Open world games suck at telling a story, here's why

A great map, a slew of activities, and unlimited freedom usually come at the price of a forgettable, anything-but-compelling storyline. But does it always have to be like that?

[NewMonday]

Horizon Zero Dawn did great IMOO

[nodim]

Interesting setting, pretty horrid story.

[AcidDvl]

100%

[AspiringProGenji]

I strongly disagree! The story was great because it was about the mystery of the machines, something for you to discover on your own , an adventure with a great payoff

[mkis007]

Story was amazing, what even did you people play?

[rainslacker]

Topic is if the open world genre can relay a good story. Not the subjectivity of if that story is any good or not. The two things aren't intrinsically linked.

There are open world games which have a great story, but its told poorly.

However, in the case of open world games, I feel that many times, its not so much that the story is told poorly, its that its too easy to get distracted away from the story, which tends to have an effect on how people feel the story is told. If you play some games story straight through, the story is more focused and can be good. But when you start doing things not particularly relevant to the story, or side arcs to that story, it's easy to forget that a story is happening.

Its always my biggest criticism of the genre, and the problem is more about the person playing just allowing themselves to be distracted.

[Skull521]

I play games for the gameplay. A good story is cool too but not an important factor in making the game good or not.

[No Way]

Skull - are you the type of person that skips all the cutscenes and dialogues?

[Skull521]

In some games sure, but I tend to watch most of them. All I know is PUBG has zero story and it's one of the most fun games of the last few years, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I think Halo: CE and maybe BioShock are the only games who stand out to me as having a great story, most everything else is forgettable, but I sure as hell remember how great the gameplay was in dozens and dozens of games.

[UCForce]

I disagree. @Skull521 You can make great open world with great gameplay and great story. Horizon Zero Dawn did just that.

[Takwin]

I loved the story. Absolutely loved it. The sci-fi explanation side was 11/10 and the tribal stuff was 7/10. But even 7/10 is pretty good, especially for the open world genre. And, to me, the sci-fi part carried the water.

[LeeFender]

Horizons world was interesting but the main character and her ugly looks ruined everything. Boring as shit protagonist.

[Movefasta1993]

I don't know why they decided to make her head bigger than everybody else's.

[AspiringProGenji]

To me she wasn’t ugly, then again her looks was the least on my concern in a world that was about survival and humanity going back to being primitives pretty much. Also “ruined everything” really? Are some people still bashing the character for not looking like Lara Croft?

[EazyC]

I don't think she's ugly but I actually kinda get that point because I dislike GTA IV's Niko because he is an ugly man, it's hard to explain

[Goldenarmz]

The fact you mentioned her looks, shows whats wrong with the gaming community.

[Casepb]

She wasn't great looking I will give you that, but it didn't bother me much. What really bothered me was the awful facial animations especially the lip sync.

[gobluesamg]

I bet this Lee Fender guy is a real male model. She was a normal looking person you incredible idiot.

[UCForce]

Does Aloy need to be look pretty like others ? She looks fine by my look. Aloy was great character with great personality and way better than Lara Croft ( the reboot one ) in my opinion. PS community consider Aloy to be PS iconic. Besides, Horizon Zero Dawn is now PS flagship.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

It was ok

[doggo84]

Horizon zero dawn is a masterpiece . Can't wait for the sequel.

[cartoonx1]

first rdr was really great at story, horizon is great game but the story was just ok i think.

[joab777]

So did TW3 and so will RDR2. And many are loving AC Odyssey’s story...so who knows.

[Hardiman]

One of the best! It's rare I read every log but I scoured every nook and cranny for data logs to get as much of the back story as I could. I imagine if it was multi platform more would've found its yarn more interesting. HZD, The Witcher 3 and AC Origins have been my favorite open world games so far this gen!

[CorndogBurglar]

Open World games suck at telling a story because the pacing is awful and the story goes on tangents based on what you are doing.

For the most part, when you start open world games you get the beginning of the story, but when you get set loose in the world it is up to the player to keep the story moving. But most people stop and start exploring or doing side missions and could end up going days without touching any main story content.

So yeah, they suck at telling a story in the sense that if a movie did this, it would be considered a terrible movie because there would be a main story that went off into totally unrelated other side stories and the pacing would be horrendous.

But this is a different medium. You can't judge video game story telling the same way you judge movie story telling. At least not open world games.

[rainslacker]

I think pacing of a story is important, regardless of medium.

But I also think that open world games, by their very design, have people going off and doing other things when they become available to do. That's what a lot of people are looking for. Keeping an engaged story in those circumstances, whether paced or not, is exceptionally hard to do...if not impossible. It'd be like Saving Private Ryan stopping halfway through to show a different battle, with only one character related to the original story being in the new part.

Some games handle this better than others, but open world games tend to be based on exploration, and side stuff. That side stuff can get distracting, although it can also be used to enhance the story if it fits naturally into the narrative.

