Making an open world game can be extremely challenging, especially if you’re trying to balance a compelling narrative with player freedom, interesting level design and fun activities (while ensuring it all runs smoothly). Not every open world game can achieve some or all of that and the sheer hype around them can only amplify one’s disappointment. So let’s take a look at 15 of the most disappointing open world games that stumbled in one way or another.
Two Worlds
The timing of Two Worlds’ release, coming up after The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, might seem like it created lots of unfair expectations. Unfortunately, this wasn’t helped by developer Zuxxez proclaiming it to be “a more focused, grittier experience” than Oblivion with “much more complex” magic, a “more complex society” and more depth to the horse riding. The final result was a mess with graphical issues, a cliched story wrought with awful voice-acting, repetitive combat and bugs galore. Some of the environments looked nice and the world was appropriately large. But that “deep” horse riding was a nightmare to control, souring the experience all the more. Overall, Two Worlds is looked back upon as a meme and an albatross that it’s successor had to bear.
