Summary
Open-world games might have once been immediately cringed at when mentioned, but game developers are continuously showing their dedication to the craft and fans by designing open worlds that don’t settle for the status quo. Recent open-world games — likeElden RingandZelda: Breath of the Wild— are all proof that it’s possible for a game to feature an open world that is both expansive and full of substantial, meaningful content. Among such titles,Elden Ringstands tall, with many today considering it to be the open-world benchmark. However, CD Projekt Red’sThe Witcher 4may have a chance to rivalElden Ringin the open-world department, if it plays its cards right.
Likely to the surprise of almost no one, especially afterThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s success,The Witcher 4has been confirmed to be an open-world game. WhileThe Witcher 3was far from a failure, even in its open world, it still fell short in some areas thatThe Witcher 4could not only improve on but also excel in to put it right up there in league withElden Ring.The Witcher 4likely already has storytelling going for it; now it just needs to decide how to best execute the design of its open world.
The Witcher 4’s Open World Could Surpass Elden Ring’s if It Tried
The Witcher 4 Could Introduce More Verticality in Its World
One thing thatElden Ringdoes brilliantly with its open world is its use of verticality to produce multi-layered exploration opportunities. Its world is filled with underground cities, hidden dungeons, and massive vertical traversal, making exploring every inch of the map a regularly fresh experience.Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLCthen took this aspect of open-world design to even greater heights, showing the full extent of what verticality is capable of when it comes to open-world exploration. In the same way,The Witcher 4could introduce more verticality to make its open world feel much larger than its borders even suggest.
The Witcher 4likely already has storytelling going for it; now it just needs to decide how to best execute the design of its open world.
There was some verticality inThe Witcher 3, but it was far fromwhatElden Ringachievedin its environmental design. For the most part,The Witcher 3was kept at ground level, with movement largely limited to ladders, scripted jumps, and traversal by horse. To counteract this,The Witcher 4could add more layers to its world by featuring more underground tunnels, sewers, and catacombs or allowing players to parkour on rooftops. Climbing mechanics could also be revamped to simultaneously suggest more vertical traversal, like climbing mountains or other structures.
The Witcher 4 Should Rely Less on Map Markers and Feature More Unique Points of Interest
As many open-world games have been known to do,The Witcher 3’s open worldfell victim to an abundance of map markers, which ultimately made its content feel more like a checklist of chores to do than anything else. This is one area whereElden Ringexcels, as it relies on curiosity-driven discovery rather than spoon-feeding its content to players. As such,The Witcher 4’s open world could rivalElden Ring’s if it reduced its reliance on quest markers and icons and instead directed players more through landmarks and environmental cues.
The art style ofElden Ring’s map is also another great method for piquing players' curiosity.
In summary, ifThe Witcher 4can refine its predecessor’s open-world design by embracing verticality and moving away from excessive map markers, it could stand alongsideElden Ringas one of theopen-world genre’s strongest examples. CD Projekt Red has already proven its ability to craft deeply immersive worlds and tell compelling stories, and with the lessons learned from bothThe Witcher 3and the evolution of open-world design, the next installment has the potential to be a major reboot for the franchise.
