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If Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom made you want more freedom to roam, the best next choice depends on what you mean by “bigger.” The reviewed official sources do not provide comparable map-area measurements, so no honest ranking can prove that one of these games has a larger world than Zelda. Instead, choose by the kind of breadth you want: more mythic puzzles, a stranger and tougher fantasy journey, a science-fiction landscape with additional traversal tools, or an ongoing world built around flight, swimming and climbing.
Start with Immortals Fenyx Rising if you want the closest overall match to Zelda’s light tone, exploration loop and environmental puzzles. Pick Elden Ring for mystery and demanding action-RPG combat, Horizon Forbidden West for machine-filled science-fiction exploration and varied traversal, or Genshin Impact if an anime-styled, continuously updated world suits you.
What “a bigger open world” should mean here
“Bigger” is useful as a player preference, not as a measured leaderboard. The official pages reviewed describe these settings as vast, immense or open, but they do not publish directly comparable area figures. A world can feel larger because it offers more distinct regions, more ways to reach a landmark, denser secrets, longer sightlines, or a different rhythm of discovery. Those qualities matter more to a Zelda fan than an unverified square-kilometre claim.
The practical question is therefore: which game gives you more of the exploration you enjoy, while changing the fewest things you dislike? Someone who wants easy travel and frequent environmental puzzles should choose differently from someone who wants a harsher combat test or a science-fiction setting. The guide below treats the games as alternatives by experience, not by map-size marketing.
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Quick comparison
| Game | Best fit | Exploration and traversal | Combat and structure | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immortals Fenyx Rising | The closest Zelda-like option | Free roaming, puzzle-led landmarks and a mythic world | Action-adventure with a playful tone | Official Nintendo listing describes seven regions; this is a feature count, not an area comparison. |
| Elden Ring | Mystery and challenge | Seamlessly connected landscapes, dungeons and horseback travel | Demanding action-RPG combat with flexible approaches; optional online play | It is a major shift away from Zelda’s approachable feel. |
| Horizon Forbidden West | Science-fiction discovery | Ruins, tribes, machines, free climbing, underwater areas and dedicated traversal tools | Machine encounters and ranged combat | Check the current platform and edition listing; the franchise hub references a PC Complete Edition. |
| Genshin Impact | Ongoing anime-styled fantasy | Open-world flight, swimming and climbing | Service-based structure rather than a one-time, fixed adventure | Verify current platforms, monetization and update details before installing. |
The four strongest picks
Immortals Fenyx Rising: the closest overall Zelda substitute
Immortals Fenyx Rising is the safest recommendation when the part you miss is the combination of free exploration, environmental puzzles, mythic imagery and a light sense of humor. Nintendo’s U.S. listing presents a stylized open world divided across seven regions, with puzzle-solving, free roaming and a choose-your-own-path emphasis. Ubisoft describes the protagonist, Fenyx, as a winged demigod who confronts mythological beasts and solves ancient puzzles. Those ingredients align closely with the exploratory rhythm many players associate with modern Zelda.
The seven-region description tells you that the world is deliberately divided into distinct areas, but it does not tell you that the map is physically larger than a Zelda map. Use the number as an organizational clue: you should expect a journey with multiple themed spaces rather than one uniform field. The important fit is how the game asks you to move through those spaces—look for a route, reach a puzzle, solve it, and use the reward or new access to continue.
Traversal is the deciding advantage for a Zelda fan. Fenyx’s winged-demigod premise makes movement feel fantastical rather than realistic, and the game’s official descriptions put free roaming and puzzle solving at the center rather than treating them as side activities. If your favorite moments involve spotting something interesting in the distance and improvising a route toward it, this is the shortlist’s closest match.
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Choose it when you want:
- A mythological setting without a relentlessly grim mood.
- Puzzles integrated into exploration rather than a world built mainly around combat.
- A familiar action-adventure structure with room to choose your route.
- A game available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation and Xbox according to Ubisoft’s game page.
