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If you want an open-world game with a woman at the center before GTA VI, start with Horizon Forbidden West for the strongest fixed-protagonist adventure, Far Cry 6 for modern guns, vehicles and co-op, or Star Wars Outlaws for a female-led criminal story in a space-western setting. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is another large-scale option, although its official description does not establish the gender-selection details clearly enough to treat Eivor as a confirmed female protagonist.
Rockstar Games lists GTA VI for November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. These games cover the major experiences you may want while waiting: contemporary crime and firearms, expansive exploration, stealth and melee combat, vehicles, faction politics and a story led by a woman.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition - PS5™ | $50.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Horizon Forbidden West Standard Edition - PlayStation 5 | $41.40 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered PS5 | $30.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Horizon Forbidden West Special Edition - PlayStation 5 | $94.95 | Buy on Amazon |
Which games are the best matches?
| Game | Protagonist certainty | World and tone | Core play style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Forbidden West | Fixed female protagonist: Aloy | Post-apocalyptic wilderness and tribal societies | Machine hunting, bows, melee, climbing and gliding |
| Far Cry 6 | Selectable: Dani Rojas can be male or female | Modern Caribbean-inspired Yara under a dictatorship | Firearms, vehicles, outposts, improvised weapons and co-op |
| Star Wars Outlaws | Fixed female protagonist: Kay Vess | Space-western crime adventure | Heists, stealth, shooting, speeder travel, starship combat and syndicate reputation |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Gender framing requires verification for the edition and settings | Ninth-century England and Viking-era Norway | Raids, melee combat, stealth, alliances and settlement building |
There is no single substitute for GTA. The closest modern sandbox is Far Cry 6, while Horizon Forbidden West offers the most clearly documented female-led campaign. Outlaws has the closest criminal-adventure structure, but its science-fiction setting changes the vehicles, weapons and social systems substantially.
Horizon Forbidden West: the best all-round female-led open world
What you play
Sony presents Aloy as the hero of a large open world threatened by a planet-wide blight. You travel through varied environments, meet new tribes, investigate the source of the ecological crisis and fight enormous machines. Aloy is not an avatar-selection option: she is the defined protagonist, so the story, dialogue and character arc remain consistent throughout the campaign.
#1 Best Overall
- Experience the epic Horizon Forbidden West in its entirety, including bonus content and the Burning Shores expansion:
- Brave an expansive open world – discover distant lands, new enemies, rich cultures and striking characters.
- A majestic frontier – explore the lush forests, sunken cities and towering mountains of a far-future America.
- Confront new dangers – engage in strategic battles against enormous machines and mounted human enemies by using weapons, gear and traps crafted from salvaged parts.
- Unravel startling mysteries – uncover the secret behind Earth’s imminent collapse and unlock a hidden chapter in the ancient past… one that will change Aloy forever.
Why it works before GTA VI
This is the strongest choice when “play as a woman” means wanting a fully authored lead rather than a selectable body model. Aloy’s combat combines ranged weapons, traps and close-quarters attacks. Each machine has different components and weaknesses, turning encounters into deliberate hunts rather than simple damage races. The world also supports climbing and gliding, giving exploration a vertical rhythm that differs from a road-based crime sandbox.
The tone is story-forward and spectacular. You investigate ruins of the old world, negotiate with communities and move through landscapes built for visual discovery. That makes Horizon a good fit if you want a substantial narrative between open-world activities instead of a purely emergent chaos simulator.
Release and edition details
Horizon Forbidden West released on February 18, 2022. It is available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC. On PS5, the Complete Edition combines the base game with the Burning Shores expansion. Choose that edition if you want the main adventure and its expansion in one package; the platform distinction matters because the Complete Edition is the version identified for PS5 in the supplied official information.
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Can you play as a woman?
Yes. Ubisoft’s official page states: Play Dani Rojas as male or female.
Dani is therefore a selectable protagonist rather than a fixed female character. Your choice changes the presentation of the lead while the campaign follows the same broad struggle against Anton Castillo’s regime in Yara.
