LogFAQs > #965042812

Best open world style is still Nier Automata (and the idea was best done by STALKER before): Using the world as a theater for various events. You still have the wonder and exploration when getting to a new area the first time, but you actually come back to it again and again, so it feels like a real place. By the 3rd act, you're done combing areas for secrets and chests. It's all story and quests at that point, driving the momentum towards the end of the game.

Limgrave had that feel at first, before beating Godrick. It felt like a deeply connected 20 hour game. But then you move on and leave it behind forever. By the 4th repetition on the formula, the world is bound to lose its luster.

Yet everything still feels so attainable at the end. I'm still doing all the optional stuff at the end game, the sense of completion is carrying me through all that pretty well and I still enjoy it. Just not as much as the beginning. It's good to know you're <5h away from the ending if you every decide you're bored.