Here's Why Open World Games Aren't Fun

[@Kinos141]

I personally think more games would benefit from a open-hub level design with densely packed content like Yakuza games, more than open empty worlds.

[@maxkrepps9474]

I just started yakuza a few days ago, I don’t really know what you mean but I like it.

[@creamking3569]

Never heard of this yakuza game but I doubt i’d get more enjoyment from it than the first time I played elden ring. The best part about open world games is being able to explore areas which are 100x more dangerous than you at your current level. Creates this sense that you’re surviving just as much as you are exploring and hunting for treasure.

[@maxkrepps9474]

@@creamking3569 It’s not fair to compare them because they’re not even the same category of game, they just both feature a form of open world. They’re both incredibly fun in their own right, you’re comparing carrots to airplanes. Yakuza (or Like a Dragon) games are very very story centric and interaction focused, while elden ring games are survival and hardcore gameplay focused. Sure both have elements from each other, but they’re completely different from each other and they utilize open worlds for different purposes.

[@mewa3263]

I haven't played Yakuza, but based off your description all the best games do this. Mario 64, Sunshine, and Odyssey do the same thing, and they're my three favorite Mario games. The Last of Us does this as well, with all different types of optional content and encounters to find.

[@armaniBABAX]

Or like Larian studios games

[@ilan_profile]

YES WE NEED A GOOD BEN 10 OPEN WORLD GAME

[@veebot75]

More like Ben ♾️.

[@MaidenlessScrub]

I stand my ground that Dark Souls 1 is basically a semi open world game, and it's the type of structure that I like the most, but the grand scale a full open world is just so amazing when done right.

[@Spectrum0122]

It's more metroidvania cuz you can't access every area immediately. That's what makes it open world

[@binxmaster]

Some areas in DS1 feels like it's a huge area, like Ash Lake or Anor Londo. And I think that's one great approach when creating this illusion of a massive place. Deciding whether the whole place should be explorable or just take a portion of an explorable area like DS1, is something that devs should think about. Because DS1 is really selling this massive world but with controlled exploration.

[@jbhoy4953]

i feel more open world games could maybe take the more metroidvania approach of 'YOU CAN NOT PHYSICALLY ENTER THIS SPACE OR YOU WILL DIE A PAINFUL DEATH' like entering a lava zone without your varia suit etc. rpgs are a bit better with this if hard level scaling is a feature but thats a soft method, wrenching all levels of safety from a player and dive bombing them into the 7th circle of hell seems fair. idk if its strictly open world, though its definitely metroidvania, but control is quite good with this (also botw, elden ring and ttk but thats expected from such good games). i think prey 2017 is also decent with this but i havent played it in years.

[@XanderVJ]

Open world player hate, and I mean HATE the Metroidvania style of gated areas. It's one of the main criticisms the Zelda series received before BotW. Now, I'm a traditional 3D Zelda fan who is disappointed with the current direction the series has taken with TotK (I give BotW a pass because it was more experimental), but I've been in enough debates about this to know that these two approaches are extremely difficult to combine at best, and mutually exclusive at worst.

[@Spectrum0122]

That all sounds super awful and subjective

[@Randomplaceinruralamerica]

They could just use the New Vegas approach, put the most dangerous enemies in places you aren’t supposed to go, and your main way of getting stronger is gear. If you’re at level 10 but have a gun runner weapon you can probably get into those areas. But you’d have to have earned not only your way into Vegas but enough caps for a gun runner weapon.

[@sabikikasuko6636]

Another very fun thing is doing exactly that, soft locking them out of places, but only by making them ridiculously hard. Wanna go there? Sorry, that's not your level! Enemies will do 5 times as much damage and have 5 times as much health. But it's still a fight, so if you can dish out enough damage and survive long enough, you actually can beat them nevertheless. This is something that I think Genshin Impact did very wrong, enemies my level were too weak for my build and enemies above my level had a huge damage reduction buff so I did like 30 HP DMG on an enemy with half a million HP. I wanted to take on the challenge but I couldn't because it wouldn't have been hard, it would've been borderline impossible.

