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[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I wouldn't mind an open world game since the world is so interesting, but if the story is told organically similar to dark souls I'd love that. But open world in the style of a shadows of the colossus instead of a Ubisoft open world I think works better for the fiction.

Agreed with this.

This will be a game heavy on narrative, it's not going to be an open world. I bet it will be like The Last Of Us 2 and try and given the impression the world is more open than it actually is

Hopefully better than TLOU2 did, which only had the opening section that was semi-open world'ish and then immediately went very linear for every other section.

Actually I hope it does a lot of things better than TLOU2 did; no subverting expectations just for the hell of it, no disrespectful deaths of a beloved protagonist from the last game, no piles of sloppy flashback sequences to try telling the story, some more notable game mechanic innovations that are immediately noticeable being the main ones.

 

[Warablo]

They can turn this IP into a decent competitor with God of War. Which I hope they do.

 

[TheGodfather07]

go with wide linear. theres just too many open world games. some games dont need to be open world. they actually benefit from being more linear and focused.

 

[jezhumphrey75]

They should cancel this and make another Bleeding Edge

i know your joking but my god what a flop that was.

 

[sainraja]

Sounds like a terrible idea, keep it linear and cinematic, I want to be told a story, with better puzzles and less/better/completely different combat.

I loved hearing the story of those mental bastards, I really iked the portrayal of the "baddie".

Same. If they do make it open world, I really hope it's not like a Ubisoft open world game. I don't think we need more open world games, we just need more linear games that give us a little more freedom in how we can approach a scenario. The Last of Us 2 did a pretty good job with that, not that Hellblade needs to do the same thing exactly. I like Ninja Theory's games. Loved what they did with DMC. The only game of theirs that I didn't play through or like that much was Enslaved.

 

[abacab driver]

It would be seen as a direct counter to Horizon on PS

Hellblade makes much more sense as a God of War counter than Horizon

WhyNotBoth.gif

 

[Team Andromeda]

Actually I hope it does a lot of things better than TLOU2 did; no subverting expectations just for the hell of it, no disrespectful deaths of a beloved protagonist from the last game, no piles of sloppy flashback sequences to try telling the story, some more notable game mechanic innovations that are immediately noticeable being the main ones.

I can't see it being much more open than Last of Us 2 myself. Sure the SSD and more power can make a bigger world, but there's going to be a massive focus on narrative driving the game and story, rather than player choice

 

[xrnzaaas]

Open world would kill a lot of my hype for this game. Some games just work best as linear experiences. I hope that Plague Tale 2 will also remain linear and heavily narrative driven.

 

[rofif]

Hope not

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I can't see it being much more open than Last of Us 2 myself. Sure the SSD and more power can make a bigger world, but there's going to be a massive focus on narrative driving the game and story, rather than player choice

Yeah, at most I can see them doing like what TLOU2 did in its opening section, but for more areas of the game and making the sections denser (more things to do in them, be it combat, puzzles, sandbox exploration or things related to story/lore to observe). Which would be very sufficient.

You can control narrative flow while still giving a bit more things to do, but think sandbox vs. open-world in that respect.

 

[manfestival]

Thumbs down to the idea of this going open world. I really loved the production and design of the first game.

 

[Team Andromeda]

Yeah, at most I can see them doing like what TLOU2 did in its opening section, but for more areas of the game and making the sections denser (more things to do in them, be it combat, puzzles, sandbox exploration or things related to story/lore to observe). Which would be very sufficient.

You can control narrative flow while still giving a bit more things to do, but think sandbox vs. open-world in that respect.

Yeah exactly. I guess they may do a Gears Of War V and have the odd open like level, but where almost all the game is linear. I think Hellbalde 2 will be to MS what God of War is to SONY. Incredible looking game, nice combat but a massive focus on story and narrative

Can't wait. I love Ninja Theory, so wish I had the skill set to work for them.

 

[Hestar69]

this... but also the fighting system has to be more robust. The first one was so braindead, I played through it on the highest difficulty and died maybe twice, because the fighting system was so limited, the enemies had to be designed in a way that compliments this very simple system, so all the fights were really REALLY simple.

that scene Gameplay SPOILERS FOLLOW where swarms of enemies storm you and you're supposed to lose... I found out that I have to lose there after like fucking 10min because it was so easy to survive like... they threw the hardest shit at you they could think of, and it was super easy ON THE HIGHEST DIFFICULTY to survive because the gameplay was so simple lol

HAHAHAH same! I was like WTF is going on...then I figured out why lol


OT I don't mind if they make it open world and fix up the combat some.I LOVED hellblade 1 and I hope what ever they do, it's just as good as the first if not better.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

Interesting, it would make sense. It would be seen as a direct counter to Horizon on PS, if so. Just speculation but I think that's a potentially good observation. I'd love to see it personally.

Fable will probably be Xbox’s answer to Horizon II.

 

[Pedro Motta]

Just make the gameplay good. The first one stinks.

 

[Pedro Motta]

Agreed with this.



