With the increasing popularity of open-world games, the range of settings has expanded significantly. Many game franchises now revolve around the non-linear exploration of vast areas, catering to a diverse audience.
While deserts may not seem like the most captivating settings for games, several titles have effectively utilized these exotic landscapes to create compelling open worlds.
7 Mad Max
Metacritic Score: 69
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/mad-max.webp)
- Set In Post-Apocalyptic Australia
Mad Max transports players to a haunting post-apocalyptic Australian outback. Despite initial underrated reception, the game's atmospheric open world has garnered well-deserved appreciation over time.
6 Assassin’s Creed Mirage
Metacritic Score: 76
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-14-51-38-cropped.webp)
- Set In 9th century Baghdad, Iraq
Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes players to 9th century Baghdad, offering an expansive desert and a captivating city, proving to be more intriguing than initially perceived.
5 Assassin’s Creed Origins
Metacritic Score: 81
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/assassin-s-creed-origins-step-pyramid-senu.webp)
- Set In the Ptolemaic Period, Egypt
Assassin’s Creed Origins introduces an RPG focus, featuring a vast Egyptian landscape during the Ptolemaic Period, offering diverse environments and extensive gameplay.
4 Fallout: New Vegas
Metacritic Score: 84
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/fighting-enemies-in-fallout-new-vegas.webp)
- Set In 2281 Around The Mojave Wasteland
Fallout: New Vegas immerses players in a post-nuclear apocalypse in the Mojave Desert, setting a standard for open-world desert games, offering a rich and expansive RPG experience.
3 Forza Horizon 5
Metacritic Score: 92
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/open-world-driving-freely-games-forza-horizon-5-cropped.webp)
- Set In Modern Mexico
Forza Horizon 5 ventures into the deserts of Mexico, offering an expansive and realistic open-world driving experience, showcasing diverse landscapes and breathtaking vistas.
2 Red Dead Redemption
Metacritic Score: 95
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/painted-standardbred-in-red-dead-redemption-cropped.webp)
- Set In 1911 Between The US & Mexico
Red Dead Redemption captures the essence of a classic Western movie, offering an enthralling open world set in a fictionalized Western America and Mexico, featuring diverse biomes and captivating desert landscapes.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
Metacritic Score: 97
![](https://hwwmpntrepvshdemcjtw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/p/g/armadillo-in-red-dead-redemption-2.webp)
- Set In 1899 Around The American Frontier
Red Dead Redemption 2 expands upon its predecessor, offering a larger and more detailed world map, showcasing the American Frontier and the allure of its desert landscapes, setting a new standard for open-world games set in the desert.