So recently I was playing Mafia III, an alright game. The gameplay can get tedious at some points and there were bugs but it has a great story with darker themes and very complex characters. But one feature that stuck out for me is the open world. The open world in Mafia III is quite big, you could drive 60's era cars in 60's Louisiana while a Radio 4 soundtrack plays while your being chased by the cops, but it got me thinking. What makes a open world sandbox fun to play in. Mostly because in Mafia III it had nothing to do in. While there are collectables to look around the map and wiretaps to wire, you can't do anything else. You can't visit a jazz club in the French Ward and I can't eat at a diner. It's a wasted opportunity for a game set in one of the most turbulent decades of the 20th Century. I do like how they changed up each district, given them a distinct look. This reminds of another a game that is also a period piece, LA Noire.
LA Noire was once of the most acclaimed games of the seventh generation, set in post war Los Angeles, where you play Cole Phelps a WWII vet navigating the criminal underground of LA and his equally grimy LAPD. That game also had a open world, the game mostly uses in it's mission structure where you go round the city following leads and exploring buildings which is interesting to do when you're free roaming. Just walking into someone's house unannounced it's a weird feeling, but there was nothing else to do. You could go on a landmark tour of Los Angeles. But nothing else, this was due to the hellish development the game went under, which is detailed in this great video by Matt McMuscles. Long story short, you couldn't do anything else, so like Mafia III it's period piece setting is just used as a setting and nothing to interact with.
When I think of open world games, I would like to point towards some games with some interesting open worlds. Grand Theft Auto V, that SEO friendly game has a massive which unlike Mafia and Noire, has tones of stuff to do. This was the thing that sold me on the game on the first place. You could do activities like going into shops where you can customised your character, which is a interesting way to implement that system. You can hunt in the woods, you can take flying lessons, ride on a funfair and numerous other fun stuff. Also the developers at Rockstar did work to make the world of San Andreas a living breathing state. Especially Los Santos, which is incredibly detailed, when you compare it with the real life city of Los Angeles. Changing from the modern metropolis to the world of fantasy. Also science fiction. Horizon: Zero Dawn is a great game with a great open world which is immersive as it is detailed and fun to play around. It's also a cool setting to walk around. The post apocalyptic setting is a different pace from the same metropolitan area. You can ride from snowy forrest and to hot plains. It also allows you to farm points and helps with your skills. Also the different types of machines in each region is also a nice little touch as you progress through the game. Also the collectables are fun to look around for. A cool interesting open world game that I've written before is Mirror's Edge: Catalyst. The sequel/reboot game to the 2008 cult classic expands on it's original game by adding an open world, which gives a more interesting look at the setting of the game than the original. The freedom to walk around the world was a pretty fun experience I had while playing it and along with the side quests makes use of the parkour gameplay that this series is known for. Superheroes fight in a city. That's why open world games have been used in a lot of superhero games. The Arkham games offer a cool look at Gotham City and side quests like the riddle hunt often is a fun way to look at the easter eggs and details the developers have added into the game. Spider-Man PS4 also has a great big open world New York City. Which the developers also make it fun to swing around along with the varied side quests. Now let's finish this little quest into open world games with what I considered the best examples of an open world; the LEGO games.
The LEGO games often have what I consider the gold standard of open worlds. Side quests that are both varied and interesting to do. Yes, and with the benefit of freeplay you can use any character for any quest. A cool recreation of the scene from the movie that it's an adaptation of? Yes, there pretty nice to walk around. Puzzles to do to keep you entertained? It's a LEGO what were you expecting. So this was my ramble on my examples with open world video games.
