[mathgeek]

This is a very solid attitude. Couldn’t say how many CRPG titles I have dropped due to endless quests and dialog that are immediately forgotten in the larger story arc. It’s one thing to build a world with side quests, another to have the savior of said world be required to do fetch quests for 50% of their journey.

[nottorp]

From the last 4 open world games i really enjoyed:

Ghost of Tsushima - could have used being a good 30% shorter.

Witcher 3 and Horizon Forbidden West - entirely non repetitive but still took forever. Could have been shorter with little loss.

Horizon Zero Dawn - felt just right. Surprisingly, Elden Ring felt the same, in spite of it being a lot larger. But then I'm a rabid fan of Soulsbornes (I still think the best was Bloodborne and that's probably the shortest.)

[kthejoker2]

Bringing the side quests together or making them meaningful for the Big Bad (eg in Mass Effect and Horizon Zero Dawn) really is a huge step above the fun but shallow RDR-style "open world = do whatever you like."

I give a pass to Fallout for creating one of the most fun universes.