Once referred to simply as "GTA Clones", Open world games have become a staple of the AAA gaming industry. According to Comic Book Resources, some of the biggest money making franchises are open world sandbox titles such as "Assassin's Creed," "Elder Scrolls," and even the aforementioned "Grand Theft Auto." The increase in technology has overcome previous hitches such as limited polygon counts, low draw distances, and glacial framerates.
However, some critics such as PCGamesN, claim that open worlds are ruining the industry. While there are games such as "Spider-Man" and "Breath of the Wild" that show that this genre has some life in it, it's still in risk of stagnation. Here's why.
There's a dissonance between narrative and gameplay
There's a term for a disconnect between what's conveyed through gameplay vs the narrative- ludonarrative dissonance. John Marsdon as depicted in the cutscenes of Red Dread Redemption is a former outlaw who wants to atone for his past sins and save his family. However, John Marson as controlled by the player can be a sicko who ties women up and leaves them on train tracks.
Commutes can get boring
There's a very funny bit by comedian Dara O'briain about how, on his day off from work, he decided to try out the then new "Grand Theft Auto IV" and found himself getting stuck in a commute in a video game. Too many open-world games try to make their sandboxes big while forgetting to put things to do in them.
