Open World Games That Feature Realistic Transport Systems

Transport in video games can be pretty hit or miss, especially in open-world titles that mostly just resort to gamers driving their cars around a city. However, some open-world games have taken a more realistic approach to travel systems, allowing players to hop on trains or trams and experience traveling in a more realistic way.

It’s impressive when games pull off vast train lines or subway systems, all adhering to realistic timings and transport. It’s even more impressive when new forms of transportation are implemented into games, which aren’t in abundance elsewhere. Sometimes, it’s nice to put the controller down and experience a bit of realism or take a break from things and relax with these realistic transport systems.

8 Watch Dogs 2

Bus Driver And Cable Car Fun

Watch Dogs 2 is set in a fictionalized version of the San Franciso Bay Area and is mostly known for its hacking and stealth-action gameplay. However, Ubisoft also implemented an excellent transport system in this sequel, which featured a more realistic approach. Watch Dogs 2 featured more advanced AI, meaning traffic systems and pedestrians behaved in a more immersive way, but it’s the public transport systems that saw the best changes.

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Players can drive buses and follow traffic systems, including dedicated bus lanes, and follow pre-planned bus routes across the city’s various stops. Whilst NPCs unfortunately don’t board the player’s bus, it’s still an immersive and realistic experience due to first and third-person camera choices and traffic AI. Another realistic form of transport in Watch Dogs 2 is the cable car system (trams), which players can hop on and off whenever they please.

7 Sleeping Dogs

Hong Kong’s No.1 Taxi Driver

Sleeping Dogs features a realistic take on transport in Hong Kong. Each vehicle the player sees is an exact model that would be found in Hong Kong in the real world, and this virtual recreation includes a faithful representation of the city’s travel infrastructure. Sleeping Dogs features another excellent virtual bus system, as well as another public tram system.

One of the most realistic aspects of traveling in Sleeping Dogs is the taxi system. Players can hail a taxi and travel to various locations, although, unfortunately, the screen fades to black when they enter the vehicle. However, when players are driving a taxi themselves in the game and park on the side of a pavement for a while, NPCs will try and enter it thinking it’s a real vehicle.

6 Cyberpunk 2077

Futuristic Flying Realism

It might seem outlandish to call Cyberpunk 2077‘s transport system realistic due to its sci-fi/futuristic setting. However, this is an open-world game that goes all out with its transport. One of the most impressive forms of transport here is the flying cars that hover across Night City.

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The implementation of this provides a vertical dimension to the city’s transport and expands it greatly whilst still adhering to a realistic traffic system. The mechanics of these flying cars function in as realistic a way as a fictional form of transport can, but it’s still impressive nonetheless. The transport and traffic systems merge in Night City to create a wonderfully busy and realistic network of transport, including buses, flying cars, and taxis. Players can actually board these buses and ride through Night City, which is a great way to soak in the atmosphere.

5 Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag

Swashbuckling Pirate Ships

If there was ever a game that embraced a new transport system in video games to such an immersive extent, it would certainly have to be Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. Not only did Black Flag feature one of the coolest settings in the entire franchise, but it also introduced naval transport and combat, which was achieved in a surprisingly realistic fashion.

Players can hop on their very own pirate ship and explore the waters as they fancy. The open sea features various activities to do and many sights to see, but it’s the transport itself that really excels. Navigating a huge ship through the Mediterranean waters is a big task, but Black Flag pulls it off in such a way that it never feels overwhelming, even when it’s maintaining realism. Steering a ship can be hard, but that’s all part of the realistic fun.

4 Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Victorian Steam Trains At Their Very Best

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate pulled off a daunting task when it released in 2015, that being an extensive steam railway system that runs across the entirety of London realistically. Seriously, it’s a shame that players can’t board the trains because the entire infrastructure behind them is realism at its finest.

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These trains follow a strict, but impressive schedule. They maintain their timings and always arrive at specific stations at specific times. Players can stand atop the moving trains to experience the beautiful architecture around them, but they can’t enjoy the delight of sitting down in one. It’s also worth mentioning that Syndicate featured an excellent horse and carriage transport system, too, which functions just as realistically as the trains.

3 Mafia

1930s Transport At Its Most Realistic

All the Mafia games feature some incredibly realistic forms of transport, but it’s specifically the first title that goes all out. One of the most impressive features is the taxi transport system, as the open world actually features a series of side missions where the player has to become a taxi driver and pick various pedestrians up and drop them off. There’s also a nice touch to the police officers who actively enforce traffic laws on both NPCs and the player.

Mafia also features overhead train systems that allow players to ride as they please and soak in the world around them. It’s surprisingly rare for games to actually allow players to board trains, but the first Mafia was one of the first open-world titles to implement this realistic mechanic to an effective degree.

2 Red Dead Redemption 2

Wild-West Style Transport

Red Dead Redemption 2 is already well-known for its realistic approach to open-world gameplay. One of the best parts of this, though, is its excellent transportation systems. One of the best areas in the game, Saint Denis, features one of the best tram systems in gaming, and players can hop on and off as they please and ride across the beautiful city to their heart’s content.

There’s also a realistic approach to train lines as players can physically board trains when they arrive at stations. Players can then sit on these trains in a third or first-person perspective, allowing for a relaxing and realistic travel experience. This is still one of the most beautiful games ever made, so it’s all the better when gamers can travel realistically and put the controllers down to take in the views.

1 Grand Theft Auto 4

A Living, Breathing City Of Transport

Whilst all Grand Theft Auto games feature various representations of realistic transport, it’s definitely Grand Theft Auto 4 that executes it the best. This game features one of the most expansive and realistic subway systems in gaming, and it’s incredibly satisfying to ride it. There are both on-screen station announcements and voice lines to let players know where they are heading and which line they are on. Even after all these years, no other open-world game has developed a more realistic subway system.

GTA 4 also featured a variety of other realistic transport systems, but perhaps the most notable, apart from the subway system, is the taxi transport. Players actually have the option to sit in a taxi and experience the trip, rather than just fading to black like so many other games nowadays. Grand Theft Auto 4 features the best and most realistic transport in any open-world game, and it’s a real shame that nothing else has really even come close to topping it.

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