that’s worth every cent, get one that has a playscore: 8.59.
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