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[Rest]

I think since open worlds became a well developed, practical game design choice with Grand Theft Auto III, it's been fair to say that Rockstar has ruled the roost in the open world space. Lots of companies have also made great open world games (Mercenaries comes to mind,) and occasionally somebody has made a better GTA than Rockstar (Saints Row 3 says hello.) But even where one game might show its weakness, Rockstar always had other games to show that they weren't just sitting around stagnating, like Red Dead Redemption or L.A. Noire.

Last gen was something different. There was no GTA, and Red Dead Redemption II, as amazing as it is, had some serious flaws. And other great franchises in the space, like Assassin's Creed, couldn't help getting stale. Sony spent the last few years hitting it out of the park over and over, with God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn and now Ghost of Tsushima. Even Days Gone, which I think is fair to say sits a tier lower than those games, gave a better overall experience than a lot of other open world games from other publishers last gen.

Is Sony currently the best publisher of open world games? And if not, who is?

 

[MadPanda]

Gow is not open world. The rest are and they were very enjoyable, but far from being staples in open world. They were basically ubisoft games with Sony paint. Not that it's bad or anything, but they're far from the best examples of open world games.

 

[AV]

For my money, RDR2's world shits on the others. I spent hours and hours just roaming around looking for cool stuff that had no bearing whatsoever on my progression of the game, because I knew it would be there - the amount of neat hidden little things was great.

I love Horizon and Ghost, but they still just felt like "better Ubisoft" games to me, where I was chaining together map markers to tick stuff off. God of War isn't an open world game.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Gow is not open world. The rest are ans they were very enjoyable, but far from being staples in open world. They were basically ubisoft gamea with Sony paint. Not that it's bad or anything, but they're far from the best examples of open world ga as.

This. I mean the OP listed Horizon, which has one of the most painfully generic open worlds I have ever seen. Ubi clones with a fresh coat of paint, which is fine, but nothing special.

Rockstar still badly outclasses everyone imho.

 

[Concern]

R*

 

[Derktron]

Tell me your a fanboy without telling me your a fanboy.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I still think BotW's approach was better than that of any sony or ubisoft game, even if not everyone likes it.

 

[Wunray]

It's Rockstar all day everyday.

 

[Chukhopops]

RDR2 = BoTW >>>> the rest

 

[Bernd Lauert]

RDR2 is on another level. Also Zelda world might be empty but still has a lot of interactivity. Tbf I only played Horizon out of those three (I played GoW but that's not open world).

 

[SSfox]

I wouldn't put God Of War here cause it's not really an open world, i would put it in same category of tomb raider games, it's open yes, but not open world like GTA or Dayz gone, that's not the purpose or goal of games like GOW and TR.But GOW is for sure one of the best game of all time, to me at least.

When it comes to Sony leading open world, i think Rockstar are still the best, RDR2 despite some flaws, but if we talk about Open world, and what make an open world awesome, RDR2 is by far the best, but Sony has definitely some of the best and are caching up, Ghost Of Tsushima is amazing and do many things better than RDR2, but RDR2 has some insane quality when it comes open world and world building around it that are unmatch. I would say Rockstar are still number 1, Sony is behind but not too far behind, Ubisoft did an amazing AC origins but the others games like WD3 or Odyssey are not that good. Ubisoft lost it after Patrick left, there was Ashraf that saved the day with the amazing AC BF and Origins, but now he also left, i found it ironic how the quality of their games goes down, meanwhile instead of improving their games quality, they acctually add more monetization systems.

 

[LordBlodgett]

I haven't played Ghost of Tsushima yet because that game is still freaking expensive, but out of the games you listed I loved the world in Horizon: Zero Dawn, and liked the world in Days Gone. I don't think you could really call God of War an open world game. None of those games match RDR2 in terms of open world though. RDR2 feels like there are so many things to explore, so many side quests. I do agree with your main idea though, that Sony is one of the best in the business at world-creation. I can't wait for Horizon 2.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

Fallout series says hi.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

God of War isn't an open world game.

