One of the reasons the Fallout franchise has such a dedicated following among gamers is the compelling stories. Open world RPG is intended for that anyway. The more sophisticated the setting and background, the better the adventure is for the protagonist. Plenty of gamers will be happy to testify that Fallout 4 has some of the best lore of them all, starting with some chilling backstory and high stakes for the Sole Survivor from the very beginning. There's also the unique setting that features a post-apocalyptic vision of the United States on an alternate timeline, and then there are the quests and companions that add even more to the plot.
The genre of open-world RPGs covers a lot of ground and the Fallout games have a lot of competition. The lore gives it an edge over its rivals, but there are still plenty of games that are just as good, maybe even better, when it comes to telling a story.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The setting itself is something different, set in the Old West as opposed to on a spaceship or in a fantasy realm. The named protagonist is Arthur Morgan, and the player guides his steps through a vast, open frontier. Arthur is a wanted man himself, a member of a criminal gang with an equally unsavory leader, and the player guides his steps as he explores a world that includes everything from haircuts to grizzly bears.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
It was this game that brought the popular Assassin's Creed franchise to the open-world RPG genre, and the story that made the original games fan favorites came with it. There's a huge map to explore that includes virtually every square inch of ancient Greece, so the player can add hours of exploration time to the lore and story of the game that already exists from previous installments. The protagonist is still an assassin that hunts for Templars, and they can build from there in a detailed open world.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Why does an RPG game need to have a fantasy setting, or take place on another planet? Sometimes the best stories are right in the backyard. Or in this case, it's more like the back alley. That's why the backstory of Grand Theft Auto 5 is so special, because it isn't special at all. The settings are even less romantic, including the seamier side of real-life cities like San Andreas and Los Angeles.
The popularity of this franchise doesn't really lie in the setting, but in the characters and storyline, which are exceptionally written. The characters are depraved, the quests are creatively violent and the setting is helplessly gritty, and it all comes together to make a great story.
Just Cause 4
Leading a revolution is a good start into a story anyway, and that's how this game begins. The protagonist of the Just Cause series, Rico Rodríguez, arrives in Solis to liberate the country from the Black Hand, the world's largest private army. On top of the stellar graphics and immersive story, the new game engine includes extreme weather effects that are integrated into the plot. That makes the open-world even more accurate and realistic, right down to the living environment.
Dragon Age: Origins
The setting is the Kingdom of Ferelden, and the protagonist must navigate their way through a realm and people torn by civil war. That's just the start of this RPG adventure that borrows some plot and other materials from some of the greatest writers in history, the creators of the Dungeons & Dragons universe. BioWare, the company that produced the game, describes the story as a dark fantasy that includes secret societies, bloody political intrigue, and an evil entity simply known as the Darkspawn.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
There isn't much more than anyone can say about Skyrim without being repetitive. The political and civil strife that happens in the background is fairly generic, as is the main plot that involves dragons, but there are a few twists that make the story more interesting than a standard dungeon romp.
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There's the prophecy of the Dragonborn to contend with and the mysterious power of the "Thu'um" that makes up the main questline. The myriad of other things to do that includes Deadra and various guilds with their own unique storylines. The Rogues' Guild is one example, being one of the more popular and lengthy quests.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The setting of The Witcher always gets a lot of notoriety. It's based on Slavic mythology, a refreshing twist from the usual sword and sorcery stuff that often takes its inspiration from the western half of the continent. This game also holds the unique position of being based on an actual story, in this case, a series of published books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. This installment of the game series focuses on Geralt and Yennefer's hunt for Ciri and her ultimate fate.
Shadow of the Colossus
The protagonist is a warrior named Wander, and he defeats the colossi to bring a girl named Mono back to life. Unlike other open-world RPGs, there's nothing to clutter the landscape in the form of towns, companions, or other fancy human landmarks. Rather than take away from the game, it's received praise for using a minimalist but beautiful style. It's a good story because it's a simple one about love and loss.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Guerilla Games are the designers and developers of Horizon Zero Dawn, and it seems they couldn't decide between cutting edge sci-fi or a primitive landscape. The two genres are combined in this game, which makes for an intriguing mystery that the story takes the player through. What cataclysmic event resulted in this post-apocalyptic mess, in which humans hunt robots with spears and arrows?
Other than getting to the bottom of this mystery, players can wok through various quests as they explore a big open world that includes interesting companions and creative items. The protagonist, Aloy, can construct more sophisticated gear and weapons as she kills tougher monsters, which is a good story on its own.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Once upon a video game, Ocarina of Time changed open-world gaming forever. In fact, it might be the game that created open-world RPG games as we now know them. When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released in 2017 it upped the ante in the genre again, and part of the charm was the interesting story. There's a lot of history for this franchise to build on in the first place, giving the game a big advantage from the start, and the extra twist is that this one is set in a more futuristic time in Hyrule.