I want to ttalk more about open world game design. So, not specifically about Ghost of Tsushima (which I’m pushing through), but about the genre in general. Basically, I’m comparing Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions) and Elden Ring (FromSoft) because I haven’t played many other completely through. In fact, Skyrim (Bethesda) and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red) are the two I can think of off the top of my head. I really enjoyed Skyrim for the first 50 hours, but then I just started hating it. It was my fault because I tried to do all the covenants/groups in one go. And, I just had my fill about then. I finished it up in 75 hours and never touched it again.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was really enjoyable–until a cave mission about two-thirds of the way through. It was a follow Pippa (I think that’s her name) in the cave, and I got hopelessly lost. I think it was supposed to be a fifteen minute mission or so, but it took me hours. I hated it so much, I considered quitting. I knew I was near the end, though, so I stuck it out and eventually stumbled my way out of the cave. Disheartened and unhapp,y I finished up the game as quickly as I could. I hated the first DLC and did not play the second. The main game did have one of the best written quests I’d ever played, though (Bloody Baron). I think I put roughly 115 hours into this game.
In yesterday’s post, I made comparisons between Ghost of Tsushima and Elden Ring. I want to continue down that path today.
I have noticed that I play open world games in a way that makes me less and less enthused about them as I go. I explore every nook and cranny as I go, leaving no stone unturned. I play for hours on end and am super-absorbed. Then, at some point, my interest starts waning, but I still try to do everything available. Until I don’t. Usually, that’s when I stop playing the game. Or in the case of Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, start mainlining the main story.
With Elden Ring, I still explored every inch of the domain, but the luster dimmed as the game went on. Part of the issue is that the mid-to-late game was balls-hard. Also, it was set in a snowy area (which I love) with limited visibility (which I hate). I could not see anything in this area, and I plunged to my death so many times. In addition, I had no desire to fight the stronger enemies when I could not see them, and I started riding past them. Esepcially as they were all repeat enemies.
By the end of the game, I had seen almost everything the game had to offer. There were two or three things that I had missed, but nothing significant. My first playthrough ended up ttaking roughly 225 hours.
I’ve played roughly 50 hours of Ghost of Tsushima. Once again, I have barely touched the main story missions, which means I’ll probably rush to do them when I get bored with the side missions.
I have just put in several hours, and I’ve cleaned up a few of the side missions–at least as much as I can at this point. One interesting thing is how the game cuts off some side missions at a certain point until the next act.
One thing I half-like and half-don’t like is that every mission has three to nine steps in the mission. And sometimes, the mini-missions have more than one part to them as well. One of my favorite side missions was with ta warrior monk, Norio. It’s only like four or five steps, but each step felt like it had ten mini-steps to it. I cleaned it up today because I was tired of having it on my slate. Every time I thought I had completed a step, it would tell me I had to do yet another thing in order to finish one step.
I’m dreading what the third act will look like, let alone the DLC. When I got into the second act, so many new missions popped up on the map. Granted, they were showing every step of each mission ,but still. It was very discouraging. I don’t think I’ve even touched the main mission yet in the second act–though I might be wrong about that.
On the other hand, there are NPC questlines in Elden Ring, too, but they aren’t segmented like that. You can be easily miss steps in a sidequest, and then you’re SOL. Or you can do the wrong thing and cut off a sidequest. Or, you can choose one NPC over another and fuck up that questline. There are some quests that you have to do more than once to get the plat–which I’m not really pleased about.
It’s much more organic, though. One convenience FromSoft added to Elden Ring that they didn’t have in their previous games is that there are icons indicating where there are NPCs in the world–and which specific one. It’s a generic icon, but it gives you the name. This was so appreciated beacuse the map is huge. There is no way you can innately keep all that in your head (for most people).
The sidequests in Ghost of Tsushima are very much video game stories–and again, I’m not denigrating that. Sometimes, you want a story with a satisfying arc, but in this game, that’s all they have. They did add some nods to modern day sensibilities such as unspoken queerness (not sure that’s accurate), but it’s mostly honor, shame to the family, etc.
There’s an epic feel to all of this, and it’s very much meant to be a blockbuster film. I don’t want to say it’s paint by numbers, but, ah, it’s pretty much paint by numbers.
On the other hand, most of the stories in Elden Ring are heartbreaking, but in unespected ways. Love, hate, and revenge are all there, but FromSoft comes at it in a very different way. That’s all I want to say today, but I’ll get back to it tomorrow.