I'm done with open world games

It's not a secret that I'm a semi-casual gamer. I proudly own a Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, and sitting front and center under my TV is the beautiful purple plastic innovation known as the Nintendo GameCube. We play that thing more when drunk after brunch than Jamie and I would like to admit, but that's a topic for another day. Today, we're going to talk about the trend that has controlled video games for the past 10 or more years: open worlds.

Meaning that the player can explore an extended map beyond the actual missions that are required to advance the game, open worlds make the games feel like they are grounded. A world in which I can go to a completely different area, that has a secret loot box or something, is an incredible idea. One that also makes for an exponential amount of work on a game developer's part, to boot. And I'm here today to say: is it worth it?

I just finished Assassin's Creed Odyssey, a game where you are placed in Ancient Greece as a Spartan Mercenary and are tasked to take down an evil cult controlling the interworkings of different island nations. I've been playing the Assassin's Creed series since the very first one (well, actually, I played the second one first, and then went backwards to play the original), so now it is as much of an enjoyable experience as it is an obligation. It's like when my cousins and I were obsessed with the Fast and Furious movies, and we had to see them, all together, usually opening night if possible. And then the 6th or 7th came out and they jumped a car from one skyscraper in Dubai to another skyscraper. They then became a chore to me, and I haven't even seen the most recent one because they pushed me to my limit. We're entering that territory with these open world games.

It used to be some added flair, a side quest that had a funny easter egg at the end of it, that made you say, "Hey I heard that if you go to that one area etc. etc. ". In this game, I had to be of a certain level to get to the next mission, and you couldn't get to that level just by completing the normal missions. This RPG-style system of leveling up is what caused me to turn off some great games before completing them in the past.

So picture me, on hour SIXTY-FUCKING-EIGHT, three levels down from being able to complete the story. What does that mean? It means I had to go complete a bunch of different side quests that were out of chronological order and really took me out of the game. I'm slogging through bringing so-and-so three pelts from this area of Krete, meanwhile the story has just told me I have to "hurry" to get to a location in time. It killed me.

I did finish, against all odds. I breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Jamie, because I haven't shut up about it since getting it. Now I'm sitting around waiting not-so-patiently for open world games to fall out of vogue with game developers. Please get back to spoon feeding me the plot and whisking me through a campaign in 12 hours. Oh, but I'll probably end up getting Red Dead 2, that game looks tight.