>>43863936I mention it in every one of these threads, (Most) people don’t want Bethesda/BotW style open world games, they just say that as a shorthand. What they really want is more wide open areas, and the illusion of freedom without getting completely fucked over for taking a poorly labeled wrong turn.
The pre-BotW 3d zeldas are actually a pretty great example and what should probably be used as the basis, but really just having a few choices that seem like they matter despite not changing anything, and lots of distractions that make you think you are exploring when you are actually being funneled to new areas.
Start in small town, linear path up north to first gym. After that the gates out of that town open up to a wild area, which leads to three more towns, each with a gym. They can be fought in any order. Each town has a few side quests which lead you between each town to give you some direction during the whole thing without forcing the order. Once you are done you return to the first town to celebrate, and get interrupted by your first encounter with the games villains.
After that you can go out to a southern wild area. Higher level than the first one. Three more gyms, fight in any order, but each gym has blocked off access by the games villains and you have to fight them off in that town. Beat them three times, get the three badges, get funneled back and forth by side objectives, go back home to celebrate again, get funneled into the final stretch to take out the villains, beat the final gym, take on the elite four, and then get to the post game.
Suddenly you have a game that isn’t open world, but gives players a lot more freedom to explore and do their own thing. All the ease of design from linear story telling, without the extremely obvious railroading.
