Open-world games are games where the player moves, essentially, through one large level. Sandboxes are a subgenre of open-world games. Their difference from all games in general is that the player is completely free of the traditional game structure and finds, chooses and implements his or her own approach to content exploration.

All open-world games are different, because each of them uses its map in a way that better realizes some goals - for example, to lead the player through the story in the most logical way, allow the player to choose their own approach to passing, or simply allow them to squeeze out as much fun as possible.