[@amberhernandez]

As someone whose favourite game is Dragon Age: Inquisition (3000+ hours!), I totally feel a lot of the issues in this video. The Hinterlands (first map) is full of things to do, and even has areas better accessed at levels 8 or 16+, but a later-game map like the Hissing Wastes pales in comparison when it comes to content. Thematically, it makes sense, but when the things to do are separated by _so_ *much* *_SAND,_* it becomes hard to appreciate the map as a whole. Add to that the "fast" traversal method being a horse that's so unresponsive it makes Elden Ring's Torrent feel like a DMC character, and you've got a snoozer recipe. I adore Inquisition, and I think BioWare did a phenomenal job for their first open world, but god DANM did they miss the mark on traversal options. --------------------------------------------------- Your editing and voice-over are great btw; thank you for making great videos like this!

[@barelyfanatical]

I think the game I have put off for the longest amount of time since it came out has been dragon age: inquisition, and everytime I think I'm going to finally start playing it I'm sidetracked by yet another video game.. One day! Also thank you so much for the appreciation! It genuinely does a lot in the way of motivation to put out the next video :)

[@maxkrepps9474]

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been eating me up the past few weeks, its incredible, I highly recommend it. Its a bit unusual in the way you control characters and such, and it might be a lot to get into if you have no experience with dnd, but if you take the time to learn, it is one of the best experiences Ive had with a game and I haven’t even finished it.

[@barelyfanatical]

just waiting for the ps5 release!

[@cingisislambilgic3658]

I’d actually like a basic list of the games mentioned/shown in the clips. As a player who took a break from gaming for a year or two, I’ve seen lots of games I’ve never seen in the video. -Great editing and good touch on recent gaming trends.

[@audien9178]

I like the way that remnant 2 fixed the issues. Hub world; separate procedural worlds; and then main worlds. It's a gem to get plat in honestly

[@CygnusX-11]

For me, the last 2 perfect open world games i played were GTA SA and Witcher 3. Nothing came close to them. Open world is just a buzz word nowadays, just like raytracing and other gimmicks.

[@nrrork]

3:45 You never do any of those things, though. You just press the button that's prompted in the lower right corner. Or sometimes to change it up, you have to long-press the button. And then game plays out the action for you. It's just... boring. It just has a really good setting and story with characters you like and care about. There's no test of reflexes or skills of any kind. I found most of their so-called realism was just long animations in between button prompts. Or arbitrary increased steps to do tasks that were more streamlined in earlier games. Imagine a Mario stage with no hazards or obstacles that you run through, and every few minutes, you gotta stomp on a dozen goombas. And every time they appeared, there was a little A button symbol above them so you knew to stomp on them. But if you stomp on certain goombas JUST right, you get permanent status buffs that make you slightly more powerful against already weak mooks. And 100 hours later you finally beat the game. And it was praised for being a more "realistic" version of what a journey to rescue the princess would be like.

[@gentlesirpancakebottoms6692]

I've watched a few of the videos now. And it's funny how you managed to explain EXACTLY how I feel about the modern gaming (mainly AAA) industry in just a few minutes. I can ramble on about it for hours and add nothing more of value than you do in 10 minutes:P

[@somehelluvafanboy8357]

Pokemon is a case of linear open worlds There's a route you need to go to complete the game but there's still a lot to do in the in-betweens that you can immerse yourself on or not, especially lately with the Wild Areas in Sword and Shield, Hisui in Legends Arceus and how Scarlet and Violet presented/constructed the story, being the only one ya can do in any order Hell, you can skip two of the Gym Leaders in Hoenn and it wouldn't hinder your progess (until you went out to defeat the Elite Four, that is)

[@viddysgamingviddyos4710]

Exiled recommended this channel/video, nice one. I liked this balanced approach here, saying that while some open-world games are not fun, there are those that are.

[@someoneelse1534]

When will we be delivered the Ben 10 game we've dreamt of for so long?!

[@KyloZach]

Ben 10 was my Childhood man!

[@realphillipcarter]

i stopped playing horizon because it felt very contrived. The whole game felt like the tutorial level, and the voice acting was irritating too

[@karenbonds264]

10:02 If you don’t count the reboot game *Power Trip* , I feel like a Ben 10 (Or a Game where you can turn into different kinds of Pokémon) would benefit from an open zone or sandbox experience. With environmental puzzles that require your transformations to complete, combat zones (not to mention a fleshed out skill tree) hubspots with side quests plus many more, yeah, I would say that a Ben 10 (or any game that involves the player being able to change forms) open zone/sandbox type game would absolutely make bank if given the time and effort.

