Summary
While many games that set themselves in an open world environment focus on creating a wide open space, many of them don’t really utilize verticality in allowing players freedom over various levels of height. Many open-world games focus on height only as an obstacle that players have to climb over, as opposed to finding other fun ways to use a dynamically-shaped map.
Related:Games That Laid The Foundation For Open-World Design
However, there are a variety of open-world games that make much better use of height, proving that it can work in different but excellent ways. There are a number of fascinating options for giving large open-world games a great sense of verticality.
7Grand Theft Auto 5
Grand Theft Autohas always been ahead of the industry when it comes to open worlds, producing some of the best and most recognizable locations and maps in gaming history. The most recent entry,Grand Theft Auto 5,kept this going and produceda fully-realized version of Los Angelesthrough the fictional Los Santos, which was built with some beautiful verticality options.
RELATED:Open-World Games Inspired By Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto
Players, through the use of planes and parachutes, can do some wondrous things inGrand Theft Auto 5. The open world is very freeing, and with a number of levels to various roads in the game, there are some crazy options while driving to boot. This all means that players can do some insanely fun things that really add to the overall game and the content which can be found within.
6Only Up!
A game that has gained a lot of popularity recently,Only Up!is a hugely enraging game that has been irritating players as many streamers and content creators online attempt to speed-run the gamesince they can’t save at any point.Only Up!is set in an open world where the player has to climb through various strange objects as the player character attempts to set out and start a new life away from the Favela where they were born.
Though it is a climbing game with not much else to do, the open-world nature ofOnly Up!helps it set itself apart from other climbing games by hiding so many objects across the map. This has widened the interest among streamers in particular, as they search for quicker and quicker ways to climb up the map to the very top as quickly as possible. ThoughOnly Up!is all about verticality, the boldness of blending a climbing game with such an open world is fascinating and has become hugely successful.
5Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Asylumand laterBatman: Arkham Cityin particular out of theBatmangames have produced a great deal of fun through their use of verticality. Instead of just allowing players to uselessly float about as Batman at times, the games allow players to make height an important part of combat throughout. The open-ended nature ofArkham Cityis wonderful fun and set a standard for the superhero game genrewith a beautifully filled open-world map.
Players can control Batman and float down onto their enemies to attack them or use the grapple gun to hide up high and navigate areas in stealthier manners. The variety that the game’s verticality gives combat keeps it fresh and allows players to find new ways to play, with is what open-world games are supposed to be all about.
4Minecraft
One of the ultimate open-world sandbox games,Minecraftfeatures theultimate open-world with particularly unique graphics, and the map is larger than most video game maps in existence.Minecraftis the best-selling video game of all time for a reason, and that reason is the complete freedom it offers players who can build whatever they like.
Related:Games With Unique Crafting Systems
Minecraftis also notable for items like Elytra, which players can gain and use to fly around the map. Alternatively, players can easily build their way up with any blocks and get far into the sky. Whether it is for the purpose of building, climbing mountains or just seeing the world from a different angle, the vertical options inMinecraftare limitless and amazing.
3Marvel’s Spider-Man
With a sequel well on the way that promises more open-world freedoms and powers, the first InsomniacSpider-Mangame can easily be called a huge success andone of the best PlayStation exclusives ever. The open-world New York City was an amazingly designed map with plenty to do on it, and players found the verticality to be one of the very best aspects of all.
While playing as Peter Parker and fighting his enemies was an excellent part of the game, the aspect that both players and critics commented on and praised the most was actually the web-swinging aspect. Players were able to jump off buildings and catch themselves with Spider-Man’s web, swinging cleanly around the city and landing on top of unsuspecting enemies. In some ways similar to theBatman Arkhamgames,Spider-Manactually managed to add verticality as an important part of stealth combat as well.
2Crackdown
Crackdownwas originally envisioned as having a similar style of open-world, third-person shooter toMercenaries. While the open-world city and the violence were retained, there was a much better sense of verticality throughoutCrackdownthan in any similar games, part of the reasonfans are still hoping for a remake today.
The plot ofCrackdowninvolved the player character taking down three different crime lords, and the destructible environment was a huge highlight for many players, but the heights of different buildings being varied across the city made for a lot of fun aspects that players still remember well.Crackdownremains praised as the best entry in a franchise that never quite took off like it could have.
1Assassin’s Creed
Every game in theAssassin’s Creedfranchise does amazing things with verticality andit can be hard to rank them all. From the very first entry, verticality was made significant in stealth-based combat. Players were able to hide on rooftops, parkour up and down buildings, and gallop about cities in ways that were almost unique for the video gaming industry when the first game was released.
The franchise has continued to develop and change the ways in which players can interact with various objects and buildings in the open-world environments of the franchise, but the originalAssassin’s Creedgames were far ahead of their time in terms of verticality.
