Poll of the Day > linear games are superior to open world

(+) Yeah! (+)

nt

hard agree

Depends on the linear game, depends on the open world.

I prefer games that offer the illusion of an open world, but have some forced linearity. Like Zelda 1.

agree

Also open world games are great when the content isn't leveled to your character's level

Like Pokemon

Is Tetris linear or open world?

The real world is open world.

I enjoy a good open world game, but I agree generally.

Crash Bandicoot > Super Mario 64

I'm so fucking burned out on open world games, although admittedly the burnout is due in no small part to my own play style. I feel compelled to explore every nook and cranny of these worlds, which for a game like Elden Ring or BotW can be rewarding but for like 70%+ of open world games there's not much interesting stuff going on.

For instance the gameplay in Phantom Pain is fucking great but the open world is boring af... Assassin's Creed games are packed with bullshit that doesn't really matter all that much. I simply don't have the patience or free time to commit to exploring a boring map any more

I like open world games still but I agree. Solid, curated experiences with some exploration is probably my ideal format

I used to like open world games, but now that EVERY game is an open world game when most of them don't need to be makes it just tiresome.

Far-Queue posted...

like Elden Ring

elden ring was great

unique in the fact that i didn't care if exploring somewhere didn't get me anything, because the only reason i was over there anyways was because i said "that looks cool i wanna go look at it"

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Depends on the linear game, depends on the open world.

Pretty much this, though I'm also pretty comfortable saying that a significant number of open world games should have been more linear because making them open world just involved throwing a bunch of padding and busywork in. Fortunately, we're starting to see a shift away from the "every game must have an open world because that's what our focus group said they like" trend pushed by the AAA industry because people are getting tired of worlds that are open for the sake of being open and not because the team has good ideas for an open-world game.

I prefer...idk how to put it, simulated open worlds? The main examples I can think of are new God of War and Metroid (which aren't really all that similar). Where it's essentially a series of linear encounters assembled in such a way to feel more non-linear than it is.

The main problem I have with true sandboxes is I never feel they have enough to justify their sandyness, and I don't find it fulfilling to fuck around.

Sure I can build a robot to fight enemies in Tears of the Kingdom, but why would I? It's a significant effort for zero in game reward or benefit. I like making progress in a game, and in open worlds that often boils down to checking off lists.

Blightzkrieg posted...

The main problem I have with true sandboxes is I never feel they have enough to justify their sandyness, and I don't find it fulfilling to f*** around.

That's always been my issue with vanilla Minecraft, and why I gravitated to modding it (and, in turn, to Factorio as an evolution of tech modded Minecraft). I like having some structure to the game to guide me. Having near-complete freedom to progress through that structure as I see fit is great, and if the game is open-ended enough I'll often end up coming up with ideas for voluntary goals as I'm working through that structure, but if it's just "go build whatever you want" I bounce off pretty hard.

Have you played Satisfactory adjl? It's reviewing well but I have so much on my plate right now with video games I don't wanna buy it but I probably will and then won't play it because that's what I do

It's been on my radar since before it came out, since Factorio is one of my favourite games ever, but I haven't gotten around to taking the plunge. That's unlikely to change any time soon, since Factorio Space Age is coming next month, plus I already own Dyson Sphere Program but haven't beaten it (I have played it, but I ended up drifting away). Both of those will be taking priority over getting a new factory game.