Summary
Open-worldgames have become one of the industry’s most popular genres, with staples likeGrand Theft Autobecoming hallmark examples, due in part totheir driving mechanics. The unlimited amount of things to do, side missions to complete and maps to clear have defined the genre for quite a while. But some open-world games aren’t in it for the busy work.
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Instead, some open-world games opt to simply drop players into a world and say “Have fun”. These games tend to have fully realized worlds but have little interest in telling players which direction to go. Relying on the player to find their own way in the world, these open-world adventures task players with discovering and finding their own story.
Shenmuewas Yu Suzuki and the team at Sega AM2’s attempt to combine arcade-level visuals with console-style game design. Characters and environments are realized in excruciating detail, thanks to the Dreamcast featuring a graphics processor akin to the NAOMI arcade board.
Yokosuka itself relies heavilyon players becoming intimately familiar with it. By offering no mini-map, and simply dropping Ryo into the adventure,Shenmuedepends on players learning the layout of its small yet highly detailed world. Street signs, asking for directions and memory of where locations are play a crucial part in the game’s ongoing adventure.
The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowindbecame an important titlefor the original Xbox and remains a console exclusive to this day. It follows similar threads to otherElder Scrollstitles, casting the player as a prisoner about to set out on a new journey beyond their constraints.
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With no quest markers and no sense of the game telling the player what to do,Morrowindleaves it up to the individual to forge their own adventure.Morrowindasks the player to rely on signposts and a journal with notes in it, as well as asking NPCs for directions. It simply drops players into its surrealist fantasy landscape and tasks them with making their own story.
Developed largely by a single person,Kenshiwas developed with the OGRE engine and sets the player off into a world that feels like the offspring ofMax MaxandSeven Samurai. Within this world, the player has free rein to do anything they want and whenever they want.
As it has no clear objective and no sense of direction,Kenshiultimately becomes a game of pure survival at all costs. Committing atrocities and recruiting people to help players in their journey unfolds withinthis chaotic and dark world. The lack of clear objectives mixed with so many twisted scenarios leads to an experience that feels altogether unique.
FromSoftware’s first foray into a fully open world was a surprise, especially considering how well they had perfected the smaller, more interconnected worlds ofDark SoulsandBloodborne.Elden Ringmanaged to craft an open world that tempts the player with a seemingly never-ending world ripe for exploration. It goes light on the story, something they’ve been perfecting ever sinceKing’s Field.
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After a brief introduction and sparse bits of story,Elden Ringlets the player loose into the Lands Between with no direction other than to find something to fight or a delicate ruin to examine. Though it’s populated with the typical gaggle of bizarre FromSoft NPCs,Elden Ringis content to let players wander in any direction, should they be brave enough.
It didn’t take long forMinecraftto transcend the video game community, becoming one of the most popular properties in the world. One of the key reasons for that is its spectacular sense of freedom, asMinecraftgenerates a seed world and lets players go wild on one of thecoziest games on Game Pass.
With absolutely no direction or objectives, it becomes up to the player to fill out this beautiful world. By crafting tools and weapons to both build and survive, players are ultimately free to venture to any location they can find without a peep from the game. It’s a truly lovely and charming game that is still worth playing today.
Game loops are crucial to creating a feel that players want to come back to, which is exactly whatDon’t Starveaccomplishes in its dark and dreary world. After dropping players into its harsh world of gothic survival, the game gives players very little to go on, and with highpotential for a permanent death.
As the player gains knowledge of its day/night cycle, they’ll come to understand that collecting supplies during the day helps them survive the harsh nights. It’s what makesDon’t Starveworth coming back to, as the ambiguous world meshes brilliantly with the intoxicating gameplay hook.
Although Nintendo has recently gone back into the past to influence recent entries,The Legend of Zeldafranchise steered away from the open-ended design structure of the original title in later years. Barring a brief text crawl, the game offers absolutely zero information about what players are intended to do and how they are to go about it.
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The Legend of Zeldasets Link off to venture into one of the more dangerous and unpredictable versions of Hyrule, one that feels like it could kill the player at any moment. No matter how deep players get into the game and how many of the nine dungeons they complete, it never quite gives them any sense of what to do.