Most of this isn't the writers or developers fault....it's just that people go off track on their own, because its what they do in those kinds of games. For many open world games, if you just push through the story, then it can be pretty good, like a linear game.

[No Way]

So, open world games dont really "suck" at telling a story.. it's just players are to short-sighted and get distracted by the rest of the game?

[3-4-5]

Open world games are good for piecing the story together in parts slowly over time. Some people want a 2 hour movie's worth of story to hit them right away and keep going and it's a 50-100 hour game, so there are going to be some breaks in between.

Open world games and story telling are fine....not as good as more focused but they can be good.

Semi-Open World like Dragon Quest XI is probably the best middle ground.

[ChasingTheSun]

Dont bother, its always the same jealous xboxone owners hating on every playstation exclusive out of envy, why dont they just go to phil or major nelson and ask them why xboxone has no exclusives besides the yearly tired forza franchise?

We will see a 1000 different forza 4 articles telling us how great it is for the next 6 months while sony will keep releasing a variety of different exclusives.

[MoshA]

Horizon's story was laughable for anyone with standards

[gobluesamg]

Please enlighten all of us simpletons who enjoyed the story. Tell us of the open world games with stories that meet your standards. Just kidding I don't give a sh!t

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Yeah you’re right I guess all the critics and gamers were wrong right and that you could do better than John Gonzalez of Fallout New Vegas fame lol gtho

[mkis007]

Nice logical fallacy

[UCForce]

You are wrong. Thank to Fallout New Vegas writer, Horizon Zero Dawn story and it was a big improvement for GG.

[UCForce]

Well, that would be Destiny, Division and BO4 story. Not HZD.

[AK91]

Agreed Horizon was a treat from start to finish. GaaS games like Destiny 2 and Division were atrocious story wise though.

[Ivar_Ragnarsson]

I loved Horizon's Story, the mystery really kept me going to discover more

[frostypants]

Largely because HZD did a really good job placing plenty of interesting and relevant side quests on the map in such a way that it encouraged the player to take a path that kept them on the main storyline without getting too aimless in the world, along with a couple of well placed barriers you had to open via progression (few enough that it wasn't at all annoying). It's pretty obvious that they put a ton of thought into it.

Whether or not everyone likes the plot itself, it's undeniable that they did a really great job keeping players on the right path.

[ninsigma]

Not always. HZD had a fantastic story while also following the usual open world tropes.

[Cmv38]

First red dead had a great story, so did gta 3 and 5. Fallout 4 and 3, etc. People may feel different, but I thought they were great stories.

[affrogamer]

Let's start putting out click-baity negative articles on open world games since the biggest open world game of this gen comes out in a week. SMFH

[chiefJohn117]

Highly false

[Skuletor]

I guess gamepressure.com is feeling the pressure to get some clicks.

[Hardiman]

Wild Hunt, HZD, Spider-Man and AC Origins say hello. Red Dead 2 is imminent so I imagine it'll be saying "what's up" soon enough!

[InKnight7s]

RDR, GTA V, The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, Spider Man, Nier Automata, DQXI, GOW (Semi but still) and FFXV they all did it so well. What are you talking about?

[winter_hill]

FFXV had a shite story compared to earlier games in the series. Didn't even come close. Plus too much open world BS that detracted from what little story there was. I love FF, and I love open world. But FFXV and MGSV should NOT have been open world. Didn't suit those two games at all.

[Bhuahahaha]

thats all great except ff15 (for me)

[TheOtherMoon]

The author of the article is neglecting publisher/creator intent. Minecraft was never intended to give heart-pounding nor a thought inspiring story. Minecraft succeeds at what its purpose is/was, for people to create worlds/games of their own. The open world games have multiple intentions; you can simply be in the sandbox...kill a hooker, take back your money, and lift a 5 * wanted a level. You can play the story-line, or both. Open world gaming is not meant to ride on the track of a story exclusively, if you want a railroad story, there are games that offer that. The author succeeds at pointing-out the obvious: any story needs more than a good scenario, and a few plot twists.

Open world games do not suck at telling a story, and there are certain open world games that suck at telling a story. The same statement can be slightly altered to comment on any type of game genre. Some people are good at making them, others not.

[Garrett_the_GOD]

There are quit a few openworld games that do a good job of telling a story..how could anyone say such bullshit with games like the GTA franchise,the Elder Scrolls franchise,the Fallout franchise,the Mafia franchise,Horizon Zero Dawn,the new Spider-Man game had a great story as well...there are many open world games with good stories,these articles are always so full of shit..I will never understand why gaming has to have the worst "journalists" EVER

[Artemidorus]

You just don't like it because you have to use your brain rather than the wallet.

