EA Motive's Iron Man Game Has a Tough Choice Ahead of It…

Summary

EA and Marvel are teaming up to make an Iron Man game developed by EA Motive.
A recent job listing suggests the game may feature an open world.
Motive Studios should focus on quality side content and enjoyable exploration for the Iron Man game if it goes open world.

In 2022, Electronic Arts revealed that it was partnering up with Marvel to create a third-person single-player Iron Man game. The title, EA revealed, was being developed by Motive Studios, the company behind Star Wars: Squadrons and the 2023 Dead Space remake. While this announcement was significant, it didn't give fans much to go off of; in fact, the only thing that was shown from the title was a single snippet of artwork depicting Iron Man himself. Given how little Motive Studios and EA unveiled about th e Iron Man game at the time, it's evident that the title was still very early in development and far away from being released.

Two years have passed since the announcement of Motive Studio's Iron Man game, and EA has still been very tight-lipped about the title. However, a job listing that was posted on EA's website recently clued gamers in on what to expect from the upcoming Marvel project. The description for this particular ad suggested that the Iron Man game would feature an open world. If this is indeed the case, then Motive Studios will have a tough choice to make regarding this gameplay element, due to how double-edged the implementation of open worlds usually is.

Motive Studios Needs to Make the Right Choices if Its Iron Man Game Is Open World

Open World Games Can Be Hard to Master

Open worlds are a bit of a tricky feature to master in video games. If done right, they can provide immersive, enjoyable experiences and give players hundreds of hours of high-quality content to complete and explore. If done poorly, however, open worlds can turn a potentially solid, linear video game into a boring, grind-filled slog that's laced with forgettable activities and uninspired gameplay loops. Due to how hit-or-miss they can be, the sheer existence of open world elements in video games can sometimes elicit mixed reactions from the gaming community.

That being said, there are still many great open world games out there. Some of the highlights of the genre include titles like The Witcher 3, Elden Ring, and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. These three games are rich in content, very little of which is unnecessary filler. Not only do these titles feature interesting side quests with varied, compelling characters and self-contained stories, they also contain other elements that make their open worlds more exciting, such as high replay value, emphasis on player freedom, and diverse, handcrafted locations.

Plenty of open world games, on the other hand, have been met with divisive reception as well, like Mafia 3, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Dynasty Warriors 9. While these titles do still have their merits, many gamers have criticized them for feeling rather bloated due to their oversized open worlds, which are largely filled with repetitive side activities strung together with stories and characters that lack much substance or depth.

EA Motive's Iron Man Game Should Take a Quality-Over-Quantity Approach With Side Content

Assuming the new Iron Man game does go open-world, it'll be best for Motive Studios to consider taking a quality-over-quantity approach with the title. Instead of cluttering the game's map with collectibles, enemy bases, and radio towers, Motive should fill it up with interesting side quests and diverse locations to explore. Since Iron Man has the power of flight, the developer can also place an emphasis on verticality when designing the game's open world. Furthermore, Motive should even incorporate some light choice-and-consequence elements into the game's side content for added replay value.

Making Open World Exploration Fun Should Be a Priority for Motive Studios

However, if Motive Studios does decide to lace the Iron Man game's open world with menial tasks instead of more fulfilling content, then, at the very least, it should take inspiration from Insomniac's Spider-Man games in order to handle them the right way. Even though these open-world superhero games do feature a lot of repetitive side activities, exploring New York City rarely gets boring because of how fun swinging around as Spider-Man is. Motive Studios should take a page out of Insomniac's playbook in this instance and make flying around as Iron Man so enjoyable to the point that exploring the game's open world rarely gets dull, even if players are tasked with completing filler side content.

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