Linear RPG's

[Shinzai]

Relevant to this discussion topic:

[RickNick]

I typically prefer open world. A linear RPG has to have a REALLY great story for me to enjoy it (but if it does, I will). I think part of it might be because I *hate* missing secret items/areas and not being able to go back and get them. That tends to be a part of very linear games, in my experience.

How do you feel about games in the style of SW:KotOR? I tend to find those types to be a decent balance.

[I Push Buttons]

I don't like linear games just because they are usually so short.

I get a game like Skyrim for $60... I can put literally hundreds of hours into it and before even touching the main story. Then I get some linear RPG, also for $60... And it has a 15-20 hour story that I will probably play through one time.

I know the cost of games in general is relatively cheap, I just prefer to get huge games that can occupy my time for a long while.

[Deleted]

Lately, I've been missing the old style of RPG's - The more linear ones (without open world and stuff like that), and more focused on delivering a single very good story, instead of a lot of small good ones (side quests). The last one that I've played was Undertale, and it was a blast.

Does anyone feel like that too?

Jup, I don't get the massive hype around open world, I love choices and consequences and everything. But for me it feels as if most games are just a big (generally boring) world where 97.5% of what is possible has fuck all to do with the actual story of the game. Thus I don't easily get immersed in stuff like that. Skyrim, the new Fallouts etc... so boring.

Few RPG's manage to find a balance between both. Gigantic open world once almost never do.

[Deleted]

I don't like linear games just because they are usually so short.

I get a game like Skyrim for $60... I can put literally hundreds of hours into it and before even touching the main story. Then I get some linear RPG, also for $60... And it has a 15-20 hour story that I will probably play through one time.

I know the cost of games in general is relatively cheap, I just prefer to get huge games that can occupy my time for a long while.

I don't even get why people still pay full price for games. I don't even buy anything above 20$ anymore.

[Coldkil]

I don't even get why people still pay full price for games. I don't even buy anything above 20$ anymore.

This. May be cheap on my part but the market is so flooded by overhyped and short-span games that i just prefer to wait for the eventual GOTY edition and see if the game has aged well. The lower price is a good bonus to me.

I simply mean that if a game is good, will be good even in years. Maybe not as good at the new standard but since there is no race for getting it and completing it first in the world, i don't see any point at buying stuff at release. Last ones i did buy were wow exapnsions (due to obivous reasons) and D3 because i wanted the collectors.

[draykorinee]

I don't even get why people still pay full price for games. I don't even buy anything above 20$ anymore.

Absolutely, I mean, I want to play Witcher 3, but its still £17 in the UK when on sale, so I'll wait for another year and get it for £10. The only time I've bitten the bullet was Total war warhammer, and that was because 4 of us were getting it together. (I'm also tempted by GOW4)

[I Push Buttons]

I don't even get why people still pay full price for games. I don't even buy anything above 20$ anymore.

Because saving $30 is not worth a year or more of my time spent waiting for something I can enjoy right now?

[Halicia]

Because saving $30 is not worth a year or more of my time spent waiting for something I can enjoy right now?

That works if the game is enjoyable *right now*, but in most cases... the full enjoyment of the game won't be received until a year later when all the patches and DLC have shipped.

There's a couple franchises/developers I might pay fullprice for, but most are... notasnowball'schance.

[anaxie]

I really liked stories in games like Fallout 3 and Morrowind though: even in an open world setting, a story can be coherent and interesting. And Witcher 3 and DAI had even more awesome stories, despite being even bigger in size than F3/Morrowind.

You mentioned Morrowind and Witcher 3 in same sentence.

You are now obligated to have my children.

Resistance is futile.

[Drekker17]

I would definitely like some linear RPGs. I feel like a linear story leads to a better told story. I don't mind open world stuff, but there are plenty of those and very little linear RPGs.

[Tech614]

This is why Japanese RPGs became > Western RPGs.

Western RPGs became obsessed with building massive worlds that are actually dead on the inside. The western RPGs with open worlds that I consider great games can be counted on 2 fingers, Morrowind and Witcher 3. The late 90s and early 2000s was a golden era for RPGs that will never be achieved again with the direction they headed down. Sadly, lifeless open worlds actually seem to sell better then well written fantasy so I don't see the trend changing. At least CDPR still managed to write a great story in spite of the open world which is more of a distraction then attraction to Witcher 3.

[Graeham]

I like both. What matters to be most in an RPG is solid storytelling and depth - and there's plenty of linear and open world RPG's that deliver on those fronts. There are, of course, those that don't though.

[draykorinee]

This is why Japanese RPGs became > Western RPGs.

Western RPGs became obsessed with building massive worlds that are actually dead on the inside. The western RPGs with open worlds that I consider great games can be counted on 2 fingers, Morrowind and Witcher 3. The late 90s and early 2000s was a golden era for RPGs that will never be achieved again with the direction they headed down. Sadly, lifeless open worlds actually seem to sell better then well written fantasy so I don't see the trend changing. At least CDPR still managed to write a great story in spite of the open world which is more of a distraction then attraction to Witcher 3.

This. Very much this. Although i admit to not playing Witcher 3 yet the rest is spot on.

[flarecde]

I've no issue with open world RPGs, but they're not my cup of tea. I prefer to have a specific string of goals and the tighter story associated with having said goals specified.

As far as linear RPGs being short, I find that comment odd. Most linear RPGs I've played have clocked in at 40+ hours. Someone else mentioned the Trails games here, the last two I played ran 90 hours each.

[Deleted]

Lately, I've been missing the old style of RPG's - The more linear ones (without open world and stuff like that), and more focused on delivering a single very good story, instead of a lot of small good ones (side quests). The last one that I've played was Undertale, and it was a blast.

Does anyone feel like that too?

Vampire Bloodlines was awesome, but it was quite open. It was rather like the Bioware model of four hub areas with meaty side quests, plus an over-arching main plot.

I really like the freedom to roam, to explore, find encounters and do stuff at my own pace. The problem with some open world games - Dragon Age Inquisition springs to mind - is when they cram the world with busy work MMO style quests (kill 12 boars...).

Others, often Bethesda ones, have lifeless characters and lack a compelling main plot.

It's probably an unfashionable view, but I think Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 got a decent balance: amazing open world and decent main plot. [1]

[1]Neither were perfect. FO3's characters were often awful (Moira!); FO4's were tons better. But FO3s main plot was better sustained until the end (Liberty Prime!) whereas I felt FO4 fizzled out after you met a certain elusive scientific faction.

[callipygoustp]

I definitely still like the old school style of RPG. I just recently finished a play through of BGEE and found it to quite enjoyable. I also enjoyed Might & Magic X. And while there is some flexibility in the order in which things are done I consider the Mass Effect series to be linear as well and I absolutely fucking loved the entire ME series: 1, 2, & 3.

On the other side of things, open world/sandbox, I absolutely loved Skyrim but I didn't enjoy FO4 nearly as much. Skryim definitely drew me in, RPG/story wise, much more so than F04. Both Skyrim and FO4 were great for exploring but the story and side quests of Skyrim made the game so much more entertaining.

Looking over the rpg games I've enjoyed the most over the years, it definitely comes down to story more so than structure of the game.