Few game genres have achieved as much of a massive appeal as open world genres. It’s not just an adaptable genre that can be spliced with just about everything else.
It is also a great way to provide endless content and provide rich lore and world building opportunities, allowing you to effectively create a sandbox playground.
However, not all games really benefit from this model. Certainly, all the fat cats in the suit think that they all think of them as open world, as all the games are on sale. But sometimes, guided, systematically paced and linear adventures can be much better.
That’s what I personally wish someone had told these developers. It might have been much better if they weren’t an open world, while providing a good experience across the board, as these games list.
10
Final Fantasy XV
Not so epic road trip
With just a handful of exceptions, you really don’t get so many out-of-the-go open world JRPGs. That’s not to say it’s impossible to do it well. However, in almost all situations, a half-opening or more linear setup tends to be more appropriate.
The Final Fantasy XV is one of the most amazing examples of this. We love the concept of going out on public roads with boys, but it’s a game that flattens deceiving, and an open world is a big factor.
The open world leads to a very slow, poorly paced, and boring first half of the game. It just shows why the second half is more linear, tightening things up and the linear approach has become much better.
If the open world is rich in content and fun, we could have seen it past this, but the world is rather bland and unvibrant at its best. So it ultimately felt like a game that decided to become an open world and didn’t stop asking if that was possible.
9
Tsushima’s Ghost
Samurai Killer, there are lots of fillers
This may be something I like more than anything else, but I still think a lot of people will nod their heads all at once with this one. Tsushima’s Ghost is a great open world game. Please don’t get me wrong. But it still suffers from the normal bloating of richness and paper-thin activities and quest map markers.
So, this is why I feel that unlike the unknown and the last, I have benefited from a purely cinematic approach with a slightly open-ended feature. This allowed players to immerse themselves in the beauty of the sucker punches of the world created, but there were no repetitive camp cleaning and half-baked quests.
I allow you, that is not a big criminal in this regard, for example, as the shadow of the Assassin’s beliefs. However, Tsushima’s Ghost actually has a cinematic storyline worth watching to the end, so it seemed like a more appropriate choice.
8
Horizon Zero Dawn
More dinosaurs, fewer distractions
There’s a lot to do with Horizon Zero Dawn. There is a heroine protagonist, perhaps the biggest female badass since Lara Croft. It features a post-apocalyptic setting with a unique twist and an archery-based battle that is content to mess with. Plus, the game has a story full of incredible twists and turns.
However, everything except the main quests of the game are filler content at best, except for the occasional side quests. Without the goals to pursue, there is nothing much fun about exploring the world of Alois.
Finding metal flowers is dull. The bunkers are quite repetitive and the reward of performing optional tasks is little worth it. So, if HZD was just a linear experience, then everything was heavy and I don’t think you’ll lose much.
Series Shift
I have never heard of any argument from me that the Open-World format is definitely a natural evolution of the MGS series and is a great direction for the series. But despite the pain of the phantom, which offers many cool moments, an open world leaves much to be desired.
The world is undoubtedly gorgeous, but there are notable landmarks and points of interest, and it’s worth exploring. Missions not curated for the main story allow you to create your own sandbox fun, but mostly have the feel of a real cookie cutter. Furthermore, due to the oddity of the brand’s Kojima, this open-ended approach makes it even more difficult to ride the circus of storytelling, which is MGS.
Typically, using a more cinematic and curated approach would have been far better. Better yet, it may have been borrowed from IO Interactive’s Modern Hitman series. But in the end it was an open world that didn’t really help as the ultimate sign-off for Konami’s Isle.
6
Hogwarts Legacy
10 points from Gryffindor
I have a slightly love/hate relationship with Hogwarts legacy. As a huge fan of childhood and a huge advocate for classic EA games, I want all the fabrics I have in order to be a fan of this open world Potterfest. But despite my best efforts, I mainly consider it to be nothing more than a lively cookie cutter open world.
Everything that happens on the Hogwarts property is so annoying that it’s heard. However, after exploring the castle and novelty fades, you will find yourself exploring uninteresting countrysides and caves, engaging in a rather unlucky combat system.