[@Vorundor]

When Halo Infinite was announced, I thought we would get bigger open areas than the previous games. Halo didn't need to be open world filled with lame content. Not every game needs to be open world, I much rather have a more densely packed open area than swaths of empty land to have to traverse. I really like this video.

[@Ranechannel77]

They're often to big with not enough teleporting save points, with interesting cut scenes to make you feel like you actually got somewhere.

[@mravg79]

YT algorithm brought me to this channel. Before watching the video. There is a differentiation between open world and open map games. What do I mean by that. Open map is simple you get open map filled with markers and just chase them main missions, side missions, side activities, collectibles. Open world as I see it is more about being a systemic game with elements of sandboxing. What do I mean by that: there a systems that let you play as you wish, you do not want to do main quest? Don’t do it, don’t do any quests focus on exploration. The systems in the game should have a huge degree of freedom to the point player is allowed to do something that was not intended (and nothing can stop the player doing it), create a fun systems to support combat and story make relations between fractions making player to choose, let player kill npcs including quest givers and adopt the world accordingly, create an illusion of a living world giving npcs tasks cycles (sleep, work, time off). At the same time present player with options in a subtle way (not very in your face, but so player has a chance of discovering something and feeling like it was a discovery). But this is just how I see it. And to be frank there are some open map games I enjoy for what they are, and had a very good time with them.

[@peechessil]

Just found your channel and I’ve been binging you vids nonstop… can’t get enough! This channel is going places

[@brub1738]

One of my favorite semi-open world game is SMTV it’s Jam Pack with shit to do and see. One of my favorite parts of the game was surprisingly enough the side quest sure some of them are just “Bring me X” but others are so cool like one where you’re told a demon is hurting other demons and when you get to the other demon you get to hear it’s side and you can actually join them.

[@matthewboyd8689]

An open world with a good story is one where the side quests are. What allow you to get the good ending and not completing them is an option.

[@narzangrover1033]

i dont exactly know what type of world gow/ragnarok are classified as but i like it. i also really like the botw/totk open worlds, they just lack some substance sometimes.

[@razorback9999able]

"Oh no. No no no no, it can't be. It is! It's an open-world game! Good God! Quickly! Block it off!" - Stanley Parable narrator

[@DragonDoFogo]

That’s the thing, it’s not about “look how beautiful it is” although that’s nice, if you don’t have much to do/discover what’s the point?

[@freedom_ot]

what is the game at 9:42? reminds me of Junji Ito Smashed, Honey Gods

[@PeaceNPassion50]

A Short Hike! I highly recommend you give it a try.

[@nikolastamenkovic7069]

When someone as an example for fun mentions RDR2, I know that person knows nothing about fun

[@averyrutherford6275]

It’s an experience you have to be in the mood for and take time to ingest

[@nikolastamenkovic7069]

@@averyrutherford6275 I completely agree. I will probably reinstall the game in a couple of years.

[@LeGoGoGaGa]

Fr💯

[@vionceKXD]

this video has more quality than some videos from channels with millions of subscribers

[@ryanhowe5753]

Most games nowadays I much prefer are open linear games, like The Last of Us, God of War and Resident evil, like you brought up. And more recently, Alan Wake 2 Ghost of Tsushima nearly tainted open world for me, worst of all, it couldn’t, for the life of itself decide what story it wanted to tell through its gameplay

[@PeaceNPassion50]

For all the praise Ghost of Tsushima gets, I don’t understand how everyone is okay with how repetitive the side content is and lackluster the story is. If it was not open world I’d hold it in a much higher regard.

[@Hypertesla789]

1:09 what game is this

[@VandalCabbage]

Everwild. An Xbox game that hasn't come out, as of yet.

[@Ibrahim.leasure]

I hope more people see your content, dude. Was very entertained throughout. Keep up the good work!

