For a long time, open-world games were often being designed in one way: the Grand Theft Auto way. In this, players are given missions tied to the overarching story, head to where the mission starts without a linear path to follow, and complete the mission by demonstrating skill in one or more gameplay styles. In the meantime, the world was free to explore and find other tasks, often with no connection to the plot or technical skill. Since most open-world games followed this formula, they were often seen as Grand Theft Auto clones. Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring are the latest examples of how the formula has shifted in modern times.
Open-world games have grown exponentially since the early 3D Grand Theft Autos, becoming one of the most prominent genres in the industry. Many of the trends the GTA series created have been improved, altered, or cast aside for mechanics that diversified a specific title. Over the past several years, two distinct styles of games have redefined what open worlds can be. These are story-based open-world games, exemplified by Horizon Forbidden West; and skill-based open-world games, exemplified by Elden Ring.
Story Versus Skill
Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring are categorized in the same “open-world” genre, yet have very different design philosophies. They play like polar opposites to each other, but also both discard core tenants of the genre itself.
Assuming these games play like their predecessors, Horizon Forbidden West places heavy emphasis on story in order to engage the player. Missions are often in service to the plot, and optional tasks serve to enrich the world or add additional details and motivations. Exploration is rewarded with more information, meanwhile skill is really only tested closer to the final missions, optional tasks, and endgame content.
By contrast, Elden Ring looks similar to its developer’s previous titles emphasizing challenge and combat. There are few optional tasks and missions; exploring the world is the main task. Rewards are often a means to progress further via RPG elements like stronger stats, better gear and weapons, and other upgrades that serve to make Elden Ring’s combat more effective. Playing the game is its own reward as opposed to Horizon Forbidden West, where story is the reward. That’s not to say combat and gameplay are inferior in this approach, but when an upgrade to gameplay is obtained in Horizon it’s often plot-related rather than something players seek out in the world.
Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring Compared to Other Open-World Titles
Where cars were once the main way to navigate open-world games, various means of transportation have been explored from the horseback riding in Red Dead Redemption to web swinging in Insomniac’s Spider-Man games. Horizon Forbidden West once again uses esoteric and creative ways to traverse the world, intrinsically linking it to the story. Titles like Elden Ring occasionally use the environment to reveal worldbuilding details, and the inclusion of horseback riding will allow for faster movement, but transportation is treated like a reward via unlockable shortcuts. Instead of the player increasing their mobility, the world becomes more accessible to match the player’s increased skill.
One other aspect that has been de-emphasized is the “open” aspect of the world. In Grand Theft Auto games, optional tasks were often unconnected to the overarching plot. The reason for this was because a whole world existed outside the overarching plot. Warring mobs, real estate moguls, and revenge schemes were everywhere, but it all didn’t matter to the greater city as NPCs had their own lives to live, and society continued on regardless of the outcome of the given GTA story. The main plot was the center of the player’s attention, but not the world’s.
The two approaches in Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring lead to a same consequence. Because of the plot-driven philosophy of Horizon, the entire world works to enrich the story with no other life really existing outside its confides. Similarly, because the world is part of the main gameplay loop in Elden Ring, there’s few opportunities for separate gameplay styles to be included, threatening to break the seamless gameplay loop.
In some respects, this has opened the genre to many possibilities that sandbox description doesn’t do justice for. However, it’s questionable if these games are open worlds at all, rather just nonlinear action-adventure titles. In the end, these games go at the player’s pace, so it’s up to the player to decide which February 2022 release they prefer. Whether it’s a story-driven game or a challenging experience that can be conquered at their own speed, the industry offers something for everyone.
Horizon Forbidden West releases February 18, 2022 for PS4 and PS5.
Elden Ring releases February 25, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
