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Worst open world game of all time

Lone Denjin

Member
I am gong to upset some people, but Xenoblade 1 and 2 have very boring MMO style open worlds with nothing in them. Go here colect 10 bear asses, go here kill 10 mooks.
They should have done a lot more with it. At most i think the higher level enemy's roaming was a good idea. I would say failure to propperly use the open world is the sin in this case.
 

DogofWar

Member
I went in this thread to find out about some real dud of a game and people mention GTA 3 and MGS V.

gun cocking GIF by South Park
 
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Starfield

Member
If you think Oblivion has one of the worst open worlds in games then yes, I Hado, think you're a loser...HOWEVER...it is your opinion. Even bad people can have opinions

Here's my take:

Far Cry Primal, Two Worlds, Assassins Creed 3
 
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Loope

Member
Open world games seems to be hottest trend in video games for a long time now. There has been a lot of good ones and really bad ones. In your opinion what was the worst open world game you have ever played. Not only in terms of it being buggy or broken, but also if the game itself is mind numbingly boring. Imo AC Unity is by far the worst open world game I have ever played. The map was so filled with clutter, main story was bad and cliche, side stories were hit and miss, characters were uninspired, and gameplay was clunky. It just felt so boring. I know it's not the worst game of all time but it's definitely the one I hated the most. There are even worse games like Raven's Cry that are broken but I never played it, and atleast some people had a fun time exploiting glitches.
My favourite AC post Brotherhood actually. Mainly because of the world itself and the parkour which is amazing and you actually do it in an appropriate space (as is in a cluttered city). The combat can be clunky yes but i actually prefer it to AC2 or Brotherhood. Maybe just clicks with me, i don't know.
 

TheKratos

Member
It’s the truth buddy. Mad Max isn’t a bad game actually, anyone who has played it knows this. It’s very underrated. And yes Cyberpunk’s world is lifeless when compared to Mad Max.

I played Mad Max. Was fun but it's the definition of lifeless. Calling Cyberpunk lifeless, especially compared to Mad Max is madness. Unless you played console version that can't handle high density crowd.
 

stranno

Member
I'd say Just Cause (1). It had only 21 main missions and 315 secondary missions. The "10 times bigger than San Andreas YOOO!!" map was a completely waste of terrain. The vehicle handling was atrocious. And the main feature, the grappling hook didn't work properly, unlike in the second+ game.

On top of that, it probably has the worst PC port ever seen (not counting completely different ports, like Spider-Man 2). It came out the same day on 360, PC, PS2 and XBOX and PC version is a PS2/XBOX port, while the 360 version looks MUCH better. Don't misunderstand me, it still sucks, but at least it looks better.
 

SnapShot

Member
The first RAGE game, so dull, only thing it does well is the combat, It's a shame because there are many moments where you can see how this game could've been so much more

Rage_cover.jpg
 
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Magog.

Banned
Watch Dogs Legion gets my vote. Here's a brand new open world game with all that Ubisoft money behind it that is about as dull and lifeless an open world game that I have ever played. They just threw the Watch Dogs formula in and said to hell with story or characters. It is open world game that exists for its own sake entirely. Huge disappointment from a guy who actually enjoyed the first two games.

It's the best open world game ever created IMO. The whole world is alive with NPCs who all have relationships with each other. The story is actually much better put together and compelling and I LOVE my crew much more than the characters in Watch Dogs 1 or 2. They are a tough bunch and really funny.

Worst? The open world in Dragon Age Inquisition was a boring slog.
 
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Valonquar

Member
AC Unity is shit. I remember when the game released, I had to restart the game 3 times during the opening chase sequence because I kept falling through the floor geometry. I tried to get a refund but Sony refused saying I'd already played enough to earn a trophy....you earned a fucking trophy for starting the goddamned game. Worst writing in AC series (saying a LOT after AC3) and dumbest attempt at romance ever. Extremely cut & paste town buildings, horrific NPC graphics. Outside of a few areas that you could take pretty screenshots in the game was complete garbage.
 

Magog.

Banned
Final Fantasy XV

Its like the designers were told to make an open world game but they had never actuallt played an open world game in their life

I can see why people would say it but it really did feel like going on a summer road trip with your pals and the banter was enjoyable. I got the royal edition for cheap recently and it was much better than I was expecting. The game put a smile on my face.
 

Topher

Gold Member
It's the best open world game ever created IMO. The whole world is alive with NPCs who all have relationships with each other. The story is actually much better put together and compelling and I LOVE my crew much more than the characters in Watch Dogs 1 or 2. They are a tough bunch and really funny.

Worst? The open world in Dragon Age Inquisition was a boring slog.

I loved DA Inquisition. How dare you have an opinion entirely opposite to my own.

how dare you GIF
How Dare You Wtf GIF by Sky
shocked how dare you GIF by Nightcap
How Dare You GIF by moodman


:messenger_beaming:
 

waquzy

Member
I played Mad Max. Was fun but it's the definition of lifeless. Calling Cyberpunk lifeless, especially compared to Mad Max is madness. Unless you played console version that can't handle high density crowd.
I’m playing it on PS5 and Cyberpunk is lifeless, it’s got nothing to do with crowd density, it’s all style no substance, the worst AI ever seen in a game. Playing it on a PC doesn’t make no difference whatsoever, the whole world in Cyberpunk is populated with soulless zombies...
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
I'll second Driver 3. Also Shenmue world stunk. Boring.