[@Ryan-qn1wr]

I like how Evil With 2 did it's open areas as well. Just multiple smaller open areas separated by linear segments, which worked pretty well. I probably still would have preferred more linear, but it was still enjoyable

[@iditrirajan]

2:13 I'll do a bit of 🤓, shadow of mordor isn't based on Lord of The Ring, it's based on Middle-Earth which is the original source material for both.

[@alexori6639]

New infamous game I heard you WE NEED ONE SO BAD, and ANOTHER PROTOTYPE

[@kaviscorea8302]

Gods I want a good Percy Jackson game too 😭

[@ryan2130]

When I think of open world games, my first thought is a large map with a lot of different goals on it. I avoid open world games. I prefer games more straightforward.

[@digeridrew]

First time seeing one of your videos. I can tell you'll blow up soon, my man!

[@barelyfanatical]

glad to have you on board!

[@MA-go7ee]

Here's why - Something absolutely not true -....

[@Raven-hr7st]

"Not that one. The good one" that's the most based sentence said about avatar.

[@IstyManame]

ma boi was excited for exploration in starfield lmao

[@leovomend8789]

love that you add kings and queens to the list of fantastical beings

[@R3GARnator]

Hub design really worked with the classic Bioware games. It is my favorite.

[@Meka-qq1tj]

I own Witcher 3, Hogwart legacy, gta 5, but don't play them as much as Bloodborne, Persona 5, Digimon, DQ11, Mhw.

[@WraithCG]

Ben 10 could benefit from small maps with big locations. Like multiple small planets of great lore history and importance in the story filled to the brim with content.

[@danielg.5070]

I love Horizon and Avatar (the GOOD one). Liked and subscribed

[@PatrickWDunne]

What's the game at 9:45?

[@dust5717]

Keep up the grind bro, hopefully algorithm will favor you 👍

[@yoshimasterleader]

I don't think how close or far away your setting is to real life determines how realistic the interactions in that world can be. Saints Row the Third was goofy as hell but I was never taken out of immersion because of it.

[@barelyfanatical]

not the interactions! but rather how limited you are with what you plan to populate your open world with, how you decide to get around, etc.

[@shaddouida3447]

​@@barelyfanatical Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Open-World Game Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Open-World Game Marvel's Spider-Gwen Open-World Game Marvel's Venom Open-World Game Marvel's Black Cat Open-World Game

[@shaddouida3447]

​@@barelyfanatical These DC Characters Deserve Video Games Next DC's Wonder Woman Open-World Game DC's Superman Open-World Game DC's Batman Open-World Game DC's Gotham knights Open-World Game DC's Gotham City Sirens Open-World Game DC's Teen Titans Open-World Game DC's Birds of Prey Open-World Game DC's Green Lantern Open-World Game DC's Aquaman Open-World Game DC's Flash Open-World Game DC's Green Arrow Open-World Game DC's Catwoman Open-World Game DC's Deathstroke Open-World Game DC's Shazam Open-World Game DC's Zatanna Open-World Game DC's Batgirl Open-World Game DC's Nightwing Open-World Game DC's Supergirl Open-World Game DC's Constantine Open-World Game DC's Justice League Open-World Game DC's Harley Quinn Open-World Game DC's Blue Beetle Open-World Game DC's Batman Beyond Open-World Game DC's Batwoman Open-World Game DC's Swamp Thing Open-World Game DC's Plastic Man Open-World Game DC's Static Open-World Game DC's Cyborg Open-World Game DC's Red Hood Open-World Game DC's Robin Open-World Game

[@binxmaster]

Check how FF7 Rebirth creates its open-world (or open-region)

[@e.hargreaves1062]

Something like the old god of war games or uncharted 4 where there aren’t big areas but instead small areas and you’re just moving along would be fantastic for a lot of games. Forbidden west should also be sub open world (I love it, but it’s too big)

[@ResidentReveler]

Are you from India?

[@nssSmooge]

King Killer chronicle LOL. Perhaps if the author decided to finish the last book in that 12 years! Oh wait, he in that 12 years, decided it will be last 2 books. But did not finish even 1 in that time. I know he can have block etc. But 12 years xD?

