Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is a compilation of old games, but playing through it for review recently felt like a breath of fresh air. That's because I feel like we're currently gripped by open world fever, where practically every major release has a sandbox element of some kind. I'm not opposed to this type of gameplay style – the likes of Shenmue II and Burnout Paradise are among my favourite ever releases – but I am getting a bit tired of all of the traversal and padding that's become commonplace in titles of this type.
For me, the beauty of open worlds is that they give you the freedom to go where you want and do what you like – but sometimes it's nice to be directed and taken on a roller-coaster ride. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves clearly demonstrates the advantages of this; the game's ebb and flow is expertly devised – it knows when to go big and when to dial things down. It's harder to achieve this kind of pacing with a game that gives you the freedom to explore its boundaries, and typically the story telling and set-pieces suffer as a consequence.
But while there are both advantages and disadvantages to sandbox games, I feel that the bigger problem recently is that there are just too many of them. This year alone I've played Dying Light, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Batman: Arkham Knight, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – and there's still Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Fallout 4, and Just Cause 3 to come. Of those games I've only finished two – Dying Light and Batman: Arkham Knight – and I skipped a lot of content to make it to the ends. While I'm looking forward to giving it a go, I doubt that I'll ever see the credits roll in Fallout 4.
There's something to be said for releases that offer a more authored experience
And that's fine – it's more an observation of where I'm at as a gamer in a period where I'm getting decreasingly less time. But much like I wouldn't pick a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' style novel to read every week, I think that there's something to be said for releases that offer a more authored experience. I can't tell you the number of times that I've gone to play The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain lately, only to talk myself out of it. It's not that they're bad games, but I just find them both extremely fatiguing.
CD Projekt RED's critically acclaimed role-playing game does a lot that I like, for example, and is clearly successful in creating a world that feels alive – but when huge swathes of gameplay involve roaming the lands and travelling to quest markers, I can't help but question whether it's being respectful of my time. Maybe I should be soaking up the atmosphere and submerging myself into my surroundings rather than trying to critical path it, but I simply don't have the time to listen to what every single NPC has to say.
And again, I'm not criticising the game; I understand that interacting with everyone and everything is a part of the beauty of the experience – but it's not something that I have the stomach for. I feel similarly about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – a title that delights when you're infiltrating self-contained strongholds, but really tests my patience when I'm trekking across wide expanses of desolated desert trying desperately to reach the next marker on my map.
But this is practically every big budget game now: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Far Cry 4, Mad Max, Grand Theft Auto V, Mirror's Edge Catalyst – I could go on and on. It's not a problem, I will continue to play and enjoy titles of this ilk immensely, but when something a little more direct like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection comes along, I think that I'm going to end up enjoying it that bit more. It's not that I'm anti-open world or anything – it's just that I appreciate it when a title shows me all of the best bits, rather than leaves me to find them for myself.
Do you find linear games refreshing in this current sandbox climate, or are you a big fan of the freedom that open worlds can provide? Go big in the comments section below.
Are you growing weary of all the open world games? (94 votes)
- Yes, I'm looking for something a little more authored
- Meh, I'll play a great game regardless of structure
- Not at all, I love the freedom found in sandbox releases
Please login to vote in this poll.
Comments 39
Agreed. I like a good open-world romp every once in a while--But more often then not, I just like a good, solid sense of progression. With backlogs as big as they are these days, it's hard to shred through piles of enormous, open-world titles.
Phantom pain was the best gameplay of the series but to do all the 157 side op missions and the last 10 plus main campaign that were repeats of earlier missions were fatiguing. Now I am so exhausted from 100 hrs of phantom pain I see myself not excited about playing MGO.
I have put plenty of hours into MGSV and still only at 20% completion. However, I like doing the occasional side mission when I don't have time for a session. It's proper bite sized gameplay at its finest. Never short of things to do. However, not sure if I will finish it by November 10th.
It depends on the game to be fair. The Witcher 3 is superb but weariness can ensue after a while. But that's the beauty of being able to come back to it later and dive back in.
I currently have MGSV, Witcher 3, Dying Light and Batman to get through. It can be a bit overwhelming to see how little you've done, but that is tempered by the fact that I will be playing one or two of these in months to come.
