Top 26 Best Open World Mac OS Games

If you’re a fan of open-world video game titles then there is a massive catalog of titles to pick from. However, if you’re playing with the Mac OS platform then we have you covered. Here are the best open-world video game titles you can play right now on the Mac OS.

#26 Stranded Deep

Many survival games out there will test your skills in one form or another. But Stranded Deep arguably puts you in one of the worst scenarios you can be in.

After a plane crash, you find yourself in the middle of the ocean with no one to help you. You must do everything possible to survive with limited supplies and no clue where you are.

Work above and below the water to get the supplies you need to push on. Swim and paddle your way through the waters so you can find islands to get refuge and find more materials to live on. But remember, you’re not the only living thing out in the water or possibly on the islands you find.

#25 Dysmantle

Dysmantle tosses players into a protagonist that eventually breaks free from his underground shelter years after society collapses. It’s only when you gain topside that you find that humanity has turned into mindless zombies. Armed with your trusty crowbar, the game has players bashing items down to gather their resources. This game is all about survival. You’ll explore the world, gather resources, upgrade your gear, and press forward to find what else might be thriving in this new world. If you’re after a new post-apocalyptic exploration game, give this little indie title a chance.

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#24 Everspace 2 

Everspace 2 finally launched into the marketplace in January of 2021, and at the time of writing this description, the game has been in early access. This is a single-player video game where players are tossed into the distant future. Here we’ll explore the open galaxy and take on different missions. It’s all about traversing in a spaceship where you’ll fire off several other weapons and power-ups against enemy AI that pops up along the way.

Although, you’ll find that exploration doesn’t just lead to battles. There are many secrets to uncover, puzzles, and obstacle course areas to maneuver around in. The loot you encounter along the way can then be traded off for more funds. It’s all about building up your setup and becoming a skillful pilot. Of course, as mentioned, this is an early access game, so we’re not dealing with the full game right now. Instead, players can expect further updates to come out as the developers prepare for a full launch.

#23 Minecraft

Everyone knows of Minecraft. This game has been such a massively popular title for years now and it’s still finding new content being added in from developers Mojang. Not to mention, those on the PC platform such as Mac OS will find that there are plenty of mods, skins, and custom maps to import into the title. The game taps into players’ creativity as you’re dropped into a randomly generated world where you can freely explore, craft items, build structures, and survive the elements.

Speaking of survival, the game has not only hostile enemies but a hunger vital you’ll need to be mindful of. However, there is a creative mode as well which means that you can freely build and craft items without the fear of losing your character in battle. Those of you who want to enjoy multiplayer will find that there is access to online servers that adds mini-games or you can create your own server and allow friends to join your map.

#22 The Witness

The Witness is a perfect game for those that enjoy solving puzzles. Played out in a first-person perspective, The Witness tosses players into a seemingly abandoned island with areas that are locked off. You’ll find out that the only way to progress through the island and unlock areas is to complete a series of puzzles. Players will go to a puzzle station and can begin to figure out how to solve it. Of course, as you can expect the puzzles start easy and simplistic but can progress to be quite the brainteaser.

Outside of that, you have a rather vivid open world to explore as you progress through the campaign. Best of all, you’ll have a few puzzles readily available so if you ever find yourself stuck, there’s the ability to drop the puzzle and move on to another one.

#21 The Long Dark

The Long Dark might scratch that survival game itch for you. In this game, players take the role of a pilot forced to make an emergency landing in the Canadian wilderness. This is an episodic style video game with there being a total of five episodes following our protagonist, Will Mackenzie along with Dr. Astrid Greenwood.

While the duo was attempting to transport a special item the emergency landing ends up leaving the two separated. From there it’s a story of survival and desperate searches for each other. You’ll have to keep an eye on your vitals while being in the harsh winter tundra. Players will need to concentrate on having to stay warm, collecting wood, setting up fires, keeping the fire going, even melting snow, and purifying the water to quench your thirst. Then of course there are the hostilities that may come your way such as hungry wolves.

#20 Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition

Divinity: Original Sin 2 takes place during a time of wars and religious persecution, Bishop Alexandar the Innocent declares all Sorcerers to be criminals. Now a group of four Sorcerers embarks on a journey to defeat this newfound enemy. This is an RPG title that players can go through the campaign together in a cooperative game mode.

However, if you’re already a bit into the campaign and don’t want to start completely over, the secondary player can take control of a character in your party. Likewise, the game offers a plethora of choices to help alter the narrative or means of completing a quest. Not to mention that this title takes place in a high-fantasy world you’ll be able to explore, battle within, and meet some interesting characters along the way.

#19 The Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls is a beloved franchise and we’re all waiting on that next mainline installment to release, but in the meantime, there’s The Elder Scrolls Online that players can spend countless hours within. This is an MMORPG so you can expect the game not to hold up as visually impressive as the mainline games, but there’s enough content in here to keep you busy. Likewise, The Elder Scrolls Online has expansions out which adds more content for players and areas to explore. If you’re a fan of the series or just love high-fantasy titles, then this might be the game for you. With that said, you can find this game can get costly if you’re interested in diving into the ESO Plus memberships which grant players in-game content such as progression bonuses and DLC game packs.

