10 Video Games You Didn't Realise Were Originally Open World
4. Alan Wake
Though Alan Wake is a linear action-adventure game like most of Remedy's AAA titles, the developer originally sought to ambitiously deviate from the Max Payne series' formula by developing their new title as an open world survival horror experience.
With the ability to explore an open, sprawling city, Alan Wake was likened less to Max Payne than Grand Theft Auto, albeit with survival elements where players needed to craft and scavenge during the day to prepare for dangers at night.
However, Remedy struggled for three years to develop a game whose sandbox-style gameplay vibed with its more thriller-centric story, and after realising it simply wouldn't work, the team pulled the Band-Aid off by spending several months reworking Alan Wake into a more linear, episodic adventure.
Remedy retained as many assets as possible from the open world version of the game, including the map for the town of Bright Falls, but streamlined the scope into something that better suited the existing story and tone.