>>48351846The comparison I always think of is Xenoblade X vs Xenoblade 2. X is far more open and you can explore a vast amount of the game in the early stages. One could argue that the narrative suffers as a result of the player's agency. They could be wearing nonsense outfits in the cutscenes, they could be treating certain areas as brand new when you've already thoroughly explored them, you could have already hit the level cap from hundreds of hours of exploring and defeated massive bosses when a smaller story boss is treated like more of a big deal. The game exists in service of the player rather than the narrative, and as a result, players who are more driven by their own curiosity will benefit greatly. Agency is incredibly freeing in your own sandbox.
By comparison, Xenoblade 2 is a more linear experience. There are far more cutscenes, you can't even willingly alter your outfit without DLC, some areas like very early Gormott, Leftheria, and the Cliffs of Morytha are very straightforward. They may have branching paths and side areas, but they're not big sprawling landscapes where anywhere could lead you to a major destination. But it has shades of that in areas like the rest of Gormott, Uraya, Mor Ardain, and Tantal. The game exists in service of the narrative, but that narrative is grandiose and has a lot of effort put into it and the game does not fail to include hundreds of hours of side material and stories that you unlock with your own agency. It just all depends on what point you're at in the main narrative before you can access individual things.
I feel like modern Pokémon is far more linear and than Xenoblade 2, and its greatest problem is that it's also extremely railroaded. It just doesn't have anything to make up for it in terms of narrative.
