Anyone else really not feeling the rise of Open World games?

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

Note: not saying that all Open World games should be gone, just that not every game should be open world. Also yes, I know I'm not the only person with this opinion, please no "No, OP, you're literally the only person in a planet with over 8 billion people who thinks this" posts.

It's just kind of upsetting at this point. I feel like numerous devs just mindlessly chase the open world trend & they don't utilize it correctly. A lot of games suffer from uninteresting, empty open worlds (and from what I've seen, most also have poor environmental variety) that are poorly optimized/very unpolished.

I also don't understand how some gamers want every single game to turn into something Open World. I've heard people suggesting ridiculous things like an Open World Sonic game... I think that's literally the last thing Sonic needs at this point. Like what's the next suggestion, an Open World FIFA game?

Some franchises just aren't meant to be open world, IMO.

And personally, I don't see what's wrong with a more linear experience. Linear experiences (or, well, games that aren't open world) often mean a tighter narrative, a stronger focus on main story content, and generally a much more polished experience compared to most Open World games. And there's typically a sense of urgency that Open World games lack.

I dunno, anyone else who feels this way?

 

[CarthOhNoes]

I like Open World games if they're well designed and don't feature vast quantities of mindless busy work. GTA V works well because it sucks you into it's open world and is so free. The Witcher 3 works because it's stories are so exquisitely woven into the world that it because a joy simply to explore.

I do very much agree, though, that some devs misuse the open world. Some devs ruin games by making them too open. I think Mass Effect went this way. The originals weren't totally on rails but nor were they totally freeform either. It felt like they had much more tightly controlled and focused story chains as a result. Mass Effect Andromeda suffered, for me, because the main quest felt dull and it also felt like it was being padded with vast quantities of dull travelling and busywork.

 

[Cranston]

To be honest, I feel like it's been scaled back. There seem to be more tightly scripted, single player games in development.

 

[Cybersai]

There's way too many open world games this gen. Thank god God of War didn't go open world, that's all I can say.

Horizon and MGSV would have been better if they were more linear, same for Nier Automata, Deus Ex, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

 

[DannyClash]

I thought since Zelda we're in a post open-world kinda place

 

[Deleted member 426]

Yep, games that don't need to be massive open world games are becoming just that. Because it's a trend. Sometimes it works, often it doesn't.

 

[Zacmortar]

the "rise" of Open world games was nearly a decade ago lol

 

[hans_castorp]

It's the "new" "every game must have multiplayer" or we need to make a 3D mascot platformer.

It's a stupid trend that will eventually die.

 

[Minilla]

Sure there is big fatigue for me , but I'm preferring now smaller , more dense packed open worlds than the current "biggest ".

And yeah it goes on cycles , people will want the more linear focused game compared to the filler open world we get now. The saturation is rough right now .

I honestly think this false value on time vs money will disappear over time . But a lot of that depends on the pricing model games take . Especially with the crap that gets made these days .

 

[Dusk Golem]

Remedy (of Alan Wake and Max Payne fame) brought up a good point recently that even though they're currently developing a third-person AAA linear game, the market for linear narrative driven games hasn't really grown while the cost to make such games has. Other types of games have grown their audience and chance to do well in the market, but the audience for linear single player games is pretty much the same it was 10 years ago. However, with gamers rising demands for better presentation and technology getting more expensive and time consuming to work with, the development of such games have become near 10x more expensive to create than they would've cost 10 years ago, all while the market audience for these games hasn't really grown that much.

So more developers are chasing these things due to a larger audience to offset the rising cost of development, to do better with an ever-demanding and rising cost of the development market.

 

[WhoaIsThatMars]

the rise?

 

[leng jai]

We've heard this complaint 100 times before, not sure what the OP is bringing new to the table. There are plenty of incredible open world games that make up for the bad ones. We got:

Zelda BOTW
Horizon Zero Dawn
GTAIV/V
RDR
AC: Origins
The Witcher 3

These are some of the best games of all time. No complaints from me.

 

[Knight in Shining Armani]

There's way too many open world games this gen. Thank god God of War didn't go open world, that's all I can say.

Horizon and MGSV would have been better if they were more linear, same for Nier Automata, Deus Ex, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Click to shrink...

Totally agree. The Nier fetch quests had me roll my eyes so hard. The whole game should've been structured like the opening.

 

[Cybersai]

Totally agree. The Nier fetch quests had me roll my eyes so hard. The whole game should've been structured like the opening.

Click to shrink...

I stopped playing them halfway in.

Every open world game has the most repetitive quests, I often feel compelled to do them but sometimes you just have to throw in the towel and yell, "I've had enough!" and be done with it.

 

[nsilvias]

I loathe how long they are.
I miss the days of short focused games.
If i want a long game i'll play an rpg.
The indie scene thankfully exists but sometimes you want something shinier.

 

[TesservcT]

ruined MGS for me

 

[Keikaku]

Yes, I don't have time to play hundred hours per game so I usually skip most of the side quests.

