A lot of us, myself included complain about how samey and boring open world games have gotten. Supposed living, breathing worlds that offer nothing but fetch quests, clearing enemy encampments, limited interiors, etc. Many say this trend started because of Ubisoft (though this trend was implemented before Far Cry 3)

Anyway what would be some ways you'd would change the next big open world game to make it feel more immersive and not get so boring so fast.

A few of mine would be :

• More interiors, with things to do and buy in those interiors
  More dynamic/random events that the PC can engage with. Idk. Obviously it also depends on what type of game it is too. A game like GTA would let you rob houses, but that wouldn't make sense for certain other games. We say we want all these things but tbh I'm not even sure how to make these open worlds more fun if a dev gave me a shot at it

Open world that makes you want to move around and not really relying on fast travel >>>

But the times when the game just forces you to travel yourself and they removed the fast travel also woated

Cyberpunk, GTA, and Spider-Man are like the only open world games where I don’t rely on fast travel at all lol

It’s quite easy

Don’t just be an open world be a sandbox game and yes there is a difference

Iv I did because I didn’t love the driving at first . I damn near would get rides to missions

Kojima understands this big time

Yes even in stealth games or walking death stranding there is still a lot to interact with or change in the world . With a world that reacts to and remembers player choice .

You cooked.

I have noticed that developers have tried implementing little actions by NPCs to make their games feel more real and immersive. But because some of these games are like 60 hours, players are likely to see the same repetitive actions over and over again and that results in the immersion being broken

I thought it was a nice touch in Hogwarts Legacy seeing a kid put a hat on, floating into the air and sinking to the ground when he takes if off again. I'm clearly watching a NPC in a video game when he does it nonstop as long as I'm watching. Just feels so mechanical, like I'm at a theme park or something rather than actually being immersed

Also, some developers need to rethink structure/progression in their games. Bringing up Hogwarts Legacy again (only recent open world game I finished, currently playing Spiderman 2) but they clearly didn't put thought into it

They put some weak gear in parts of the map that you can't even access towards the end, what am I supposed to do with that except sell it They have traits for your clothing that can result in one spell doing more damage but they also have traits that give all your spells more damage. Why would I use one of my 6 possible slots for traits on one spell when I could use it to boost all my damage spells?

Games also need to be smaller in scope overall, a lot of people getting tired of these 50+ hour basic collectathon investments. Hogwarts Legacy also guilty of this, 110 treasure vaults and 95 Merlin trails But the main plot and most of the side quests some mid

Really hoping for the 20 hour linear revival there’s a reason resident evil has had a 9 year/6 game streak of 8-10 games

they should do immersive sim instead

Guardians of the galaxy is a super linear game and one of the best superhero games since the Arkham trilogy. Try it. You can get it for dirt cheap these days

007 drops tomorrow as well

One thing about open world games is thats impossible to avoid the problem of repeating content. Even short, linear games have some recurring enemies or challenges, to a smaller extent of course, because making games is hard, expensive and time consuming. Expecting a huge world to only have new and exciting content will only lead to perennial disappointment.

That being said, one simple change that players can do themselves without changing the games at all is avoid looking for content as a checklist, instead exploring the world naturally being led from one point of interest to another. Obsessing over the side content so you feel you got your money's worth just sours the experience, and going for Platinum trophies more often than not makes playing any game miserable in the long run. Don't be afraid to miss content, rather appreciate the content you manage to experience fully.

What developers can do, which ive seen mentioned itt, is promoting interactivity. Death stranding and the two open world zeldas made the simple act of walking a fun gameplay mechanic and a satisfactory audiovisual experience, and the amount of ways you interact with the world itself makes even the moment to moment gameplay fun. From the physics systems, to the many proposed ways to clear enemy campus, to the freedom of choosing your own way to reach a destination, the world doesnt become a set dressing, but a fundamental part of the game's design, truly justifying their gigantic size. That way, even the moments where the player isnt experiencing curated levels can still find joy in a play session and keep going. Ive said it many times, but game feel is an essential part in every game, and it can elevate any experience tenfold.

One last thing, some games should let go of signposting entirely and let the characters or the world guide the player, sort of like how the old elder scrolls games did. This increases immersion, actively involves the player in the exploration and thus makes every new finding more rewarding, regardless of the final reward itself. Who cares if it makes it easier for the player to get lost, that would be part of the charm.

What im basically saying is that open world games shouldnt rely on the true and tired formula for a safe success, instead they should be going for a more daring approach that justifies its existence. Idc how much you repeat content, as long as that content is fun to go through.

meaningful / engaging side quests

i remember playing witcher 2 last year and one of the earliest side quests was having the option to either save a scoia'tael woman that was getting harassed by a bunch of guards or let them capture her to get hanged.

the crazy part was if you do choose to save her, you have to fight off all guards but after that she'll lure you back to her side of the island thinking youre bringing her back to safety only for her to actually backdoor you lmao

that one really stuck out to me and its probably a tough ask to get stuff like that for an entire open would game but i would be contempt if a game at least made attempts like that

CDPR really the best at memorable side quests. More developers need to actually look at the quality of the side quests/how they tie into the main narrative in The Witcher 2 and 3 and take inspiration from it

F***ing myass

JRPGs already solved it on PS1

elden ring one of the biggest offenders here.

let me go inside more buildings

Terrible reviews