That's what I realized I wanted when I played the game. One of my favorites, the only downside is how small the hub is.

absolutely. this is a top 5 lego game

Great idea! Maybe we’ll get this if the next Pirates gains momentum.

Obviously, but I don’t see it happening. Maybe with the new movie coming out (and tbf that isn’t guaranteed either).

This would probably be one of the best if they did since Star wars has free roam planets and ships, Batman has the city and driving, Pirates where you sail a ship across to different islands would be the perfect addition

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is amazing.

kingdom of amalur.

divinity original sin 1 and 2

ghost recon wildlands

I’m enjoying red dead redemption 2 online, has character creation, open world, very fun

Monster Hunter World

Yes it gets repetitive.

I'm not sure of whats changed since i last played, but if you're looking for a genuine RPG experience, Monster Hunter is not it.

Its heavily focused on its namesake, and fighting the monsters can be extremely draining for very little reward. So you will end up grinding, killing the same monsters over and over in order to level or get the mats you need to do something. Which is fine...until you realize some of the bigger/more important monsters take 30-45-60 mins to down and those fights are annoyingly scripted/drawn out and etc. + just how annoying the game can be.

Even though i'm more likely in the minority, I play RPGs near exclusively and feel your pain, but for me Monster Hunter wasn't it. Its made for those that pick up the game for an hour or two at a time, not those that sit for 5 or so hours wanting to lose themselves (Actual RPGs). Read some reviews there are plenty.

Technically it's open world but it's pretty much all about going back and forth to different areas to do a specific task, it's nothing like the games you mentioned.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s character creator is excellent

The most recent soul calibre’s character creator is insane.

Dragons Dogma 2 has the best one I've used. The creator is also available as a free "demo"

Cyberpunk Elden Ring Baldurs Gate

Cyberpunk 2077 has a pretty cool character customization

Dragon Age Veilguard has a lot of options and the hair physics are top tier! Its on PS+ now, but if you don't have that make sure to watch some videos on it since the art style is distinctive.

I got say Monster Hunter wild gots some amazing customization. 👌

Huh, maybe it's because I've played a lot of Fromsoft games, but I didn't have any trouble making what I would consider an attractive character (from multiple angles). I can see how it might be difficult though.

Elden Ring is pretty good!

Baulder’s Gate 3 is SO FUN

Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Basically a medieval simulator but the customization and combat is excellent. I would love to see an elder scrolls game with the system they used for melee combat

Dragon Age or Mass Effect are pretty good about this though not necessarily open world. Inquisition and Andromeda kind of are open world though.

Witcher 3 is the game that ticks all the boxes in terms of your requirements. It’s good that you chose that

If you like Skyrim, try other bathesda games like Fallout 4 or New Vegas. It’s the same game in a different setting. Fallout takes place in a 50’s based retrofuturistic apocalypse where a nuclear war has decimated the world. You usually start off as a descendent of those who lived in bunkers when the bombs went off. It also has some solid commentary on the excesses of capitalism if you’re into that. The gameplay is pretty much the same as Skyrim

If you haven't tried it yet, try Witcher 3. It's what you're looking for.

If not, try AC Unity or Syndicate. I'm personally not a big fan of the stories of those games, and they don't have story-based choice, but they do have excellent open worlds and customization which decides what play style you'll opt for.

I played cyberpunk on PS5 post 1.5 patch and it was a solid time, if you have not given it a try.

Just so both sides are clear, do you want these descriptions to pop up (characters actually point it out and such) when you play the game or not (it simply exists and nothing more)?

Because there are genuinely games with a shit ton of customization but these descriptions never pops up and I do know folks who appreciate the option even if it isn't anything meaningful. Subsequently, I also know folks that despise it.

—If you're the latter, I want you to know... I did not double check these games, I remember them having extensive options, but whether or not it's meaningful is up for debate.

[Finished]

Zombie Exodus — Choicesript Game

Keeper Series — Choicesript Game

Life of wizard(?) — I remember it had plenty of options, but my memory is fuzzy on this game since it's been so long, so yeah... be wary. — Choicesript Game

Evertree Series — Less emphasis on character appearance and more so on character buiids. — Choicesript Game

A Mage Reborn — Choicesript Game

[WIPs]

Sherlock Holmes: Affairs of the heart — Choicesript Game

One Knight Stand — Choicesript Game

ZORLOK — Twine Game

Our Life: Now & Forever — Renpy Game

The Six That Thrives — I haven't played this game yet but was told by a friend that it had hefty customization options — Twine Game

Do you really want that though? Don't you find it a bit cliche when EVERY,TIME, you arrive at character creation you choose the same tired eyes color, hair color and height? there was a game that i don't recall that had the visage and even gender locked into place, but you got to choose how you "hold your gaze" and had multiple options like "feral and dangerous like a wolf slavering from hunger" or "ever so restless, jumping from one thing to another like you're in search of something that you never find" etc and aside from your choice actually getting brought up in the game and characters reacting to it, which i found extremely satisfying, each had its own advantage as well. also how THE FUCK DO I UNBOLDEN MY TEXT

In wayfarer there’s a pretty big part on character creation before the game, there’s all the basic + body type, race, class, pattern on the skin, and even option that are special to the race you chose, it’s not finished but the game in itself is pretty good

Weirdly aura clash fits into this your personality, physique and race affect many interactions and checks.

