Mass Effect 4: Andromeda - 10 Lessons It Must Learn From The Witcher 3

7. An Explorable World That Doesn't Feel 'Zoned'

The idea of large zone-hubs was popularised by the Mass Effect series, and since then has slowly grown to replace the giant single mega-zone approach of Skyrim and RPGs before it. For a while, it wasn't clear whether the multi-hub approach was superior to the seamless single world, but The Witcher 3 finally put that argument to rest (at least until game tech gets advanced enough to offer us a seamless world of its size). Without a map, you could easily get lost in its vast swathes of forests and mountain ranges, and that's a huge testament to the game's scale. Being a few years older, Mass Effect 3's multi-zone world (or galaxy, as the case may be) is far more rudimentary and looks decidedly on-rails by comparison. While it's probably a bit too much to ask to create rich, distinctive zones for every planet in the Andromeda galaxy, the game could certainly learn from The Witcher 3 in making its areas feel a bit less zone-like. This would entail cutting down on the linear, directed paths pointing you towards specific areas, and more rolling terrain that you can climb up and admire 360-degree views of strange planetscapes. The areas you explore in Andromeda should feel like they've been formed through millions of years of geological morphing and shifting, not just giant square slices of generic terrain that feel like developer-created playpens.