Why some open world games suck

[HoloDust]

Pajderman said:

I had started writing a full on article on why I do not like open world type games. For me it has nothing to do with how empty the world can seem, I never found that to be a problem. For me open world games lack a sense of urgency, like what I do will actually matter in some capacity. When I can spend many many hours sidetracking the main objective sort of falls apart and becomes just another maybe.

My favorite design is a linear progression with freedom to do things other than the main quest. The Zelda games before Breath of the Wild are good examples. Often large world to explore but a pretty clear main path and order.
A game like Resident Evil 4 or Uncharted is extremely linear to the point of many times feeling like going through a corridor and that is probably my only real hang up with games like that. I can feel so cheap having a small piece of furniture blocking the path.

To me open world games are side quest sandboxes. Fun to play around in for a while but soon turns boring for me.

That is problem of most developers not making them living, breathing worlds that have "fronts" (factions/BBEG/natural disaster...) that will develop whether player character(s) act or not (depending on amount of influence that PC(s) assert in that world), but instead are making them more of a sandbox theme-parks for "hero" to play in.