I don’t mean the game as a whole has to be bad, just the open world aspects of it.
Halo Infinite. More of a hub world than an open world and it didn’t need to be in the game to begin with. The campaign could have been linear. Nothing in the open world matters one fucking bit and was pretty empty.
Starfield.
I feel like the only open world games that understand what is to be open world is those that value freedom, wherever you go is the right way, so: Bethesda RPGs, Zelda breath of the wild and tears of the Kingdom, and Elden Ring.
Fallout: New Vegas is the absolute epitome of an open world imo
How does Elden Ring value freedom, you get clapped whenever you stray into a high level area.
Starfield … that’s my take … Bethesda failed in it
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst.
Burnout Paradise.
LA Noire.