Game:

Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

Duration: 2:01

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5

Baldur's Gate 3 has a lot of content, but the physical size of its playable areas is not actually all that remarkable when measured by the standards of what open world games are doing these days. For example, it doesn't hold a candle to Cyberpunk 2077 in terms of sheer size.

And yet, the maps of Baldur's Gate 3 occupy more space in my memory than the Night City of Cyberpunk 2077; and this might actually be precisely because they are so much smaller. When a game is defined by smaller spaces, and requires you to spend more time lingering and exploring and interacting with them, it can actually end up feeling a lot bigger than it is. And in some cases it can leave a bigger footprint in your mind.

I think that Larian Studios has known about this for a long time, because I actually first started thinking about this issue when I first played Divinity: Original Sin 2, and I was reminded after spending so much time in Baldur's Gate 3. The density of these games, combined with their smaller physical scope, has this effect of burning their blueprint into my mind! Whereas something like Cyberpunk 2077's Night City -- which, by the way, I still love -- exists in my mind as an amorphous jumble of images and moods. I'm not sure which of the two impressions is better, or for what situation; but it's something to think about, and makes you wonder whether going bigger is always better, even in cases like Night City where there don't seem to be too many apparent aesthetic compromises, because the atmosphere and look of that space is already up there with the best in the video game industry.

#baldursgate3 #larianstudios #cyberpunk2077 #rpg #cdprojektred #openworld

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