While all eyes are on Bioware’s upcoming Dragon Age sequel, Dreadwolf, industry insiders have heard rumors that Mass Effect 4 (or 5) won’t be open world.
While all eyes are on Bioware’s upcoming Dragon Age sequel, Dreadwolf, industry insiders have heard rumors that Mass Effect 4 (or 5) won’t be open world.
Open world is just a medium, ultimately. It may be a recent trend in gaming, but it is false to apply some kind of teleology to it. Some of the best RPGs in gaming history managed to allow for meaningful decision-making and deep storytelling without open worlds, and it is laudable of this developer not to follow industry trends that don’t serve their vision.
It’s odd to me that open world games are often considered “better”, or more “advanced” than linear games by default. It’s just a framing device that can accommodate slightly different mechanics better. Or worse.