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Do you consider Metroid Prime to be an open world game?

Is Metroid Prime an Open World game?

  • Yes

    Votes: 31 8.6%

  • No

    Votes: 321 89.4%

  • The Or 2: Dark Samus

    Votes: 7 1.9%
  • Total voters
    359
Goldenroad

Goldenroad

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 2, 2017
9,475
I'm just curious. I think it is.
I've always thought of even the original Metroid and Zelda and so forth as being Open World, in that I can go back to any, or almost any, locations I've already been to, even though certain dungeons and bosses and items need to be completed/collected in a certain order to progress.

I was called out on this in another thread though and told that Metroid Prime is non-linear, but not open world. What's the difference? Aren't all open world games non-linear? What about vice versa? In context, I was saying that Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is not an open world game, while Metroid Prime is. Do you agree with that? Am I way off base here?

Not looking for an argument. I'm not saying you're wrong if you disagree with me. I'm not trying to call out the other poster, who called me out on this either. I just wanted to see where everyone stands on this.
 
Dolce

Dolce

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,235
Zelda 1 I think so but I don't think of Metroidvanias as open world. I think to be a true open world, you need to be able to explore most of the world immediately after any tutorials. You can go to a large majority of the places in Zelda 1 immediately after gaining control, so I believe that game is open world.

Now, I don't think you have to be able to go EVERYWHERE. There's still a linear story within most open world games. Even BOTW has multiple linear story elements and you can't just waltz right into every dungeon.
 
Jencks

Jencks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,450
Maybe I use the term incorrectly, but to me Open World suggests a type of wide open level design found in stuff like TW3, AC, BotW, etc. Where you can approach different areas from different directions seamlessly. Prime is nonlinear but is still segmented into individual rooms that are gated behind abilities.
 
Glio

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
24,497
Spain
It is not open at all because the game is designed for you to explore the entire map in a very specific order.
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,419
No, like you said you have to do environmental puzzles and bosses in a specific order to unlock the world. It's the complete opposite, don't know what else to argue there. The intent is the world is locked up to a great extent.

Maybe you can be pedantic and say you can sequence break, but they're essentially glitches.
 
Acetown

Acetown

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,296
These games take place pretty much entirely in narrow tunnels. Seems almost like the antithesis of an open world.
 
OP
OP
Goldenroad

Goldenroad

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 2, 2017
9,475
Gravijah said:
Zelda 1 I think so but I don't think of Metroidvanias as open world. I think to be a true open world, you need to be able to explore most of the world immediately after any tutorials. You can go to a large majority of the places in Zelda 1 immediately after gaining control, so I believe that game is open world.
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Fair enough.

I guess I can already see what direction this poll is headed. Clearly I'm in the minority here.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,837
most metroidvania's are semi-open worlds but not true open worlds. They're open world in the same sense as the newest God of War where you can go back to area's and do things in a non-linear manner but there's still an unlock progression, unlike something like GTA or BotW or Just Cause where you're bound to an area for the tutorial maybe and then you can go more or less anywhere on the map
 
AuthenticM

AuthenticM

Son Altesse Sérénissime
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
30,014
No, because "open world" is a fixed term that means a certain thing. Metroid Prime does not qualify for that thing.
 

Deleted member 5491

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,249
BOTW is an Open World game, where you can go anywhere from the start, as long as you are skilled enough.
Prime, like any Metroidvania is not an Open World game. It's is an interconnected world where you can and should return to places that were BLOCKED earlier, so you can venture to new places. It starts usually with you having a limited area that you can explore and opens up ever more until you can really explore a vast part of the world.
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,178
Glio said:
It is not open at all because the game is designed for you to explore the entire map in a very specific order.
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yup, ie. metroidvania (for lack of a better portmanteau). The areas are also highly designed around gameplay, with essentially no unnecessary space between them.
 
Poison Jam

Poison Jam

Member
Nov 6, 2017
2,984
No, it's a 3D metroidvania. Many separate but interconnected areas. Dark Souls is kinda the same thing.

There are defined entrances and/or exits for each and every location. And for the most part they reset upon re-entry.
 
blamite

blamite

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,551
Isn't the definition of a Metroidvania kind of the opposite in that it's a closed world that you open up yourself over time?
 
Qurupeke

Qurupeke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,275
Glio said:
It is not open at all because the game is designed for you to explore the entire map in a very specific order.
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The Unsent said:
No, like you said you have to do environmental puzzles and bosses in a specific order to unlock the world. It's the complete opposite, don't know what else to argue there. The intent is the world is locked up to a great extent.

Maybe you can be pedantic and say you can sequence break, but they're essentially glitches.
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I don't really get this. Stuff like Ghost of Tsushima also wants you to do stuff in specific order, that's the entire structure of the game. But it's undoubtedly open world.
 