[@Bartman112]

old video but subscribing because yes we do need a new infamous i miss cole macgrath so much

[@apoplexiamusic]

does every open world game have a glider post BOTW? sure seems like there are a lot

[@cavendor5286]

Can anyone tell me what the game is at 6:07?

[@thorlesko5105]

batman arkham knight

[@yucelonmaz2]

Suicide squad kill the justice league and batman arkham knight

[@goblinphreak2132]

open world for single player? no. large? sure. but open world? no. for an mmorpg or survival game? yes open world.

[@atmatey]

Had to give a like for that epic haiku

[@DSFarinha]

Do you have another channel? Yiu sound exactly like High Boi who does commentary on movies

[@barelyfanatical]

nope! I'll check that one out though haha

[@DSFarinha]

@@barelyfanatical that guy is pretty funny and delivers his humor fast paced. Hope to hear from you on what you think about him.

[@barelyfanatical]

just saw his channel! I was compared to him once before verrrryyyy early on - if I had 2 mil subs I don't think I would make a second channel hahahaha He's funny though, for sure!

[@DSFarinha]

@@barelyfanatical your voices sound a bit the same. Still you both are really entertaining. I hope you grow your channel more. You have my support.

[@LegovrGaming2.0]

Bro i did not order a yappinchino

[@ThousandairesClub]

*Smaller Worlds with more Unpredictability 👍 GTA5, Skyrim, RDR2, Witcher 3 are all beautiful worlds but after a full exploration, they become extremely still and predictable 👎 there should always be something new happening to or around the player that they don't expect, rather they're 5 hours in or 500 hours in 🌈 once I can predict everything that's going to happen around me, it becomes a Groundhog Day scenario and its time to move on to a new game* 🙏

[@gamercat9013]

What is the name of that game at 1:10

[@ghost_of_a_dead_poet]

Same question! Looks so nice!

[@Solarterrarian]

Tldr, Every open world should have at least 3 dragons.

[@findot777]

I way prefer interconnected worlds over open worlds dark souls 1 world > elden ring world

[@johnathanlehrbass2406]

KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE IS A GOOD OPEN WORLD.

[@mateivlad4425]

Witcher 3. Father of all RPG’s. The better Skyrim..

[@demonmadara5511]

what game is it at 8:26

[@Vaibhav-qb5us]

It's Control

[@2mhtirdad485]

Control

[@gamervet4760]

7:41 That's okay. For Kurosawa fans and western fans it's a dream come true. I don't know if you ever watched Samurai Champloo, Samurai Seven or any type of samurai anime but that's the vibe we like and that's the vibe we got. So it makes us very happy. 😁

[@barelyfanatical]

I actually really like samurai champloo and I'm glad you enjoyed GoT; who knows, maybe I'll play the directors cut and see if anything changes for me!

[@user-ow6bm3df8l]

you need collectors anxiety

[@Snaaake_Beater]

open world just got in hype because of rockstar but open world and sandbox are different things and devs dont get it😂

[@hoviettrung1501]

Alternative title: *WHY YOUR HORIZON GAMES AREN’T FUN*

[@MrAlexvizz]

Stumbled upon your video after playing the first two acts of Ghost of Tsushima and stopping it. Man why do companies make their game as big as possible while also having nothing fun to explore. I was like.. where is the 10/10 masterpiece people talk about on the internet.

[@PeaceNPassion50]

Right?! The repetitiveness of that game soured my otherwise positive experience with the first half. It does many things right, but it’s open world is NOT one of them

[@brub1738]

Finally peak content

[@Spectrum0122]

I come from the future and let me tell you about Starfield....

[@moneyman8823]

yes.

[@Dieozam]

I think the worst open world game I ever played was "Days Gone". Just a real piece of shit boring time lol.

[@ultragear2otaku656]

GTA 3 and San Andreas

[@ghost_of_a_dead_poet]

Ghost of Tsushima open world royally sucks.

[@Unknown-ve6vp]

❤

[@liquidthex]

Every open world game on this list was really a linear game in disguise..

[@razorback9999able]

But this time, a new player is confused by so many options that it's overwhelming.

[@greendaydude22]

Ah yes, elden ring is famously boring

[@Garaegg]

I don't need another KZbinr telling me how to think . Your thumb nail photos are bait asf , three amazing asf games smh this clow for views