I thought the same thing. I would honestly argue that metroidvanias were open worlds before we had that term. There are some that are more linear than others, but many of them are very exploration heavy and don’t have a single order you must do things in.
angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com 4 days ago
I feel like people’s perception of what “open world” means has drifted. I see people claim that GTA isn’t open world because it has linear progression. Like, they think BOTW defines what “open world” means.
Do you have a seamless, interconnected world that is the primary place the game takes place? Open world.
I would bluntly state that Metroidvanias are open world, and also aren’t the only open world games that have been around since the NES.