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OP
Goldenroad

Goldenroad

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 2, 2017
9,475
Qurupeke said:
I don't really get this. Stuff like Ghost of Tsushima also wants you to do stuff in specific order, that's the entire structure of the game. But it's undoubtedly open world.
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Or Grand Theft Auto...at least the early games where they would block off sections of the city until you hit a certain mission and then more of it opens up.

But I totally get people's arguments here. They make sense.
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,419
Qurupeke said:
I don't really get this. Stuff like Ghost of Tsushima also wants you to do stuff in specific order, that's the entire structure of the game. But it's undoubtedly open world.
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The selling point of Metroid games is gradually unlocking the world, so there's much more restrictions. Open world games have a different selling point.
Goldenroad said:
Or Grand Theft Auto...at least the early games where they would block off sections of the city until you hit a certain mission and then more of it opens up.

But I totally get people's arguments here. They make sense.
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That is fair with GTA 3 but I would argue it's not true open world, but an introduction to that genre. Sandbox is the term I would have used, but in modern Rockstar games you only have to do a tutorial chapter and then it's open.
 

NuclearCake

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,867
The prime games are not open world, sure they offer exploration but that isn't the same as an open world. Most areas in the game are separated into rooms that are all individually designed and self-contained then connected together. The games mostly have a linear path to the end unless you do some sequence breaking.
 
Mosaica

Mosaica

Member
May 22, 2019
357
Metroidvania and Open-World are kind of diametrically opposed.
Sure, you can make an Open World game that contains Lock & Key elements, and Metroidvanias are Semi-Open by design,
But I can think of no examples that mix the two completely.
 

Dablado

Member
Jan 1, 2019
220
Martinski said:
It would remove what makes It a Metroid game.
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It could work though. Start with all basic mechanics of progression and roam the entire world searching for upgrades and perks that arent needed to progress. Would still work well from a storytelling perspective with the scan system.

Not every game has to be open world though and 3D Metroid games (or games alike) are few and far between.
 
z1ggy

z1ggy

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Oct 25, 2017
4,187
Argentina
cakely

cakely

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,149
Chicago
It's ... Metroid, set in a three-dimensional world.

So, no. It's a set of interlocking, discrete levels. There's no open world.
 
DragonKeeper

DragonKeeper

Member
Nov 14, 2017
1,586
Goldenroad said:
I'm just curious. I think it is.
I've always thought of even the original Metroid and Zelda and so forth as being Open World, in that I can go back to any, or almost any, locations I've already been to, even though certain dungeons and bosses and items need to be completed/collected in a certain order to progress.

I was called out on this in another thread though and told that Metroid Prime is non-linear, but not open world. What's the difference? Aren't all open world games non-linear? What about vice versa? In context, I was saying that Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is not an open world game, while Metroid Prime is. Do you agree with that? Am I way off base here?

Not looking for an argument. I'm not saying you're wrong if you disagree with me. I'm not trying to call out the other poster, who called me out on this either. I just wanted to see where everyone stands on this.
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It's a labyrinth world game, which is honestly my favorite type but you rarely see it in 3D. Labyrinth/maze world games catch the feeling of an open world since they are designed around exploration and discovery but also have the advantage of being built out of small segments that funnel people into specific locations like a linear world, which makes it possible to create curated experiences since the developer knows where the player will be and from which direction they'll be coming. The only modern series I know about that does this in 3D is Dark Souls. I played the first game and even though it's dark fantasy instead of sci-fi, it really gave me a Metroid vibe with its world structure.

A true open world would alter Metroid's core design to the point of it being a different kind of game. The Metroid labyrinth is the star of the show and everything is structured around it.
 
Bjomesphat

Bjomesphat

Member
Nov 5, 2017
1,819
Sure.

Does every open world game require every area be open from the beginning?

Is Mario 64 not open world because levels are locked out to the player. This just sounds like arguing semantics.
 
Dolce

Dolce

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,235
Bjomesphat said:
Sure.

Does every open world game require every area be open from the beginning?

Is Mario 64 not open world because levels are locked out to the player. This just sounds like arguing semantics.
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Mario 64 isn't open world. It just has large, open level design with a hub world. Odyssey also isn't open world, but Odyssey does take inspiration from open world games.
 
Archduke Kong

Archduke Kong

Member
Feb 2, 2019
2,309
Nah, it's a very scripted experience. At any given time you can only really go in one or two directions to find the next thing to do. Once you've been to a few areas It definitely FEELS like a big world with a lot of stuff to do, but the game is designed so you have a set destination at any given time, you just have to figure out what part of the map it's supposed to be. There's optional stuff and you can do the end game collectathon in any order, exploring the entire planet as you see fit so if you want to count that specific aspect as open world I'd allow it, but it's not an "open world" game.
 
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