You mentioned Legend of Zelda, and I just played through Ocarina of Time and Master Quest. Even a few years after its release, I remember people both praising and complaining that Hyrule Field was so open. The praise generally came from people who liked the horseback riding/archery while the complaints were of a lack of things to do over such a large area. That game also expanded upon the flute from A Link to the Past by creating shortcuts between areas, giving you multiple ways to avoid using the hub to travel. Unless you’re trying to travel to Gerudo Valley/Gerudo Fortress, if you don’t think you’ve got a reason to visit Hyrule Field, you eventually don’t have to go through it. This time through, I didn’t bother with the Big Poe sidequest (there’s no difference between original and Master Quest there), and I saved all the grottoes for after Link could traverse it rapidly and unimpeded. I got more entertainment out of the puzzles in the dungeons. But, I also remember where nearly every secret is in that field. If the field were large enough, eventually, I wouldn’t be able to remember where everything was. That said, I haven’t gone back to hunt for sunken chests in Wind Waker.
Spider-Man 2 was probably the first game where I thought traveling through a large area was an integral part of the experience. “Funiculì, Funiculà” will be in my head for a very long time thanks to the pizza deliveries. Ultimate Spider-Man was much the same, but it wasn’t fun to try to web swing through the suburbs (I approved of Spider-Man: Homecoming’s portrayal of that). I wouldn’t rely on that knowledge to navigate actual New York City, but it really started to feel like a place and for better and for worse you could feel like Spider-Man. I also think the mission-based nature of those games helped me to complete them. The Elder Scrolls is too much of a sandbox for me to complete. I found in Morrowind I spent all of my time reading the books, trying to absorb the lore. Contrast this to Mass Effect where the lore is still massive but unlocked and centralized, I’ve completed the trilogy numerous times, and I have opinions about where the lore didn’t match the game development needs. I won’t be joining them, but I appreciate the people who are able to make their own goals and narratives in Skyrim and stick to them.