 

[Nostremitus]

Yeah, it's garbage.

Open world games done well are great, but not every game needs to be open world.

It's like almost every major game coming out are all in the same genre, only separated by the subgenre it falls into.

 

[leng jai]

I need to see some receipts on "every game being open world".

 

[bitSS]

L.A. Noire, for example, didn't need an open-world at all, in my opinion. I don't think it's really well implemented, and the game could have worked so much better if it was even more of a linear experience. Not that the game is bad, it's great!

 

[Mathieran]

I generally like them. Some of them are too big and should be scaled down a bit.

I thought Horizon was a good example. They had a good sized world with a good amount of side activities to do, but not too much. For example, there were less than 10 towers to climb compared to the usual several dozen, and each one presented a different challenge. That's what I would like to see more of.

 

[SugarNoodles]

Yes. I'm tired of poorly executed open world that doesnt fit the game at all.

FFXV was an embarrassingly bad example of this. LA Noire is another one as the poster above me points out.

 

[Peanut Cheese Bar]

I'll take games with open world structure or elements over games with MMO structure or elements any day. Go explore and hope to find something is far more fun than gear farming and lather, rinse, repeat fetch questing.

 

[Deleted member 15447]

Everyone obviously has their preferences.

I thought MGS5 suffered hugely from being open. Just such a boring, empty, pointless world.

I enjoyed Horizon though because the combat was great, the landscape changed and so did the enemies. It definitely has room for improvement but I feel it works well being an open world.

I loved Far Cry 3, Ghost Recon Wildlands, GTA.

The opposite thought to the OP though, I do agree some games would work better as an open world.

The new Tomb Raider series just isn't working with it's attempts at story and set pieces and the most enjoyable parts of the recent games were the open-ish areas and the hunting. I think a Tomb Raider game with inspiration from Far Cry, Horizon and the new Zelda would be amazing.

Then other games like Watch Dogs 2 And FF15 seemed like they would have benefited from being linear experiences.

 

[Zacmortar]

Totally agree. The Nier fetch quests had me roll my eyes so hard. The whole game should've been structured like the opening.

Click to shrink...

Except there's tons of really well written sidequests, regardless of their content. Especially Emil's

 

[ShinySunny]

Horizon was the last good open world game in a decade for me.
The story was good and the gameplay was even better.
The open world was small as well...probably the reason I like it.

The game was basically a call-back to SNES action-RPG with big open fields and environments imo.

 

[SugarNoodles]

I'll take games with open world structure or elements over games with MMO structure or elements any day. Go explore and hope to find something is far more fun than gear farming and lather, rinse, repeat fetch questing.

Click to shrink...

Kinda confused. Why are these your 2 options?

 

[BabyShams]

I'm more sick of towers and icons. Go to some sort of tower that pops up icons on a map, run around to all the icons. Go to next tower, repeat.

It's my own fault but I can't not do it and it turns every game into a non enjoyable slog.

 

[Peanut Cheese Bar]

Kinda confused. Why are these your 2 options?

Click to shrink...

I just feel like I see these two things a lot these days.

 

[NeonZ]

I also don't understand how some gamers want every single game to turn into something Open World. I've heard people suggesting ridiculous things like an Open World Sonic game... I think that's literally the last thing Sonic needs at this point.

Click to shrink...

I hadn't read about that idea before, but it could actually work. Open world means large amounts of terrain to travel, which can fit with Sonic's speed, while moving away from 3d Sonic's current "floating track" focus.

 

[Deleted member 24550]

There's been only one open world game.

The rest are linear story games with massive bloat.

 

[Eumi]

I'm pretty sure the devs are putting in a ton of work and are probably excited to be working with tech that can create huge worlds that could have only been dreamed about a decade ago, but hey, if you think they're being 'mindless' and not thinking about the games they're making then you do you.

It's not like linear games are going away.

 

[BLLYjoe25]

I used to love them but they are too daunting and overwhelming now. I can't bring myself to replay The Witcher 3, Horizon, GTA V, Skyrim or even start Zelda.

 

[Richter1887]

I hadn't read about that idea before, but it could actually work. Open world means large amounts of terrain to travel, which can fit with Sonic's speed, while moving away from 3d Sonic's current "floating track" focus.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. Kind of like Sonic Utopia but mix it wirh Mario Odessey.

 

[Sakujou]

I agree with you OP.
I dont lile open world games in general. I tried oblivion, fable, and skyrim, that souls series(its sort of open world), fallout and all those mmorpgs.
Gta, Botw and infamous second son were the only games which convinced me so far. Havent tried w3 but i think most games don't benefit from the open world formula.
Mgs5 is such an example=shit story, great gameplay.
Most open world games just happen to be not interesting for me

 

[SugarNoodles]

I just feel like I see these two things a lot these days.

Click to shrink...

But not together? I feel like MMO mechanics are far more common in open world games than more linear/focused games.

