How Live Service Video Games Are Poisoning The Industry

3. Open-World Mechanics Are Getting Stale

The real issue is, however, that the formula and monetisation of live-service online games have made their way into regular sandbox or story-driven AAA games as well.

Sony's recent major exclusive, Days Gone, was a prime example of a game that didn't need an open world, and how how padding for the sake of length can actively undermine the experience, rather than strengthen it.

The title is good, don't get me wrong (in fact, i enjoyed it way more than most critics), but you can't escape the pervasive feeling that a shorter runtime would have benefitted everything from the gameplay to the story. The latter element would most obviously improve with a shorter length, as the title's core gameplay loop is genuinely amazing. Hunting down zombie nests, taking out human bandits and exploring the open world is great, but it doesn't fundemantally change from hour one to hour forty.

There are few new activities to unlock as the experience goes on, and by the late game you'll find yourself repeating the same patterns only with better skills and bigger weapons. It's fun, but nothing fundamentally changes - you just learn to complete the tasks quicker.

This is maybe expected when it comes to the side content, as not every studio has the manpower of Rockstar to make sure every element in the open world is unique, but if that's the case, what's the point of including them at all? If all they add is length to the game overall, and they're not offering new gameplay opportunities, then why not cut them and stop them from distracting from the stronger missions?