Gaming is an expensive hobby, and with the number of games that release year after year, it is obviously a tough choice to pick a game that you’d want to spend your hard-earned money on when you consider the options that are available at your disposal. Objectively, everyone is bound to have one or two favorite genres that they’d jump to in a heartbeat, so their pool of choices becomes a bit shorter, and because of that, their decision-making becomes a tad easier. However, there are gamers out there who wish to dip their toes into just about everything the market has to offer, but that choice usually comes with the side effect of spending a lot of money on things you don’t even know will end up being good. Let’s fix that piece by piece as we talk about some games in batches of five that are worth checking out and are worth your money. A lot of these games will be old, some will be new on occasion, and I’ll only talk about the games that I have personally played and what I think about them.
The reason this is divided into batches of five games is that if I were to include any more of them, then we’d be here all day. In this way, we can talk about games from different categories like single-player, multiplayer, and maybe even specific genres, and we can also talk about the games that you should avoid wasting your money on.
The games for this iteration are single-player, third-person, open-world games that present good, if not incredible, stories and give us large and detailed worlds to explore. Let’s take a look at this batch of five games now, shall we?
Red Dead Redemption 2
My personal favorite and a game that I consider to be one of the best games ever released, “Red Dead Redemption 2,” is a masterclass and is Rockstar Games’ magnum opus to this date. The game transports us to 1899 and tells us the story of a gang of outlaws on their last legs as the old world is dying and the modern, more civilized world is being born. You play as Arthur Morgan here as the game takes you on a journey across America and tells a gripping and mature tale that wows me to this day. The game world is huge and comes with tons of diversity, and the gameplay here is solid, with loads to see and do. When I use the word “transport,” I mean that Rockstar has not only created a game here but has also managed to somehow bring back the whole era somehow with their immaculate authenticity and attention to detail. At this point, I don’t think there’s anything left to say that I can add to the praise that everyone has sung about “Red Dead Redemption 2.” I leave this one here by saying once again that “Red Dead Redemption 2” is by far one of the best experiences I have had in all my years in gaming, and this is the one game that I wish I could erase my memory for and get to experience it fresh over and over again.
‘Yakuza’ Series
Next up, we have not one game but an entire series, and if you have been a regular here, then you’ll know I love to talk about “Yakuza” a lot. I am a somewhat new fan of this series, and I feel ashamed that I didn’t play them any sooner. There are seven games in the mainline saga, and then we have an eight-game series that is a continuation and also belongs in the mainline saga but at the same time is a reboot of sorts and introduces a new protagonist with it. This is without counting the spin-offs. The seven games, from “Yakuza 0” to “Yakuza 6: The Song of Life,” tell the story of Kazuma Kiryu from his humble beginnings as a yakuza all the way to the end of his story arc, and each game here tells an amazing story and does a great job of pushing it forward and making us care more and more about its characters, all the while keeping us hungry for what’s to come next. The stories here are told like soap operas, with high drama and intensity, and trust me; it works in the game’s favor. The gameplay here revolves around exploring small but dense and detailed open worlds, with the city block of Kamurocho being the mainstay, and the games offer beat-’em-up style combat with tons of progression and depth to their mechanics. There are tons to see and do, ranging from the minigames to finding collectibles to just existing in this world and enjoying its sights. “Yakuza ” games are plain fantastic; there’s no other way to describe them, and they are simply a bang for your buck with the amount of content they offer. Once you delve into this world, it won’t be easy to come back out without being hungry for more, and I am grateful to SEGA and RGG Studios for giving us this masterpiece franchise.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
This game right here is one that can simply be coined as the game of a generation, as getting games like this to come out is somewhat of a once-in-a-lifetime deal. What hasn’t been said about “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” that I can say? This game is simply the pinnacle of RPGs and gaming in general. CD Projekt Red simply outdid themselves with this game and cut no corners to deliver a gaming experience that will be remembered for as long as the medium exists. This game is a technical feat and an achievement in the gameplay and storytelling departments, and a lot more on top of that. This is the third and presumably final game in the trilogy (I know a 4th is in development, but all hints point to it being a new saga with a new character potentially taking the lead) that concludes the tale of Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher. The game boasts a giant open world, 100s of quests and contracts to pursue, and tons of skills to learn and master, all of which come packed with an amazing main story for you to follow that, based on your choices, has alternate paths and 36 different endings. That’s insanity. You’ll be spending hundreds if not thousands of hours in the Northern Realms and Skellige Isles, and if you want more, then you can get more story content from the “Hearts of Stone” expansion and visit a new land, Toussant, with the “Blood and Wine” expansion, both of which come with their own content and story, adding hundreds more hours to your experience. “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” is on another level and is a must-buy regardless of what kind of gamer you are. This game is truly the definition of “bang for your buck.”
Batman: Arkham Knight
There are tons of superhero games out there, but this is the ONE game that I’d put on lists like this again and again, no questions asked. Don’t get me wrong, great superhero games have arrived since this game came out; “Marvel’s Spider-Man” immediately comes to mind, but there’s something about the “Arkham” series and “Batman: Arkham Knight” in particular that just hits differently. The end of the trilogy made by Rocksteady Studios, “Arkham Knight,” hands you an open-world Gotham City full of criminals, allows you to drive the Batmobile, and of course, lets you solve crimes and crack skulls as Batman. In my opinion, this is the best Batman game money can buy, all the while being the weakest “Arkham” game of the bunch, but with a series so strong and well made, even the weakest one is among some of the best games ever made. The game is a testament to Rocksteady honing its craft over the years and delivering us a solid experience with incredible combat, a gorgeous world, and a memorable and incredibly acted story. There’s tons of DLC here as well for you to enjoy, which adds the ability to play as other members of the Bat Family like Batgirl, Red Hood, Nightwing, and more, and all of it just elevates this game and shapes it into a full Batman package. A great game that is fun, memorable, and worth playing
Grand Theft Auto 5
You know I had to put it here. There’s no way the best-selling game of all time doesn’t show up on a list like this. Whether we like it or not, and whether we are tired of it at this point or not, “Grand Theft Auto 5” is a juggernaut. Is it a horrible practice that Rockstar has been milking this game for a decade at this point by releasing it across three platform generations? Yes. I agree and stand right there with you. Despite that fact, is it true that this game sells like hotcakes even to this day, and people play the crap out of it? Yes. Also true. I am talking about the singleplayer, as that’s what the list is about, and yes, “Grand Theft Auto Online” will get its due diligence soon. Despite the game’s age, the visuals stand the test of time, and this game still looks remarkably good. Even better than a handful of modern games as well. The world of Los Santos and Blaine County is one where you can literally get lost, and the simulation that runs this game is still one of the best in the business. The story campaign is cinematic, long, and for the first time in the series’ history, allows you to play and freely switch between three characters. The story here is good—not the best but worth playing, and as I said, everyone and their grandmothers knows about “Grand Theft Auto 5” at this point. If you are one of the few people who haven’t played this game, I have a question and a suggestion for you. The question is, how and why haven’t you played it? The suggestion is to go and play it. This game is fantastic.
Final Words
I hope the delivery of content like this in the form of games in batches of five was entertaining and worth reading. As the intro suggested, these have been just five open-world, third-person, single-player titles that are worth your money. More of these, alongside different genres and types, will be coming your way in the future. Things like first-person games, linear games, stealth games, multiplayer games, and more are on the horizon, so be on the lookout for those. As always, I’ll see you at the next one.
See more: Mediocre Games That Are Worth Checking Out At Least Once