It certainly did not feel like one, it's more like a hub world game... still I think it was sold as an open world game.

The thing is, by that definition even TLoU 2 could be stretched into being "open world" because of that section in Seattle where you are in an open area (a bigger stretch, but while we are redefining words we may as well go all the way).

 

[Ogbert]

I don’t want to be a dick, but most of those games aren’t really open world in the true sense of the word - as in complicated, populated worlds with myriad different systems.

I actually still think Ubisoft is the best at that sort of AAA checklist open world style game.

 

[Bartski]

Sony had an amazing output of open (or semi-open) world games last-gen, but nothing comes close to Rockstar in terms of depth and detail and that's always the benchmark everyone tries catching up to.
GTA VI will be no different.

 

[jaysius]

Horizon is one of the most overhyped properties in ages, it looks "pretty" but everything about it feels bad.

Ghosts of Tsushima was good though.

But one game doesn't make anyone a leader in anything.

Rockstar's RDR2 really sucked compared to the first one and GTA 5 wasn't as great at GTA 4 or GTA Vice City, hell not even as good as San Andres.

Is this an April Fools thread?

 

[Gediminas]

yes, sony is king in open world games, quality open world games.

 

[cormack12]

Gow is not open world. The rest are ans they were very enjoyable, but far from being staples in open world. They were basically ubisoft gamea with Sony paint. Not that it's bad or anything, but they're far from the best examples of open world ga as.

Fair. Sonys games are probably ubilite with great art teams. Probably in the same ballpark as Rocksteady. Even saying that, there's a case to say only Ghost trumps Arkham Knight and City.

Ubi is a weird case as they are inconsistent. The team behind Watch Dogs make a really good world and upped their game with 2 and Legion despite having a poor game underneath (in the case of Legion). Assassins creed is mostly window dressing but the art behind Valhalla, Unity and Origins is really solid. CDPR probably fit here as well.

Bethesda have some of the most lore crafted worlds but their graphics/animations let them down. But in terms of a living breathing world with interactivity you'd be hard pressed to find better.

Rockstar are still in a league of their own though really. Finely balanced in terms of tech, interactivity, detail etc.

 

[THEAP99]

No. Rockstar does.

None of those games are near the level of rockstar but I guess Sony would be second in line since Ubisoft and cd Projekt red games are terrible at making polished open world

 

[SlimySnake]

Yep. They know that combat and moment to moment gameplay is what matters in open world games. The sandbox as we used to call it.

Nowadays that sandbox has turned into this bizarre walking from one point to another to start a mission which does not take advantage of the open world at all. I think RDR2 is the best game of the last gen, and yet I think its open world is not utilized at all.

Horizon's open world felt like this scary fucking place to be. Especially on the first playthrough where there were no save points and you had very little resources. So just to find a bonfire you had to fight enemies that had nothing to do with the missions. They were just either hunting or roaming around and you had to either sneak around them or take them and i always took them on because the combat was so damn good. Thats sandbox to me. Ubisoft open world games simply dont have this. They create outposts and call it a day. Fuck that.

GoW is also excellent. I loved how the open world rewarded you for exploring. it had puzzles to keep things from being all combat like in Horizon, and it evolved as you went along and the water drained the lake. I'd say its the best open world design by a Sony studio because they actually used the open world for gameplay elements and rewarded you for exploring and taking on harder enemies. Something BOTW spectacularly failed to do after literally writing the handbook on this kind of semi open world game design.

GoT is basically a Ubisoft game in the sense that you are traveling from point A to B before anything becomes fun, but they add just enough distractions and dynamic encounters to keep things interesting. it also helps that the world is so damn gorgeous you are blown away. Still, they can get better by adding puzzles and populating the world more with things to do than just using it as salad dressing.

Days Gone is probably their most dynamic world. I loved running into hordes because you just never knew where they would be at any given time of day. They sleep during the day, feed during nights and show up in the most random places. Now couple that with this awesome bike mechanic where you can actually run out of gas, and it makes going from point A to B so much more thrilling. Getting ambushed by snipers was also very exciting because it turned outposts from simple ? markers on the map to something far more dynamic.

