(New Project) Exploring Open Worlds

So, finally this strange year has come to an end.

And naturally, this makes you reflect about what has happened so far, what I have achieved and what not, what I would like to do, or what I would like to stop doing.

So, finally this strange year has come to an end.

And naturally, this makes you reflect about what has happened so far, what I have achieved and what not, what I would like to do, or what I would like to stop doing.

When I browsed through my blog I was wondering, how I should continue with it, and had a strange realization. Because, when I looked at all the games I played, and the games I wrote about, surprisingly many were within the genre ‘Open World’. And funnier enough, this is a type of game I don’t really like at all. Actually, I always thought I would actively avoid to play them. Not because these games are ‘bad’, but simply because I could not comprehend, what and how an ‘Open World’ really is implemented within a video game, and how a story should unfold within such a game world.

In every ‘Open World’ game I played lately, I had the feeling that my job is to do only chores. Going down that to-do-list. Meaningless tasks to keep me playing, like running from question mark to question mark and kill and kill and kill like in Assassin’s Creed: Origins. Or like Cyberpunk 2077, in the prelude to the game, you have your first run with Jackie and a shoot-out with those gang members in this apartment; the mood and atmosphere is awesome! But when the first room is clear I stop, unroll my garbage bag and collect all coffee mugs, clothes and other crap that has been left in the room by those dudes I just shot. Just like a good garbage-boy. And my problem with this is: I can not NOT do it! I HAVE to collect all this trash! Why??!!

So, out of curiosity I browsed my library and found quite some games there, like almost all from Assassin’s Creed, The Elder Scrolls, GTA, Borderlands and some other, smaller games. And I have not played them yet. Next I went to Wikipedia and found the Open World Games Category, with more quite interesting games there.

And so I wondered… why not explore this ‘Open World’ genre more and start at the very beginning?

So why not – quite similar to the great CRPG Addict – start a tour de force through history, but with a focus on ‘Open World’ games only, and of course report on my experience when playing them.

Full with motivation I then started building a list from Wikipedias’ Open World category and it soon become obvious, that some cleaning up is in order. So I created my own Master Open World List, which I categorized into games to-play, games I would exclude and games I would at least consider.

After more thinking, tinkering and formatting, I arrived at the following selection criteria, for this quite epic endeavor:

  • The game must have a completable story line.
    This is important, as I would never finish with any game, or make it anywhere, if I do not have a completable state somewhere/-when. And, I need a storyline; this is really essential for any game I play.
  • The game should have a third-person perspective.
    I am not a big fan of first-person games, simply because I don’t feel the immersion. Cyberpunk 2077 showed me a new experience, so I softened this rule to notable exceptions within the Open World genre: Borderlands, Elder Scrolls, Far Cry and Fallout. I guess writing about ‘Open World’ and not adding these game series would be rather stupid anyway.
  • Chronological order is by year of first release.
    So when a game was first released on console in 2015 and came to PC in 2017 I will still consider 2015 as the relevant year.
  • I will only play on PC.
    Additionally I own a PS4 and Switch, but these are occupied by my kids, so it will be difficult to get a hold.
  • I will not play MMORPGs at all.
    For my own sake and mental stability; and my purse.
  • I will not play and free2play games.
    For my own sake and mental stability; and my purse.

This means that all games found on the ‘Exclusion’ tab fall into one or more of these criteria. I will add some quick notes to this table later in time, why I placed the game in this category. The ‘Considered’ category is there for my own relief and interest in the game itself. So maybe I start playing a game from there; or maybe not.

So when playing these ‘Open World’ games, again inspired by the CRPG Addict with his decade long experience of doing something like this, some more guidelines will apply.

