10 Video Games That Aged Badly For Surprising Reasons
2. A Game That Literally Feels Like A Job - Shenmue
Shenmue is, quite honestly, the OG when it comes to open world games. People operating in an open world on a persistent clock, a proper timetable of events, and the ability to feel like you were a person in a living world. The same things that Skyrim got credit for doing so well were done in Shenmue long ago.
Of course part of that world was working a job for cash. Another part was walking for literally hours through beautiful Chinese countryside while talking to a young girl. The problem with Shenmue's open, interactive world is that, unlike Skyrim or the Yakuza series', Shenmue has little reason for all of its interactivity.
Sure you can play old Sega arcade games, but 'can' and you 'should' are two VERY different ideas.
Yakuza has old Sega arcade games in it, too - and there are actually quests pertaining to playing them, complete with full multi-point side-story miniquests to complete. Talking to folks in Skyrim gets friends, adopted kids; talking to people in Shenmue gets you information dumps.
But Shenmue? Shenmue is walking through the forest, talking about a tree, after you kept still in a barbershop and drove a forklift for a bit.
It was technically impressive by definition at the time, but now? Nowhere near as much.