Am I the only one that LIKES linear games?

Games like Gears of War, Uncharted, God of War, Wolfenstein, MGS 1-4, Ratchet and Clank, etc, etc. To me it's great being able go from one point to another and experience what the developers wanted me to experience. I don't mind going for the ride so to speak. Open world is not bad per se, but often times it's poorly done. You get all this space, but there isn't that much interesting to do with it. Take Forza Horizon 2 for instance. You get a big map, but there's not much variety and all you're doing is driving around. The different areas of the maps feel the same. I found DriveClub more interesting because there were many different maps and I didn't have to drive around to get to them. I'm also starting to feel the same way about MGS V. To me it's not a real open world. There's just enemy outposts around and for many missions you are limited to certain areas anyway.

So what do you think, SW? Are you fan of linear games?

Uncharted and The Last Of Us say no.

I prefer tight level design over open world filler. I like both though.

Considering the sales of those games, I would say no

Your point on FH2 I dont agree with, plenty to do and its fun at that. But yeah I enjoy linear games, even with open world games I play them kind of linear lol. I loved Witcher 3 but beat it in only 30 plus hours because I just did the side missions to level up to be able to advance the main story.

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark, and say no.

I need to switch this strategy. I am almost 30 hours in and I'm already sick of the menial side quests. No way I could play this game for 200 hours. i have already seen enough bandit camps to last a lifetime.

@StrongBlackVine: Yeah I was impressed that I spent that much time on one game lol...I like to beat a game and move on ( too many games out there ) 200 hours would bore me to death, no matter how good it is.

Nothing wrong with linear games.

Linear games are awesome. Good level design trumps everything.

I like both, I really really enjoy a quick 8-10 hour linear game that provides a great experience that ends at that perfect time before it becomes a chore, if those same games stretch to 15 hours then I find them extremely hard to finish.

An open world game done right like TW3 is amazing as well, time flies so fast as the stories are great, action is good, characters and powers and world are all interesting.

Both can be good exploring a well put together open area like GTAV can be just as entertaining as good linear level design like Deus Ex

No, but I disagree with the sentiment that MGS5 Is not a true open world game. Everything I have read tells me that it is probably the only true open world game, the only one that 'gets' it anyway, albeit ab exceptionally well designed one.

Anyway, both have their place. A 'linear' Mario, Metroid, or Souls, one that is always designed with the knowledge of player progress until a certain point, will always be a far better game than one that has to make concessions to a player being anywhere at any point. On the other hand, a game like Witcher benefited from going open world it all depends on the kind of game in question, I would say. Which I know is not some earth shattering revelation, but it is the answer to your question.

There comes a point in open world games where I just stop caring about the collectathons or MMO styled side-questing and end up pushing through the main story. I can't think of a single open-world game where I ended up doing all the extra crap because I still enjoyed doing the same thing for 50+ hours. I'm only 11 hours into Xenoblade on the 3DS and I've already hit a point where I'm not bothering with anymore sidequests that aren't optional bossfights.

Linear vs Non-linear gameplay is not something meant to take the "Vs" seriously. Its not a literal competition. Just different ways of playing. One gives more structure to story and development, while the other gives more freedom to explore and experiment. But I felt the need to point this out because so many morons downgrade games for simply being one and not the other.

Anyone who tells you an open world game is automatically better than a linear one is an idiot.

The only genre I prefer games to be open world are RPGs. In every other genre, I prefer linear games.

I especially prefer linear racing games and I really hate how almost all racing games these days are open world. I don't want to have to drive around to get to a race that isn't that much different from the others because they are all in a open world. I just want a menu where I can quickly select from a wide, diverse variety of tracks.

Yeah but then level design has to be really tight.

I enjoy both, but I definitely prefer linear games over open-world.

linear games can be fine...just don't want to play only linear games or to play games that are only linear because they dev was lazy and it just feels generic and bland

There is absolutely nothing wrong with linear games, so no, you are not alone on this one.

I love Playstation because it keeps that movie shit and crap gamers in one place.

Anyone that agrees with you, is an idiot :P

Witcher 3 for life!