  • Games will be played in chronological order.
    Within a year I will choose the game to play. When two consecutive games follow each other (e.g., Fallout 1 and 2), I will insert the follow-up game as a relief.
  • I will always play the best possible version of the game available at the start of my playthrough.
    Games age better or worse and I know my weaknesses. There are people out there, that can take it all (=CRPG Addict among others) and I am sure I would struggle, a lot! So when there is an ‘updated’ version, I will play this version.
    • When there is an ‘enhanced’ or ‘remastered’ version available (e.g., Wasteland), I will play this version.
    • When there are 4k texture mods available (e.g., for Morrowind, Oblivion etc.), I will use them.
    • When there are fan-remakes (e.g., Daggerfall Unity), I will play these versions.
    • As long as they do not restrict, cut or alter the original story or any core-game mechanics!
  • I will aim to complete the game and complete the main story.
    Of course I am aware, that ‘Open World’ games have the aim and possibility for players to explore the game-world or spend a lot of time in there, leave the main story, etc.
    Still, I will let myself go through the game as I see fit. Maybe I will enjoy the Open World and explore, or I will follow the main story when I am bored and so on. This will greatly depend on the game, so I will see how this will unfold later. I am still an Incompletionist after all…
  • I will play the game without preparation, guides or help.
    Only when completely stuck or I am plagued by bugs or any other sort of errors.
  • I will at least play six hours before I stop playing the game.
    Here I follow again the CRPG Addict and this rule makes a lot of sense in ‘Open World’ games too, as they take their time to unfold. I have also listed playtimes from howlongtobeat.com for each game, for better bearings in how much time the game will cover in various modes of play.
  • I will write a summary and discuss the Open World of each game following these attributes:
    These below are just a start and I will probably adjust them, when I have more experience with writing about it. I will not do a quantitative assessment in points; this will remain purely qualitative.
    • Believability of the World
      How is the world I am in actualized? What are NPCs doing around me? How are they reacting to what I do and what are they doing, when I do nothing?
    • Feeling of Openness
      Can I go wherever I like and to all the places I see in the distance? How expansive is this world?
    • Immersion
      How much do I feel being a part of the world, or being inside this world?
    • Level of distraction
      How (often) is the world leading me astray, motivating me to leave my current task and check on something else?
    • Level of freedom
      What and how much can I do in the game-world and how free am I in exploration vs goal-directed gameplay. So how much am I the actor in this world in terms of player expression.
    • The Story
      How good is the story and how is the story embedded within the world?

The first game on the list will be Wasteland (Remastered) from 1988, and I am really looking forward to this one, as I would not have expected it to have an ‘Open World’ at all.

And so I am off, into the Open World.

The Incompletionist

Interim Report Fall – Part 2

And so here it is – my second part of my report on what I have played this summer. Once more I have to report on quite a number of stalled / incompleted games.

And here it is – the second part of my report on what I have played since this summer. Once more I have to acknowledge to quite a number of stalled / paused / incompleted games.

  • Black Desert – stalled
  • Sword Art Online – Re: Hollow Fragment – stalled (and a bit creeped out)
  • Pillars of Eternity – paused
  • Cyberpunk 2077 – paused
  • Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey – still playing.

Black Desert (stalled)

Well, meet the Guardian.

Black Desert Online (BDO) is a Korean sandbox MMO with probably the most beautiful game world and most impactful action combat system I know so far. And it’s a life simulator, that you can play 24/7 with AFK activities like fishing, farming, cooking and what not (called life skilling).

I have played already a quite substantial amount of hours several years ago, then being purely fascinated by the stunning visuals and fighting styles, and triggered by BDOs’ many many progress bars. This game wants your time, this game demands your time and attention 24/7, and it gets your time. Just playing casually is maybe a nice-try-resolution at the beginning, but the longer you play, the more time you will invest into it. Every minute you are not training your horse, your stamina, your whatever XP-bar, is a lost minute.

After watching TheLazyPeons return to BDO video on YouTube, I recognized, that they have changed a lot in the grind and overall feel of the game. “Well, why not give it a try again!”, I thought. “Why not try that drug again? Just for a bit!” is what I really said.
So there are ‘Seasons’ now and ‘fast-level catch-up servers’. And to be fair, they have reduced the level-grind and sped up several core level mechanics. Even the story progression, that I completely lost track of in my first time I played, was more straightened out and consistent (but still not a good story). I also re-rolled on the new Guardian class and was again blown away by the combat.

After several hours the true core gameplay-loop started to shine through once more and luckily I was realizing that early on; my motivation to play was quelled and I uninstalled the game as fast as I possibly could.

Time played: approx. 9-10h.

Sword Art Online – Re: Hollow Fragment (stalled)

Let’s talk and talk and talk and talk. Cutscenes can be pretty long once in a while.

