2025 has been an excellent year for PlayStation Plus owners, and it can take quite some time to figure out which games in its massive catalog of fantastic games are worth playing first. Thankfully, if you’re still longing to explore the sprawling cityscapes in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, PlayStation Plus has no shortage of immersive open worlds to experience in the meantime.
Even if PlayStation Plus recently got a few late surprises to kick off the end of the year, it’s hard to find a game that can scratch the same itch left behind by the unique open experiences of games like Grand Theft Auto. While it was painfully overlooked due to the public perception of its mediocre predecessor, PlayStation Plus already has the perfect open-world game hiding in plain sight that even surpasses the competition.
Watch Dogs 2 Has A Severely Underrated Open World
Released nearly a decade ago at this point, Watch Dogs 2 still stands as one of the most immersive open-world games on the market that can be experienced free for anyone with the PlayStation Plus Extra subscription. Even without the hacking gimmicks that allow you to control the world of Watch Dogs 2 at your fingertips, the comedic storyline and surprisingly lovable characters would provide enough fun in its impressive game world.
Watch Dogs 2 lets you explore a massive recreation of San Francisco with complete freedom, bolstered by versatile movement controls and smooth parkour systems. As a result, it’s even more satisfying to roam than games that rely solely on vehicles to get around.
Watch Dogs 2 also has a free trial available to anyone on the PlayStation Store, regardless of PlayStation Plus membership status.
While it’s a shame that Watch Dogs 2 never got a next-generation update like The Division to make its open world shine even more, its version of San Francisco still holds up surprisingly well, making for a beautiful cityscape with plenty of environmental diversity.
It’s Free With PlayStation Plus Now
Watch Dogs 2 may never have the same legacy as monolithic open-world games like Grand Theft Auto, but one advantage it has over most competition is just how immersive its world really is. With fun NPCs that do more than simply walk around, Watch Dogs 2 includes tourists taking photos, street performers, and other in-game varieties that make it feel like a truly lived-in world.
Out of the hundreds of hours of free games that were added to PlayStation Plus this year, you’d be hard-pressed to find many open-world games aside from Watch Dogs 2 that can compete with Grand Theft Auto, making it all the more reason you should give it a try if you have access to PlayStation Plus already.
- Released
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November 15, 2016
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
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Ubisoft Montreal
- Engine
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havok
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
