10 Game Series That Should Never Have Become Open World And Lost Their Identity

At one point in time, it wasn't possible to have open worlds in games because the technology wasn't there yet. Then, not only were open worlds introduced, but they started becoming very commonplace. Now, these days, they're everywhere. In fact, there may be too many of them now, as they have started to be included in series that really don't need them.

Some series have a certain style of gameplay or a certain tone that doesn’t suit an open-world environment. For example, the following series would've been better off avoiding open worlds altogether.

Burnout

In the early Burnout games, you'd pick different events and races from the menu and just do them. Things changed in Burnout Paradise, though. Now, you are venturing into an open world called Paradise City and going directly to the events.

10 Video Game Series That Should Never Go Open World

Imagine an open world where every corner could lead to an animatronic jump scare

At first, this is fine because driving in the game is fun. However, after a while, it grows a bit tiresome having to trek to specific parts of the map to start a race. Plus, because of this setup, every event is held in Paradise City, which means there is a lack of variety in the courses. Paradise is still a good game, but it didn't need to be an open-world one.

Gears Of War

Gears of War has never gone completely open world, but a large part of Gears 5 has you traveling around a large area on a skiff, completing basic side-quests.

It isn't a game ruiner, but it just feels like an unnecessary part of the third-person shooter. In fact, it slows things down quite a bit, and much of it feels like padding. It was an attempt to do something different, but it isn't something better, so it didn't need to be done.

Mirror's Edge

The original Mirror's Edge is a brilliant first-person parkour game that felt very different from many other titles at the time. Part of what makes it great is the game's fast-paced movement and overall flow.

That flow is significantly interrupted when you put the adventure into an open world, which is what the developers did for the sequel, Mirror's Edge Catalyst. It's set in a beautiful open city ripe with parkour opportunities. Jumping around the place can be fun, but its lack of flow and a lack of focused level design make it a worse experience.

Final Fantasy

Some would argue that Final Fantasy has always been an open-world series. However, that isn't really the case. The early games give you big open areas to explore, but progression is still very linear, and many things are blocked off until you reach a certain part of the story.

That said, some recent Final Fantasy games are truly open-world, such as Final Fantasy 15 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Sadly, these open worlds aren't fun to explore and contain uninspiring quests and activities. The series was better off with a mix of linear progression and wide-open spaces that many of the early titles were known for.

Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors is a series well-known for its fast-paced hack-and-slash action, where you take on huge groups of enemies at once. From that description of the series alone, you could probably guess that moving to an open-world setting isn't likely to work too well.

The developers still tried it with Dynasty Warriors 9, though. It didn't work. DW9 doesn't have that same hectic and fast-paced feel as the earlier games because you're spending your time wandering a pretty lifeless open world.

Mass Effect

It wasn't a huge surprise that the Mass Effect series eventually went the open-world route. After all, the first few games have several big hub areas to explore, so a fully-fledged open-world was a natural evolution. And that evolution occurred in Mass Effect Andromeda. Now, there are a few issues with Andromeda in general, but the open-world elements don't really help.

The worlds you travel to don't have a lot of interesting things in them. And you naturally spend a lot of time just doing uninspired side quests. Also, the less linear nature of the adventure hurts the overall storytelling.

NBA 2K

The idea of a sports game having an open world is a bit strange. Yet, that is what 2K has been including in its NBA series since NBA 2K21. It's called The City, and it's one big online place featuring other players from around the world.

What's strange is that the MyCareer mode is integrated into this MMO-like city. So, a single-player mode revolving around the career of a basketball player is set in an open world. Some may like this, while others find it tiresome and just want to play basketball in a basketball career mode. Why 2K feels that MyCareer needs an open-world component is unclear.

Dragon Age

The first two Dragon Age games offer experiences similar to an open-world title, but not quite. Instead of a big world to roam around, the adventure is set in a series of small, separate hubs, particularly in the first game. Inquisition, however, opens things up. You still have a collection of separate worlds, but each one now feels like an individual open world. They each have their own quests and people. Plus, you can keep returning to those places as much as you want. In fact, you're encouraged to do so.

Sadly, though, these worlds are infected by fetch quests and lots of tedious travel. Making Inquisition a touch more linear, perhaps, would've led to an even better game. After all, it's good despite the open-world elements, not because of them.

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has an interesting take on an open world. Almost every operation in the game takes place across two maps. For each op, you fly into the area where it is to be completed. Once you've flown in, you're now technically in an open world and can go around and do other ops.

However, many players just do the op they chose from the menu and return to base to start the next one. It's more time-consuming, but it often feels more natural instead of trying to sneak your way to the other side of the map for another op. And another op is the only reason to explore these maps because pretty much nothing else is there. The developers should've stuck with the linear formula that worked in all the other Metal Gear games.

Halo

Wide open areas have always existed in the Halo universe, as the games often include large-scale battles. But Halo Infinite took things one step further by including an actual open world, as you spend the game on a Halo ring. It's implemented fairly well, as it's pretty fun to ride around the map on classic Halo vehicles. That said, it makes a lot of the game feel a bit samey.

In early Halo titles, you go to all different locales, whether it is the desert, a beach, a city, a space station, or something else. The open world format in Infinite means you're almost always in similar-looking places. It hurts the overall experience.

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