First things first: I am a Kirito. This means I am a fan of the anime Sword Art Online; Kirito being the main protagonist. And no, within the anime community, this is not a nice attribute to attach to someone.

The overall story is based on a Japanese light-novel about 10.000 people being locked in a VR-MMORPG, accessed via a device called NerveGear, designed and build by a Akihiko Kayaba. In order to ‘finish’ the game, all players would have to defeat the final boss on the final stage (level 100, and guess who that could be?) of a Tower-based dungeon. If you die in the game, your body in the real world will also die; the NerveGear helmet will simply fry your brain.

The game was originally released on the PS-Vita in 2014 and ported to PC in 2018; so graphics are rather dated, and the interface is a shabby mess, although close to the anime. The games’ story is set in a parallel timeline to the novel/anime, introducing the main cast and some new characters (girls) alongside. There is kind of an Open World to explore, but basically it is about grinding and becoming stronger, as well as about grinding to unlock the 100 additional characters in the game. You do that to form a raid group and proceed to the final tower level stages.

What really turned me off, was the built in dating sim to unlock all those girls (and some boys). Kirito has of course a girlfriend (Asuna), but can meet and flirt with all the other girls (and bro-talk with the boys) in the game. There is of course a sort of romance-progress bar for certain characters. So while you play, you take a partner with you. The girls will suddendly start a conversation and you can quickly press a button and start a mini-game with a time-gated selection of answers to “say the correct/expected answers”. If you do that often enough and choose wisely, hearts will appear, everybody will adore you, and later you can even ‘lie down’ with some girls in your inn together in the bed and … TALK. Of course.

Okay, what actually turned me off is not that you can / should / have to do that, but that you have to do that with so many characters. And even that would have been okay, but the activity itself is just plain dumb and boring. Or probably I am just too old and life has sucked all romantic feelings out of my dry, realist and soulless body. Oh, that tragic disconnect from the young generations full of love and butterflies.

Stalled for good and creeped out by pure romantic sociableness.

Time played: 3h | Achievements: 1%.

Pillars of Eternity (paused)

Welcome to Gilded Vale – a bright future awaits!

What went wrong here I do not know. This game should pull all my riggers and play a symphony of pure epic cRPG’ness.

It never really came to be and I am still wondering why and what and when I will re-enter the game. Maybe there is a right time for every game, like for me playing AC:Origins a second time and go for total completion.

Then, why not just give it more time.

Time played: 6h

Cyberpunk 2077 (paused)

The Photo-mode in the game is just great. Vroom vroooom!

Oh, how I have waited for this. How I silently hoped, that this will be a great game.

I did not read any reports for almost two years. No trailers, no reveals, no information (besides the delayed releases) at all. The setting seemed perfect, because I love William Gibsons Neuromancer and the Blade Runner movies. I love CD Project RED for their storytelling and care for details. I wanted this so much.

When it was finally out I jacked right in and holy crap, until the end of Act I this was probably one of the best story-driven and immersive experiences I have ever played. Purely. Awesome.

I had almost no bugs at all, despite some flying cigarettes and mobile phones, so I could really enjoy the story and how well my character was placed within the game world through the first-person view.

But when the world then opens up, all the little and larger compromises started to show; and that more time would have done the game a lot more good. The AI from traffic and opponents is straight dumb, driving with keyboard is not cool, the open world is crowded and empty, you cannot upgrade or change your safe-house, the police is spawning behind you (always) and honestly – overall there is not much to do.

BUT when you do(!) side quests and of course the main story quests, the game truly shines and is just plain awesome again.

So while I savor this feelings of awesomeness deep within, I will give Cyberpunk 2077 more time and some patches to stabilize and become more of the game it should have been.

Wake me up, when you are ready, Samurai.

Time played: 18h | Achievements: 3%.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (playing)

The Ancient Greek world is so beautiful.

‘Diocles… sounds Greek. Well, maybe one day I should travel to Greece… .’

Wait, hold that thought! In my review of Assassin’s Creed: Origins I already hinted a little peak into the vast Ancient Greek game world. Well, when this little peak became a mindless stare, you know you are hooked.

In a short review, AC: Odyssey is truly that – an Odyssey. This game is way larger than Origins and has even more stuff to do in the game world. I play as Kassandra this time and I have to say I really got used and to love her blunt and charming character, slicing, hacking and bashing my way through Greece and its islands.

