Open-world games are known for having long playthroughs that can often last anywhere between 20 and 100 hours before they finally end. This is possible for a few reasons, mainly that there is enough content to keep players invested for all that time, both in the main story and the side-quests, but also because the worlds are massive, so it literally takes several days of in-game time to fully experience all of it. However, in a lot of cases, the best parts of the game are actually found much later into the story, with a lot of the early segments feeling more like tutorials or prologues to the main adventure that awaits them.
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This doesn't necessarily mean that the start of the game is boring or not enjoyable, just that things only get more exciting as time goes on. The best examples of this are where the game really opens up in a completely different way, letting players explore expansive areas that they literally couldn't even access beforehand, but it is also important that the story follows suit, guiding players forward with a purpose that begins to feel much clearer as they progress into the mid-game. It also helps when players feel like they are in full control of the gameplay, as many games have quite a steep learning curve that takes a good amount of time to get used to, but once mastered, they will feel far more comfortable and have a much better time overall.
Elden Ring
Everything Finally Falls Into Place
Details:
- Giant areas become accessible
- Players get used to the combat over time
Elden Ring is practically the poster child for early game struggles, as even for f ans of the soulslike genre, those initial steps into the world can feel beyond overwhelming. With no guidance on where to go, players are instead forced to venture out in search of action, encountering dungeons and field bosses, while hopefully grabbing plenty of treasures along the way. The first section of the playthrough will mainly take place in Limgrave, where players can learn the ropes and get comfortable with the more organic style of exploration. Once players finally manage to clear Stormveil Castle, they are greeted with an even more impressive vista than the one at the start, opening up the world in a big way and truly starting the main journey.
From then on, the world really is the player's Oyster, and they have so many different directions and options to choose from that it can actually be hard to know where to start. Some backtrack to Caelid and take on the horrors in the rotting swamps, while others press on down the main path, entering the academy and uncovering the magic mysteries that hide inside. There really is no right or wrong path to take, and thanks to how easy it is to travel between locations, there is no reason why players can't gallop out to the east for a while, then quickly fast-travel back the other way, jumping between the impressive main bosses and the side content that can be found in every corner of the map.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
A Slow Burn That Pays Off
Details:
- Character arcs begin to fall into place
- Larger meaning unfolds over time
The Witcher 3 begins with relatively small-scale stories, focusing on monster contracts and local politics that can feel fairly basic compared to the grandness of the world. Also, the early combat and progression can feel quite restrained, being effective enough to take out most of the basic enemies with no issues, but it is clear that there is far more to uncover further down the line. As time goes on, more areas become accessible, and players find themselves venturing further afield, meeting new characters that will quickly become integral to the larger story at hand.
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Once players pass the early regions, the game’s storytelling truly blossoms. Questlines become morally complex, characters gain a huge amount of depth, and the previous choices begin to echo far beyond those initial interactions, showing the player a level of narrative depth that just didn't exist at the start. Additionally, huge locations like Novigrad and Skellige suddenly become focal points both in the narrative and the player's own exploration, making the world feel significantly larger and more full of life than anyone could have anticipated.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Freedom That Can Only Be Earned
Details:
- Slow traversal that gets completely flipped on its head
- Flight that unlocks the entire world
Xenoblade Chronicles X initially feels quite restrictive despite its massive world. The movement is grounded and doesn't appear to make use of the environment's scale, and the world of Mira can feel intimidating rather than liberating, with there being no way of properly exploring it from above. This makes the first few hours feel a lot more linear, as players begin to grasp the combat's complexity and also meet the huge cast of characters that will follow them throughout the story.
Everything changes once Skells are unlocked, dramatically altering both traversal and combat, allowing players to engage with the world in the way it was intended. Later, access to flight transforms Mira into one of the most exhilarating open worlds ever created, where vertical locations and distant landmarks become fully reachable in a matter of moments. The evolution of the movement alone is enough of a reason to stick around through the initial hurdles, giving players a massive payoff that they will never take for granted.
Kenshi
Suffering Before Self-Sufficiency
Details:
- Brutal survival and constant failure
- Mechanics become clearer, and player agency becomes crucially important
Kenshi is notoriously unforgiving at the start, with players having to deal with weak characters, scarce resources, and a world that offers no protection or guidance for the next steps. There will be plenty of failures and defeats that will likely define how players perceive the game in the early hours, and the path to progression can feel quite difficult to grasp given how complex the mechanics are. With survival being the main focus, before players can feel comfortable working towards other goals, the world can feel scarily dangerous and brutal, as entire parties can be wiped out in seconds by anything from wildlife to starving bandits out for blood.
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Over time, that hardship becomes the game’s greatest strength, and players will gain a sense of accomplishment once they overcome the difficulties that once gated their progression. As squads grow stronger and settlements take shape, the game transforms into a fully player-driven narrative sandbox where anything is possible. And, after enough time is invested, the struggle to survive becomes the joy of thriving, rewarding players who persevere with an unmatched level of freedom over their own adventures.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
From Peasant To Knight
Details:
- Early hours filled with clumsy combat and limited abilities
- Meaningful development that quickly turns into an unmatched RPG experience
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is deliberately hostile and sluggish at the start, introducing Henry as a weak, untrained individual who struggles with even basic tasks. Fighting in those early hours can feel like an instant loss at times, as a single bandit can easily be enough to overpower the player, and even when they focus more on the other aspects of the game, they still have to manage many factors, from hunger to sleep to societal reputation. The sheer dedication to realism can be quite a challenge to overcome, but with enough determination and will, players will soon find themselves greeted with a medieval RPG that is truly one of a kind in the genre.
After slowly marching through the opening hours, the game fundamentally changes, as all those previous struggles begin to click into place. The sword fights become tense, skill-based duels rather than chaotic scrambles, and other options like stealth or diplomacy open up as legitimate alternatives to brute force, making players feel more in control over how their playthrough unfolds. The world also begins to react more meaningfully, with reputation affecting dialogue and quest outcomes, and even how guards treat Henry, all in unexpected ways that ensure that the world feels as authentic and immersive as possible. Despite struggles as a bumbling peasant, players eventually find themselves taking on the role of a noble knight, saving people in distress and carving out a name for themselves in the world.
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