10 Tiny But Excellent Open World Maps In Video Games
Refined open worlds over sheer bulk any day of the week.
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00:00Most gamers love a gorgeous open world, but in the case of video games, bigger doesn't
00:04always mean better.
00:05While I have actually done a list here covering off on the biggest of the big open world maps
00:10in video games, we were really only interested in the numbers there.
00:13Here, we're more concerned with covering off on quality as opposed to quantity.
00:18In fact, we've collected 10 open world maps that are an absolute joy to run around in,
00:23even if they're pretty tiny in comparison to most open world maps out there.
00:27I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are 10 tiny but excellent open world maps in video
00:32games.
00:3310.
00:34Prague – Deus Ex Mankind Divided
00:36I promise that we'll stop mentioning Deus Ex as soon as we come across a list where
00:40it isn't just so relevant that we'd be remiss not to mention it.
00:44While some took issue with the fact Mankind Divided could be beaten in a modest 20-30
00:48hours, others were glad to see it burn bright while it lasted and not outstay its welcome.
00:54The same could be said for its map of Prague, which absolutely prioritised quality over
00:58quantity.
00:59Though the map more accurately consists of a collection of small open world map areas
01:04and not one consistent open world, it has all the hallmarks of why tiny open worlds
01:09can be so great.
01:10It capitalises on less space to deliver more detailed environments that give you more to
01:14do and deep side quests to stumble upon.
01:17Each area oozes character and conveys such richness in their sense of place that they
01:22feel totally immersive.
01:24This is the perfect example of those video game maps that people say are just a joy to
01:28be in and walk around in just because of its incredible world design.
01:32You want to do every little thing because just existing in the game feels exciting.
01:37Eidos Montreal designed Mankind Divided's hub world of Prague deliberately small so
01:41players would always be surrounded by something interesting, and there'd be no need for
01:46boring copy-paste buildings just to make the city more sprawling.
01:49It's an ethos that leaves you with a world you can and want to properly take in, peppered
01:54with environmental storytelling and plenty of delicious lore tidbits.
01:589.
01:59The Island – The Witness
02:01As for a game that packs in details in an engrossing world but in a totally different
02:05way from our last entry, we've got The Island from The Witness.
02:09The Island may have a solid handful of hidden nooks and crannies, but it's still pretty
02:13small as open world areas go.
02:16That said, it'll still take you a while to get through, though your mileage will vary
02:20depending on your puzzle-solving prowess.
02:23The world is colourful, highly saturated, and it's not just for show either.
02:27While many of the puzzles take place on identifiable screens peppered throughout the island's
02:31many biomes, some are environmental.
02:35In order to solve both, you'll actually need to note things like the position of the
02:38sun, the way trees are designed, the wear and tear on a windmill.
02:43If you're anything like me and while playing this game you jump between feeling like you're
02:46an absolute genius and the stupidest person on earth, it's a damn good thing that this
02:51game is very pretty and a blast to walk around in.
02:548.
02:55Bullworth – Bully
02:56Rockstar Games are absolutely not known for creating tight but enormously effective maps
03:01of late, but they used to be.
03:03They still make beautiful game worlds thriving with life, secrets and things to do, but they're
03:08anything but little.
03:09Not so for the fictional town of Bullworth and the central location of Bullworth Academy
03:14that sets the stage for 2006 action-adventure game, Bully.
03:18Due to its small size, the game world feels completely alive.
03:22Wherever you are wandering in the boarding school, you can hear kids talking, arguing,
03:26going about their days and altering their routines based on what time it is.
03:31You have so much freedom about how you want to interact with the world, but the world
03:34also logically reacts back.
03:37If you skip class, you get in trouble, and the school does close at the end of every
03:40day.
03:41The music is excellent, there's something interesting to see or do around every corner,
03:45and because it's so densely packed in a small package, it genuinely feels like there's
03:50little to no filler.
03:517.
03:52Arkham City – Batman Arkham City
03:54In order to be the baddest and coolest guy protecting an entire city, you need to feel
03:58like you have a lay of the land and presence in said city, and Batman absolutely gets that
04:04in this surprisingly modest-sized open world.