[Exvalos]

Horizon zero dawn, red dead redemption, witcher 3 all say hello

[Dark_Knightmare2]

Let’s see horizon zero dawn,rdr and most likely 2,the whole witcher trilogy,Spider-Man,ac origins,odyssey,2,brotherhood, syndicate and black flag,fallout new Vegas,divinity original sin 2,pillars of eternity,shadow of the colossus and tons of other ones

[Nacho_Z]

I wonder how well it would work if an open world game funnelled you into completing the entirety of the main story before setting you loose on exploration and secondary quests. Bearing in mind if they're as well done as say The Witcher 3 there would be a hell of a lot of great content left afterwards.

At least that way the momentum of the main plot wouldn't completely die on its arse. You'd also have a clearly defined character going into the game world freely, based on your decisions throughout the story, so NPCs could treat you accordingly.

[rainslacker]

That's not a bad idea. Anything after the main story would be told as the fallout from the story, or just be you piddling around.

I think a good example of how it could be done would be Nier. It was open world, albeit a fairly small one, but the story was always a driving part of one's reason to keep moving forward. The side stuff wasn't that distracting, and related to what was going on. Even doing that side stuff, there was a sense of urgency that goes along with a good game story.

[rivaldoo777]

Well it's not as immersive as Linear games but there are exceptions. One can be TW3 and the other is RDR.

[JimmyDM90]

Mass Effect 2.

[SinisterKieran]

so many games have already made your point invalid.

[Tross]

I don't think they're all bad at storytelling. I can think of quite a few where I've actually quite liked the story. Spider-Man can join games like Horizion on my list of open world games where I have no issue with the story. It's true that some have issue with the format as the story has to accommodate the fact that players like myself like to do things our own way, which means that certain side quests and other instances of minor story moments can happen before or after main missions, and ergo, can't really contain too many spoilers lest they derail a key moment in the main quest when we finally get around to it. Most that I've played circumvent this problem however, by simply having certain side quests show up later on...or being less heavy on narrative, and more focused on the experience of exploring the game's world. For the most part though, while not all open worlds have what I would consider great narratives, some clearly don't get enough credit where it is due.

[Realms]

Some of you people are crazy since playing video games you have to suspend your disbelief to begin with, if you play the main story then do the side quest the story won't feel as incoherent it's up to the player not to break the immersion not the other way around. So far this generation the Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, and my guess RDR2 will be the best examples of how to correctly write a story in open world games.

[AK91]

Honestly speaking it depends on who the developer is there are plenty of linear games with horrible stories just as same as their are open world games.

[supes_24]

I completely disagree with the writers opinion

[capjacksparrow]

While not fully open world, I found that God of War remedied the issue of poor storytelling in a game that allows exploration. By focusing on character growth through dialogue, either through side quests or randomly, the game is constantly feeding the players more story in a natural way, making the game feel like a cohesive whole. It helps from breaking up the pacing too much.

[Gamist2dot0]

I'm not gonna read these types of articles, here's why...

[Knightofelemia]

If you think open world games suck at telling a story then easy answer don't buy them. Every open world game I have played I have liked from GTA to Saints Row to Batman to Spiderman. Only open world games I didn't really like were Saints Row 3 and 4.

[l33t_haxx0r]

I hate that everything is open world now

[xenz]

Some of my most immersive game experiences has been from open world games. They dont tell stories just through dialogue and story sequences, but it's also through the worldbuilding, sidequests, lore and your character.

Open world games has the potential to be far deeper than any non-open world games. It's just very hard to pull off.

[jerethdagryphon]

The min issue in open world games is dramatic tension. In assassins creed odyssey there's a side quest where you have to go free slaves so the doctor can save a patient without feeling guilty

But because its open world the pattie t can hang on amd wait until your ready to go do the doc a favor so he can save a life. Dramatic felting ready for final battle. Wait here while I go do errands for every one.

No tension

[ChickenMan34]

everything about this article is bullshit lol i love when one jack ass talks like everyone thinks the way he does lol you are completely alone in ur thinking and probably have zero friends as well lol

[Skankinruby]

Your adolescent insults speak for themselves kid. He is not alone in his thinking, most sandbox games have a generic bullshit story, which in itself isn't a big deal but when idiots like you wanna act like GTA 5 or other soulless games like it are the best things ever made that's where the problem lies. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're the one that has no friends, sit your silly ass down.

[ChickenMan34]

always has to be that on eguy who hates one something great just to be the one who hates on it lol get alife dude

[Flewid638]

Spider-Man's story was great though.

[Skankinruby]

I agree to an extent, I don't jump on rockstars nuts like everyone else for this very reason. The have yet to compose a compelling story in their games and maintain their fanbase through interactive gameplay and variety in missions but as of yet I've felt unsatisfied finishing any GTA or Red Dead. Maybe 2 will be different, but Horizon Zero Dawn was the only one to do this aspect properly.

[wwinterj]

Witcher 3 at least proves this article wrong. Hell that game told multiple stories.

[EpicFruityPie]

I thought Witcher 3 did it great