If anything I feel spoiled compared to the days of my C64 and Megadrive...
Open world, linear, as long as it's a great game I don't care. For me the reason I think these feel 'fresh' is simply because we're talking about great games, in the case of Uncharted 2 one of the best ever. Uncharted 2 is like some of my favorite 8 and 16-bit era games, no matter how many times I go back, I always love it.
I too love a good open world game every now and then but gotta love those linear, story intensive games, too!
Bit gutted Evil Within wasn't a little more polished in both its presentation and story
I think the poll says it all. I too feel fatigued with open world games. Many times have i wanted to go back and play the Witcher 3, but i am one of those people that likes to explore every nook and cranny of a game. With today's open world games, it's just not possible any more. I'm a sucker for a good story too and it's hard to enjoy the story when you need to travel miles to get to the next chapter.
Feel the same as everyone else which is good. Only played 2 open world games farcry 4 and batman I pretty much stuck to the main story, the time I get to play is limited so I'd rather play a wider range of games, I always complete a game so the thought of playing a game the length of fallout 4 or the witcher 3 is a real turn of. I didn't mind the order, although I know that's not cool to own up to, it's no uncharted but for a short romp it's quite entertaining
I usually prefer linear games backed up by a strong story, but do also enjoy open-world games - if they're done right. Fallout 3, for example, is one of my favourite games of all time. I was also engrossed with Skyrim for a long time, but by the 100th hour or so it started to feel more and more like I was just crossing off a giant to-do list and I did get fatigued by it. I played Far Cry 4 earlier this year and while it was good it was structured in such an obvious way. By the umpteenth outpost I felt like I just wanted the thing to end. One particularly annoying problem with open world games is that they lack tension. It's hard to accept the world you are meant to be saving is in imminent danger when there is time to do utterly benign (and usually repetitive) side-missions.
Completely agree. I love open world games, but there's just too many of them these days. I feel like other genres are missing the chance with so many developers going open world.
Good read, sir.
Uncharted 3 is still not good no matter how many remasters it may go through imo. But.... sigh... I'm currently playing through it on crushing just to do it (I guess)... Uncharted 1 has some sloppy controls especially after playing Uncharted 2, but I still like it better than 3. 2 is still my favorite.
Yeah there are a good handful of sandbox games out. And this remaster is a breath of fresh air for sure..
I think the 2013 Tomb Rider game provided a good balance between linearity and openess, I'm also not so into the "open world" type of games but I find Uncharted to be linear to a ridiculous degree
You hit the nail on the head with Witcher 3. I have been trying for weeks to get back into that game, and every time something was pushing me away. Reading this article made me realize it is indeed the fatigue factor. It is an excellent game but at some point to much is just to much, especially when a large swath of the game is basically pointless when it comes to actually beating it. I still love a great open world game, but it has to really hook me and it needs absolutely great pacing. Otherwise I get bored of them to quickly.
Completely agree. I have downloaded The Witcher 3 and I realise I'm gonna have to put a quiet month aside next year to play it, being too many games I want, I find it's the long ones that suffer. Did manage to complete MGSV mind.
@get2sammyb Whilst on the subject, I have Uncharted waiting to play (playing transformers atm) and when I play it I want the most enjoyable experience... What level do you (or anyone here) recommend playing it at? I've read plenty about bad gun play and bullet sponges so while I enjoy a challenge is it the case that this game is more fun at a lower level, or could that make it boring?
Have Witcher 3 fatigue at the moment...my backlog includes: Bloodborne, Batman, MGS5, Diablo 3....
I reckon FarCry 4 was the worst offender this year for sheer pointless padding. I like open world's but the sheer amount of stuff to do is overwhelming. A game with different levels of engagement would be good - say at the start one could choose:
1. Main story and a select few side quests
2. Main story and side quests
3. Main story, side quests and loot hunts
4. Every bloody thing
Each path/mode would be tailored to ensure nothing major would be missed.
I skip most open world games due to a lack of time but even I have played gta v, watchdogs, ass creed and mgs v this past year I have owned the ps4.
Really want witcher 3 - but I cant legislate for the time it will eat up. That said the 14 year old in me would play it every evening after school for 3 months. So maybe @get2sammyb you are getting old and have less time.
