Stellar Blade’s Map Size Compared To Nier: Automata

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is at least partially open-world, but the question of its map size is a little more complicated. 's director and developers are clearly drawing on a long tradition of action RPGs like. That means freely roamable open worlds, twisty-turny dungeons, and lots of secrets and side quests to be discovered in between. borrows genre conventions, like a perfect parry system, combo-based combat, and a meter that unlocks special attacks.

But at the same time, it strives to establish its own identity. Some games do so by attempting to provide the biggest, prettiest open world possible, while others keep their maps small, but fill them with well-crafted landmarks and lots of activity. So, which camp does fall into?

's map size is similar to 's, combining open overworld areas with more linear dungeons. However, where has just one large overworld and a series of smaller linear maps, actually has two medium-sized open-world areas, making it roughly the size of 's overworld. Each of these links to a series of more linear areas, unlocked sequentially as the story progresses. Each also includes a variety of side quests and optional side activities that players can tackle at will.

Nier: Automata and Stellar Blade also have some story similarities, as both are set on a post-apocalyptic Earth that has been largely abandoned since an alien takeover.

Another, more recent map size comparison would be. In , players unlock a series of planets as the story progresses. Each planet is ostensibly open-world, but features at least one large, linear area that must be completed in order to advance the plot. Each of 's open-world areas is about the size of a large planet, featuring several linear maps that, again, must be explored to move the story forward. The only major difference is that lacks side quests in the traditional sense, while includes plenty of them.

is not a true open-world game, but exploration is still a major part of its gameplay loop. The distinction is that 's entire map is