The best small open world games are A Short Hike, Lil Gator Game, Outer Wilds, Tchia, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Sable. They feel big because they are dense: fun to move through, closed in by the sea or cliffs, full of landmarks, and built around a place you come back to. Below are six things these games get right, with one game for each.
At a glance
| Game | Best for | Length | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Short Hike | Anyone who wants movement that makes them smile | About 1.5 hours for the main story, 4.5 hours for everything (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac, Linux, Switch, PS4, Xbox One |
| Lil Gator Game | A dense island where every few steps holds a kid to meet, a thing to climb or a prop to find | About 3 hours for the main story, about 5 hours for everything (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox |
| Outer Wilds | Curious players who like to work things out | About 17 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| Tchia | Players who want islands, a boat and a lot of freedom | About 7.5 hours (main story, HowLongToBeat) | PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X |
| Alba: A Wildlife Adventure | Nature lovers and families | About 2.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox |
| A Short Sail | Players who want a small sea with a home to come back to | Not shared yet | PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck |
| Sable | Players who want a quiet, beautiful journey | About 7.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Xbox, PS5 |
Quick picks
The best small open world games, one for each lesson below:
- Best movement: A Short Hike (about 1.5 hours)
- Most packed with things to do: Lil Gator Game (about 3 hours)
- Best mystery: Outer Wilds (about 17 hours)
- Best islands and boat: Tchia (about 7.5 hours)
- Best for one or two evenings: Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (about 2.5 hours)
- Best for quiet exploring: Sable (about 7.5 hours)
- Our own game: A Short Sail (in development)
All six are Steam Deck Verified. Want more, including bigger worlds like Stardew Valley and Palia? See our list of cozy open world games.
What is a small open world game?
A small open world game lets you go almost anywhere from the start, on a map small enough to learn by heart. It is handmade, packed with things to find, and closed in by natural edges like the sea or cliffs. Most take a few hours to a few evenings to finish.
A huge open world sells well on a box. But many players never see the end of one. They drift off after the fifth tower and the twentieth camp that looks like the last one.
A small open world asks less of you. You can learn it in a few evenings. You remember where things are. When you see a strange rock on the skyline, you know you can reach it tonight.
In a video called How to Make a Small Open World Game, Marshlander Games gives six lessons for this kind of game. They match the games we love most, so we used them for this guide. For each lesson, there is one game that shows it best.
1. Moving around must be fun on its own
You spend most of an open world game going from one place to another. So the way you move is the game. If walking, gliding or sailing feels good, the trip is a reward. If it feels slow and stiff, every trip is a chore.
Good movement answers fast. You press a key and something happens at once. It also has a little skill in it, so you get better with time: a longer glide, a cleaner turn, a jump you could not make on day one.
A Short Hike
Who it is for: anyone who wants movement that makes them smile.
You are Claire, a young bird on a park island. You climb, run, glide and swim your way to the top of the mountain. Each golden feather you find lets you climb and fly further, so the island opens up as you get better at moving through it. Gliding off a cliff and catching an updraft never gets old. The downside: it is short, so some players want more.
Developer: adamgryu | Year: 2019 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Switch, PS4, Xbox One | Length: about 1.5 hours for the main story, 4.5 hours for everything (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
2. Use natural edges, not invisible walls
Every world must end somewhere. The best small worlds end in a way that makes sense: the sea, a cliff, a ring of mountains, the edge of a planet. You never hit a wall that you cannot see.
Natural edges also keep the world handmade. When the map has a clear end, the team can put real care into each corner, instead of filling miles of ground by a computer program.
Tchia
Who it is for: players who want islands, a boat and a lot of freedom.
You explore a tropical archipelago inspired by New Caledonia. You sail a small boat, climb trees, glide and take over animals and objects with a special song. The sea is the edge of the world, and the world feels whole because of it. The downside: there are some light fights with cloth soldiers, and the story has darker moments.
Developer: Awaceb | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X|S | Length: about 7.5 hours (main story, HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Very Positive | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
3. Keep it small and dense
A small, full map beats a large, empty one. If you walk for a minute and find nothing, the world feels thin. If you walk for ten seconds and meet someone, find a coin or spot a new path, it feels alive.
The advice from the video is to start tiny. Make one small area great. Only grow the map when the new space adds something you could not do before.
Lil Gator Game
Who it is for: anyone who wants “A Short Hike, but more.”