#18 7 Days To Die

7 Days to Die follows the events of a world war where most of humanity has perished due to nuclear weapons. However, with so many people left exposed to radiation, a new virus flooded the world turning innocent civilians into mindless zombies. In this title, you can expect a wave-base game where players are not only fighting off zombies but building up a base and gathering resources to maintain their vitals.

Overall, in this game players can explore the open world and find a base that they would like to fortify. From there you have seven days to make repairs and upgrade defenses along with resources to keep healthy. On the final day, a wave of zombies will be coming through and if you survive, you’ll be able to once again repair your base, make more upgrades and attempt to survive a stronger wave of zombies.

#17 Terraria

Terraria is a whole lot like Minecraft in that this is more of an endless title where players explore, collect resources, and battle enemies within a randomly generated world. However, rather than being in a first-person perspective, it’s set up in a 2D world. With that said it’s still a sandbox game where players can craft, survive the elements, defeat hostile enemies, and explore the world. It might be a bit simplistic for some, but it’s clear that even an old school 2D sprite style video game can get a ton of attention today.

#16 Euro Truck Simulator 2

Euro Truck Simulation 2 is a game that puts players in the role of a trucker. Set in Europe, players will be able to take their trucks on the road as they deliver cargo. It’s set up in an open world but overall, the game will have players trucking along a route but there’s a bit more to this game than just simply driving from destination to destination.

Being a simulation game, there’s more thought into the trucks, how they are set up, cargo, haulers, the road conditions, traffic, how to properly park in a designated area, among other fine details. To add to this point, if you’re wanting an American version of this game, there is American Truck Simulator as well which is available for the Mac OS platform. It’s essentially the same thing, but you’re driving within North America.

#15 Subnautica: Below Zero

If you played Subnautica and enjoyed it then we would suggest looking into Below Zero. It’s a new installment to the Subnautica franchise in that players are in an alien ocean world but this time around you’re in an arctic region of the planet. Players step into the role of a scientist studying the alien artifacts found beneath the surface. Just as before there are hostile enemies that lurk below the depths and you’ll need to keep track of the different vital signs of your character.

However, unlike Subnautica, this video game is not fully available in the market. Right now, it’s only set up as an Early Access title for Steam. As you can imagine, there are plenty of bugs and developers may make changes to the game as they finish the title up. Unfortunately, we’re not sure just when this game will be available outside of Early Access.

#14 ARK: Survival Evolved

Ark: Survival Evolved puts players on an open world island with other players along with hostile dinosaurs. You’ll have to keep your health, stamina, oxygen, hunger, and thirst under check all while collecting goods. These goods are made to craft and build up your bases to live in. The game is a mixture of keeping your vitals up, base in order while also having the ability to tame the dinosaurs that roam the area. We do know that a sequel is in the works, Ark: Survival Evolved 2 is currently in development but you’ll still find an active community enjoying this installment for a good while while the developers continuing working on the next title release.

#13 Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley was created by a fan of the Harvest Moon franchise. This is a farming style simulation title where players take on the role of a character who inherits their grandfather’s dilapidated farm. Within this game, players are put into tending towards their crops and livestock. Likewise, you’ll have the ability to craft goods, mine, among other social activities with the in-game community. Since its release back in 2016 the Stardew Valley video game became a massive hit and has sold over three million units by the end of 2017. There have even been upgrades made to the game since launch which includes the like of multiplayer support so you and a few friends can join together and work on the same farm.

#12 Rust

Rust in a lot of ways is like Ark in that this is an MMO where players are forced to survive while also facing potentially hostile players. However, the game is set in more modern days with players having guns to vehicles as they search for resources and gear. Just like with Ark, there are several elements to keep in check such as your thirst, hunger, and keeping warm. The world itself is pretty diverse. You can find yourself in lakes to deep forests. However, if you’re wanting a single-player experience then this is probably a game worth passing up.

#11 Mafia 3

When Mafia first came out it was a massive hit. There was a compelling mob storyline filled with memorable characters and the gameplay mechanics were solid for the time. Now we’re left with the third installment which came out from developers Hangar 13. This time around, players are put into the role of a Vietnam war veteran who finds himself getting back to his old street gang attempting to run the streets of New Bordeaux. Of course, without spoiling too much, things go south quickly and players step into a new story based around revenge. The map is filled with a few decent little areas to explore but don’t go in expecting as lively as a city compared to the likes of Grand Theft Auto V.

#10 Stranded Deep

Stranded Deep is a survival game by the development team Beam Team Games. It’s been around for quite a few years now with the game being stuck in early access since January of 2015. For those of you who may not be familiar with the title, Stranded Deep puts players as a survivor of a plane crash. You’ll have to make your way towards an island and from there the goal is simply to survive as long as you can. If you’re after a survival game where players are forced into monitoring vital signs, gathering resources, and exploring uncharted lands then this could be a title well worth picking up.