04:07Arkham City is a gigantic, walled-off prison enclosure that exists as a district of Gotham
04:12City.
04:13Given the game is offering up an open-world playground for Batman to stroll, glide and
04:17grapple his way around, it would be easy for it to feel too small, given our main man gets
04:22around town pretty quickly.
04:24This would be the case if there weren't so many reasons to stop and smell the roses.
04:28Or stop and pick up the Riddler trophies and knock a criminal's lights out, in this case.
04:32The world is fantastically designed, a joy to explore, there's so much to do, and it
04:37feels like loving detail has been poured into every single feature.
04:41It may be bigger than its predecessor Arkham Asylum, which could also easily occupy a spot
04:46on this list, but it feels densely packed and satisfyingly conquerable.
04:50It's tricky to nail a quality-over-quantity open world that still makes you feel like
04:54the world's greatest detective, but if there's anybody who's up for the job, it's clearly
04:59Rucksteady.
05:006.
05:01Atop the Peak Provincial Park – A Short Hike
05:03Now for something completely different.
05:05We know a AAA studio riddled with talent and manpower can make an open world feel like
05:09a rich playground, but this particular open world was designed and programmed by just
05:15one person.
05:16Okay, so given that, it kind of checks out that it's small, but it's also really
05:19cleverly designed.
05:21Much like many of the game creators on this list, A Short Hike creator Adam Robinson Yu
05:26went in with the ethos of quality over quantity, both for the length of the game and the size
05:30of the map.
05:31Your role is pretty simple, you're an anthropomorphic bird who needs phone reception from the peak
05:36of the mountain.
05:37You'll also wander around exploring the pretty game world, collecting items, meeting
05:41other animals, fishing, and taking on side quests, among other things.
05:45It's sort of a tiny Breath of the Wild, and for lack of a better description, the
05:49vibes are just immaculate.
05:51In short, times are tough right now, go play volleyball on the beach with your bird friends.
05:565.
05:57Hong Kong – Sleeping Dogs
05:59While admittedly not the smallest map on this list, it is only about the size of Grand Theft
06:03Auto Vice City, and it probably only seemed big because it's just so damn good.
06:08Much like Deus Ex, we'll stop talking about Sleeping Dogs when it stops being so necessary
06:13to talk about.
06:14This game and its depiction of Hong Kong is almost universally beloved for a very good
06:18reason.
06:19Coming in at under two square miles, Sleeping Dogs does so much with its relatively small
06:23space.
06:24Regardless of how much we're cramming into just four districts, it creates a game world
06:28that's incredibly detailed, a blast to explore, and just packed with all sorts of opportunities
06:33to engage.
06:34It combines with the enthralling narrative to create a city that's both engrossing
06:37and immersive.
06:39So much attention was paid to ensuring the game authentically replicated Hong Kong, and
06:43it was praised by reviewers for retaining the real-world soul and charm of the city.
06:48Every street feels alive, the environment feels lived in, and it's the perfect stage
06:52for Shen's incredible story.
06:55Empire Bay – Mafia II
06:57Proving again that you don't have to be a brand new release to nail a rich yet tiny
07:01open world, we've got 2K's Mafia II, which released in 2010.
07:05Lovingly crafted in a top-to-bottom attempt to replicate America in the 1940s and 50s,
07:10the map may not be riddled with side content, but it's so wonderfully detailed that just
07:15looking around and appreciating all it has to offer is a joy in and of itself.
07:19The sights and sounds of the city add so much to the overall world-building, which feeds
07:24back into your investment into the narrative, and your complicated relationships with Empire
07:28Bay's inhabitants.
07:29The lived-in nature of Mafia II's environments, both big and small, make Vito feel more like
07:35a real person.
07:36From the era-appropriate cars that are markedly different in their looks right down to their
07:40handling, to the internal environments riddled with posters and knickknacks, it feels like
07:45every area has a story to tell.
07:47Given that one of Mafia II's greatest strengths is its writing, it's wonderful that it had
07:52this gorgeous, rich, and yet fairly small game map to tell it in.
07:563.
