10 Video Game Franchises That Should NOT Have Gone Open World

10 Franchises That Shouldn’t Have Gone Open World

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at open world entries in video game franchises that proved bigger isn’t always better.

To be crystal clear, we’re not saying these games are bad. Just that their open worlds, or open world aspects in some cases, were kind of unnecessary and didn’t bring anything to the table.

“Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” Series (2001-)

Ubisoft’s “Ghost Recon” series earned a passionate fan base due to tense, tactical mechanics. When you transition those mechanics to an open world, you lose some of that tension. The franchise first took that route with 2017’s “Wildlands,” which was still positively received despite a departure from its roots. Sadly, the choice to go open world would backfire in later entries. 2019’s “Breakpoint” was a shallow and dull slog, from its missions to its gameplay. Ubisoft thought it would expand further for the next entry, “Frontline,” by making it an open world battle royale. But its trailer and closed Beta were so negatively received that Ubisoft canceled it in 2022.

“Gears of War” Series (2006-)

Known for its vicious visuals and cover-based gunplay, “Gears of War” is at its best as a linear, action-horror thrillride. While there is some interesting lore to uncover, it doesn’t feel like a series designed for vast exploration. Yet, 2019’s “Gears 5” was far more open-ended than the rest of the franchise. To be fair, it wasn't a fully open world; it had open environments. But even that padded time in between the suspenseful, quick-paced encounters that populated previous entries. And while those elements were still in “Gears 5,” and damn fun too, there wasn’t enough else in the open sections to justify them.

“Mirror’s Edge” Series (2008-16)

Although “Mirror’s Edge” barely has enough entries to be considered a franchise, it still fits the bill. The 2008 original was an action-adventure game that focused on parkour mechanics. And while it wasn’t anything monumental, it nailed the gameplay and gave us an engaging playground to run around in. However, following a mobile prequel, the decision was made to reboot it with 2016’s “Mirror’s Edge Catalyst.” The new entry was set in an open world, and although its mechanics were just as good, they weren’t quite as fun to experience this time around. There simply wasn’t enough substance to fill the larger space.

“Dragon Age” Series (2009-)

Like “Gears 5,” 2014’s “Dragon Age: Inquisition” isn’t a fully open world game, instead featuring several connected areas that act like miniature open worlds. Some fans were already unhappy due to how “Dragon Age II” turned out. And this big of a change likely had them yearning for the return of simpler times at the franchise’s start. BioWare reportedly struggled with using the unfamiliar Frostbite engine, which was forced on them by publisher EA and was built with first-person action games in mind. “Inquisition” was still a stand-out RPG, with the wonderful character writing and mechanics the studio is known for. But when it came to setting it in this type of environment, it wasn’t really necessary.

“Metal Gear” Series (1988-2018)

Admittedly, many of our entries should come with asterisks next to them. Konami’s “Metal Gear” franchise first implemented open world aspects with 2014’s “Ground Zeroes,” which was way too short to fully take advantage of them. 2015’s “The Phantom Pain,” on the other hand, was set in an open world and was plenty long. It’s clearly an excellent game, featuring fantastic stealth gameplay and a mind-melting narrative. However, some players found the world a bit too empty trekking between their missions. Regardless, the format would be used far worse in 2018’s “Metal Gear Survive.” While many elements led to it being bad, the generic use of the open world and its lifeless gameplay were near the top.

“Final Fantasy” Series (1990-)

Most “Final Fantasy” games have gigantic worlds, but players are still bound to a linear story. The same can’t be said of “Final Fantasy XV.” Surprisingly the first entry in the long-running franchise to be open world, it follows Prince Noctis and his friends attempting to save Eos, said open world, from a dominating empire. While Eos was a stunning setting, it wasn’t much fun to explore outside its visuals. In fact, criticism of the game’s empty open world was so frequent that it caused Square Enix to approach the next installment differently. While “Final Fantasy XVI” still included big open areas, the progression of the story was much more linear. To be fair, “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” had great open world exploration. So this is more a case of a franchise making that big leap before it was ready.

“Harry Potter” Series (2001-)

Anyone who grew up with Harry Potter craved the chance to visit the Wizarding World. The movie tie-ins were as close as we could get, but there were a few other releases over the years like the “Lego” games. However, none of them truly lived up to their potential, which is probably why so many people were excited for “Hogwarts Legacy.” It promised an enchanting experience, even boasting an open world with the school grounds and the neighboring village, Hogsmeade. While fans loved seeing the famous locations recreated, actually exploring them could get rather tedious. It seemed like an open world just for the sake of one, and many would’ve preferred a more streamlined experience.

“Mass Effect” Series (2007-)

With the “Mass Effect” trilogy, BioWare let us explore the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. And yet, we didn’t need a massive open world to get completely lost in it. All we needed was the studio’s expertise in worldbuilding, creating riveting characters, and giving players an immense sense of freedom. And then along came “Andromeda.” While the game would be criticized for a number of issues, going full open world was a big one. The developers initially wanted the planets to be procedurally generated, an idea that was not only scrapped because it was too difficult and expensive, but which cost them significant development time. Therefore, “Andromeda’s” planets ended up feeling devoid of anything worthwhile and populated by boring side content like fetch quests.

“Halo” Series (2001-)

While “Halo” had toyed around with the open world concept before, it didn’t take the full leap until 2021’s “Halo Infinite.” And it honestly shouldn’t have. On paper, setting this entry on the franchise’s namesake, a gigantic Halo ring-world, seems like a great idea. But when players got their hands on it, they found this setting meant the majority of varied biomes prevalent in past installments were all gone. Instead, your options were limited to similar looking buildings and woods, which got dull fast. This was reportedly the result of 343 scaling back during production, not that it makes the pill easier to swallow. And it isn’t as if the side content is varied enough to justify the decision, either.

“Dynasty Warriors” Series (1997-2018)

We don’t normally rank our lists. But if there’s one franchise that deserves the top spot here, it’s “Dynasty Warriors.” It had long been established as a hack and slash series that pits powerful player characters against full armies. While gameplay tended to be repetitive, that didn’t make it unfun, and the battlefields were sized proportionately to contain the action. That all changed with 2018’s “Dynasty Warriors 9,” which is flat-out a bad open world game. Sure, what makes the series work is still there. But spreading those combat encounters out over a barren, uninspired environment makes them a lot less enjoyable. Whenever “Dynasty Warriors 10” comes out, we really hope it isn’t anything like this.

Which franchise do you wish hadn’t gone open world? Share your thoughts in the comments and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!