Summary
Balance is one of the most difficult parts of game design, especially for those set in an open world. On the one hand, jank can rip a player right out of the experience orfrustrate them into quitting. On the other hand, finding exploits or glitches can be one of the most memorable and enjoyable parts of playing a video game.
With this realization, some studios have begun leaving certain fun bugs in their game for players to enjoy, or even building whole games around breakability. Whether through creative mechanics or developer oversights, these are the open-world games that are the most fun to break.
AlthoughThe Bloodlineis still in early access, this open-world sandbox continues to demonstrate an “everything but the kitchen sink” and “implement now, polish later” design philosophy, resulting in a chaotic gameplay buffet. There are too many activities to count, all packaged as minigames, and all of them are optional.
Learnable spells and skills that completely break the game’s physics or balance can be found plentifully around the worlds, and mixed with thecompletely bombastic open-world movement mechanics(wall running, grappling hooks, and magical jet boosting). While it seems as though three bugs get added for every one crazy new feature, they can lead to some hilarious situations with the right mindset.
Not quite pets but not quite fearsome beasts, goats come with plenty of inherent comedic potential. If it weren’t obvious from the title alone,Goat Simulator 3is something of anopen-world, physics-simulator parody gameborne out of glitch-oriented game design. Namely, if a glitch was funny, it was apparently allowed to stay in.
The second installment in theGoatseries perfects the jank and makes clipping, ragdolling, and physics exploits a part of the gameplay. Every system inGoat Simulator 3feels like it’s one step away from completely falling apart, but that’s exactly the appeal.
TheWatch_Dogsseries seems to have been conceived asGrand Theft Autobut with cheats as part of the gameplay, at least when it comes to hacking infrastructure and tech, making cities playgrounds for hackers to manipulate them and their central operating system.Watch_Dogs: Legiontook a massive leap into sandbox gameplay by making every Londoner a potential playable character with their own skills and equipment.
If balancing anopen-world game with so many playable characterssounds impossible, it pretty much is. That said, most of the fun inLegioncomes from finding the most optimal methods for completing missions or the most unconventional operatives for the resistance (grannies, dog walkers, beekeepers, etc.), although most of them involve a rideable cargo drone and spider droids.
In terms of balance, theFalloutseries has always been slightly more tied down balance-wise than its sibling RPG series, TheElder Scrolls, besides the glitches that its adopted parent, Bethesda, is still known for today. That may have something to do withFallouthaving a skill point allocation system as opposed to theusage-based skill leveling system, and an absence of world-breaking magic.
However,Fallout 4introduced the settlement system and with it a small village of exploits. Besides players happily discovering a slew of workarounds for their impossible builds, settlements offer players a way to farm healing items and develop extremely powerful and durable weapons and armor very early on. Of course, the rest of the world is also full of exploitable secrets, such as fast-travel tricks and the respawning money bag at the Lexington Super Duper Mart.
IfBreath of the Wildwas theZeldaseries' first foray into emergent sandbox gameplay,Tears of the Kingdomtook a high dive (probably from one of the floating islands) into full-blown systemic chaos. Every new ability, most notably Ultrahand, Fuse, and Ascend, was designed with layered interactions in mind, allowing players to not just solve puzzles, but sidestep or completely rewire them.
Players can construct bee-powered weapons, mad vehicles, flamethrowers, working engines of war, andHyrulian mech suitsto take down the Demon King and his minions.TotKdoesn’t just tolerate rule-breaking, it encourages it with the aim of blurring the line between player and developer. For example, Ascend was originally a developer tool that Nintendo left for fans to use themselves.
To the uninitiated,Minecraft’s worlds may seem as stable as a gravity-defying LEGO set. However, redstone changes all that byallowing players to create useful contraptionswith repeaters, comparators, pistons, observers, slime blocks, and other objects that allow for flying machines, item farms, elevators, rocket launchers, teleporters, drills that can cut through unbreakable bedrock, and so much more.
Some players have even gone as far as building workable calculators, computers, and even ways to run and project other video games insideMinecraft. Entire YouTube careers have been launched on finding new ways to exploit redstone, and the exciting prospect for many creativeMinecraftfans is that not every discovery or invention has yet been made.
Exploitable mechanics have been with The Elder Scrolls series from as far back asDaggerfall, when players were given the option to craft their own spells or design a completely broken character from the start.Morrowindfamously gives players access to game-breaking alchemy, andSkyrim’s blacksmithing and alchemy follow in the same suit. However,The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionremaster (which, to the delight of longtime fans, preserved most of the original bugsand even added a few fresh ones) brings the best balance-destroying potential and an optimal level of jank.
This is thanks to the spellmaking and sigil features, as well as the hilarious ragdoll physics system. For example, mages can create spells that make the target vulnerable to fire and set an intense burst of flame on them for a single second, killing them instantly. Sigil stones allow players to create a set of armor that turns them completely invisible and impervious to consequences. Tricks like holding up a pitcher to create an invincible shield for arrows still work, and instantly ragdolling enemies upon their death is still as amusing as it was in 2006 whenOblivionwas first released.