Do not choose it solely because of the seven-region figure. No comparable area measurement is supplied for Zelda or this game. Choose it because the movement, puzzle density and tone match your reasons for playing Zelda.
Official details: Nintendo’s Immortals Fenyx Rising listing and Ubisoft’s game page.
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Elden Ring: the choice for a larger-feeling mystery, not an easier Zelda
Elden Ring is for the player who wants to get lost in a mysterious fantasy world and is willing to replace Zelda’s approachable action with a much more demanding action-RPG experience. Bandai Namco’s official description emphasizes vast landscapes and complex dungeons that connect seamlessly, along with horseback traversal, flexible combat approaches and optional online play.
The attraction is uncertainty. The world and its dungeons are presented as a connected journey, so exploration is not simply a checklist of marked attractions. You can travel on horseback, decide which threats to approach and adapt your combat method to the situation. That makes the world feel broad through interconnection and discovery, even though the source does not provide a comparable area measurement.
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Choose it when you want:
- A fantasy world whose landscapes and dungeons flow into one another.
- Horseback travel that changes how you cover long distances.
- Combat experimentation instead of one fixed fighting style.
- The option to play with online features, while keeping exploration central.
Before buying, be honest about difficulty. “Similar open-world freedom” does not mean “similar accessibility.” Elden Ring belongs on this list because of its exploratory scale and connected design, not because it reproduces Zelda’s comfort level.
Official details: Bandai Namco’s Elden Ring page.
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Horizon Forbidden West: the best fit for science-fiction exploration
Horizon Forbidden West changes the fantasy premise completely, but it answers the desire for a world that keeps offering different places and traversal problems. PlayStation describes a setting of ruins, tribes, machines and hidden threats. Its exploration toolkit includes free climbing, underwater exploration, the Pullcaster and the Shieldwing, while combat centers on encounters with machines and ranged attacks.
This is the recommendation for a Zelda player whose favorite activity is investigating a landscape rather than solving a particular kind of fantasy puzzle. Ruined locations, tribal settlements and machine territory create different reasons to stop moving and look around. Free climbing and underwater exploration also make vertical and submerged spaces part of the route planning, rather than treating the world as a mostly horizontal field.
The traversal tools matter because they change what “easy travel” feels like. The Pullcaster and Shieldwing are not merely cosmetic equipment; they are named systems that support movement through the environment. Free climbing broadens the surfaces you can approach, and underwater exploration adds an entire direction of travel that a conventional open-world trek cannot provide.
Choose it when you want:
- A detailed science-fiction setting instead of mythic fantasy.
- Machine encounters and ranged combat as the main action language.
- Ruins, tribes and hidden threats that give exploration different contexts.
- Free climbing and underwater areas alongside dedicated movement tools.
Platform information can change by edition and region. PlayStation’s franchise hub references a PC Complete Edition, so check the current game and edition pages for the platform you intend to use rather than relying on an old store listing.
Official details: PlayStation’s Horizon Forbidden West page and the Horizon franchise hub.
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Genshin Impact: a flexible ongoing world with a different commitment
Genshin Impact can satisfy the simple urge to roam, especially if flying, swimming and climbing are the parts of Zelda’s movement system you value most. HoYoverse’s official game page highlights all three forms of traversal in its open world. Its anime-styled fantasy presentation is also a clear departure from the visual language of Nintendo’s series.
The larger difference is structural. This is an ongoing-service game, not simply another fixed adventure to finish and put away. That structure can provide a reason to return and a world that changes over time, but it also means that current platform, monetization and update information must be checked before you commit. The official page reviewed for this guide does not establish those details, so do not infer them from an old video, forum post or search snippet.
Choose it when you want:
- Anime-styled fantasy and a broad cast-driven presentation.
- Flight, swimming and climbing as everyday ways to navigate.
- A world designed for continued engagement rather than a single final endpoint.
- The willingness to evaluate current service terms before starting.
Do not choose it just because the word “open world” appears in its description. The ongoing-service model changes how progress, updates and long-term play fit into your routine. It is a good match for players who welcome that rhythm and a weak match for anyone specifically seeking a self-contained Zelda replacement.
