The main plot lines of an open world and non-open world game are actually rather similar. In fact, many open world games have smaller scopes in their main plots than others. Borderlands and its sequels can be beaten in a day or two if you focus on just the critical path. Most Fallout games last about as long. Meanwhile, the main plots of other, non-open world games can be several times as long.

The point being, the amount of content in open world vs. non-open world games is pretty much equivalent. It’s just, one style of game gives you all the content at once, while the other asks you to go find it. It just feels like you are getting more in open world games, because you have to go out and look for side quests instead of having the content fed to you. Like I said, it’s an illusion, a feeling of more content, but not actually more content.

Think about that for a second. We are currently exalting games that allow you to play for hours without progressing the main plot. Why is that a good thing? Doesn’t that mean you are just wasting time? Why would you want to be able to play for hours without actually accomplishing anything besides seeing numbers go up? If a game has more main plot than side plot, doesn’t that mean more of the game is compacted into the narrative experience? Doesn’t that make the game better?

Let’s compare and contrast our beloved open world format to another game that had very little boundaries and simply allows you to wander where you wanted to, completing whatever task you like. This game was the original Final Fantasy, and because of these very elements, it was considered an incredibly broken game. You could wander a few steps away from where you were supposed to be and would die almost instantaneously. Even today the game requires a walkthrough and heavy grinding to finish.

But that’s exactly what we think of as open-world gameplay today: grinding! All of these side quests you are completing may be getting you better stats and equipment, but as I said before, they aren’t progressing you in the game. Granted, doing side quests is a whole heck of a lot better than walking back and forth getting into random battles, but I’d rather be doing neither. I’d rather be playing the game!

In fact, open-world games, oddly enough, are really only geared toward a small slice of the gaming populace. In general, there are three types of gamers. There are completionists, who will find themselves swamped by open world games, struggling to complete them 100%. There are mainliners, who only focus on the main line quests and for them open-world games are not really any different than normal games. Then there are people who experience their content in drips and drabs, a little side-quest here, a little main-quest there. They are the ones that really enjoy open-world gaming, but in general they can get the same enjoyment out of any sort of JRPG.

In conclusion, I’m not saying that open world games are bad, or that we should stop making open-world games. However, I’m contending that open world games are not by default good. There is nothing inherently superior about the genre over any other style. So remember that the next time you start ragging on a game for not being open world enough or praising a game for having a huge expansive world. Step back for a bit and actually ask yourself whether or not you are really getting more content.

By Angelo M. D'Argenio Contributing Writer Date: May 11, 2015

*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*