Aura clash, fits what you want perfectly (also goated game)

Black Desert Online has one of the most impressive character creators. Wouldn't recommend the game though.

Cyberpunk 2077 (preferably on PC, for the use of mods) is amazing for OC creation. Many people keep going back to the game almost exclusively for that lol.

Nioh 2, no robotics, one character (the one you play)

Spore is great for this, but you need to grind

It's gone now but Chimeraland had wild creations. Probably the most fun I had in an MMO in my lifetime. Since we're talking about reality though, I'd say "Black Desert" since I remember that creator being a little advanced, a science even. You could adjust the bones in the face, length of eyelashes, fat and gaunt skin layers on every part of the body... the list goes on. One thing I always thought was weird about that game was that clothes were full outfits specific to their classes, but for such a deep creator you can't modify the clothing AT ALL without paying money, similar to Warframe. The only thing you'd be able to change was color portions by buying dyes.

Warframe has a character creator too, but it's weird because you don't get to the character creation screen until like 40 hours into the game, which is very unusual. Another 10 hours later, you unlock a second character creator for the adult version of your avatar, which is double unusual. I don't think any other game does anything like this. Can't say for sure. Another weird feature of this creator is that you never pick a male or female, you have a two-point slider between several masculine and effeminate faces and the voice slider is the same.

There's also the deep creator in "Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis or PSO2NGS" that has a lot of sick options for robot parts and it's a super fast paced action game with multiple combat types. Much like Black Desert, you can modify the skin and fat in patches, however there is a triangular slider for each body part which allows for height, fat, and age all per body part. You can even specify what the slider will modify at each point for fine tuning. You can cross-race robot and humanoids, and the clothes are fully modifiable. This is both fantastic and horrible. You'd see what I mean if you enter the game world and see the other players. Secondly is the housing areas, which allow for the grandest of creative depth by giving the players access to all the assets of the game to build with. I'd even call it "minecraft for adults" with an emphasis on adults. I'd go into some rooms and get a wild an fantastical space tour with ships and racetracks floating islands, then the occasional goth harem. Wild.

I also had a good time in the Tower of Fantasy character creator. It's fairly anime inspired much like PSO2NGS, and one weird option is to be able to use four varying hair gradients. Necessary? No, but the option is there if you want wack-a-doo rainbow super mega anime curls or whatever. Game itself is fun, full climbing and flying and tons of gameplay options in the weapon ranges. No two weapons really share movesets, unlike it's obvious inspiration, Genshin Impact. The dev even said he wanted the code from the game to make his own world from their engine.

Talkie lets you create a completely original character and bio and everything but gameplay is up to your imagination so you get a lot of wacky creations there. I used to make characters every day, but the growing hatred toward Ai bots and images makes me weary even to mention this type of game. To me it's just a game, to others it's either a point of contention or serious companionship; neither category to which I feel I'd fit into. Despite the compartmental opinions, I always had a good time playing and creating original characters with it. For example one such game I made on there was a time machine in the form of an old Honda that could only take you to 1997 or 2005 and no other timeline. LOL

No Man's Sky doesn't have a super deep creator really, however there is a secret robot camp you can unlock and they sell you parts to modify your appearance. The robot bodies and parts are super cool too, and probably the most cosmetically appealing subrace available in the game in my opinion. Now too, they added larger board-able vessels to take to the stars, taking a cue from both Star Citizen and Starfield. This has been my mainstay game for a while, but especially with the Voyagers expedition free update, the game is even more in-depth with it's creative features. I can't seem to put it down! The character creator isn't especially deep, but the variance is enough to make it fun to use. I'm sure I can think of more, but I've now got an itch to play some of these games right away.

If you enjoyed BoTW, try Immortals: Fenyx Rising. Pretty much a clone of BoTW but set in an Ancient Greek themed world with tons of exploration and puzzles. I was left really disappointed with a lot of aspects of BoTW and actually preferred this. And the fact that it’s all tongue in cheek and doesn’t take itself too seriously is really refreshing.

As for that customisation you’re looking for, reward tend to be new weapons or pieces of an armour set (instead of another korok seed or a sword which breaks in five minutes) which can be equipped with any skin you’ve already unlocked allowing for loads of choices for both bonus and cosmetics.

The game has some great expansions and is regularly on sale dirt cheap. If you prefer a physical copy, these seem to be sold as clearance now so you can get it around the 10-15 mark.

Can’t recommend this game enough and is probably the most fun I’ve had on the console.

Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma, Saints Row, Hogwarts Legacy , Kingdoms of Amalur, Dark Souls, Divinity, Outer Worlds, South Park.

At least the ones from the top of my head.

Dragon's Dogma

Skyrim and Divinity Original Sins 2 maybe?

Sandrock 

Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Veilguard have decent character creators.

Dragons Dogma 2 has a super detailed character creator and you can download the creator for free without buying the game to try it out :)

I like Monster Hunter Wilds. Street Fighter 6’s is very wild.

(Capcom coming out strong for character customization.)

Cyberpunk! You sadly don’t see your character in most cases but in certain cutscenes/endings you do :) It’s a shame since the character creation is great

Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 are the only ones I’ve ever really enjoyed and I didn’t even play BG3