 

[Truant]

I like them, because I enjoy games where a big part of the experience is just existing in a world at my own pace. It's fun getting to know the map and taking ownership of it in some way.

 

[GasProblem]

As long as there's a good balance between open world games and more linear games I'm. Playing too much of either will lead to a burn out. Atm the moment I'm playing Mario Odyssey and Zelda BOTW, and when I'm finished with those two I'll be ready for a more linear experience like God of War.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

They're just not for me. I don't hate that they're out there for people who love them but it is a shame that it's harder to find games that are up my alley in the high budget space. For me, Prey was my ideal version of an "open world". It's not an open world in the strictest sense, but it's a persistent world that I get to know over the course of the game and the missions take place inside this environment. I run around, I backtrack, I get to know shortcuts.

When I see a large open world, what that generally means to me is increased travel time, large vistas, and lots of repetitive content. It means that I'm never going to get to know the map beyond points of interest, it means that I'm going to beeline objectives, and it means I have a lot of down time between locations. At best, I don't hate the open world, but it rarely improves the experience for me.

 

[KiNeMs]

Ywp not a fan of open world. Oen world seems like work, chores and a whole lot of running or waiting in loading screens to fast travel

 

[Zhukov]

Oh yeah, right there with you. I am more than ready for this trend to die in a ditch.

I compare the current open world trend to platformers in the 90s or military shooters in the 2010s. It's become the go-to format for developers who don't have any better ideas. Ubisoft being the prime example.

The open world format kills utterly kills any sense of pacing. It can make absolutely anything feel like a slog. I am yet to play a single open world game with good pacing, even the ones I liked.

The vast majority of open world games don't have mechanics to suit their design. Rather than interact with the world they put you in, you just commute across it to the next objective or point of interest. "Next level is... 2 miles in that direction. Get going!"

The need to fill a massive map with content means that content is inevitably very thinly spread. Rather than carefully designed encounters you get samey low-effort crap that was churned out en masse because the developers had to make hundreds of them.

Lastly, it's a shit format for storytelling. Stories are heavily reliant on good pacing. Try to stick that into an open world setup and you either render the open world pointless or you end up with a plot that is 70% "and then our intrepid hero bumbled around for 16 hours killing completely irrelevant baddies for no reason in particular and with no consequences of any kind whatsoever."

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

the rise?

Click to shrink...

I just didn't want to use the word "trend" in the title :p

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

I loathe how long they are.
I miss the days of short focused games.
If i want a long game i'll play an rpg.
The indie scene thankfully exists but sometimes you want something shinier.

Click to shrink...

Well most open world games (at least ones that I know of) have really short (and, tbh, poorly-done) main stories as they clearly aren't the priority. It's the optional stuff that makes the games very long.

 

[Lappe]

When I was a gamer in the early 2000's I had a wish that every game would just be a 3rd or 1st person open world.

I still wouldn't mind that happening.
I love open world games, they are definitely my favourite type of game design.
I never, ever use quick travel and just generally like to explore, and just "be" in the world.
I'm playin Assassins Creed: Origins at the moment, and the map is just unbelievable. Like the desesrt has to be one of my all-time favourite gaming experiences, I like to ride my camel slow and just enjoy the scenery, soaking in the sounds and all.

 

[KiNeMs]

There's way too many open world games this gen. Thank god God of War didn't go open world, that's all I can say.

Horizon and MGSV would have been better if they were more linear, same for Nier Automata, Deus Ex, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Click to shrink...

I think nier was perfect. It wasnt hug expanisive open, but more nice expansive areas that you grow intimate with overtime, whic in turn change as narrative progresses.

Yea Horizon was way too much busy work, I can go to my daily grind and do the same, I dont want to come from work and "do more work"

 

[dr_octagon]

MGS V plays great and the open world allows you to do more

It's the lack of variety beyond the main maps, few bosses and encounters / interaction which makes it feel not as MGS-y

Ambition and larger scale can mean you lose things in crafting or pacing a story / experience - even though the gameplay, freedom of control / combat is solid

 

[KrillinLikeAVillan]

Nope, bring then on, i am tired of linear games.

Mgs 5 and horizon are way better games for it, naughty dog going open world with their games is the only thing that would make me buy one of their games again.

 

[Dark_Castle]

I thought so too a while back. But BoTW and Xenoblade 2 shown me that open world can be really great when done well.

 

[The Almighty Tria]

Very very very few of them feel like lived in worlds worth exploring.

Most are just poorly designed, gigantic slogs that are just made from a "How to Open World" list for uncreative developers. Fucking boring as shit.

Just like most, I did love my first few open world titles when they were fresh. But now I vastly prefer more linear level design, since it tends to be designed so much better.

 

[Cecil]

I'm waiting for open world games that will top New Vegas and The Witcher III, so I'm happy to see developers keep trying to do that.

Sure, it can get tiresome if you keep playing all major open world releases, but....just don't do that.