The parts that are clearly Potter are great, but sadly, they are not often supplied enough to ensure that this game is an event that lasts over 100 hours. Certainly, the linear form may have emphasized that the narrative is not that great either. But that would certainly be less of the two evils.
5
black
Let my case work
The novelty of open world design has never felt as meaningless as playing gritty police epics.
In Colephelps shoes, you start as a budding young beat cop, but over time you cut your teeth as a detective and it turns out to be a bloody good thing. If only I could read the facial expressions and body language.
The cases you work are incredible in most cases. It offers a fusion of actions, interrogations and sets that feel very experimental, in contrast to Rockstar’s other works. However, since this is a Rockstar game, we needed an open sandbox element.
The only problem is that it’s as dull as food. There may be random criminal events that you can sometimes answer, looking for a variety of vintage cars and other collectibles. But it’s completely tucked and I feel I can’t do it.
So most people will play La Noire in a straightforward way anyway. But it asks the question, why not simply make that default way of playing?
4
Cyberpunk 2077
Sorry about Night City
This certainly applied more when the Cyberpunk 2077 was a hot mess that required intense patchwork. But even in the new and improved state the game is enjoying today, it’s still a game I think was a much better cinematic and linear effort.
The game has interesting side quests to reveal, vast and visually impressive cities and suburbs to explore, and memorable settings. I have to say that the sandbox aspect of this game is part of a more forgotten element.
Random criminal events are not intriguing, and I still find NPCs’ behavior troublesome and stiff today. Driving forces are not accurately smooth and often feel like scale due to the scale.
Night City is a place you’d like to visit at least once. But if Cyberpunk 2077 was a linear experience, I think we’d have a better game.
3
Ghost Wire: Tokyo
Eerie but sparse
Shinji Mikami is a truly iconic figure in the gaming industry and a stubborn guy in the horror genre. So when Ghostwire: Tokyo came, it looked like it would be a nail-on hit. But sadly, it was a mixed bag at best.
The creepy and eccentric tales of the game are fantastic. The visuals are sharp, and the magical base combat is truly innovative and satisfying. But that’s where praise stops.
As you know, this game suffers from the choice to mimic the typical Ubisoft Bloat model.
Furthermore, due to the whole “everyone’s gone” atmosphere, the setting is ominous, but the city of Tokyo’s Justice never does. It’s a game where there are moments, but sadly, they’re too little and in between. A problem that could have been solved by a more linear, curated pace.
2
Star Wars Outlaw
The Ubisoft Formula should be Outlaw
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the Modern Jedi series, it’s that to appease the fans, they need to have a strong story as the spine of a game set in a distant galaxy. What Star Wars Outlaws actually have. It’s a shame I don’t have many other ones.
The concept of playing as a ragtag mercenary in the Star Wars universe is interesting, and the woven story is one of the best stories to appear in Star Wars games.
But sadly, this story and the excellent world building are disappointed by the awful stealth and combat mechanics, repetitive mission structures, and cookie cutter Ubisoft formula design.
This makes me believe that if Ubisoft hadn’t stuck to their usual, proven methods, it could have been an easy hit to rival something like Jedi Survivor. But ifs and buts ultimately mean nothing.
1
day to day
Undead content overload
I don’t sit here and pretend I’m the biggest fan of the past, but I can certainly see why it has a collection of Ride Fans and Dai Fans. The Oregon setting, gameplay reminiscent of our last in many ways, and the mechanics of the freak horde, alone, justify picking up and playing this zombie-fueled epic.
However, despite being quite fun, I have felt that throughout my time in this game many of the open world aspects were simply chores that have unnecessarily extended experience.
The survival mechanics baked in bread are in theory great, but tend to slow down progress. Side content is a typical map marker feed that comes with parts and parcels with games like this.
Furthermore, the story, which already struggles to take off due to doubts of writing, is further hampered by constant and repeated distractions along the way. Perhaps it’s not that bad if the game isn’t that long, but in the end, the open world design makes this feel like a slow one.