They are definitely the best of the best. I'd also rank Batman Arkham Knight, Death Stranding and MGSV as top tier.

 

[killatopak]

Their games are not the best at open world but they are consistently great at open worlds.

Some may pump out great ones but also put out mediocre ones.

I say it’s more appropriate to say Sony is the most consistent.

 

[Derktron]

I still think BotW's approach was better than that of any sony or ubisoft game, even if not everyone likes it.

I agree, the layout is amazing but the emptiness of the game was a huge disappointment.

 

[Ogbert]

Fully agree that Rockstar’s level of detail is second to none, but Christ the gameplay can suck ass at times.

They really need to improve the moment to moment combat and weight of their gameplay.

 

[HE1NZ]

No. That would be Ubisoft. Their games actually utilize open world mechanics, not using them as a cost cutting feature for a linear over the shoulder cinematic experience.

 

[SSfox]

still I think it was sold as an open world game.

No it wasn't.

 

[turtlepowa]

Ubisoft, Bethesda and Rockstar are much better.

 

[Topher]

No. That would be Ubisoft. Their games actually utilize open world mechanics, not using them as a cost cutting feature for a linear over the shoulder cinematic experience.

Curious. What open world mechanics does Ubisoft's open world games utilize that Sony's open world games do not?

 

[SSfox]

Fully agree that Rockstar’s level of detail is second to none, but Christ the gameplay can suck ass at times.

They really need to improve the moment to moment combat and weight of their gameplay.

I agree, and actually Rockstar fixed the gameplay issues with Red Dead Online.

 

[Punished Miku]

Breath of the Wild in the lead for me.

Sony doesn't really design compelling open worlds in terms of gameplay, in my opinion. They're all very pretty though. But the gameplay isn't complimenting an open world setting.

P.S. I don't enjoy Rockstar games, so I haven't played RDR2.

 

[deriks]

Best open world games? Rockstar

Best publisher? Nintendo

Sony did great numbers, but Horizon is not that great in comparison with Assassin's Creed. Ghost of Tsushima is like if Batman had a baby with Sekiro, and guess what, I said two great games. God of War doesn't have the balls that the franchise had in the past. Days Gone is boring

Sony boys are just "sony high" right now because the company did a great job with the launch management. But this is marketing doing great, the products itself are just good at max, not the best

 

[Zeroing]

Hmm, About open words, I do not think. But they do set a standard for creativity/new IPs.
I think the standard for open worlds is much levelled right now. Rockstar is still regarded has the best. Ubisoft did had influential force/ideas, on open world ( with their games ) but they became stale, unchanged.

 

[Shodan09]

Probably not when they didn't make breath of the wild or red dead 2.

 

[KingXtreme81]

Rockstar with RDR2 and CD Project with the Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are the best as far as I am concerned.

Ubisoft, who gets way too much BS, is great, as is Sony. They would represent the second tier.

Everyone else is underneath those 4. Some are good, some not so great.

 

[MiguelItUp]

While different devs have done some really cool things, it's hard not to admit that R* is the king here....

 

[Forsythia]

They lead the thirdperson over the shoulder cinematic adventure genre, that's it.

It's Rockstar or Ubisoft.

 

[Bryank75]

Saying Ubisoft or R* are better is a joke....the combat in their games suck. It's akin to saying that gameplay doesn't matter to say a Ubisoft or R* game is better. But I guess it is April 1st....

 

[Rest]

Tell me your a fanboy without telling me your a fanboy.

Not a fanboy. If I'm a fanboy of anything it's SEGA, and they've sucked for the last 15 years or so. During the PS2 era I had probably 60 CAPCOM games, does that make me a CAPCOM fanboy?

Fuck off console warrior.

 

[HE1NZ]

Curious. What open world mechanics does Ubisoft's open world games utilize that Sony's open world games do not?

