10 Open World Game Tropes We NEVER Want To See Again

Of all the tropes discussed on this list, the propensity for open-world games to have glitches, bugs, and the like when they launch – and perhaps forever – is the most inexcusable and irritating one.

Bethesda is the most notorious developer when it comes to this problem, as their Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises are almost expected to come with technical issues. In fact, lots of fans embrace the token “Bethesda jank” as a charming consequence of the studio putting out such immersive and ambitious releases (including 2023’s faulty Starfield).

Obviously, those titles aren’t the only ones to perpetuate the problem. In the last 10 years alone, gamers have dealt with graphical and/or mechanical flaws in Cyberpunk 2077, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and Watch Dogs 2 among other culprits.

At their worst, these defects break the game, and even when they’re merely amusing shortcomings, they still encapsulate the industry’s growing prioritization of quantity over quality and of rushing products to market with a “fix it later via updates” attitude.

Why not reduce the scope and complexity of these titles so that they work straight out of the box? You know, like most video games did decades ago?