So far I have followed a similar path as in Origins, but this time they have not included an achievement for total map completion (Praise the gods!). So after again completing every question mark and killing every poor captain I could spot, I finally switched gears and aim now to proceed more in the story. I just completed Episode 5 and I already hit level 48, so I guess I am a tiny bit ahead. Not a big deal, as I play on hard difficulty and all the world is leveling with me anyway.

The main story is quite ok so far, and as with Origins, when the story is becoming dense, it’s always becomes quite good and entertaining. Unfortunately I have yet to find a good side-story quest. There have hardly been any worthy of note; I cannot remember even one at all right now.

I will definitely write on my journey through Greece at a later stage, so please look forward to it.

Time played: 64h | Achievements: 27%.

Interim Report: Fall – Part 1

After the glory that has been Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Star Wars: Fallen Order I thought that finally a momentum started building up. After enjoying and completing both games, I would now(!) be ready and on fire – a Streak-of-Completion with my next selected games, and my Pile of Shame would finally start melting like snow on a first spring day.

After the glory that has been Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Star Wars: Fallen Order I thought that finally a momentum started building up. After enjoying and completing both games, I would now(!) be ready and on fire – a Streak-of-Completion with my next selected games, and my Pile of Shame would finally start melting like snow on a first spring day.

Spoiler: Nope. Did not happen. Actually, it even got worse.

My meandering between games this summer / autumn was terrible. The worst ever. I started games and lost all interest in the middle of them. I swore I would complete this game, but I did not even made it on three hours in, or more than 15 minutes. One reason I did not post more these last months, was out of shame on my limited process. Shame, as in Pile of Shame, that is.

So, the moment of truth is now: Here is what I have played and stalled for – Part 1.

  • World of Warcraft Pandaria – stalled
  • X-Morph Defense – paused
  • I am Setsuna – stalled
  • Anthem – paused
  • Bastion – stalled
  • Ys: Origins – completed 1st play-through, paused

World of Warcraft – Mists of Pandaria (stalled)

They never convinced me… these Pandas. Never did.

Yes, you read that right. I stopped WoW after Blizzcon 2011, when the expansion was announced. After a mediocre, but still ok’ish Catalclysm expansion, I simply could not take this dramatic turn to Pandas, their comic-like presentation, all on beer, food and laid backness, embedded in a overflowing and intense Cliché-Chinese setting (on towards a new market). Too close to Kung-Fu Panda; and I really like the movie!

It did not sit well with the overall, at this time, brooding and dark atmosphere of WoW-Catalcysm. Also the reduction of skill-trees and the continuing trend to a more casual game was very disappointing. So my brother and I quit our subscriptions on that very night.

When a colleague from work was all hyped for the new Shadowlands expansion, he turned me around and I – in my already deep struggle of not knowing what I should play – agreed on subscribing again, transferring my character to his server, and even change alliance. I thought, I go all in here; that Euros would equal out towards more motivation to play. First I wanted to start with my trusty Druid, but rerolled on a Demon Hunter. Druid was so boring to play, and Demon Hunter provided at least some mobility and fun. So much for money spent and motivation to play.

To make things even more a ‘challenge’ I insisted on starting where I left – in Pandaria, and play on the Main Story Questline through all Expansions. I have trouble connecting with a game, when I have story-holes or simply jump ahead. And boy, that was probably a mistake. Questing and story was bland and horrible experience: C’mon Boy! – Fetch this! Fetch that! Shake the tree over there for fruits, cuz I’m a lazy fat Panda! Catch ‘dem squirrels!

Arriving from Final Fantasy XIV, as an all recognized Warrior of Light & Darkness, I simply could not bear (*heh*) this useless and shameful quest grind anymore.

Yes, I stalled. And nope, no return to WoW for me. I left for good this time.

Time played: approx. 18-20h.

X-Morph Defense (paused)

Our mother core landing in a caste in Britain.

This game was requested by my kids, when we looked for something new to play. It’s about being the commander of an alien invasion on Earth, where you try to defend your alien core from these pesky Earthling attacks.

Attacks happen on predefined paths, so X-Morph follows a Tower-Defense style of gameplay, where you build turrets along the way, to neutralize enemies approaching your core ship. You are flying around with your drone and upgrade towers and help shooting everything down.

