10 Video Games You Didn't Realise Were Originally Open World

10. Astro Bot

Let's kick things off with last year's consensus Game of the Year - Astro Bot. 

Team Asobi's endlessly charming mascot platformer was widely praised for its fusion of earnest PlayStation nostalgia with outstanding level design, as well as its modest 10-hour length.

The game launched with around 80 bite-sized levels lasting 5-10 minutes a-piece, but in an interview with Edge shortly before the game's release, director Nicolas Doucet revealed that Astro Bot almost went the open world route.

When Doucet and his team were first putting the game together, they considered making it an open world platforming adventure, though ultimately opted for a more traditional level-based approach because it would grant them more control over the game's variety.

And Doucet was absolutely right - the confined scope of Astro Bot's levels helps keep it a focused experience, even as branching paths and secret areas still promote exploration and curiosity.

An open world Astro Bot could work, but in an era of open world oversaturation, something as reined-in and strictly curated as Astro Bot feels like an oasis in the desert.