I have to disagree with the Far Cry 4 being an offender. The game was short enough to actually finish and it was hard to get lost in. The same can't be said for The Witcher or games like Dragon Age.
I agree with the article, there's nothing wrong with playing through a game in a reasonable timeframe, being able to say "What a ride! That was great!", and then moving on to the next game.
This massive-content open-world frenzy seems to be a pretty reckless scorched-earth move by devs/pubs to try to suppress used sales by gluing their game to the customer for the next year (or for life, if they can't bear to ever complete it). Either that, or they're just responding to the buzz of the crowd that, like a kid with a sweet tooth, pooh-poohs anything that's not toxically imbalanced, and doesn't know what's good for them.
Either way, it's going to end in burnout, and everyone's gonna suffer for it.
@BrizzoUK
If you're just looking to get the story of Uncharted, normal is perfectly fine to play on. My gaming skills are very average to say the least but while playing the Uncharted games I've sometimes been tempted to try a higher difficulty. Playing on normal you'll be able to enjoy the story while your skills still get enough of a challenge to keep you from getting bored. When something is too easy, it's not fun to play.
Linear has become a dirty word this generation, and I can't help but ask why? Linear is good (correction- CAN be good, just as open world CAN be good). But there's certainly nothing wrong with it.
It's like how "platformer" has become a dirty word among Nintendo fans, even though far less platformers (full retail experience, not $5 bucket indie garbage) are produced than almost every other genre in the industry.
Sometimes you have to know when to break from the pack and stand your ground. I've always maintained linearity is usually a good thing, not bad, as I still maintain seeing a new platformer is a blessing in this current market rather than a curse.
@Gamer83 Cheers, yeah think I'll go ahead on that, played the last of us at that level and enjoyed it, didn't have to replay more than a few times but kept it fresh and me on my toes. After playing a lot a Splatoon recently it's made using dual analogue feel slow (that's mostly just my bad reaction skills though!)... However, had a great time with MGSV (up until spoiler... not being able to get a certain someone back). Really am looking forward to playing through uncharted, however, the sheer brilliance of control smashing Platinum gaming has me hooked atm!
Open world, I tend to get bored easy and only complete the follow the path game's once. They tend to be one and done game's like uncharted, tomb raider, TLOU and Resi Evil. I consider them game's more for the casual player (rightly or wrongly) that doesn't have much time to play game's because these game's you can just turn off then on the next day and know exactly where to go what to do etc and can usualy be completed in one day really. It's not that I don't like them I do, I've played all of the above (except Uncharted) completed and liked them to a degree, at least there's a good mix of the two available these day's so nobody can complain really. I like a good game you can get stuck into and lose yourself in and put 200+ hour's into at least if it's good.
I htink the problem is that GTAV did the 'all things to all people' thing so well that something like Ass Creed just looks like it's trying too hard.
Just Cause 3 and Wild Hunt fill specific niches that would be worse off if they weren't open-world. All the other games mentioned could be linear and not really suffer apart from length and how much sheer stuff they could haphazardly chuck in.
I love open world games. I have yet to experience open world fatigue except in specific titles, like Assassin's Creed Unity. That said, diversity is good and there's much to be said for a guided experience with a tight narrative, fast pace and big set pieces.
@Neolit Rocket League is my favourite game this year followed probably by Until Dawn just for it being a bit different.
I can see where the author is coming from, I have little free time myself and have only finished Until Dawn and batman. I'm nearly halfway through the Witcher and I got that at launch and on mission 20 of Metal Gear. With Fallout 4 round the corner which I do really want but it'll be my last open world for some time. Naughty Dog seem to be one of the few who know how to direct a game to keep it interesting and exciting without you noticing how little freedom you have with TLOU been a perfect example. I'm going to have to leave the Uncharted Collection for now due to no time, however as soon as Uncharted 4 drops all open world's will be put on hold until that is finished ☺
I know the feeling, I have so many games I need to finish and everything being open world is cool and I wouldn't mind seeing uncharted expanding the area's you can explore but I am enjoying playing through the trilogy again and have put my other games on hold because I know I will finish uncharted first
Open world racing games are the worst, with Need for Speed Most Wanted damn near turning me off the series for good. I want to select my races from a menu, I don't want to have to drive around the city looking for the starting line, inadvertently triggering a police chase in the process.
