Sanctuary of Sarras was surprisingly good. I started it and was like meh, I’m not interested in an undersea world, I’ll go back above water. Went back about a week later and played it all the way through and did all the side quests and really enjoyed the world and exploring the different mini regions.

• Witcher 3
• Skyrim
• Witcher 2
• Baldurs Gate 3
• Assassin’s Creed Origins (or Odyssey)

With honorable mentions to Elder Scroll Oblivion and Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon.

I like games where I can spend dozens of hours forgetting about the main quest and losing myself exploring the world, and then coming back to the main quest when I’m ready. If I can put 100 hours into a game just in exploration I am down, but at the same time I hate being forced to grind repetitive combat like in Dark Souls games.

Edit: extra honorable mentions to Red Dead Redemption 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. I can’t believe I forgot about those games, they’re definitely not in my top 5 but in my top 10-15 for sure. I put many very happy hours into those games. Add in Stardew Valley and Terraria and you almost have my top 15.