Official details: HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact page.
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Choose by the part of Zelda you want to keep
If traversal and the reward for wandering come first
Begin with Immortals Fenyx Rising for the closest mythic, puzzle-oriented loop. Move to Horizon Forbidden West if you want your routes to include climbing, underwater spaces and named traversal tools. Select Elden Ring when the appeal is covering connected landscapes on horseback while accepting higher combat pressure. Pick Genshin Impact when flight, swimming and climbing are non-negotiable and an ongoing world is welcome.
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- Living and breathing ecosystem: utilize the surrounding environment and wildlife to your advantage;Subgenre:Action role-playing game (RPG)
- Online drop-in multiplayer: when the battle is too daunting to take on single-handedly, hail up to three other hunters to assist during quests by sending up a sos flare to a worldwide server.
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If puzzles are the main reason you play
Immortals Fenyx Rising is the clearest fit because its official descriptions explicitly pair free roaming with ancient puzzle solving and a choose-your-own-path structure. The other three recommendations are better understood as exploration-led games with different challenges: Elden Ring emphasizes combat and connected dungeons, Horizon emphasizes machines and environmental traversal, and Genshin emphasizes movement within an ongoing service.
If combat determines whether you will keep playing
Choose Elden Ring only if demanding action-RPG combat sounds exciting rather than exhausting. Choose Horizon Forbidden West if ranged combat and machine encounters are more appealing than close-quarters fantasy fighting. Immortals Fenyx Rising keeps the overall tone lighter, while Genshin Impact should be evaluated together with its service model instead of combat alone.
If tone and setting matter most
For playful mythic fantasy, choose Immortals Fenyx Rising. For mysterious fantasy with a severe edge, choose Elden Ring. For science fiction built from ruins, tribes and machines, choose Horizon Forbidden West. For anime-styled fantasy in an ongoing world, choose Genshin Impact.
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- Name the non-negotiable. Write down one feature you will miss most: puzzles, free movement, combat challenge, science-fiction discovery, or a continuing service.
- Reject the wrong structure. If you want a finished, focused adventure, remove the ongoing-service option. If you want regular changes and returns, keep Genshin Impact in consideration.
- Set your combat tolerance. A demanding action-RPG is a requirement for Elden Ring, not a minor setting. If that sounds wrong, remove it.
- Pick your world language. Mythic fantasy points to Immortals Fenyx Rising, mysterious fantasy to Elden Ring, science fiction to Horizon Forbidden West, and anime-styled fantasy to Genshin Impact.
- Verify the current edition and platform. Check the linked publisher page and your regional store immediately before purchase. Platform and service details can change, especially for editions and ongoing games.
Common mismatches to avoid
- Buying by map-size claims. The available official sources do not establish comparable world areas. Treat “bigger” as a feeling created by variety, routes and discovery.
- Expecting every game to copy Zelda’s tone. Elden Ring is intentionally more demanding and mysterious, Horizon is science fiction, and Genshin uses an anime-styled ongoing-service structure.
- Ignoring traversal differences. Seven regions, horseback travel, free climbing, underwater exploration, flight and swimming describe different kinds of movement; they are not interchangeable measures of scale.
- Assuming old platform information is current. Confirm the exact edition and territory, particularly for Horizon Forbidden West and Genshin Impact.
- Treating one player’s wording as a consensus. A community question about wanting “the open world, the reward for exploration, the ease of traveling” is a useful description of one preference, not a survey result. See the example discussion for that wording.
Bottom line
Immortals Fenyx Rising is the best first stop for a Zelda fan who wants the least disruptive change: mythic exploration, puzzles, free roaming and humor. Choose Elden Ring for a more mysterious and demanding fantasy journey, Horizon Forbidden West for science-fiction exploration with climbing and underwater traversal, and Genshin Impact for flight, swimming and climbing in an ongoing anime-styled world. None can be ranked honestly by map area from the available evidence; choose the kind of “bigger” adventure you actually want to play.
Quick Recap
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