Anyways, great article as usual, Sammy.
@larry_koopa "Inadvertently triggering a police chase in the process" This is a great example of everything that is wrong with open world games. Oh. My God. Open worlds are fine and all, but I hate it when they get in the way of me playing the game.
I now play Far Cry 4 - Everytime I fast travel to do a campaign mission one of my outposts is under attack. It's pretty frustrating...
I fully agree, Sammy. It took me a long time to finish Far Cry 4 because, well, it's a big game with a lot of side content, but I found that towards the end I could only play it for short bursts. I've still not finished Batman: Arkham Knight, because again it's a massive free-roaming game that's filled with busy work.
I didn't end up getting Witcher 3 or Mad Max, even though they look fun and I know that is get some enjoyment from them. I just don't know if I can take this many open world games.
Having said that, I'm super looking forward to Mirror's Edge Catalyst and Far Cry Primal, and I'm sure there are others. I think that spacing out the bigger games with more focused games, like Uncharted, is the way forward.
This echoes a conversation I was having with some gaming colleagues at work. I love gaming and enjoy open world games but of late, I just don't have time to play. I work full time and have a young family so I can maybe put 1-2 hours a night into a game (and I don't play every night). Being the tight codger that I am, I also like to milk every second out of my games. So it took me most of the summer to complete Far Cry 4. I am loving MGSV right now but I've had it almost since launch and I am laughably low on percentage complete.
They do represent value for money and I enjoy them but if I think hard about it, the games that have stuck with me have always been more linear/narrative style games like Bioshock, Dead Space, The Last Of Us. I am going to get the Uncharted Collection for precisely the reason that I know I can complete them before I start drawing a pension. Though to be fair, I also don't want a linear game like The Order that I can complete in one sitting!
@Kidfried Agree about the outposts under attack - it's like saying, no don't play the next part of the game. It felt a little like a return to Far Cry 2 where everything respawned within 2 minutes. If you clear our nearby fortresses the attacks do stop but it still means having to do something to stop annoying behavior.
Great article sammy....totally agree.
Gimme a more linear story focused MGS, like Snake Eater over Phantom Pain any day. I like PP but it only holds my interest for a few hours.
Anyway, back to the simply delightful Dragon Quest Heroes.
I'm done with open-world games for now. Stopped playing The Witcher and Dragon Age after 10 hours...The only open-world game I'm interested in is Fallout 4, the rest can suck it.
I'd rather play a 10hr game like Uncharted than a 50hr open-world game where 40 hours are fetch quests and other boring nonsense, bigger is NOT better.
I usually enjoy more games with a cohesive story, The Last of Us and Uncharted are great examples. I don't understand why so many people complain about linear games, when they make you feel like you are inside a movie - or story. Project Zero series is one of my favourites. The game most tiresome I've ever played in my whole life -surprised nobody mentioned it- is Xenoblade Chronicles, riddled with pointless and boring side quests, I'm still to beat it.
I thought I was alone in thinking this. It's a side-effect of the industry catering so keenly for teenage boys. As an adult with a job, a wife and a child I simply don't have enough gaming time to be spending hours wandering around a game looking for something to do. Too many games take a 'never mind the quality, feel the width' approach when some people need their quality gaming more concentrated.
@larry_koopa
"Open world racing games are the worst". Oh how I agree with this. Loved all the Burnouts until Paradise, where instead of taking part in super fast races with spectacular crashes I was now driving. From A to B. I can do that in the real world anytime thanks very much (except I usually have a clear idea where I'm going and how to get there, unlike in Paradise/Most Wanted).
Totally agree! That's why I'm enjoying Dragon Quest Heroes now.. I need more story driven game..
@DualWielding Good taste, I think Tomb Raider formula is great too. And also Batman Arkham Asylum.
The only open world games that I liked were Red Dead Redemption & the Fallout series. I enjoyed the other ones, but like most of you I found myself pressing on just to finish them. The best linear games that I could think of are Resident Evil (yes, all of them) & The Last Of Us. I can just ride along for the story without having to worry about thousands of pointless side quests. IMO Mass Effect is a perfect example of balance between sandbox & linearity. More games should be done like that.
Tap here to load 39 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...