You can go in every direction from the start, can interact with the world the way you want, your abilites are all related to the way the world is designed. You can skip interaction and just do story or can spend hundreds of hours completing everything. Sony and recent Rockstar open world games are story driven games where open world is just background. I haven't played RDR2 but in GTA 5 the city become almost non interactive except for driving.

 

[Aguero9320]

Ubisoft by a mile (partly because it doesn't take them 7 years to release anything).
Then CDPR.
Then Rockstar.
Sony not even a close fourth. Their best one yet is Assassin's Creed Samurai though.

 

[RedWhiteBlue]

For my money, RDR2's world shits on the others. I spent hours and hours just roaming around looking for cool stuff that had no bearing whatsoever on my progression of the game, because I knew it would be there - the amount of neat hidden little things was great.

I love Horizon and Ghost, but they still just felt like "better Ubisoft" games to me, where I was chaining together map markers to tick stuff off. God of War isn't an open world game.

This is how I also feel, more or less.

RDR2 and BotW in my opinion use the open world to really set up immersion and the tone of the world. The world feels lived in and feels like you are the one exploring rather than being guided around by the game.

Ubisoft is the polar opposite. The worlds are just loaded with icons and markers and playing the open world feels like checking off lists of things to do. That's not a bad thing necessarily. The games are packed with content and if players like that content then that's good.

I think Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon and Days Gone and Spider-Man are all great games but the open worlds feel like a bit of a waste. I think these games would have been better off just going with narrower and more focused levels. Like Uncharted or Dishonored, God of War etc.

Open worlds are good for exploration or survival based games or games that are just packed full of loads of content. Otherwise I feel like the open world concept is just a waste of budget, development time etc.

 

[Punished Miku]

Saying Ubisoft or R* are better is a joke....the combat in their games suck. It's akin to saying that gameplay doesn't matter to say a Ubisoft or R* game is better. But I guess it is April 1st....

Most people really into open world games are not really prioritizing gameplay.

Otherwise, we'd be talking about Capcom, From Software and Nintendo as the leaders.

 

[MaximusPayne]

/ thread

 

[MiguelItUp]

Saying Ubisoft or R* are better is a joke....the combat in their games suck. It's akin to saying that gameplay doesn't matter to say a Ubisoft or R* game is better. But I guess it is April 1st....

.....Right. Well, I was referring to an entire package, not strictly any one part.

Not necessarily, you don't agree, and that's fine. Just like how I don't agree with saying "Sony is leading the industry when it comes to open world games", I personally think that's a bit much. Do they have some great games that have done some cool things in the realm of open world and open world-like games? Oh for sure. Just like other devs.

I just personally feel like the amount of things that R* has pulled off in the genre over the decades is impressive, both visually and otherwise.

 

[RAIDEN1]

I thought that title belonged to Rockstar?

 

[mansoor1980]

rockstar games baby

 

[wOs]

I'll give you 60 bucks for 3 square feet of your astroturf. Oh wait 70.

 

[jroc74]

Highly debatable OP.

And I dont agree. I thought the consensus on that was Rockstar.

 

[geordiemp]

For my money, RDR2's world shits on the others. I spent hours and hours just roaming around looking for cool stuff that had no bearing whatsoever on my progression of the game, because I knew it would be there - the amount of neat hidden little things was great.

I love Horizon and Ghost, but they still just felt like "better Ubisoft" games to me, where I was chaining together map markers to tick stuff off. God of War isn't an open world game.

I rate games by how good the combat and feeling of control is,. not what NPC do and so R* games are absolutely crap combat its mind numbing. I lasted about 4 hours into GTA5 - If you want a sandbox fine, but combat is important and R* games are sluggish and poor combat - its hardly ninja gaiden or COD lol.

Less said about BOTW combat the better - I was 7 once. What does dat button do

Ghosts of Toshima has the best combat in open world by a country mile.

Ubisoft games have combat ? Lol. I just finished Valhalla and it was good for ubsoft I enjoyed it, but took a a few days for me to acustom to the B tier combat after ghosts - transition was really hard going from a Sony open world to ubisoft.

 

[nightmare-slain]

lol no.