Summary
- Some open-world games allow savvy players to beat the game in minutes by exploiting hidden mechanics or secret endings.
- Titles like "Breath of the Wild," "Far Cry 4," and "The Saboteur" offer creative ways to complete the game quickly.
- Players can bypass traditional gameplay by tactics such as challenging the final boss early, choosing peace, or breaking secret game mechanics.
Open-world games are often associated with sprawling maps, dozens of side quests, and main campaigns that stretch into the dozens or even hundreds of hours. However, a few titles buck that expectation in the most unexpected ways and let savvy gamers "beat" the whole game in a matter of minutes.
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The developers of these massive open-world games have tucked away secret endings, clever exploits, or optional choices that allow players to bypass the traditional experience and roll credits in record time, whether through a hidden mechanic, a well-placed decision, or knowing where to go and when. These open-world games can be finished almost instantly, at least by those who know the trick.
6 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Taking On The Beast Any Time
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
While Breath of the Wild encourages exploration and experimentation, players aren't technically required to follow its intended progression. From the very beginning, it's possible to make a beeline for Hyrule Castle and challenge Calamity Ganon. This isn't necessarily recommended, as the battle is brutally difficult without upgraded gear, hearts, or the help of the Divine Beasts.
However, it's not impossible, especially for those with speedrunning experience or a deep understanding of combat mechanics. The fact that the open-world's final boss can be put down when the player chooses (and if they have the skills) is a testament to Breath of the Wild's faith in the open-world game design model, and beating him from the get-go would be a testament to the player's skill.
5 Far Cry 4
Choosing Peace And Civility Over Violence
Far Cry 4
- Released
- November 18, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Open-World
Sometimes, a sprawling adventure filled with violence, explosions, and many, many climbable radio towers can all be avoided with a little civility and patience. During the opening of Far Cry 4, the protagonist is captured on his journey through their native Kyrat, where he is to scatter his mother's ashes, and sent to a fortified mansion.
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While they await Pagan Min, the eccentric king of Kyrat, players are given the chance to flee, inciting a lengthy open-world adventure. However, if the player just waits in good faith while he arranges transportation, they will be treated to a scene where Pagan Min personally assists in scattering the ashes and even recounts the family history before the credits roll.
4 The Saboteur
A Race To The Finish On The First Lap
The Saboteur
- Released
- December 8, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Open-World
Since World War 2, scholars and psychologists have been wrestling with just how an entire nation could be swept up by such a hateful ideology led by one charasmatic leader, generally concluding that the cultpret is not the work of a single man but the culmination of decades of dehumanizing rhetoric, economic ruination, and extremism. However, the Nazi stranglehold on The Saboteur's Paris, it seems, can be completely eliviated by eliminating one man.
Normally, this would happen at the end of the game, after hours of heroic acts of revolution, enthusiastic Nazi-slaying, and indeed, saboteur work. However, if the player is able to accrue enough perk points to unlock the machine gun attachment for the motor car, they will be able to kill the main baddie during the first thirty minutes in a car race, triggering a colorful ticker-tape parade in the City of Light.
3 The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
A Logical And Metaphysical Leap Of Destiny
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Released
- May 1, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Morrowind and the Elder Scrolls series in general are unusual in just how many approaches they offer players through their adventure while sustaining a highly detailed world filled with unadvertised secrets. One such secret is the fact that the main story boss and the tools needed to defeat them are out there in the world, waiting to be collected at any time.
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Granted, it would take some manipulation of glitches and extensive knowledge of Vvardenfell to reach them. Generally, the open-world game can be broken with a few scrolls of Icarian Flight (discovered minutes into the game), alchemy boosts, and good piloting skills (after being hurled into the sky by magic). The scrolls can be used to hop over boundaries to Keening, Sunder, and Dagoth Ur beyond the ghost fence.
2 Far Cry 5
Turning The Other Cheek, Again
Far Cry 5
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 80%
- Released
- March 27, 2018
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Open-World
During the opening of Far Cry 5, when the player is told to arrest cult leader, Father Joseph Seed, choosing to simply wait and do nothing triggers an alternate outcome. Law enforcement stands down, and the characters leave the compound peacefully. No war, no resistance, no chaos, just the title and credits.
Far Cry 5 was the second released Far Cry game in a row to teach that by leaving the untouchable archon at the top to their own evil devices, everything will be fine (which is strange or illuminating, depending on a person's insights into how the "triple-A" video game sausage is made), which might prompt players to think of their own culpability in the violence and mayhem.
1 The Outer Wilds
Out Of The Wilderness With The Illumination Of Knowledge
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Unlike other open-world games, Outer Wilds isn't about accumulating loot or unlocking new powers, but uncovering knowledge. The entire game world resets every 22 minutes, forcing the player to piece together a cosmic mystery. Once the solution is known, there’s nothing stopping an experienced player from flying straight to the final sequence and completing the game in a single loop.
What takes most players hours (or even days) of real-time exploration can be bypassed in under half an hour by those who already understand the mechanics and puzzle logic, or sheer dumb luck. There is even an achievement for completing the game in a single cycle, but it is best experienced after completing the game as intended.
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