5 great open-world games with bad driving mechanics

Driving, the least enjoyable aspect of many open-world games, or is it? (Images via Square Enix and Sony)
Driving, the least enjoyable aspect of many open-world games, or is it? (Images via Square Enix and Sony)

For those who swear by open-world video games, there is a good chance that the low point of an otherwise high octane experience has always been the driving. In a dynamic living world where you can do whatever you want to do, driving becomes something you absolutely have to do.

The tedious task of getting from point A to B does allow for more interactions with the environment but often feels burdensome. This isn't helped by the fact that the vehicles function weirdly, and by the time players reach their destination, their vehicle looks like it has just completed a Deathrace.

Most readers would agree that other than a few missions, the focus is never on driving in open-world games. That's probably why most developers don't put effort into making the driving experience like Forza. Expecting the same is impractical.

However, if the bare minimum requirements are not met, players are left with a bad driving experience. With that being said, it's time to look at some great open-world games where driving is the least enjoyable activity.

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5 open-world games where driving is the worst thing to do

5) Just Cause 3

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At the top of the list is the Just Cause franchise, where the protagonist's signature style is to use a wingsuit to get around (probably that's why the vehicles steer like crazy).

Users have termed the driving mechanics as 'rage inducing' due to sensitive controls where the difference between a high-intensity chase and a multi-barrel-roll crash is a slim margin of error.

Roads often feel too slippery (probably to simulate perennial rainfall in that part of the world), and players always end up oversteering into tight corners. This arises a lot because the camera takes a second longer to change into the direction of the turn. It causes people to realize too late that they have already turned as much as was necessary.

Vehicles feel extremely slow and sluggish at low speeds, but at high speeds, they become super sensitive and twitchy. Combine these factors, and it's easy to understand why most gamers detest the game's driving.

It's best not to talk about motorcycles as nobody knows how they work. For a title that is all about 'edge-of-the-seat' action and break-neck speed, inconsistent driving mechanics feel "Just Cause."


4) Watch Dogs

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On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's a game that was initially planned as a driving simulator but later changed into an open-world project. The problem of Watch Dogs wasn't that the driving mechanics felt arcadey but that it was too detailed and required a level of precision akin to simulator titles.

However, this proved to be a bane instead of a boon. Paying so much attention to driving becomes a little tough when players have to simultaneously hack traffic lights, shoot at others, and stay away from the cops.

Gamers quickly felt overwhelmed by the core physics and often lost control of their vehicles while trying to do one too many things at once. Obviously, mastering the mechanics of driving over time feels pretty rewarding.

However, there is a thin line between the amount of effort the average gamer considers to be worthwhile and what counts as absolutely frustrating. Driving in Watch Dogs manages to hold on to that line by the fingertips.

This was a well-accepted fact by the team, and the senior producer admitted to it later in an interview. The developers learned from their mistakes and made the driving mechanics in Watch Dogs 2 feel more arcadey and require lesser attention from players.


3) Sleeping Dogs

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Considering Sleeping Dogs came out before GTA 5, many readers might consider giving it a pass. Times were different, and industry standards were not yet established. Bad handling, along with illogical physics, was acceptable to gamers who were anyway more interested in exploring the open world.

The camera visibly shakes over the speed threshold, and many might even consider that a good thing considering that they are driving down the congested, narrow lanes of Hong Kong. However, the driving mechanics had multiple other drawbacks, which soured the experience for many.

Vehicles have a low turn radius, and often the best way to make sharp turns is by drifting into them. This isn't readily apparent to most. Add to this the fact that driving was originally designed for controllers, and it's easy to understand why keyboard jocks were left fuming at the oversensitivity of their maneuvers.

However, the biggest problem lies in the core physics of the game. Vehicles felt really light, and the handling was very jerky at high speeds, with camera angles changing way too much for slight turns. With that being said, for a game whose USP is the fight sequences, low attention to detail on the driving end does seem understandable.


2) L.A. Noire

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Never before have players come across a game where it isn't the driving mechanics itself that's the problem, but the world around them instead. L.A. Noire transports players quite literally to the disorganized streets of LA in 1947, where pedestrians cross the road on a whim, NPC vehicles break traffic lights, and even drive on the wrong side at times.

The fact that the laws of physics don't seem to apply to criminals who can zip tight turns while players can be stopped cold by a simple chain link fence just adds to the frustration. This is a game that puts the fear of God in players and actively discourages them from taking control of the wheel. So much so that they even have the option to fast-travel or allow their partner to drive.

One of the most frustrating experiences is when players activate their sirens and indulge in a high-speed chase. The AI drivers ahead seem oblivious as they pull into the same lane and stop. Some readers may ask, 'why so?' Because we were driving on the inner side of the road and not the outer. This level of realism is simply too frustrating for someone who just wants to solve a few crimes and shoot some bad guys.


1) Death Stranding

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Although adding Death Stranding to the list may be stepping on the toes of a very loyal fanbase, it can't be denied that driving in-game is just downright painful at times. Vehicles are something that players must unlock with great effort, and each type of vehicle has a very specific use case. Beyond a range of usage, they become very cumbersome. This, in turn, causes more problems than they solve.

Players can't take a truck over a mountainside filled with rocks and not expect it to get stuck, right? Though they can bounce the truck to achieve greater ground clearance, it often causes the vehicle to be launched in another direction. The culprit is the game's physics and how the wheels interact with the ground.

Users complain of zero traction while going downhill, turning them into a speeding ball with little to no room for error. The difference between the incline versus the decline experience of the same environment is simply too great to be turned a blind eye to.

Even the physics of each vehicle feels very weird. Many users have pointed out that it may well so be because of the Decima engine used by the game, which isn't really optimized for vehicle control.

The game purposely has a theme of being difficult and sticks to it in all aspects. Traveling is a huge part of Death Stranding that players are meant to think about. A travel plan needs to be in place instead of it being something that they just mindlessly do.

The root of the problem, for the truck at least, seems to be the fact that it's rear-wheel-drive instead of a 4x4 enabled vehicle. Why that is, most don't have a clue, but numerous tests have shown that ascending a slope backward provides more traction than going up straight. Imagine driving backward all throughout the game just to get better traction?

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

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Edited by Shaheen Banu
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