If you are asking “What should I play after Cyberpunk 2077?” the best first answer is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition. It keeps the authored quests, consequential choices, memorable companions and large explorable world that make Night City work, while moving to a richly realized fantasy setting. If you would rather trade cinematic direction for discovery, choose Elden Ring; for a looser sandbox, choose Skyrim; for slow-burn immersion, Red Dead Redemption 2; for grounded historical role-playing, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II; and for science-fiction travel, Starfield.
CD PROJEKT RED defines Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) as “an open world, narrative-driven role-playing game set in the universe of the classic pen & paper RPG system — Cyberpunk 2020.” That gives us a useful baseline: a substantial world to explore, a strongly authored story, character progression and a setting with its own identity. The games below all preserve several of those traits, but each changes the balance between story direction, freedom, combat, simulation and exploration.
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How to choose your next open-world RPG
No game reproduces Night City exactly. The useful question is which part of Cyberpunk 2077 you want to keep. The table shows the trade-offs before the detailed recommendations.
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| Game | Setting | Quest and narrative density | Combat difficulty | Exploration freedom | Build depth | Pacing | Platform or edition note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) | Dark fantasy kingdoms and wilderness | High; authored quests and moral choices | Moderate, adjustable | High, with story-led regions | Moderate to high | Varied, from urgent arcs to leisurely contracts | Complete Edition includes the base game and two expansions; current remastered edition availability varies by platform |
| Elden Ring (2022) | Mythic fantasy open world | Low to moderate; lore is discovered rather than explained | High | Very high | Very high | Player-directed and exploratory | Edition and platform availability varies; check the current store listing |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) | Open fantasy province | Moderate; faction questlines and emergent stories | Low to moderate, depending on build and difficulty | Very high | High through skills, factions and equipment | Open-ended | Multiple editions exist; features and mod support depend on platform and edition |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) | Detailed American frontier | Very high and character-led | Moderate | High, but mission structure is deliberate | Low to moderate | Slow-burn and cinematic | Platform and edition options vary by storefront |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (2025) | Grounded medieval Bohemia | High, with social consequences | Demanding and system-driven | High within a realistic world | High through skills and reputation | Measured and reactive | Check the current platform listing and edition contents |
| Starfield (2023) | Science-fiction settled space | Moderate to high, split among factions and activities | Moderate | High at the galaxy level, with structured locations | High through skills, gear, ships and outposts | Variable; travel and quest hubs alternate | Edition and platform availability varies by storefront |
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — best overall follow-up
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the closest overall match for a player who wants another large RPG built around authored quests. It is also a natural step for anyone who values CD PROJEKT RED’s approach to dialogue, side characters and choices that create consequences beyond a single conversation. The official game description calls it an acclaimed open-world RPG, and the remastered edition adds upgrades to visuals, performance and gameplay. The Complete Edition packages the main adventure with the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions.
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Why it follows Cyberpunk 2077 so well
Both games make side content feel like part of the world rather than a checklist. A contract, investigation or chance meeting can introduce a character, force a compromise and return to the main plot later. Your protagonist is also defined by a mix of dialogue choices, equipment and abilities, so role-playing is not limited to picking a combat class at the beginning.
The major change is tone and movement. You leave dense neon streets for villages, swamps, mountains and fortified cities, and Geralt’s swordplay and signs replace firearms, cyberware and quickhacks. The world is less vertically urban than Night City, but its regions are packed with local conflicts and environmental stories.
What to expect from progression and choices
- Build around sword attacks, signs, alchemy or a hybrid rather than expecting one fixed class.
- Read quest dialogue closely: seemingly minor decisions can alter characters, rewards or later scenes.
- Use contracts and exploration to learn local politics; they are often written with the same care as headline missions.
- Play the expansions after the base story if you want two substantial arcs with distinct settings and themes.
Choose this game when narrative density and memorable characters matter more than cutting-edge gunplay. It is less suitable if you want a fast, first-person action loop or a cyberpunk setting specifically.
Elden Ring — best for discovery and combat mastery
Elden Ring is the strongest choice when your favorite Cyberpunk memories involve finding an unexpected location, experimenting with a build or deciding your own route through the map. PlayStation describes creating a character and traversing a breathtaking open world on foot or horseback while uncovering mysteries; Bandai Namco presents it as a game that redefined open-world design.