Hopefully better than TLOU2 did, which only had the opening section that was semi-open world'ish and then immediately went very linear for every other section.

Actually I hope it does a lot of things better than TLOU2 did; no subverting expectations just for the hell of it, no disrespectful deaths of a beloved protagonist from the last game, no piles of sloppy flashback sequences to try telling the story, some more notable game mechanic innovations that are immediately noticeable being the main ones.

Lol, better than TLOU2, now that’s a tall order.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Your going to summon Nessie with all that screaming.

 

[Andodalf]

Fable will probably be Xbox’s answer to Horizon II.

And avowed

 

[Plantoid]

My take: I didn't like the first game, gameplay was bad, boring puzzles...

They should revamp the gameplay, scrap the puzzles, the tech is good and the setting is awesome, but without good gameplay...

 

[abacab driver]

Fable will probably be Xbox’s answer to Horizon II.

Nah, the Horizon and God Of War comparisons with Hellblade 2 will be inevitable.

I mean..third person, female protagonist with dreadlocks + Norse mythology setting + mature content + cinematic art direction + sword/blade action...it is what it is.

But if it has the kind of showing I think it will have at The Game Awards, that conversation will be had.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Sounds good. I like open world games I can do my own thing.

Oh wait, you start the game.......

"Uhhh.... my head is spinning. Which way do I go? North? South? Wait, I'm getting a dream right now which I cant skip.... a ghost (or maybe it's my imaginary friend?" says follow the direction of the wooden sign"

Looks at wooden sign and it points saying [New Town is 10 miles away SW]

"New Town? What's that? I cant think straight. Is it new? Is it a town? How many kilometers is 10 miles? My head is spinning. It's getting dark. Should I sleep and start my trek in the morning? Or should I start now and make camp after a few miles? I remember as a child walking 2 miles to find water at night and it was ok. So I think starting now is ok too"

You walk 1 mile SW

"Ok, I made it safely through about a mile so far. Oh shit, I'm getting another bipolar dream state I can't avoid. I'm getting whispers to camp for the night because if I go 2 miles, a demon will jump out from the woods, what should I do?"

 

[Snowdonhoffen]

The main focus, and the best thing, about the first game was the story. I'm not sure if they will be able to have the same impact as they did but I'm intrigued. I just hope they don't do an open world game just to say "the bigger, the better", a lot of people loved the first one for being a linear narrative driven experience so I don't know how much good an open world can make for this game.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Interesting, it would make sense. It would be seen as a direct counter to Horizon on PS, if so. Just speculation but I think that's a potentially good observation. I'd love to see it personally.

The fuck does this have to do with Horizon? They are completely different games with different worlds, different gameplay styles, and entirely different thematic elements. Its like comparing BotW to Brutal Legend.

 

[Ceadeus]

That would be neat, i'm really curious about how the game will look and play

 

[Dr Bass]

The fuck does this have to do with Horizon? They are completely different games with different worlds, different gameplay styles, and entirely different thematic elements. Its like comparing BotW to Brutal Legend.

That was a pretty old post but you don’t see how turning Hellblade into an open world game with a “tribal” looking female lead would draw comparisons to Horizon? I’d bet you money it will.

But what’s with the rage and anger? Relax.

 

[The Eradicator]

Fable will probably be Xbox’s answer to Horizon TheyII.

Wondering at these comments comparing different games to Horizon. Did you play Horizon? How is Fable or Hellblade even remotely comparable? Three wildly different games.
Besides, Halo Infinite is Xbox's answer to Gran Turismo

 

[The Eradicator]

That was a pretty old post but you don’t see how turning Hellblade into an open world game with a “tribal” looking female lead would draw comparisons to Horizon? I’d bet you money it will.

If that's where your comparison begin and end, then yeah. Uh, female, tribal hair, same game! That's quite the stretch to make, especially since both IPs have pretty obvious things that make them stand apart from each other, and even the rest of the industry tbh.

 

[Vaelka]

Why does every big title ever need to be open world?

 

[NeonGhost]

Sounds like this game isn’t coming out till 2024

 

[Shmunter]

Why does every big title ever need to be open world?

Once you open that bag, it’s hard for devs to put things back it seems. Seems prior gens tech limitations were somewhat of a driving force for linear focused games.

Now everything needs to be bigger and bigger, 90h of gameplay or you’re not competitive or some shit.

Yeah, not for me.

 

[abacab driver]

If that's where your comparison begin and end, then yeah. Uh, female, tribal hair, same game!

Eh, come on now..its not that serious.

There are many people who get lots of attention/clicks/traction on social media and YouTube by comparing stuff like Halo Infinites beta to The Last of Us 2.

Like it or not, people are going to compare Hellblade 2 with Horizon Forbidden West and GOW Ragnarok..particularly because it's a 3rd person cinematic game.
Just like people compare Forza Horizon 5 to Gran Turismo 7 (or Driveclub to Forza series) even though have different focuses..they're in the same genre.