Although the game is great L.A. Noire had a very lifeless city.
 

Amory

Member
lotta (bad) hot takes in here...

I generally really like open world games so it's hard to think of one that was truly awful. i probably wouldn't have played much of it, anyway

assassin's creed liberation was pretty shitty with all the sacrifices they had to make to put it on vita. i can't remember if that was truly open world, either, or if it was a series of open 'levels'
 

Magog.

Banned
Everything Ubisoft pumps out

I hate how Watch Dogs gets lumped in with Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. Being able to hack the city infrastructure and the excellent stealth mechanics makes it a much more dynamic and fun series than GTA ever was.
 

Loope

Member
AC Unity is shit. I remember when the game released, I had to restart the game 3 times during the opening chase sequence because I kept falling through the floor geometry. I tried to get a refund but Sony refused saying I'd already played enough to earn a trophy....you earned a fucking trophy for starting the goddamned game. Worst writing in AC series (saying a LOT after AC3) and dumbest attempt at romance ever. Extremely cut & paste town buildings, horrific NPC graphics. Outside of a few areas that you could take pretty screenshots in the game was complete garbage.
This looks like shit to you??



I agree with the bugs etc. but copy/paste buildings and horrific NPCs?
 

PooBone

Member
Disagree. They brought Chicago to life wonderfully and the city hacking made car chases much more interesting.
Interesting, I don't remember a single car chase in that game. How would you compare it to 2 or Legion? I've not touched it since that initial rental.
 
Games that are open worlds but have no interactivity..... I'm like what's the point.

For that reason driv3r and LA noir
 

Enzo88

Member
I am probably gonna get some flack for this, but i guess, of those i played, the first No More Heroes?

I still liked the game overall, but the open world aspect of it was pretty janky.
 

UnNamed

Banned
LA Noir is the most useless open world ever. It's clear the project was born with the detective component only. Then probably someone from the marketing arrived and said they have to put an open world map and shoot mechanics because GTA was popular. The result is you have two completely unrelated games in one.
 
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Magog.

Banned
Interesting, I don't remember a single car chase in that game. How would you compare it to 2 or Legion? I've not touched it since that initial rental.

I think they did a great job of building on existing systems as the series progressed so I can't really recommend going back to the original when Legion IMO is the best one by far and probably my favorite open world game ever. The antagonist (Asian guy) was a great character though. Especially towards the end of the game he really was fun to play against. If I remember correctly they also had a working train system so it felt very "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford at points.
 
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xrnzaaas

Gold Member
LA Noir is the most useless open world ever. It's clear the project was born with the detective component only. Then probably someone from the marketing arrived and said they have to put an open world map and shoot mechanics because GTA was popular. The result is you have two completely unrelated games in one.
LA Noire is much like Mafia games (excluding Mafia 3). The city is there to provide the atmosphere, it wouldn't be the same if you'd be instantly transported to where you're supposed to do missions.

Personally I didn't mind some action in the main cases, but they should've ditched police calls. They don't work well with the detective side of the game.
 
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Magog.

Banned
LA Noire is much like Mafia games (excluding Mafia 3). The city is there to provide the atmosphere, it wouldn't be the same if you'd be instantly transported to where you're supposed to do missions.

Personally I didn't mind some action in the main cases, but they should've ditched police calls. They don't work well with the detective side of the game.

Yeah I agree. It's a set piece and LA Noire wouldn't be as good of a game if you weren't able to explore old Hollywood. It's not meant to be like GTA it's a slower type of game more adventure than action.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Of the games I've played, probably The Evil Within 2, and Rage.

TEW2 didn't need an open-world, it felt tacked on, and at moments made the game feel like it had an identity crisis.

Rage, while a new IP at the time, also didn't need such a thing. I played the game to completion and loved the combat. But the open-world, quest, and driving segments all bogged the game down. I think it would've excelled being a "start here and end here" game with objectives in-between, similar to id's other big titles.

Some really interesting takes in here though, it just reminds you how subjective this all is.

Crazy to me because I thought MGSV, while it didn't need to be open-world at all, pulled it all off ridiculously well. Just a shame that the game didn't receive the ending it truly deserved.

I thought Mad Max was solid as well! Just wasn't for everyone. I remember a lot of the negativity I saw revolved around people saying the environments were boring and it was like... "Well, yeah, it's Mad Max, it's a post-apocalyptic world that's basically been leveled", lol.
 

harmny

Banned
LA Noir is the most useless open world ever. It's clear the project was born with the detective component only. Then probably someone from the marketing arrived and said they have to put an open world map and shoot mechanics because GTA was popular. The result is you have two completely unrelated games in one.

worst take i've seen. inb4 cyberpunk btw lol.

i'm starting to think there are two kinds of gamers. people that can appreciate an open world city for what it is and people that see an open world city and think "i guess this is gta!" and this only happens in cities with cars. you make a medieval game and you can make it the most barren boring and static thing in the world but because it doesn't resemble gta no one will care. that is until rockstar makes grand theft knight and ruins it for everyone.
 
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TheMan

Member
Mafia II (and fromt what I understand Mafia I has the same issue)

Not that the open worlds aren't pretty or well made exactly, but there's basically nothing to do in them but drive around. There seems to have been little point in creating the entire city like that
 
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