What makes it feel closest to GTA
Far Cry 6 is the practical pick for contemporary firearms, road travel and a sandbox built around hostile outposts. You can approach objectives with conventional guns, improvised weapons and guerrilla gadgets, then use vehicles and animal companions to create unscripted escapes or attacks. The setting is fictional, but its political conflict, civilian spaces and modern equipment are much closer to a crime-action game than the prehistoric machines of Horizon or the planets of Outlaws.
Rank #2
- An epic Action/RPG Adventure:
- Brave an expansive open world - discover distant lands, new enemies, rich cultures and striking characters.
- A majestic frontier - explore the lush forests, sunken cities and towering mountains of a far-future America.
- Confront new dangers - engage in strategic battles against enormous machines and mounted human enemies by using weapons, gear and traps crafted from salvaged parts.
- Unravel startling mysteries - uncover the secret behind Earth's imminent collapse and unlock a hidden chapter in the ancient past. one that will change Aloy forever.
The game also supports full co-op with shared progression. That is a meaningful difference if your pre-GTA VI plan includes playing with another person rather than staying in a solo campaign. Co-op does not turn Yara into a GTA Online replacement, but it does let two players tackle the same guerrilla objectives together.
Who should choose it
- Choose female Dani when you want an explicitly documented woman protagonist without giving up modern weapons.
- Choose it for outpost assaults, vehicle hijacking, gadget experimentation and emergent chaos.
- Choose it for co-op and shared progression, which the official page specifically confirms.
- Do not choose it expecting the same city-crime structure as GTA; Yara’s central loop is revolutionary warfare against a regime.
Star Wars Outlaws: a female-led criminal adventure in space
Kay Vess and the outlaw structure
Star Wars Outlaws stars Kay Vess, a female scoundrel trying to make her way through a criminal underworld. Ubisoft positions it as the first-ever open world Star Wars™ game
. Instead of one continuous modern city, the campaign moves among distinct locations, including Toshara, Akiva, Kijimi, Cantonica and Tatooine.
How its systems differ from GTA
Kay’s life is organized around jobs, escapes and relationships with crime syndicates. Reputation choices can improve one faction’s attitude while damaging another’s, so the consequences are social and strategic rather than limited to a wanted-level meter. Missions can involve stealth, shooting or heists, and the game links ground travel to vehicle play through speeder rides and starship dogfights.
That transition between planetary exploration and space combat is the main reason to pick Outlaws. It delivers the fantasy of a woman operating inside a criminal network, but the equipment, spaces and pacing are science-fiction rather than contemporary. If you want a direct modern-world analogue, Far Cry 6 is closer. If you want a female-led outlaw story with varied environments and faction politics, Outlaws is the more distinctive option.
Best fit before November 2026
Play this when you value exploration variety and character-driven jobs over a single huge metropolitan map. Kay’s companion and syndicate relationships give the open world a different kind of continuity: your choices shape who is willing to work with you, while your speeder and ship provide separate forms of mobility.
Rank #3
- EARTH IS OURS NO MORE
- Experience the critically acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn with stunning new visuals and upgraded features
- In a far future where colossal machines roam and rule the Earth, pockets of humanity survive in unique tribes amon the lush, overgrown ruins of our long-lost civilization
- Take up bow and spear as Aloy, a youn machine hunter and outcast of her tribe, as she discovers her origins, the truth of this mysterious world, and her own destiny to save it from impending doom.
- On her journey, Aloy will come across unique tribes, lively settlements, and compelling characters and companions.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: a Viking open world with a gender caveat
What is established
Ubisoft describes Eivor leading a clan from Norway to ninth-century England. The campaign includes raids, settlement construction, alliances and a large explorable world, with melee combat and stealth supporting both direct assaults and quieter approaches.
Why the protagonist wording matters
The official page reviewed for this guide does not state the gender-selection detail. Because of that, descriptions should not present Eivor as a confirmed female protagonist without checking the specific edition and in-game settings you intend to use. If your priority is certainty that the playable lead is a woman, Horizon Forbidden West and Star Wars Outlaws provide clearer fixed-protagonist evidence, while Far Cry 6 explicitly documents the male-or-female choice.