You are a young gator who wants to play make-believe with a busy older sister. You climb, swim and glide around one island, and you help other kids with their games. The island is small, but almost every corner holds a friend, a hidden prop or a thing to climb. There is no health bar and no game over. The downside: it is short, and the cardboard fights may not suit players who want no combat at all.
Developer: MegaWobble | Year: 2022 | Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox | Length: about 3 hours for the main story, about 5 hours for everything (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
4. Be a tour guide, not a map full of icons
A map full of icons tells you where to go. A good world shows you instead. A tall tower, a column of smoke, a light on a far hill or a strange shape in the water makes you curious, and curiosity is the best quest marker.
Think of it as being a tour guide. You place the next interesting thing just in view of the last one, so the player always has a reason to turn the wheel.
Outer Wilds
Who it is for: curious players who like to work things out.
You explore a small solar system that is stuck in a 22 minute time loop. There are no quest markers and no upgrades. You go somewhere because you saw it, or because a note on another planet made you wonder. The whole game is a mystery that you solve by looking. The downside: it can be tense, a little scary in places, and hard to get through without hints.
Developer: Mobius Digital | Year: 2019 | Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox | Length: about 17 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
5. Give the player a home to come back to
A sense of home makes a world feel safe. It is the place you start, the place you return to at night, and the place that changes as you play. When you see it again after a long trip, you feel it.
Home also sets the pace. If the good things are spread out around it, every trip out means something, and every trip back feels like rest.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
Who it is for: nature lovers and families.
Alba spends a week with her grandparents on a Mediterranean island. Each day she sets out to photograph animals, clean up litter and fix things, and each night she goes back to their house. The island is small, and the house is the warm center of it. The game has a clear, kind message. The downside: it is short, so it suits one or two sittings.
Developer: ustwo games | Year: 2020 | Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox | Length: about 2.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
A Short Sail
Who it is for: players who want a small sea with a home to come back to.
You are a little tabby cat with a sailboat. You sail from island to island, and each one has its own beaches and secrets to find. One island is your home: you build it up and give it a name of your own. You deliver mail, fish by day and by night, and make friends across the islands. There are no timers, and you can play alone or online with friends.
Developer: Yos Riady | Platforms: PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck | Length: not shared yet | Free demo at play.ashortsail.com | Play the demo
6. Polish the game feel, all the way through
Game feel is how good an action is to do. It is the sound when you land, the dust when you skid, the little bounce when a menu opens. Players may not notice it when it is right. They always notice when it is missing.
The lesson is to keep at it until the end. Movement, talking, picking things up and opening menus all deserve the same care, and they get better with each small fix.
Sable
Who it is for: players who want a quiet, beautiful journey.
You are Sable, a young woman on her coming-of-age trip across a desert planet. You ride a hoverbike, climb old ruins and choose your own path. The world is read by its landmarks, and the line-drawn art and soft music make even a long ride feel calm. The downside: some players found the frame rate and the climbing a little rough.
Developer: Shedworks | Year: 2021 | Platforms: PC, Xbox, PS5 | Length: about 7.5 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam: Very Positive | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
How we use these lessons
We make A Short Sail, a cozy sailing game where you are a little tabby cat with a sailboat. The sea is our edge. Sailing is how you move, so we keep tuning how the boat turns and catches the wind. One island is your home, and its old cottage gets fixed up one plank at a time. It is in the list above, under lesson 5.
Read next
- What is a cozy game?
- Cozy places in games: cafés, cabins, boats and why they feel safe
- Games like A Short Hike
- Cozy open world games, from tiny to big
- Open world sailing games
- Games like Caravan SandWitch
- Games like Alba
Sources
- Marshlander Games, How to Make a Small Open World Game, YouTube. The six lessons in this guide come from this video.
- Game lengths are from HowLongToBeat, and platforms and ratings from each game’s Steam page (linked in each entry). Checked on 17 October 2026. Platforms and Steam Deck ratings checked again on 29 October 2026.
Questions
What is a small open world game?
It is a game where you can go almost anywhere from the start, but the map is small enough to learn by heart. Most take a few hours to a few evenings, not a hundred.
What are the best small open world games?
A Short Hike, Lil Gator Game, Outer Wilds, Tchia, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure and Sable. Each has a map you can learn by heart and something to find around every corner.
What is the best small open world game to start with?
A Short Hike. It takes about 1.5 hours, you can go anywhere from the start, and nothing can hurt you.
Are small open world games cozy?
Many are. A small map is easy to learn, and a familiar place feels safe. But not all: Outer Wilds is small and tense, and Dredge is small and spooky.
