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Comment by oneoff786 | Hacker News Reader

Linear games are better in my opinion. Linearity isn’t the problem though. Mario is linear and very fun. Tomb raider just sort of takes away you doing anything. You have no real agency for a lot of it. Just told what buttons to press indirectly and then you do it.

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There's linear gameplay and then there are linear games. Linear games are preferable, for many games, because there is a story that you can impact in meaningful ways, but with 'an' outcome. That outcome will morph or change based on inputs you make and decisions you make throughout the process. Linear gameplay is boring, in that you don't get any agency. You are simply completing a series of steps to feel a sense of accomplishment, when in reality all you have done is push the approved buttons at the appropriate time.

Linear game that's awesome: Pillars of Eternity.

Linear gameplay that's not awesome: Tomb raider games.

Or maybe different games are made for different people. That could also be an option.

I like the distinction you make. Though I don't think Pillars of Eternity is a very strong example of a linear game that's awesome -- I played this game for a good 20 hour at one point without following the main storyline.

I'd say RE4 was a very well done linear game with solid gameplay. It definitely influenced a lot of games moving forward.

They require different design skillsets or experiences. Elden Ring and Zelda are designed to be more non-linear and they work, but have completely different strengths and focuses vs. a linear approach. More based on creating an engrossing world and mechanics that allow you to play most sections out of order and create your own adventure vs. the control you have over story nuances when you make a linear title (e.g. Half-Life 2).

I feel elden ring really failed on the non linear aspect to be honest. It was frustratingly open ended up front, and then very linear at the end.

I started the game, went to margit, found him too difficult, and then, with no particular alternatives, pretty much explored the entire map aimlessly, wishing for a clear direction on level appropriate content. It was hard to find the next thing to do. I didn’t want to skip through things with ashes or multiplayer. I didn’t want to farm.

By the time I actually found this content there was nothing left to do besides warp to bosses and murder them, or look up the obtuse quest lines and warp around to complete those. A huge floor on character progression is finding the flask upgrades. But since they’re just lying around you just go from having none of them to quickly finding more than you need for 80% of the game.

Like… dark souls would just be a worse game if every door and elevator was open from the beginning. It would just be confusing and frustrating if you started making “wrong” explorations.

I would greatly have preferred elden ring with pretty much the entire open world cut and instead just a tour of the legacy dungeons. The open world just compounded on some of dark soul’s weaknesses. Like finding even more cool weapons that you can’t practically try without farming a ton of upgrades and changing your build.

Agreed.

Playing through Elden Ring made it clear to me how impressive Breath of the Wild was in retrospect. Even without any meaningful awards (or because of?) the exploration in BotW is just so much more memorable and dynamic.

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