People will compare dreadlock physics (lol). People will compare the detail on tattered clothing. Rock textures. Cave lighting. The way swords clang together during combat. Character models. Animation. All that shit. It's just gonna happen.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Why does every big title ever need to be open world?

Once you open that bag, it’s hard for devs to put things back it seems. Seems prior gens tech limitations were somewhat of a driving force for linear focused games.

Now everything needs to be bigger and bigger, 90h of gameplay or you’re not competitive or some shit.

Yeah, not for me.

Shmunter is correct.

Once it's offered, it's assumed it's a standard feature. The floor has been set. It can only get bigger and better from here.

Look what happens in shooters or sports games when a dev takes away a mode from last years game. Some can go ape shit.

How often has an open world game gotten smaller? I don't know. I'm sure it's happened. But it sure seems the trend is bigger. Such an important factor the studio might even say it's xxx bigger than the last game. 3x bigger, more square miles etc... It's a big time promotional bullet point.

If a dev came out and said to gamers they are making a new sequel for launch years from now. You choose. Bigger and bland. Or smaller, but more jam packed. I wouldnt be surprised if more people choose bigger. For me, it's got to a point I'd rather have smaller and more interesting things to do. I had my fill playing Fallouts and Skyrims to death, but ya it's sure repetitive and I didn't even clear the whole map. Never mind completionists who did it, but how many gamers even come close to finishing "most" quests and locations? Probably like 2%. Most either didn't finish the game, or they beat the game completing only a modest amount of the map.

 

[Topher]

I prefer open world games to linear so yeah, I'm all for this.

 

[april6e]

Good. The game has much more potential as a God of War sort of game.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I prefer linear or even semi-open world over full open world especially for this game, so this is disappointing if factual. Hopefully it’s not gigantic, drags on and bloated like the majority open world games are. I’m getting tired of open world especially since it seemingly creeps into literally all games these days that don’t even need to be open world. We’ll see what happens.

 

[Hoppa]

Doubt it's open world but more linear like GoW. They've made those types of games before with Heavenly Sword and Enslaved so it makes sense. Yeah definitely get rid of the puzzles, those weren't fun.

 

[Negotiator101]

Doubt it's open world but more linear like GoW. They've made those types of games before with Heavenly Sword and Enslaved so it makes sense. Yeah definitely get rid of the puzzles, those weren't fun.

I thought the puzzles were by and large well done. Obviously people want it to have a more action oriented approach and that would be good but don't remove the puzzles entirely.

 

[fallingdove]

Lame. Really tired of the open world formula.

I wasn’t a fan of the original Hellblade but I felt like pacing/story-telling were among the strongest parts. That goes away when you are exploring random parts of the map and running from one icon to another.

Microsoft really going all in on this GaaS thing. If you are part of MGS, you’ve got to either be making an open world WRPG or a multiplayer shooter. Soooo excited for the future of games.

 

[Bramble]

Probably Open World-ish like the first one, but expanded.

Like the first one? Perhaps it opened more towards the end game, but what I played was completely linear.

 

[Hobbygaming]

There's only a handful of open world games that feel right or manage to keep things interesting

The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Days Gone come to mind

I think Hellblade 2 should stay linear

 

[GymWolf]

I think something like gow2018 or smaller would be more realistic.

 

[Dr. Claus]

That was a pretty old post but you don’t see how turning Hellblade into an open world game with a “tribal” looking female lead would draw comparisons to Horizon? I’d bet you money it will.

But what’s with the rage and anger? Relax.

Rage and anger? Nothing. Incredulous disbelief at the blatant console warring? Everything.

 

[DAHGAMING]

Ride that fucking horse

 

[abacab driver]

Microsoft really going all in on this GaaS thing.

Hellblade 2 wont be a GaaS.

If you are part of MGS, you’ve got to either be making an open world WRPG or a multiplayer shooter.

Huh? Explain.

 

[Danjin44]

What western devs are not doing open world these days.....it has became the default choice for level design.

 

[fallingdove]

Hellblade 2 wont be a GaaS.



Huh? Explain.

I should have said SaaS (in reference to GamePass). If you look at the games that Microsoft has announced, they are nearly all multiplayer driven shooters or 60+ hour open world RPGs. If GamePass is at the center of everything Xbox is doing (I think there are enough of an indication that it is), its no wonder why they are focused on the first party games that they are as opposed to 6 hour platformers that offer little incentive to stay subscribed to GamePass over a long period of time.

 

[ResilientBanana]

They should cancel this and make another Bleeding Edge

Can't say there were too many people playing Bleeding Edge to form an opinion about the game.

 

[Edgelord79]

Enjoyed the first one. Can't wait to try this one regardless of whether it's open world or not. Not all open worlds are created equal so they can be good if done right.

 

[THEAP99]

I doubt it tbh. They're still a smaller studio and this a smaller scale franchise. We don't need everything to be open-world and I was under the impression that Ninja Theory was going to try to be Microsoft's Naughty Dog: strictly linear densely detailed experiences.
First game was totally fine as linear, we need more linear games