Genshin is the only one I know of. Its monetisation is predatory, but it's a huge open world action-RPG with tons of discoverable chests and environmental puzzles. Also it's very f2p friendly if you're not susceptible to hype and FOMO - I've been playing for 4+ years with most areas 100% explored (and 70+ characters unlocked) without ever spending a pence.
this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2026
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Tower of Fantasy and Wuthering Waves also kinda do the same schtick.
Really enjoying outward right now. It feels like a mix of botw Elden ring and a healthy dose of modded skyrim
I haven't actually fired it up in a while, but Gedonia might be up your alley.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1114220/Gedonia/
Looks like a sequel is currently in early access, too.
No Mans Sky comes to mind
I wasn't exactly crazy about the story personally, but its there, and the game feels fairly Minecraft-y to me since you also mentioned that game.
I didn't play it at launch, and I know that left a bit of a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths, but in its current state I think its pretty amazing.
Crazy that I didn't see anyone else mention this one, but you should check out Cloudheim. It has a free demo on steam.
Maybe Kena Bridge of Spirits? Its not full open world if i remember correctly but it goes into the Zelda direction and i had a lot of fun with it
Not the MOST open world but the new tomb raider games are pretty great. Exploration, crafting, axing badguys in their stupid faces. Friendship, Bow and arrows. It's a good set of games.
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Avowed
- Witcher 3
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Crimson Desert
- Dragons dogma 1/2
- Skyrim
- Oblivion
- Kingdom come deliverance 1/2
- Lego Batman?
- Guild Wars 1/2
- Genshin/wuwa/ open world gacha of choice
Not quite Minecraft but open world and lots to do.
Put double spaces after each line to make the next line paragraphing work.
It's a very casual take on BOTW - basically exploring and traversal with no consequences. Enemies are cardboard.
It has some nods and jokes referencing TLOZ. I found it charming as hell and played it to 100%. I'm looking forward to playing the expansion.
Hytale is really good, but it's still in early access and the overarching objective isn't there yet. Still keep an eye on it
Saints row iv.
Well no, not really. But it does unexpectedly have some commons.
You could also go for dying light. Both feature the points you mentioned though.
Aer: Memories of Old was pretty excellent. I think the scale might be not quite what you're looking for, but the inspiration from Zelda is very apparent.
It’s on sale for like $2. I’m giving it a shot.
Much smaller scale, but Smushi Come Home kinda gave me BOTW vibes
Elder scrolls games (Morrowind, oblivion, Skyrim) are classic examples and games that came after they inspired like cyberpunk.
The thing about Elder Scrolls games is that they tend to be mostly RPG while BotW is mainly a sandbox game with some RPG elements. Most people I've seen trying to get the "BotW feeling" from an RPG ended up dissapointed.
You can mod ES games extensively to make them feel more sandbox-ish, or simply ignore quest lines and freeroam but it's not quite the same.
I’d imagine The Witcher 3 falls into this camp? Maybe Kingdom Come Deliverance 1 & 2 as well? I can’t be incredibly sure, as I haven’t actually played them.
You mentioned Elden Ring, but it’s much more combat focused and less mini-dungeon puzzles. Though fighting a boss can feel like a puzzle sometimes.
Wuthering Waves might fit your bill, but it’s a free to play gacha game so that comes with its own can of worms. It’s also a bit more combat focused that BOTW and ranged combat + gadgets don’t really exist.
You may like some of the Assassin’s Creed franchise if you never played that. AC2 was my favorite of those, but it’s been a long time since I touched that franchise.