Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3 brought agent Rico Rodriguez back to his native Mediterranean island of Medici, which has fallen under the rule of dictator General Di Ravello. The goal of the game is to liberate the island's individual regions from military control, while the story serves mainly as an excuse for a series of increasingly bombastic acts of destruction and stunts, the foundation the series has always built its reputation on.

The core of the gameplay remained the iconic grappling hook, which let players pull themselves toward any object, tether two things together, or launch themselves high into the air, combined with a parachute and a new wingsuit for smooth flight over the landscape without having to break the pace of play. On Xbox One the game offered a vast island world with distant vistas, explosive effects, and a physics system that turned every military base into a playground for chain reactions of exploding fuel tanks, bridges, and statues reminiscent of the dictator's personality cult. The sunny Mediterranean atmosphere and lighthearted tone were underscored by energetic cinematic music accompanying chases and aerial stunt sequences.

Just Cause 3 was received as an entertaining, if not always technically flawless, game, with reviewers occasionally criticizing frame-rate drops during larger explosions and long loading times. Even so, it became a favorite for its pure destructive humor and the feeling of complete freedom of movement through the air, where a player could fly across half the island without ever touching the ground. It is still remembered today as one of the finest examples of playful, carefree open-world action, where story takes a back seat to the pure joy of chaos and improvised destruction, and even years later it remains a popular pick for players seeking purely relaxing, undemanding fun without unnecessary overthinking. The combination of grappling hook, parachute, and wingsuit also became a reference point that later games with a similar focus on free aerial movement were compared to.

Why play it: If you're looking for undemanding, purely destructive fun without unnecessary overthinking, the combination of grappling hook, parachute, and wingsuit offers a genuine feeling of freedom of movement through the air.