Rather a fun game for in-betweens, but not really motivating in terms for completing it. Stages become simply more and more challenging and you will move across continents, so the surrounding changes once in a while.

Time played: 2h | Achievements: 7%.

I am Setsuna (stalled)

Let’s face it – gating is not cool, right?

The first game by Tokyo RPG Factory and quite a success in reviews and overall reception. Especially the soundtrack was mentioned often with praise, being mainly delivered on a piano; and I can only agree to that.

The game itself is true to classic 16bit JRPGs, but with a more modern engine, and really gets those nostalgic vibes going (so to speak). As with all JRPGS mechanics are constantly introduced, but it remains often unclear on how the meta in the end works out (or how it should work out). The game tries to explain a lot with Tutorials, although most of the time I felt the mechanics were under-explained or obscured by the game.

The story itself evolves around Setsuna, who is presenting herself as an offer to calm the late uprising in monster attacks throughout the continent. You, as the main protagonist were actually tasked to kill her, but then change your mind to protect her along her pilgrimage, which feels very close to Final Fantasy X’s Yuna storyline.

The game became very grindy later on, which would not be a big deal, but it forces you to re-do one cave over and over and over again to level-up your characters. Why you have to do that? Because there is a mid-boss gating you unless you reach a certain level to half-way get a chance on dispatching him. I did not hurry or stress-run through the game at all, did side-quests and also often looked for combat while roaming around, but I was still dramatically under-leveled when I reached this boss. After running the cave around 20 times, I still lacked some levels and was then quitting and postponing the game for good. As a side-effect I now have so much money and items, that I break the economy of the game and can buy everything I like. Which is of course nice, but somehow also a bit stupid.

I think I will finish the game at a later stage, because I really want to know how Setsuna’s pilgrimage will end.

Time played: 12.7h | Achievements: 30%.

Anthem (paused)

Flying with my Colossus really is an amazing feeling.

Yes, I bought Anthem on a sale for a one digit amount of Euros. The games’ lore, art style and mechanics have interested me from the first time I heard about them. When Anthem crash-landed and shattered at the ground of reality, I found the story around its’ development and BioWares’ incapability of delivering a good game in their latest releases intriguing.

So when I started playing, my hopes were not too high, but the game has convinced me otherwise. The story really is well delivered and the voice-actors do a fantastic job on bringing their characters alive (at least the main cast). The history and background story is atmospheric and well done, but the mystical bullshit-bingo sometimes way too much. Facial expressions are also fine and the overall feeling for the world feels really immersive.

When you move outside your hub, the flaws in design and engine show pretty fast. A rather stale world with mediocre shooter mechanics, and an awkward loot and equipment progression system. And as mentioned so often already: Flying is really something.

When I saw progress on Anthem 2.0 is under way, I paused and will wait for the update being deployed maybe next year. Really looking forward on how they will revamp the game; and BioWare always gets a second chance from me.

Time played: 5h | Achievements: 4%.

Bastion (stalled)

I made it this far … literally face down.

With all the hype about their latest game Hades, Supergiant Games seems like a pillar for creative and innovative game design. Bastion delivers a narrator-focused isometric adventure experience, which received a lot of praise and very good ratings on Steam.

But there is something that does not connect between the game and myself, from the moment I started. And this disconnection is so strong, that I did not even hold a single hour of playing the game; even though I am very interested in the overall-premise of the game!

Maybe I wait until the time is right. Whenever that will be.

Time played: 15min (yeah, yeah … I know).

Ys Origin (completed, paused)

The story is well delivered, and surprisingly interesting.

A game I started playing in 2015, as it was always reviewed as fast, fun and challenging. I stalled due to life-related reasons, but this one always nagged about somewhere in my back, so I finally gave in and restarted the whole journey.

And yes, I did not regret this decision. The game is really fun, controls are intuitive and snappy, bosses and challenges are exactly that and the story is also quite interesting.
AND you can replay the game with another character, which is always something I really enjoy, especially since Nier Automata. You also experience the story from a different point of view in Ys Origins and learn more about what is going on and why characters did what they did. In my second run I am now at tower level 14 when I stopped.

I really like to continue and go back to Ys Origins again. When even grinding is fun and feels really good, a lot has been done well.

Time played: 20.2h | Achievements: 15%.