Summary
Open-world games have been around long enough for their loops to be familiar to many players. However, be it needlessly complex mechanics, bloated worlds, or tedious gameplay, open worlds can often be overwhelming.
While bigger, ambitious, systems-heavy games have their fans, other open-world titles seek to champion accessible experiences. These are games such asA Short Hike, with its minimalist controls and simple goals, orOuter Wilds, with its exploration-focused gameplay and small scale.
Although it does feature a truly expansive setting and the typical grinding that comes with open-world survival-craft games,Subnauticais surprisingly accessible. Set underwater and tasking players with survival, exploration, and base-building,Subnauticais a diverse experience elevated by one of its most thematic mechanics.
Being set underwaterallowsSubnauticato limit the player’s exploration through an oxygen system; since oxygen is limited, players can only explore so far, giving them clear cutoff points and preventing the open ocean from becoming a daunting prospect.
For The Kingisa strategy RPGwith a roguelike structure and party-based gameplay, featuring a low-poly art style and bright colors that offer a laid-back atmosphere. The game’s simplistic turn-based combat combines strategy and luck with resource management, allowing players a tactical experience without ever overwhelming them.
Exploration inFor The Kingis also tremendously simple, but strategic, allowing players to adventure across a hexagonal overworld map. This exploration is a large part of the game, but the clarity of the map prevents important decisions from becoming stressful.
Fans of the source material, and especiallyPeter Jackson’s adaptations, are likely to get a nostalgic kick out ofLEGO The Lord Of The Rings. By combining the accessible gameplay of theLEGOgame formula with an open world, this uniqueLEGOtitle is able to give fans the best of both worlds, without ever becoming overwhelming.
Sure, in trueLEGOfashion, there is an abundance of collectible items to find, but the simplicity of the gameplay ensures it’s never overwhelming. Furthermore, the variety of playable characters and mini-games keeps exploration fun.
Part farming-sim, partfirst-person explorationgame,Slime Rancheris a cute and colorful indie title that focuses its efforts on a relaxing atmosphere. The bright colors, character designs, and music work together to set a tone that’s frequently laid-back, which helps the experience from becoming overwhelming.
The gameplay itself is also tremendously accessible and easy to grasp, ensuring players can get stuck in with little learning. In the game, players venture out into the vivid sci-fi world and collect items and personified balls of slime to bring back to their ranch. That’s it. Combined with a slick progression system that has players slowly improving and upgrading their ranch,Slime Rancheris an open-world title that manages to be both accessible and long-lasting.
Dredgeis a mightily accessible and surprisingly cozy open-world fishing game that focuses on intuitive controls and meaningful exploration. The moment-to-moment gameplay is frequently calming thanks to a soothing color palette and satisfying sound design, but there areelements of Lovecraftian horrorthat give it a certain edge.
The open world ofDredgeisn’t tiny, but it’s not so big as to overwhelm the player. However, what preventsDredgefrom becoming truly overwhelming is its accessible controls and minimalist gameplay, giving players a simple loop that allows the exploration to take center stage.
Steeped in a denseand mysterious atmosphere,Outer Wildsis a melancholic experience that’s drenched in thought and emotion. The music, sound design, characters, and visual style all result in a truly immersive world, but despiteOuter Wilds' ambitious design, its story is told on a small scale.
Outer Wildsgives players the freedom to explore an entire solar system, but it’s a small one. Furthermore, each planet can be traversed fairly swiftly – this isn’tNo Man’s Sky. But what this means is that every location inOuter Wildslooks and feels incredibly distinct. It’s tremendously memorable. This smaller scale also preventsOuter Wildsfrom becoming overwhelming, only furthered by the fluid gameplay that allows players to travel without limitation.
A Short Hikeis a minimalist indie title through and through, featuring a unique pixelated art style and gameplay that’s both satisfying and easy to learn. In the game, players are given the simple task of reaching the summit of a mountain. However, they’ll need to search their surroundings for collectibles to complete their task.
The simplicity of the end goal is backed by an intuitive control scheme and a small open world that’s fun to explore without ever being overwhelming. The clarity of the design and the world itself makes exploration a freeing task, and one that’s never frustrating. Furthermore,A Short Hikeis an appropriately short experience, preventing the simple idea of playing it from becoming daunting.