The fundamental trade
Its world rarely explains itself as directly as Night City. You may find a ruined church, a sealed door or an apparently impossible enemy with little context. Clues are embedded in item descriptions, architecture, enemy placement and brief conversations. That restraint creates powerful discoveries, but it can feel opaque if you want quest logs to state the next objective.
Combat is the price of admission. Enemies punish careless attacks, stamina management matters and bosses demand that you learn patterns rather than rely on a single overpowered weapon. You can reduce the pressure with ranged options, spirit allies, cooperative play and flexible respec choices, but the game expects practice.
How to approach your first character
- Pick a starting class for its opening equipment, not as a permanent commitment.
- Explore nearby caves, camps and underground areas before pushing into a major legacy dungeon.
- Upgrade one main weapon and keep your core attributes focused instead of spreading points evenly.
- When a boss feels impossible, leave, search another region and return with new skills, equipment or knowledge.
Choose Elden Ring if freedom and mastery matter more than cinematic dialogue. It is not the best match for someone seeking a tightly signposted, character-first campaign.
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) offers the loosest, most immediately legible fantasy sandbox on this list. Its province is built for wandering: follow a rumor, climb toward a visible landmark, enter a ruin, join a faction or ignore the main quest for dozens of hours. A comparison guide from GamesRadar highlights its fully realized magical world, freedom to roam, secrets, monsters and alchemy.
Why its structure feels different
Skyrim does not push you through a single authored chain as consistently as Cyberpunk 2077. Instead, it gives you overlapping questlines and lets your character’s routine emerge from them. You can become a stealth archer, heavy-armored warrior, destruction mage, alchemist, thief or an improvised combination. Skills improve through use, and equipment, shouts and faction membership reinforce the fantasy you are playing.
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- Play as a highly trained monster slayer for hire.
- Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth and complexity.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year edition brings together the base game and all the additional content released to date.
Best reasons to choose it
- You want faction stories that can become your character’s main identity.
- You prefer an open-ended pace with no pressure to finish the central plot.
- You enjoy collecting spells, ingredients, weapons and books as much as completing objectives.
- You value a long-established mod ecosystem on platforms that support it.
The trade-off is age. Combat and facial animation are less sophisticated than in newer RPGs, and the original release’s systems can feel blunt. Edition features and mod support depend on your platform, so check those details before buying. Choose Skyrim for breadth, role-play freedom and a world that keeps generating errands; choose another game if you need every side mission to have the dramatic polish of a major Cyberpunk quest.
Red Dead Redemption 2 — best for slow-burn immersion
Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) is the recommendation for players who want to inhabit a world rather than optimize a build. Its frontier setting is richly simulated: towns have routines, wildlife behaves independently, weather changes the mood and travel itself becomes part of the experience. The story follows a gang and its relationships, so character development and loyalty drive the campaign more than loot or skill trees.
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What carries over from Cyberpunk 2077
Both games use a strongly authored protagonist, cinematic presentation and side characters who can make a location feel personal. You will find optional encounters, investigative diversions and activities that reveal the setting’s social rules. The difference is tempo. Missions often require preparation, a ride to the destination and a deliberate sequence of actions. The game is comfortable with silence and repetition.
Who will enjoy the pacing
- Players who prefer atmosphere, conversation and environmental detail to constant combat.
- Anyone who wants a character-led story with a clear emotional arc.
- Explorers who enjoy hunting, fishing, camp life and unhurried travel.
Those who want rapid build experimentation may find progression comparatively light. Weapons and abilities matter, but the central attraction is the simulated world and its people. Treat it as a slow-burn western drama, not as a faster, more systemic replacement for Night City.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — best grounded historical role-playing
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (2025) is for players who want role-playing systems rooted in a believable medieval society rather than spectacle. GamesRadar includes it among current open-world RPG choices. Its appeal comes from realistic constraints: social status affects interactions, skills need practice, equipment has practical consequences and violence is dangerous rather than routine.
