10 Open World Games That Prove Bigger Isn’t Always Better

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In many games, an aspect that often leads to unsatisfying open worlds is excess or redundancy, often referred to as “bloat.” This term isn’t only about size; it’s more about how the space is utilized within the game. Merely filling a map with repetitive activities doesn’t create engaging and substantial content.

Players prefer to uncover more of the expansive game world in The Witcher 3 not just for the sake of completing tasks, but by being offered intriguing stories, well-developed characters, and enticing upgrades as rewards. This open world is vast, yet it doesn’t feel tedious due to its wealth of distinctive locations and engaging side missions scattered throughout.

In a simpler, more conversational style: These 10 games often fail to impress casual collectors due to their repetitive landscapes and dull environments, demonstrating that having lots of items isn’t enough; games should offer something more substantial. Here are another 10 open-world games from recent years that have been criticized for being overly bloated.

Forspoken

Similar to other games on this list, Forspoken showed a great deal of promise prior to its release. Initial glimpses were captivating, such as the impressive next-gen demo unveiled when the PS5 was introduced. However, the finished product fell short of expectations. The game’s standout feature, its dynamic and immersive parkour system, struggles to shine in the open world setting.

One issue is that there’s simply not enough variety of activities in the enchanting realm of Athia. Furthermore, the lack of captivating magic makes it hard for one’s imagination to run wild within this land of barren rolling hills and monotonous tasks. To make matters worse, Frey’s persistent jokes and complaints can become quite tiresome during extended periods of exploration through this enjoyable-though-sparse world. If you find continuous witty remarks and grumbles irritating while traveling through an entertaining, if somewhat empty, realm for several hours, then you might not enjoy your time in Athia. Unfortunately, the studio had to close down after receiving negative feedback from both critics and consumers.

Rise of the Ronin

In a departure from their traditional style, Team Ninja chose to venture into an open-world format for their next samurai game, which was a bold move given their history of creating densely packed, linear games. While the open-world game Rise of the Ronin doesn’t disappoint entirely, it could have been improved with a more organized structure.

The polished, action-packed team style makes routine activities in the game world seem more enjoyable than they might otherwise be. In this third installment, you’ll find numerous bandit camps scattered across the expansive landscape, along with familiar genre elements such as watchtowers and cats to interact with throughout mid-19th Century Japan. Despite its charm, the game falls short due to limited organic environmental exploration compared to games like Ghost of Tsushima, and a less engaging world map than other titles in the same category. However, the unique period and intricate combat mechanics hint at untapped potential, and I hope the developers continue to develop this IP, as a sequel, Rise of the Ronin 2, could become an outstanding game.

Biomutant

In contrast to Gotham’s monotonous landscapes, Biomutant offers a variety of distinct and visually striking environments across its biomes. However, the visual differences between the game’s six tribal regions aren’t as impressive, particularly when compared to other aspects of the open world. If you appreciate tasks that involve checking off lists, then these repetitive and shallow activities such as clearing outposts, resource towers, ruins, and setting up fast-travel points might appeal to you. However, the rewards for completing these tasks are minimal.

Although the battles and missions don’t offer anything particularly engaging to counterbalance the routine aspects of the game world, Biomutant can be seen as a classic ‘mid-tier’ game. It’s not exceptional, but it’s also not terrible. However, when you consider the vast open world and its repetitive tasks, it amounts to a significant amount of time wasted that could have been spent in more impactful gaming experiences. Biomutant serves as a clear example where putting a lot of money into development doesn’t always lead to a valuable end product.

Gotham Knights

If mindless repetition spells doom for open-world games, Gotham Knights surprisingly seems devoid of life in a city that’s supposedly always on the brink of chaos. While it retains some elements from the Arkham series, most notably its third-person combat style, much of what made those games great is absent here. Don’t get me wrong, there are enjoyable stealth segments scattered throughout the storyline, but a large portion of the game consists of fighting the same gang members and solving repetitive crimes across Gotham to advance towards achieving Knighthood status.

In simpler terms, players tend to overlook minor issues like repetitive tasks if the game world feels lively and interactive. However, Gotham Knights disappoints in this aspect as streets are usually empty, there’s scarcely any civilian activity, and the city doesn’t adapt or react to story developments or a newly freed district. Despite its impressive visual effects with lighting, the game lacks the feeling of a living, breathing city. While Gotham Knights has its strong points, they mainly lie outside the open-world structure. At present, what we truly need is another Batman Arkham game, not to mention the debacle that was Suicide Squad.

Just Cause 4

As a gamer, I’ve found myself quite underwhelmed with Biomutant, but Just Cause 4 has truly fallen short for me. It’s hard to pinpoint if it’s the story or the exploration that’s the main culprit, but it seems like this game is struggling in both areas. The game world feels incredibly sparse, with vast expanses of emptiness leading to an alarmingly low activity density.

