Forget GTA VI—The Best Open-World Games Are Boring on Purpose

Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest installment in the legendary crime series, is poised to deliver staggering sales when it launches next year—much like Grand Theft Auto V before it. A big part of its anticipated success lies in Rockstar Games’ continually evolving open-world design, a formula it first revolutionized 25 years ago with Grand Theft Auto III. Since then, the genre has exploded, spawning sprawling worlds filled with guns, cars, and often both.

But recently, I’ve…