How its systems change your decisions
You are not a superhero who can immediately master every weapon. Training, preparation and reputation shape what is possible. A conversation may depend on clothing, local standing, your learned abilities or what happened earlier. That makes ordinary errands meaningful, but it also means mistakes can close off convenient solutions.
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- Expect a learning curve in melee combat and plan encounters instead of charging into groups.
- Use dialogue, stealth, equipment and reputation as alternatives to direct fighting.
- Let the setting’s pace guide you; rushing from marker to marker can undermine the systems that make the game distinctive.
- Choose it when consequences and historical texture matter more than futuristic mobility or constant power growth.
This is a better fit for someone who wants the social simulation of a role-playing game than for someone seeking a power fantasy. Its grounded setting is the deliberate counterpoint to Cyberpunk’s implants, vehicles and neon spectacle.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Starfield — best for space exploration
Starfield (2023) broadens the open-world formula into science-fiction travel. It suits players who want planets, ships, faction storylines and a character built through skills, weapons, equipment and outposts. GamesRadar’s contemporary open-world RPG selection places it in the same conversation as the other recommendations, but its structure differs sharply from a single continuous city.
How its exploration works
The game alternates between hubs, mission locations, planetary surfaces and space travel. You can customize a ship, accept work from different factions, scan environments, gather resources and build facilities. Exploration is therefore broad rather than uniformly dense: a planet may offer a memorable landmark, a procedural site and a quest chain, but not every stretch has the authored detail of Night City.
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- PLAY AS A HIGHLY TRAINED MONSTER SLAYER FOR HIRE: Trained from early childhood and mutated to gain superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.
- Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic.
- Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities. Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting, and other pleasures life brings.
- EXPLORE A MORALLY AMBIGUOUS FANTASY OPEN WORLD: Built for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth, and complexity. Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves, and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across the open plains, mountains, and seas. Deal with treasonous generals, devious witches, and corrupt royalty to provide dark and dangerous services. Make choices that go beyond good & evil, and face their far-reaching consequences.
- TRACK DOWN THE CHILD OF PROPHECY: Take on the most important contract of your life: to track down the child of prophecy, the key to saving or destroying this world. In times of war, chase down the child of prophecy, a living weapon foretold by ancient elven legends. Struggle against ferocious rulers, spirits of the wilds, and even a threat from beyond the veil – all hell-bent on controlling this world. Define your destiny in a world that may not be worth saving.
Why it may or may not satisfy a Cyberpunk player
Choose it if the science-fiction premise is the priority and you want progression spread across piloting, combat, research, crafting and social skills. Expect more loading transitions and menu-based travel, plus a slower opening while the game introduces its systems. The tone is also less concentrated: instead of one city with a tightly connected culture, you move among settlements with different themes and political concerns.
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Match each Cyberpunk 2077 trait to a new game
You want authored quests and moral choices
Start with The Witcher 3. Its side stories, companion writing and decisions preserve the strongest narrative qualities of CD PROJEKT RED’s earlier open-world RPG design.
You want discovery and demanding combat
Pick Elden Ring. It replaces explicit mission direction with environmental clues and gives build experimentation a central role.
You want maximum freedom and faction play
Pick Skyrim. Its open-ended pacing lets you decide whether your character is defined by a guild, a craft, a spell school or simple wandering.
You want immersion over optimization
Pick Red Dead Redemption 2. Its deliberate rhythm and simulated frontier reward attention rather than rushing toward the next upgrade.
You want realistic consequences
Pick Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Reputation, preparation and social context are as important as combat statistics.
You want science-fiction travel
Pick Starfield. Ships, planets and spacefaring progression replace Night City’s districts while keeping the broad role-playing framework.
Recommended order for different players
- Closest overall transition: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition.
- Biggest change with the deepest discovery: Elden Ring.
- Most flexible long-term sandbox: Skyrim.
- Most immersive character drama: Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Most realistic role-playing systems: Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.
- Best science-fiction alternative: Starfield.
The best open-world RPG after Cyberpunk 2077 depends on the trait you are trying to preserve. The Witcher 3 is the safest recommendation because it combines a large world with authored quests, moral choices and character-focused writing. The other five are stronger when you want a specific shift: discovery, sandbox freedom, immersion, historical simulation or space exploration.
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