Summary
Open-world games are often associated with sprawling maps, dozens of side quests, and main campaigns that stretch into the dozens or even hundreds of hours. However, a few titles buck that expectation in the most unexpected ways and let savvy gamers “beat” the whole game in a matter of minutes.
The developers of these massive open-world games have tucked away secret endings, clever exploits, or optional choices that allow players to bypass the traditional experience and roll credits in record time, whether through a hidden mechanic, a well-placed decision, or knowing where to go and when. These open-world games can be finished almost instantly, at least by those who know the trick.
WhileBreath of the Wildencourages exploration and experimentation, players aren’t technically required to follow its intended progression. From the very beginning, it’s possible to make a beeline for Hyrule Castle and challenge Calamity Ganon. This isn’t necessarily recommended, as the battle is brutally difficult without upgraded gear, hearts, or the help of the Divine Beasts.
However, it’s not impossible, especially for those with speedrunning experience or a deep understanding of combat mechanics. The fact that theopen-world’s final bosscan be put down when the player chooses (and if they have the skills) is a testament toBreath of the Wild’s faith in the open-world game design model, and beating him from the get-go would be a testament to the player’s skill.
Sometimes, a sprawling adventure filled with violence, explosions, and many, many climbable radio towers can all be avoided with a little civility and patience. During the opening ofFar Cry 4, the protagonist is captured on his journey through their native Kyrat, where he is to scatter his mother’s ashes, and sent to a fortified mansion.
While they await Pagan Min, the eccentric king of Kyrat, players are given the chance to flee, inciting alengthy open-world adventure. However, if the player just waits in good faith while he arranges transportation, they will be treated to a scene where Pagan Min personally assists in scattering the ashes and even recounts the family history before the credits roll.
Since World War 2, scholars and psychologists have been wrestling with just how an entire nation could be swept up by such a hateful ideology led by one charasmatic leader, generally concluding that the cultpret is not the work of a single man but the culmination of decades of dehumanizing rhetoric, economic ruination, and extremism. However, the Nazi stranglehold onThe Saboteur’s Paris, it seems, can be completely eliviated by eliminating one man.
Normally, this would happen at the end of the game, after hours ofheroic acts of revolution, enthusiastic Nazi-slaying, and indeed, saboteur work. However, if the player is able to accrue enough perk points to unlock the machine gun attachment for the motor car, they will be able to kill the main baddie during the first thirty minutes in a car race, triggering a colorful ticker-tape parade in the City of Light.
Morrowind and the Elder Scrolls series in general are unusual in just how many approaches they offer players through their adventure while sustaining a highly detailed world filled with unadvertised secrets. One such secret is the fact that the main story boss and the tools needed to defeat them are out there in the world, waiting to be collected at any time.
Granted, it would take some manipulation of glitches and extensive knowledge of Vvardenfell to reach them. Generally,the open-world game can be brokenwith a few scrolls of Icarian Flight (discovered minutes into the game), alchemy boosts, and good piloting skills (after being hurled into the sky by magic). The scrolls can be used to hop over boundaries to Keening, Sunder, and Dagoth Ur beyond the ghost fence.
During the opening ofFar Cry 5, when the player is told to arrest cult leader, Father Joseph Seed, choosing to simply wait and do nothing triggers an alternate outcome. Law enforcement stands down, and the characters leave the compound peacefully. No war, no resistance, no chaos, just the title and credits.
Far Cry 5was the second releasedFar Crygame in a row to teach that by leaving the untouchable archon at the top to their own evil devices, everything will be fine (which is strange or illuminating, depending on a person’s insights into how the"triple-A" video game sausage is made), which might prompt players to think of their own culpability in the violence and mayhem.
Unlike other open-world games, Outer Wilds isn’t about accumulating loot or unlocking new powers, but uncovering knowledge.The entire game world resetsevery 22 minutes, forcing the player to piece together a cosmic mystery. Once the solution is known, there’s nothing stopping an experienced player from flying straight to the final sequence and completing the game in a single loop.
What takes most players hours (or even days) of real-time exploration can be bypassed in under half an hour by those who already understand the mechanics and puzzle logic, or sheer dumb luck. There is even an achievement for completing the game in a single cycle, but it is best experienced after completing the game as intended.
