10 Video Games You Didn't Realise Were Originally Open World
These games were almost VERY different.
Depending on who you ask, open world games are either the greatest thing since sliced bread or a tedious, creatively bankrupt blight upon the entire industry.
Ultimately the answer is likely a little of column A and a sprinkle of column B - open world games can offer players unprecedented levels of freedom and immersion, yet we've also all played way too many bloat-filled, time-wasting example of the genre.
Open world games may be popular, but they also represent a massive, even daunting undertaking for many developers, and so typically aren't approached lightly.
As such, it's little surprise that many games start out their life intended to be open world, only for development to be streamlined into something more manageable later on.
This might be because an open world format actually didn't suit the story, the developer struggled with technical limitations, or their budget just didn't allow for a fully lived-in open world to be created.
Whatever the reason, these games were all supposed to be open world in the earliest stages of their creation, before those in charge decided to rework them into something more direct...
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.