Nope, I like them too.

I prefer linear to open world. You don't ever use all the space anyway.

I enjoy linear games quite a lot as long as there's good challenge to be found in tightly designed levels.

Linear story driven games have no appeal to me personally. They lack the freedom of exploration of great open world/action adventure games and they lack challenge and tight level design for the most part. Story driven games feel too much like I'm just going through the motions. My skill or interaction isn't being represented very well.

This is a discussion forum. We don't softly agree to disagree and tiptoe around each other's opinions. There's no need for you to play Dr Phil on this forum.

Eh, depends on where you draw the line on story driven and action/adventure. Something like God of War is definitely driven by its plot but it's pacing, level design and set pieces make it enjoyable even if it's combat isn't up to the standards of Devil May Cry or Bayonetta.

If by story driven you mean things like Quantic Dream games then yeah, I'll agree with you on that one.

Bingo.

Open world games, or at least poorly made ones usually feel like an excuse for the dev to focus on gameplay per square inch as opposed to quality gameplay.

Linear imo. Most open world games fail to give you anything but random tasks.

This. I found myself thoroughly entertained by the MGS games for example because I knew where to go and the level design never made me feel that I didn't have at least some choice in how to beat it.

Some open world games have boring sidequests that I usually avoid eventually and just try to beat it as quick as possible. I'll take Uncharted-style games any day.

The world certainly has room for both although i prefer open world generally.

More than happy to play a good linear game although I guess it depends on the genre to an extent. For example I'm not keep on an RPG being linear.

I enjoy great games, doesn't matter if these are linear or open world...

i prefer linear games

To me, there is such a thing as 'Too Open' like Skyrim and Oblivion. When there is so much to do and go I cant decide....

On the other side of the coin, FF13 was one long corridor, and was pretty dreadful.

A kinda hybrid between the two is nice, where you cant spend hours doing other things and just forget completely what you were doing, and the 'side quests' are fun additional features.

The time we live in is great.

Theres something for everyone. Theres many open world games releasing here and there....and the same goes for linear games.

Feel good about having the choice. There was a time when platforming left to right was about all there was to choose from.

Most of the old games were linear. So I'm pretty sure that everyone at some point in their life has loved linear games. Everyone has their own taste and I for one dislike Skyrim even though it has been praised through the roof.

I like em. It's just a shame they're over so fast.

I wish more open world RPG's took a more linear approach. Both Witcher 3 and DAI would have been much better games if they controlled your progression by closing off certain islands and landscapes till you reached a certain level and presented a significant difficulty spike when you get to new regions.

As it is, you can massively outlevel the majority of content in both games very early because they allow you to do what you want, when you want. DAI is particularly bad for this. About a third through the game there was zero challenge no matter where I went.

Way too much importance is placed on giving you total freedom in new games basically allowing you to break your own game without even knowing you're doing it.

I don't mind linear games when my mentally exhausted. Tomb Raider reboot was a good linear game.

Half Life, the game every PC gamer praises is a linear game.

As long as it's well designed and properly paced, I can always dig a linear title.

I just dislike games that are so linear to where it's basically doing the playing for you.

I like both non-linear and linear. Variety is good.

I used to like them a lot more back in the 80's lol. :P

Just because a game is linear doesn't mean it's not replayable. Similarly, just because a game is game is non-linear doesn't mean it's replayable.

I am currently replaying F.E.A.R. and loving it. I got bored of GTA 5 and Skyrim and did not finish them. Alternatively, I beat the Witcher 3 and I still want more, yet I have still to even finish the SP of CoD 4.

It comes down to game design.

I like both. Depends on my mood. I tend to get lost in open worlds though because I try to see everything.

People like to take the piss out of linear games a lot, but if made properly they can work better than open world as the levels are more designed and the flow of the game is set by the devs.

Open world game are awesome too, I think the best type of game attempts to mix both. Open world give more play time, but linear gives you the best experience over time with story elements.

The anomaly is 'Soulsborne, I have no idea what to call that game as it's both open and linear and has no in your face story.