Rico’s versatile grappling hook helps explore the monotonous settings in this game, otherwise, traveling anywhere would be incredibly dull. Unfortunately, the map design lacks a minimap or radar, which is unacceptable for an open-world game like this one. It’s hard to believe that such a large and underpopulated world, with limited creative and engaging missions and side activities compared to earlier Just Cause games, doesn’t provide a way to track points of interest easily. Moreover, the game frequently crashes. To be honest, Just Cause 4 is disappointing, and it’s shocking to see how much the series has deteriorated since Just Cause 2. It’s truly unfortunate.

RAGE 2

The game Rage 2 on our list isn’t terrible, but its open world seems more like an extension for longer playtime rather than a seamless part of the game. Avalanche Studios leveraged Id Software’s impressive gunplay technology to create a thrilling and enjoyable gameplay experience. However, shooting in Rage 2 is fast-paced yet suffers from uninspiring and repetitive map design, which significantly limits its true potential. There’s little motivation to explore side activities because upgrades are doled out gradually, and the upgrade tree maxes out your character fairly quickly, making it less engaging over time.

In essence, Rage 2 didn’t live up to its potential in the open-world department. The fast-paced shooting feels out of sync with the expansive landscapes, which could have been addressed by a denser map layout. Sadly, the world in Rage 2 is underwhelming and diminishes the enjoyment of the game’s engaging mechanics. If only Id Software had combined their gunplay mechanics with the anarchic open-world chaos of Just Cause 3 set within a Mad Max-inspired environment, it would have been a dream come true. But alas, Rage 2’s world is average at best and overshadows the otherwise enjoyable gameplay and navigation aspects. It seems unlikely that we will ever see another RAGE game, which is truly disappointing.

Mafia III

In the creation of Mafia 3, the studio responsible for the first two Mafia games combined forces with Hanger 13. However, when compared to its predecessors, Hanger 13’s initial offering appears to have fallen short in terms of charm and depth. It seems that a focus on quantity rather than quality was adopted, which is evident in the repetitive nature of the territory control system across districts. Unfortunately, the game’s portrayal of a fictional New Orleans lacks distinctive landmarks and engaging activities, resulting in an underdeveloped and uninteresting open world experience overall.

Although the narrative and ambiance partially compensate, the frequent requirement of repetitive side tasks to advance the main storyline can be detrimental too. Fingers crossed that Hanger 13 has taken lessons from their previous game and improved upon the depiction of Italy in Mafia: The Old Country, making it more captivating.

Saints Row (2022)

The 2022 revamp of “Saint’s Row” often seems like an early version of a game from the last decade. It possesses the fundamental components for a quintessential Saints Row adventure, but lacks the originality, appeal, and finesse. In contrast to past Saint’s Row games where exploration and chaos were unexpectedly enjoyable, this reboot transforms every open-world activity into tedium.

One type of shady business, such as insurance fraud and repossessions, is just one instance among many; once you’ve handled a few, you’ve essentially done them all. Sadly, the world doesn’t seem to foster curiosity, given its monotonous and unfulfilling feel. What’s truly unfortunate is the lack of enchantment throughout this entire journey, partly due to the strange combination of attempted humor with serious situations, leading to a disappointing end result. Essentially, this latest release has dealt a fatal blow to Saints Row.

Crackdown 3

Among the games on this roster, Crackdown 3 takes the top spot for its uninteresting settings. Despite anticipation for a gritty sci-fi urban landscape in the sequel, the city’s structures are repetitive, making exploration feel monotonous and lacking in creativity. The reuse of assets is so apparent that it noticeably diminishes the gaming experience. However, the dull environments aren’t the only issue; the missions and enemies lack variety, following a predictable pattern as well. To top it off, the compensation for open-world activities is meager, which further undermines the overall gameplay.

The game, Crackdown 3, primarily has you gathering special orbs after completing tasks or exploring areas that don’t offer much in terms of engaging lore or personalization options. Unfortunately, this game requires you to complete side missions to advance the main story, which can be frustrating. However, playing as Terry Crews does add some appeal, but that charm quickly fades. Given Microsoft’s recent trend of canceling projects, it seems Crackdown might not have a bright future ahead.

Need for Speed: Payback

As a gamer, I’ve got to admit that while I still find myself firing up Need for Speed: Payback from time to time, the primary reason isn’t for its exploration or storyline. Instead, it’s all about the diverse and customizable vehicles that make this game stand out. However, if you’re looking for a better selection and more freedom in terms of maps, I’d recommend giving Heat or Unbound a try. The maps in Payback are expansive, but they lack the thrill of police chases outside of scripted events.

Rather than weaving through city streets to evade police and executing elaborate escapes, you’re simply gathering items and triggering events on the map in Payback. Consequently, the game’s map is less interactive and less suited for racing compared to most modern Need for Speed (NFS) titles. However, since then, many outstanding NFS games have been released, so here’s hoping future iterations maintain this trend.

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2025-07-14 14:15