More Open-World RPGs Should Feature Games Like Gwent, Orlog, and Machine Strike

gamerant.com:

Open-world RPGs are characterized by their sprawling scopes and the engaging activities players can discover. RPGs tend to be dense with content, particularly in modern open-world titles where the average duration for 100 percent completion could reasonably take over a hundred hours to achieve. But if designed successfully, most if not all of that content will feel meaningful and satisfying to players and market that play-time as an encouraging incentive rather than a slog. One way open-world games can achieve this satisfaction is through optional, intermittent mini-games.

For instance, Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of entertaining mini-games such as Poker, Five-Finger Fillet, and Dominoes that momentarily divert the player’s attention from gunslinging and a plethora of criminal activities. However, some mini-games are more pivotal and influential than others. Open-world RPGs should continue to feature creative and strategic mini-games that immerse players into their worlds and encourage exploration, such as Gwent from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Orlog from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Machine Strike from Horizon Forbidden West.

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Strategic mini-games in an overarching open-world RPG scratch an itch for collectible enthusiasts and casual gamers alike. If implemented well, they are fully optional yet engaging activities that absorb the player and act as a warm diversion from the immensity of the game itself for however long of a period that players decide to dedicate toward it. Their progression is determined by how thoroughly players wish to explore the open world, and players are rewarded for this optional exploration and expenditure by having better items and playing pieces to use