Wow, there sure are a lot of open-world video games out there, huh? In the last decade or so, open-world games have truly flooded consoles and PC marketplaces. And while some of these games aren’t great, many are solid or even good, and so you might want to play them. But getting through these games can be a real pain in the ass. Let me help.
For my job here at Kotaku, I often have to play through a big open-world game in a week or so and then turn around and do it again soon after. How do I do it? I have some tips and rules I follow that have served me well over the years, and I’m going to share those with you. Hopefully, I can help you chew through some open-world games that have been sitting on your backlog for a few years now.
Only play one open-world game at a time
This is a rule that I sometimes break because my job forces me to do so, but by and large, I stick to this one as much as possible, and it serves me well. You might think, “Hey, if I play four different open-world games at once, I can finish them all faster!” And perhaps that will work for you. But for me, and I think most folks, balancing four big open-world games at the same time is only going to slow you down. Having to keep all the different control schemes, narratives, mechanics, and progression systems in your brain for just one open-world game can be a lot. Doing that for three or four or five games is just too much.
Another problem is motivation. Being able to see your progress towards completion move up in chunks after each session in the same game will probably keep you going more effectively than barely chipping away at five different games at the same time. And trust me, a big part of completing open-world games is motivation.
Don’t take long breaks between play sessions
Taking small breaks of a day or two between big play sessions of your current open-world game is fine. In fact, it will help you avoid getting burned out and let you play other (non-open-world) games, read some books, watch movies, go outside, etc. Small breaks are good and useful. Especially breaks from video games completely.
But if you walk away from a big game like Assassin’s Creed or Elder Scrolls for a week or two, it will be much harder to hop back in. You’ll feel rusty, won’t remember what you were doing or in the middle of, and might even convince yourself not to return at all. And while it’s totally cool to stop playing a game, you clicked on this to get tips on how to finish these big games, and giving yourself time to move on is counterproductive.
Instead, shake up what you do during sessions
Here’s an example: I recently finished Ghost of Yotei. I really enjoyed the game, but sometimes I returned to it and didn’t really feel excited to play more. On these nights, instead of giving up, I would go do something totally different from completing missions or taking on side quests.
One night, I picked a part of the map I had mostly avoided and explored it with the goal of fully uncovering it from under the fog of war. Another time, I focused on taking out bounty targets. And yet another session I spent tracking down more hot springs to increase my max health. These sessions still chipped away at the game, but also helped me avoid getting burned out and giving up on Yotei. And I’m happy I stuck with it, because that game wrapped up nicely.
Don’t ignore the main questline
Everyone jokes about never finishing Skyrim because they focused on the side content. It’s a very relatable bit of humor, because there’s some truth to it. If you focus only on all the side content in a big open-world game, you’ll likely find yourself moving on before the credits roll. So instead, do what I do and eat your digital vegetables. Make it a point to either start or end every session by completing a part of the game’s main questline.
This will not only help you reach the “end” sooner, but it will also move the overall narrative and status of the world forward in most big open-world games. Following the main quest will also help you unlock new features, weapons, areas, and so forth, and that can help fight burnout in the long run. Even in games where the main questline is boring or bland, try to knock out a mission or two each time you play. It’s good for you. Just like broccoli.
But don’t only do main quests either
It can be easy to go, “Well, the fastest way to finish an open-world game is to just do the main quests!” But focusing exclusively on that “golden path” can cause its own problems. For one, you might find yourself underleveled in some games and struggling to complete missions. You might also miss out on whole areas of the map that are filled with valuable loot and powerful weapons worth grabbing. And, as mentioned already, doing the same thing in every session can quickly burn you out. So eat your vegetables, but also have some pizza and ice cream, too, okay? You deserve it. This is a long game. Make sure you’re having fun with it!
I give you permission to look things up
I can’t do this when reviewing a game as it’s not out yet, but when playing open-world games after launch, I totally look up answers to tricky puzzles or annoying bosses. These games can take a long, long time to finish, even if you skip stuff and focus on always making progress. Wasting two hours on a boss fight or a frustratingly obtuse puzzle room can not only slow you down, it can kill your motivation to keep going. And as I said before, completing these big games is all about keeping your motivation to do so alive and well. So to that end, look shit up. It’s fine, I’m not judging you. The only people who will are assholes, and frankly, who cares what they think?
But then put that phone away
I know, I just told you to look things up, and you likely did so on your phone. However, once you have the answer you need, put that thing away. When pushing through an open-world game, a phone can offer a lifeline to something else. Phones offer you a chance to chat with friends, doomscroll on BlueSky, or watch some quick videos. The problem is that these tiny distractions can yank you away more and more during an open-world gaming session, and before you know it, the night has mostly been you sitting in front of a pause menu laughing at TikTok or reading shit on social media. Focus up, M. You got a game to finish!
Lastly, know when to tap out
For those open-world games that I don’t have to play for work, I tend to use a three-strike system. If I don’t enjoy my time with the game in three different consecutive sessions playing it, I bounce. This tip won’t help you finish that particularly annoying or bad open-world game, but it will free you up to focus on open-world games you might actually enjoy and finish. Also, keep a lookout for signs you are checking out. If you notice that you spend a lot of time wandering but not doing anything, you might be ready to move on and spend your limited time in a different big game.
Ultimately, you can force yourself to play 50 hours of something and maybe finish it over the course of two months and hate every moment, or you can give a game three chances and if it fails, move on and enjoy your life. For me, that’s an easy choice to make.
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