When Valhalla is the right choice
Select it for historical exploration, long-form role-playing and the combination of settlement management with raids. Its world is built around a clan’s expansion and political relationships, not modern crime or science-fiction syndicates. Expect a large, lengthy campaign whose appeal comes from building a foothold and choosing how to approach combat, rather than from rapid-fire urban missions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose based on the experience you want
If you want the closest modern sandbox
Pick Far Cry 6. It is the only recommendation here that explicitly combines a selectable female lead with contemporary guns, vehicles, outposts and full co-op. Its revolutionary setting is not identical to GTA, but the equipment and open-ended attacks make the transition easiest.
If you want the strongest authored female hero
Pick Horizon Forbidden West. Aloy’s identity is central to the narrative, and every major system—machine analysis, climbing, gliding and tribal diplomacy—supports that character-led journey. The trade-off is a post-apocalyptic setting and creature-focused combat rather than modern crime.
Rank #4
- Includes Full Game SteelBook Mini Art Book Digital soundtrack
- Brave an expansive open world - discover distant lands, new enemies, rich cultures and striking characters.
- A majestic frontier - explore the lush forests, sunken cities and towering mountains of a far-future America.
- Confront new dangers - engage in strategic battles against enormous machines and mounted human enemies by using weapons, gear and traps crafted from salvaged parts.
- Unravel startling mysteries - uncover the secret behind Earth's imminent collapse and unlock a hidden chapter in the ancient past. one that will change Aloy forever.
If you want heists and faction politics
Pick Star Wars Outlaws. Kay Vess is a fixed female protagonist, and the syndicate reputation system gives jobs a criminal-network logic. The trade-offs are a science-fiction setting, planet-to-planet travel and a greater emphasis on stealth and reputation alongside shooting.
If you want history and settlement building
Pick Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but verify the gender presentation before starting. Its strengths are raids, alliances, melee combat and a settlement that grows with your clan.
Games that are useful comparisons but do not meet the female-lead requirement
Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is a strong open-world benchmark for stealth, swordplay, archery and a large feudal-Japan map. PlayStation identifies Jin as the protagonist, so it should not be presented as a campaign in which you play as a woman. It remains useful as a comparison for combat and exploration, not as a recommendation for this specific protagonist requirement.
Cyberpunk 2077
The official Cyberpunk 2077 page confirms Night City and the Phantom Liberty expansion, but the page reviewed does not document protagonist-gender options. Do not make a gender-specific claim about V from that evidence alone. Treat it as a separate open-world comparison unless you verify the relevant character-creation details from an appropriate source.
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- Start with your non-negotiable. For a fixed woman protagonist, choose Horizon Forbidden West or Star Wars Outlaws. For a selectable woman in a modern setting, choose Far Cry 6.
- Match the combat you want. Pick bows and machine tactics in Horizon, firearms and gadgets in Far Cry, stealth and syndicate jobs in Outlaws, or melee raids in Valhalla.
- Check your platform before buying. Horizon Forbidden West is confirmed for PS5, PS4 and PC. GTA VI itself is scheduled for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, so owners of those consoles can use any of the first three games as a current-generation lead-in where their edition supports it.
- Reserve time for the campaign style. A focused character journey favors Horizon; co-op sessions favor Far Cry 6; interconnected criminal jobs favor Outlaws; and a long historical role-playing commitment favors Valhalla.
Bottom line
Before GTA VI arrives on November 19, 2026, Horizon Forbidden West is the safest all-round recommendation for a woman-led open world, Far Cry 6 is the best modern guns-and-co-op alternative, and Star Wars Outlaws is the strongest female-led criminal adventure outside a contemporary setting. Add Assassin’s Creed Valhalla when Viking exploration and settlement management matter more than protagonist certainty, and keep the gender caveats for Ghost of Tsushima and Cyberpunk 2077 explicit.
Quick Recap
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