When the world is being threatened and the villain is on the cusp of victory, there’s nothing like a good free-roam and a few dozen irrelevant side quests. There’s nothing quite like getting lost in an RPG and finding yourself a million miles away from the game’s main story.
RPGs are always full of side quests and shenanigans but nothing beats simply picking a direction and seeing what mischief you can find.
Down by the river
Last year’s Game of the Year, Baldur’s Gate 3, inspired a wanderlust like few other games have in recent years. Aside from its high-quality graphics and immersive gameplay, this wanderlust comes down to the amount of freedom that the player is given in the game.
Not only is your party free to be built in any way that you wish, but the story can be approached in any order within each of the game’s act.
There is a reason that so many players haven’t seen beyond Act 1 as the amount of choice the player is given can be intoxicating.
So many players have restarted the game countless times and never actually finished it as they get distracted with endless possibilities, which is amazing because players can make their own fun and memories off their own beaten path.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is designed for this type of exploration and creativity: it wants you to check under every rock and rewards you accordingly.
This same idea is why Bethesda’s RPGs have remained popular for so long despite their very simple gameplay loops.
A world you want to spend time in
There are so many reasons that endlessly wandering games is such an enticing experience.
Firstly, the setting: a bland game environment will not warrant exploration. What makes a world worth exploring obviously differs from person to person, but no doubt interesting and varied visuals are important, as well as compelling design and fun side-quests, rewards and secrets.
Another thing that makes exploring so captivating in the atmosphere of the world which comes down to not just visuals but also sound and music.
Skyrim is very well-known for being a game people love to wander in, and one of the things best remembered about the game is its iconic soundtrack. The Skyrim soundtrack is subtle and atmospheric, really selling the vastness of the world in comparison to how small the player is.
In a similar vein, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth came out on the February 29 and its soundtrack makes exploration feel like a truly magical adventure. Every area of Rebirth’s massive world has its own unique musical identity.
From the sprawling open grassland’s adventurous soundtrack, to the eery sounds of the Mythril Caves and the iconic mystical theme of Cosmo Canyon, the music makes free-roaming in Rebirth feel utterly magical.
More than a checklist
Many open world games in recent years have resorted to stuffing their maps fully of hollow activities after the success that Ubisoft has seen with this model.
While this method can work – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an example of it working brilliantly – it often misses the landing and ends up feeling like a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.
A far more interesting approach to free-roaming came from 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima.
Ghost is very minimal and instead uses diegetic queues in the world to point players towards discoveries.
With the billowing wind pointing you to discoveries, wildlife leading to stat boosts and smoke pyres marking enemy encampments, Ghost of Tsushima makes exploration feel natural and makes the player feel like they are truly discovering things rather than just checking areas of interest off a list.
Frolic and be free
Getting lost is intoxicating and freeing.
People crave freedom, and running away from the main story is the perfect way to map out your own path in the game’s environment.
By the time you do get around to finishing the game (if you do finish it, that is) the connection that you have built with the world and its characters will be far stronger than a player who has just rushed the main story.
While this type of gameplay isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, one of the great things about so many video games is that you have the option to play them in your own unique way.
For people like me who can’t help but get lost in a sidequest and will leave no stone unturned, there is nothing more magical than wandering the immersive world of a video game.
Featured image credit: Larian Studios