10 Open-World Video Games You Can Break By Exploring

For the longest time, even the best video games were hindered by level structures, invisible walls, and out-of-bound sections. Cut to 2001, Grand Theft Auto III rewrote the rules on exploration, which popularised open-world titles.

However, there are times where such IPs give gamers too much freedom. Due to the lack of limitations, the player can perform out-of-this-world actions, which the developers never intended.

Of course, any sandbox property can bug out if the player messes around enough. But in open-world titles, the player can experience some truly gamebreaking moments, simply by exploring. By straying too far from the intended path, everything can unravel in a instant.

These malfunctions come in many forms. While some glitches are highly entertaining, others can softlock the the main campaign, urging the developers to patch it out immediately.

Even when it's advised not to pursue bugs, it's mighty tempting, when it allows gamers to skip half the content, beat a difficult boss in two seconds, or hurl an annoying character into the stratosphere. Before deciding to explore these brave new worlds, you should be aware of the dangers.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was the first entry in the beloved sandbox saga that let users purchase businesses, such as a boatyard, a strip club, and a weapon's shop.

However, one establishment that tickled the fancy of many was Cherry Poppers Ice Cream Company. Pretty much everyone marched across town to buy this place when they heard about it because, hey, who doesn't love a Cornetto or a Mr. Whippy?

Sadly, investing in Cherry Poppers is the worst business decision anyone can make. When the PS2 version of Vice City was originally released, there was a technical problem that corrupted the data after saving inside Cherry Poppers. If the player wasn't using multiple save slots when this error occurred, they could lose all their progress.

Now, since Cherry Poppers wasn't an essential part of the campaign, the issue could be avoided. But since this calamity wasn't common knowledge at the time, many players suffered the consequences in the worse way possible.

This bug may have been patched out, but that hasn't stopped Vice City players getting the jitters every time they pass by the seemingly innocent Cherry Poppers building.