Summary
Open-world games can offer players expansive and dense experiencespacked with gameplaysystems and mechanics. Others are more straightforward, instead focusing on exploration. In any case, simplicity isn’t always exercised, and sometimes complex gameplay loops or systems can get in the way.
There are a variety of open-world experiences, however, that excel in their simplicity. Despite having a simple core design, however, these titles remain fun via unique ideas, immersive worlds, and/or engaging action that makes use of their inherent accessibility.
Westerado: Double Barreledwears its heart on its sleeve, offering a charming and nostalgic pixel-art aesthetic that matches its simple gameplay. In the game, players explore the Wild West, taking part in arcade shootouts as they search for the outlaw that murdered their family.
The game’s simple set-up and controls ensure it is an intuitive and easy-to-grasp experience. ButWesteradoremains engaging thanks to its fast-paced action and unique gameplay loop, which itself provides surprising replay value.
7Flotsam
Surviving In An Open Water World
Flotsamis a colony-sim that stands out with its unique setting, taking place in a watery post-apocalypse witha decidedly relaxed ambiance. As a colony-sim with an emphasis on management mechanics,Flotsamis remarkably simple, offering a more accessible experience that’s still fun thanks to added exploration and its relaxed atmosphere.
InFlotsam, players build and manage a colony of drifters, attempting to survive on floating debris fixed together from odds and ends. It can get repetitive, but players that enjoy its simple gameplay and unique world will find a tranquil experience that’s worth playing.
For The Kingis a unique combination of strategy RPGs, roguelikes, and tabletop game mechanics. What results is a surprisingly elegant design thatallows for immediate fun, offering accessibility with its simple combat and engagement via its RPG systems.
For The King’scombat boils down to the use of abilities and items, but RNG plays a heavy role. This keeps combat from being too predictable and also makes for simpler decision-making. However, the ability to control this RNG with a unique resource does allow for added strategic thinking.
Dredgewastes no timegetting players into the meat of the experience, and this is possible thanks to its intuitive controls and simple design. In the game, players sail a small fishing boat around an archipelago haunted by eldritch horrors. It can get repetitive, butDredgeis elevated by its immersive atmosphere and addictive loop.
Dredgetasks players with gathering fish via a variety of intuitive mini-games, and although there’s no real difficulty present, the simplicity of these activities allows players to better enjoy the ambiance. The day/night cycle also helps to direct players, with the day offering a relaxed environment and the night providing frequent spooks.
As with many if not allLEGOgames,LEGO The Lord Of The Ringsmaintains a simple blend of collecting, puzzle-solving, and low-stakes combat. Thisallows for instant accessibilitythat’s still fun thanks to the variety of collectibles and simple but intuitive puzzles.
Perhaps the greatest strength of this simplicity is the accessibility it brings, makingLEGO The Lord Of The Ringsperfect for cooperative play. Furthermore, the open-world environments ofLEGO The Lord Of The Ringsare relatively optional, but for those that enjoy searching for collectibles, it offers a veritable treasure trove of content.
AlthoughOuter Wildsfeatures little in the way of gameplay systems, itsfocus on explorationserves it well. This is thanks to a well-crafted world that’s steeped in atmosphere, offering a memorable spacefaring adventure that certain players are sure to treasure.
Taking place across multiple planets,Outer Wildstasks players with venturing across a minimalist solar system in search of answers. The unique nature of each planet’s environments and the game’s immersive spaceflight controls are clear strengths. However, it’s the aforementioned atmosphere and excellent soundtrack that elevateOuter Wildsabove and beyond its simple design.
While it does featurea complex setof survival mechanics that are relatively hardcore, the actual gameplay loop ofThe Long Darkis rather simple. Players will spend most of their time walking across isolated environments and scavenging what they can from a variety of abandoned interiors, trying not to die somewhere along the way.
Managing to survive is where things get more complicated, as there are myriad threats - both alive and not - that can bring a run ofThe Long Darkto a swift and brutal end. However, it doesn’t take long to get to grips with the basics, and players will quickly improve with simple trial and error.
Terrariais an intuitive survival-craft experience that excels with its procedural open-world environments, particularly in its variety of underground areas. Supporting the exploration aspects of the game is a diverse set of systems and mechanics. These cover everything from crafting and base-building to town management and tense combat, offering a truly dynamic experience.
Despite the sheer variety ofTerraria’scontent, however, it is a relatively straightforward experience. This is thanks primarily to its intuitive user-interface and simple controls that allow the base-building and combat to be a frustration-free experience.
