SunBroDave
Member
For many reasons, the beginning of a game is usually the most restrictive and least fun part of the whole experience. This could be because the game has to spend time slowly introducing the player to new mechanics, or because the game is more concerned with establishing context and story before letting the player loose, or many other reasons. Notorious examples of these sorts of games include most 3D Zelda games, the Assassin's Creed games, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Dishonored 1, and Kingdom Hearts 2.
However, some games are fun from the very first moment you get control of the character. Games like Doom 2016 and Breath of the Wild treat the first hour like a vertical slice, giving the player a good taste of the gameplay loop and what makes the particular game interesting and fun.
Mafia 3 is an interesting case in that the beginning is practically the best part of the whole game, due to the speed at which it delivers story beats and cinematic moments. It's after the first two hours when the narrative bits starting coming much less frequently that the game begins to crumble under the weight of it's monotonous gameplay loop.
What are some more examples of games that absolutely NAIL the beginning?
However, some games are fun from the very first moment you get control of the character. Games like Doom 2016 and Breath of the Wild treat the first hour like a vertical slice, giving the player a good taste of the gameplay loop and what makes the particular game interesting and fun.
Mafia 3 is an interesting case in that the beginning is practically the best part of the whole game, due to the speed at which it delivers story beats and cinematic moments. It's after the first two hours when the narrative bits starting coming much less frequently that the game begins to crumble under the weight of it's monotonous gameplay loop.
What are some more examples of games that absolutely NAIL the beginning?
