MMOs, RPGs, MMO-RPGs, there’s a nearly limitless combination that allows players to enthrall themselves in any given video game’s world. But one of my favorites is when the world leaves much more to the imagination for its players. Instead of giving away the horse and cart, allowing players to build the world’s lore in their own minds, lending imagination to how one plays the game. Most recently, no game has filled this void for me any more than ARC Raiders, a title that, while having its own lore and some solid train tracks for players to glide across in its parameters, still gives players the chance to play in its world the way that they want.
When I was in high school, I was absolutely obsessed with DayZ, a similar game in which players are dropped into a post-apocalyptic world with nothing and expected to make the world their own through its gameplay mechanics and players’ own imaginations. And while DayZ really never had lore to the world or much of a set gameplay loop like ARC’s loot-based survival gameplay, it still feels remincisnt to the freedom that’s given to the player.