There’s plenty of room for debate when it comes to what makes the best kind of open world title. Is it more important for a game’s world to be realized with stellar graphics? Or should the open world be a vehicle for deep, satisfying exploration and discovery? Whatever players look for in an open world title, most can agree thatan immersive open worldthat truly engages you is what’s made some games truly stand out above the rest.
To that end, sometimes it’s the simplest or even the most mundane activities that can truly bring a world to life. Going on epic adventures and quests and killing things is always good fun, but when it comes to immersion, it’s the little things that count. Seeing how average, ordinary people live in a world, as opposed to its most exalted heroes and villains, can do so much good for an open world title. And if there’s one profession that sees the most of the common folk,it’s the merchant.These open world titles let players run a shopfront to truly ingrain themselves in the setting and its people.
There’s a lot more to a merchant playstyle than many people consider inSkyrim. Whether players want toemulate the Khajiit tradersor simply make a playstyle that rewards wandering and bartering, there’s plenty that the Speech skill can do to make a commerce-focused playstyle interesting. Unfortunately, this isn’t technically running a shop, it’s more like being a wholesaler to other merchants.
Your spouse, however, can run a shop. Although it remains a little nebulous as to where exactly this shop is, players have a leading stake in this business' success and can frequently gain gold just by talking to their spouse and reaping the profits.
While theFableseries continues to walk its own rocky path towards a fourth mainline installment, the previous three games at least show players the kind of wit and charm that they can expect whenFable 4does finally release.The secondFablegame has a level of freedom and immersion that trumps the other two mainline games, and this continues into its real estate and economy mechanics.
Almost any piece of property, including shopfronts, can be bought and rented out by the player in this title. Once a shop in particular is bought by the player, you are then able to set its prices and the shop’s rent to determine how successful - and profitable - it is. A real-estate tyrant who sets prices sky-high might be rich, but the cities they own property in will have tanked economies.
The immensely popularStardew Valleyis known for its slower-paced gameplay, where players can take it easy and not have to worry about things like producing huge profits - unless that’swhat they want to do.
There are many opportunities for players to take a more mercantile route inStardew Valleyif they want to go as far as running a proper store. The annual markets offer a fantastic opportunity for players to run a stall that showcases their best produce, or for players that are evil, they can side with JojaMart to turn the area into a company town dominated by the supermarket mogul, where players stock their wares within the local shop.
For a game about ruthless Japanese criminals, there’s a lot of slow life to be explored inYakuza0,and part of that kind of small-scale living is having a small business that gradually grows into something more prominent, and eventually, a hugely successful enterprise.
Players can invest in shopfronts and businesses to become real estate moguls, successful club owners, or retail millionaires in a way that feels grounded and immersive. It’s just one of the many activities that breathes life intoYakuza 0.
WithAssassin’s Creed Shadowsrising to great success, players going back in this iconic series can see all the ways it’s changed and evolved over the years. The first two installments in the game give players plenty of opportunities to invest in shopfronts and other businesses - so excessively that it’s quite easy to become overwhelmingly rich and have more money than the game knows what to do with.
To stop players questioning why each assassin in subsequent installments hasn’t moved to their own luxury Grecian villa, shop keeping and property investment was pretty strictly curtailed in sequel titles, but this also helps each title, and the elements of investment they do decide to keep, only feel more unique.
While many players agree that the new SPECIAL system implemented inFallout 4was overly streamlined, there were some interesting perk choices scattered among the few options available. Among them was the charisma ability that let players establish trading caravans between settlements.
Especially when used in conjunction with modsthat enhance settlements and cities, players being able to establish shop fronts in their settlements, and then immersively trade between them, is an incredibly cathartic shop-keeping experience.
