9 Ways All Open-World Video Games Are Starting To Suck

2. There's No Cohesion Between Gameplay And Story

Good open world games give you a series of enjoyable things to do in their sandboxes, whether that's a good story, side missions or collectables to pursue. A great open world game connects all these disparate features together in way that is both linked to the themes of the title itself as well as the actual gameplay.

For instance, the criminally underrated Mad Max is a brilliant example of a sandbox that nailed a sense of cohesion between gameplay and world. Not only does everything you do build towards a greater goal, constantly making you feel more powerful and experienced in the process, but it always feels distinctively linked to the Mad Max brand.

Even systems I've complained about previously such as the raider camps you can liberate are tied so well to the actual narrative, and Mad Max as a character, that it feels organic and useful to stop and engage with every one of these side activities, rather than just ploughing through them to get your money's worth.

Similar to the problem with crafting systems, developers are too preoccupied with ensuring they have all the bells and whistles players expect from a game in this genre, that they forget to tie them together in a way that makes sense and/or functions cohesively within the world they have created.