Summary
As gaming has evolved over the last several decades, so too have the different ways consumers have experiencedopen-world settingsand the many stories (or lack thereof) within them. Today, the concept is commonplace, with many games featuring an explorable city or even a whole piece of countryside for someone to get lost in but also go about it however they see fit.
From the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System to current consoles like the PlayStation 5, some games reinvent the wheel andrevolutionize open-world concepts. They’ve pushed technological boundaries, challenged conventional game design, and created new standards for player autonomy regarding how they go about the world and its activities.
While there is not much to do in the land of Hyrule,The Legend Of Zeldastill presents players with one ofthe earliest versions of an open world, which was unheard of at the time, as gaming at that point was very linear. As Link, players can freely explore the land and battle monsters to their heart’s content without even stepping into a dungeon.
Even the dungeons present a form of freedom, especially with the first three; the player is allowed to complete them in any order. At that time, most games would have a linear method for which ones to go to, but the fact that Nintendo allowed players to have a choice would help invent the concept of open-world gaming.
Beingexclusive to the Sega Dreamcastis both a blessing and a curse, as the console was home to games ahead of their time, such asShenmue, which featured a fully explorable 3D world. Unfortunately, it also meant it was overshadowed by games on more popular consoles like the Xbox and PlayStation 2.
Shenmuedid many things that theGrand Theft Autoseries would become famous for. While there was a story to follow featuring the main protagonist seeking revenge, there was also the option to just roam and get into intense martial arts brawls and talk to NPCs. Though these concepts may seem antiquated by 2020s' standards, they were brand-new in 1999.
Grand Theft Auto 3made the jump to a fully explorable world in which the player can do whatever they want across Liberty City. If they wanted to go on a rampage through the city, stealing cars and causing chaos, it was allowed, which did lead to the unfortunate reputation ofGrand Theft Autogames being nothing but depravity and violence, but that’s part of its legacy.
Every subsequent entry in theGrand Theft Autofranchise would adopt the same style and expand on it with improved gameplay, visuals, and evenmore open-world criminal activities. It would also inspire other open-world games, from theSaints Rowseries to theMafiagames, which directly borrowed identical game mechanics.
Video games based on movies were almost always a guaranteed failure, but that changed with Treyarch’sSpider-Man 2, based on the Tobey Maguire film. It not only showed that movie-licensed games could be quality, but it alsopaved the way for open-world superhero gameslike theBatman: Arkhamfranchise and Insomniac Games’ take on Spider-Man.
Spider-Man 2was the first game that allowed players to freely explore a city as a superhero, complete side missions, and fight random crimes. It also marked one of the first instances in which a game featured an explorable version of New York City, with many titles continuing to expand and perfect that aspect.
Gamers have been able toenjoy the world of Tamriel since the second entry inThe Elder Scrollsfranchise, butThe Elder Scrolls 4: Obliviontook it to a new level by dropping the hero into the Imperial land of Cyrodiil. The main story was a small part of a much bigger world where it was incentivized to go in any direction, find quests, and live a life in a high-fantasy world.
From joining various factions to leveling up their class, players have hundreds of options to enjoy themselves. They can even complete an entire playthrough while completely forgetting that Daedra forces are trying to invade Tamriel through Oblivion Gates, which signifies a good open world.
Two things have appealed to gamers sinceMinecraftfirst came out in 2011: the blocky visuals and the ability to do whatever one wants with the different kinds of available blocks. Whether in creative or survival mode, gamers can play for thousands of hours and still find new things to do in the Overworld.
It also isn’t a simple open world that Mojang offers inMinecraft; every new gamefeatures a procedurally generated worldthat allows for no playthrough to be the same. With constant updates over the years that added new biomes, recipes, and enemies to fight, the result was one of the biggest video games of all time, even today.
There is no denying thatRed Dead Redemptionmade players feel like a Western outlaw, butRed Dead Redemption 2was a whole new ball game. It still maintained that classic Western vibe, but it delivered an even bigger world that feels like a condensed version of the American frontier of the time, from snowy mountains akin to the Rocky Mountains to the bayou in the same vein as Louisiana.
The world that Rockstar created does not offer a romanticized version of the Old West. It is a dark, rough, dirty, and unforgiving time, yet the realism adds to the beauty of the world, being filled with animals to hunt and seemingly endless amounts of missions to find and complete.
Many games have featured space-faring adventures, but few have properly provided a way for people tofeel like they are exploring a galaxyuntil the release ofNo Man’s Sky. After multiple updates that transformed a broken launch into the game it was supposed to be, gamers can now freely explore procedurally generated planets across a vast universe.
For fans of sci-fi, spaceships, laser guns, strange creatures, and extraterrestrial cultures can all be found inNo Man’s Sky. Every planet features new animals, plants, and visuals for players to collect data as they follow a path to the center of the universe. That said, players can also decide to stay on a planet they’ve grown to love and build a settlement there.