07:57London – Assassin's Creed Syndicate
07:591.4 square miles may not seem like the smallest map ever, but hear me out.
08:03It's smaller than Hong Kong in Sleeping Dogs, it's a recreation of London, and let's
08:08face it, we're combining Assassin's Creed and map size here.
08:11The outcome usually isn't modest.
08:13Assassin's Creed Syndicate does just that, though.
08:16While its successors AC Origins and AC Odyssey would come in at 30 square miles and almost
08:22100 square miles respectively, Syndicate was a little baby map at 1.4.
08:28That said, what it did with Victorian London was really cool.
08:31Even if it doesn't top your AC favorites list, the freedom in exploring the gorgeously
08:36designed city, especially in its verticality, is immensely satisfying.
08:40The lived-in nature of the town is enhanced by everything from historical figures like
08:44Karl Marx to a dawdle through the park revealing NPCs playing cricket.
08:48Venturing through London at the onset of the Second Industrial Revolution, whether
08:52by foot or carriage, just feels great.
08:55The atmosphere is fully captured by all of the lovely little details, and it's a very
08:58cool experience.
09:00It also might be the last time you play a really small AC map, so if that's something
09:05you really enjoy, maybe check that one out.
09:072.
09:08Hyrule – The Legend of Zelda
09:10While I really do love to come here on WhatCultureLists and tell you things that you don't already
09:14know, I can't be that person right now, because what I have to do is tell you that
09:19The Legend of Zelda has a tiny but excellent open world map.
09:22It's not news, but we have to pay credit where it's due, and this game was a pioneer
09:26of open world game design.
09:28Not to mention it's obviously fantastic, and it spawned one of the best open worlds
09:32ever made in Breath of the Wild, which only doesn't appear on this list because it's
09:36way, way too big.
09:37Breath of the Wild aside, The Legend of Zelda The First was praised upon release for its
09:42graphics.
09:43Yes, really.
09:44Although this one came out first in 1986.
09:47It was also celebrated for having a game world positively filled with secrets, treasures,
09:51exciting beastie encounters, and effectively setting the stage for Link's epic hero's
09:56journey.
09:57Given the game relied entirely on players' natural desire to explore to press themselves
10:01forward, the allure of the world design was absolutely essential to its success.
10:06It might not seem like much to look at now, but The Legend of Zelda changed the game for
10:09rich detailed video game experiences.
10:12And it did all that with what is in retrospect, a pretty small map.
10:16Number 1.
10:17Kamurocho.
10:18Yakuza series.
10:19It's a strange concept for me to sit here and tell you that using the same map repeatedly
10:23in a series is the best choice a developer could have made.
10:26But Yakuza isn't just any series, and Kamurocho isn't just any city.
10:31It's exciting, mysterious, wildly unpredictable, and delightfully familiar all at once.
10:36Fiddled with eateries, all of which you can order from, NPCs to offer you missions, and
10:41overarching narratives that tell the story of a city at war with itself and its inhabitants
10:45who more often than not prioritize family above all else, Kamurocho is something else.
10:51Though the fictional Tokyo district largely stayed the same as the series wore on, you
10:55spend so much time in its relatively small borders that you notice the little things
10:59that do change, especially when the game switches decades.
11:02The city and vibe may stay the same, but there's always a new crazy character to meet,
11:07a city-sprawling substory to pull at your heartstrings, or a cat for you to help home.
11:11Additionally, later games and the Judgment spin-off would use the same city but allow
11:15for more vertical traversal, allowing you to explore the city even further.
11:19Because of its relatively modest size, every tiny part of the city is thriving and detailed.
11:25You naturally learn the history of the place and grow the same nuanced relationship with
11:29it that original series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu did.
11:32Kamurocho's size ensures there's somewhere to shop, something to eat, someone to fight,
11:36something to pick up, and someone to help around every corner.
11:40And that's what makes the city so iconic.
11:42That's the end of our list, but do let me know down in the comment section if you can
11:45think of any other tiny but excellent open worlds in video games.
11:49As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
11:54If you like, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account where I'm at JessMcDonald,
11:58but make sure you do stay tuned to us here for plenty more great gaming lists.