#9 Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program puts players in control of a space initiative. In this game, players will learn how to successfully develop a spacecraft capable of going into space and landing back down to Earth. However, if you looked into this game much at all you’ll find that there is plenty of outstanding creations which is where you might have the most fun in this game. From putting together ships and seeing just what to tweak to make a launch successful. There are a few game modes within the game that are worth trying out. Not only is there a sandbox mode that will give players the ability to be creative and consistently conduct trials and errors of various spacecraft builds but also modes that will give players objectives and missions while traveling through space.

#8 Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid by developers The Indie Stone certainly looks like a pretty old title by today’s standards but it’s still proven to be incredibly fun and has a strong following. Within the game, players are stuck in a city that’s become flooded with the undead. Your sole goal is to simply survive until your eventual demise against the zombie creatures. Being placed in an open-world city map there’s plenty of areas to explore and scavenge for goods. To survive, players must scavenge items and take care of their various vitals such as hunger, tiredness, pain, and mental state.

#7 Subnautica

Subnautica is a survival adventure game that takes place in the late 22nd century. Players step into the shoes of an astronaut who is set to discover and colonize new planets. However, early in the game, our protagonist is the lone survivor of a crashed spaceship. During the journey on this new unusual planet, players will have to collect a variety of resources to maintain nutrition, hydration, and of course, oxygen. You could even dabble into the Hardcore mode which makes the gameplay even more stressful knowing that there is no respawn options when you die. If you haven’t played this game, you might want to try it out before diving into Subnautica: Below Zero.

#6 Don’t Starve Together

Don’t Starve, is an open-world survival video game in which players must help keep their protagonist, scientist Wilson, alive from the dark world. The game offers a day and night cycle in which the day portion puts players into collecting resources such as food and firewood while at night the game tosses monsters for players to avoid. However, you don’t have to wander around aimlessly on your own. That’s where Don’t Starve Together shines as it’s an edition that allows two players to work together. Of course, because the world is randomly generated with permanent death featured, you’ll likely want to be more cautious and strategic in your gameplay decisions.

#5 Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition

Sleeping Dogs sets players up as an undercover cop that’s working up the ranks of a criminal organization known as theTriads. This game was a title that might have went under the radar for a lot of players as it launched in 2012. Which is a real shame as this game was such a blast to play through when it first released.

Unfortunately, we haven’t received a sequel yet, but there is a Definitive Edition available for players to enjoy right now. This comes as a remaster to the original title with all of the previously available DLC extensions. If you haven’t played this game when it first released then your best bet would be picking up the Definitive Edition today while we wait for a potential sequel announcement to come out.

#4 Dying Light

Dying Light follows an agent named Kyle Crane who is tasked with infiltrating a quarantine zone city of Harran which has become infected with a virus turning civilians into ruthless zombies. It’s during the day, the zombies are more lethargic and easier to deal with, though once the sun set’s they become more aggressive and harder to deal with. This game features a rather big map to explore and a good portion of traversing is running.

Our protagonist is skilled in parkour which makes escaping from hostile enemies at night a blast as you’re able to dash around the roads, climb and leap off different rooftops. It’s a bit like Mirror’s Edge if you’re familiar with that game’s parkour system. There is a sequel in the works which is said to have a larger world to explore and more gameplay mechanics. However, at the time of writing this description, Dying Light 2 doesn’t have a specific release date yet, but we’re hopeful to see it before 2021 wraps.

#3 Mad Max

Mad Max is a game that went under the radar and it shouldn’t be ignored. You’ll find a lot to love about this game and there’s a big open world waiting for players to drive around in both to scavenge and to fight off hostiles. Gamers will explore a giant desert wasteland as they battle foes in vehicle-based combat and it’s honestly a great game. Meanwhile, when you’re not fighting within vehicles you’ll find that the combat is a bit similar to the Batman Arkham series where it’s all based around striking and counter-attacks.

#2 Batman: Arkham City

The Batman Arkham games were such a blast and while the series has concluded with multiple games to enjoy right now, we would suggest looking at Batman: Arkham City. This game throws players into the role of the Dark Knight with Gotham City being opened for players to venture through. From peering over the ledges of buildings, gliding down to fight off some baddies, and using a grapple to quickly zip out of sight, you can’t ask much more from a Batman simulation game. There’s plenty of different missions to go through as well when you’re just exploring the city and it’s become a staple Batman title for a lot of fans. Best of all, since this game came out quite a few years ago at this point, you can pick it up relatively cheap today.

#1 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

There are a ton of great video games based on The Lord of the Rings IP but for this list, we’re going to suggest players check into Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. This is an action RPG title that puts players into a ranger that gets connected with an Elf Lord spirit. In this game, players will get to venture all through the iconic areas from the franchise while progressing a campaign filled with revenge. Without spoiling too much of the game narrative, it’s a title that players can pick up today and even continue with its sequel, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War.

The gameplay is often compared to the Batman Arkham games as well with players quickly going into battle and focusing on striking and quick dodges. Meanwhile, there’s an interesting system set in a place called the Nemesis system in which anytime you lose against an orc, they’ll remember the battle and make references to it when you meet again.