“Hei,” OXM readers.
That means “hi” in
Finnish, since I’m in
Helsinki this month
to visit Remedy’s HQ.
I’m due at its offices
later to see new game
Control, but I’ve got a morning to kill
in Helsinki first. I’ve missed breakfast,
so after emailing the team back at
OXM to inform them I’m entering into
the early stages of Helsinki Syndrome
(disappointingly nobody got the Die Hard
reference), it’s out into the cold Finnish
morning to hunt for sustenance.
I take a wander through streets that
bring to mind of the kinds of places Cold
War spies would meet when they needed
a neutral location, and it is my intention
to procure some local delicacies, like
reindeer blinis or pickled herring. They’re
not hard-of-herring here in Finland.
Seriously though, I am lucky to be able
to travel to beautiful, fascinating places
like this for OXM, and it’s always great
to be able to get out and explore when
I do. And when it comes to games, I’m
always just as keen to have a good look
around and appreciate the environment
I find myself in. When I immerse myself
in a game world like that of, say, Red
Dead Redemption II, or Assassin’s Creed
Odyssey, I like to appreciate every detail.
As a gamer I consider myself an
explorer not a competitor. As much as
I like a bit of Fortnite or Apex Legends,
what I really love is to just wander around
a game world that has been thoughtfully
crafted by a team of talented world-
builders whose work deserves to be fully
admired, not just shot up or run through
in search of the best loot. And such
worlds are most often found in games
with strong single-player campaigns.World beaters
Given a tour of Remedy’s studio, meeting
the talented teams, each responsible
for a different aspect but all helping
to create a deep, believable world,of realism. As someone who grew up
with games whose ‘open’ world scrolled
from side to side and sometimes up
and down, playing Red Dead Online, for
example, I have to stop and pinch myself
that this is a videogame, but I can go
anywhere, do anything, interact with
everything and all but smell the horse
shit. That is actually coming out of the
horse’s bottom. Think about that. It was
someone’s job at Rockstar to make the
horses poo. What do you do, Brian? I’m
responsible for the weapon balancing.
What about you, Tom? I make sure bad
guys fall over convincingly when shot.
How about you, Jeff? I make the horses
poop and wee realistically. Great job, Jeff!
As a game explorer, though, I worry
that publishers might genuinely start to
believe such horseshit as young gamers
not having the attention span for longer
games with complex plots and exciting
worlds to immerse yourself in. Already
we’ve seen games compromised by
the games-as-service mantra. While I
don’t want to Anthem-bash, it’s a prime
example of a game that’s multiplayer
to its own detriment. How can I truly
appreciate its world, when I’m being
rushed through it by other players?
Perhaps the future is with games like
Red Dead Online. Rockstar didn’t stop at
creating a superb, story-driven single-
player campaign, the time invested in
creating a richly detailed world as its
backdrop also now doubles as Online’s
sandbox, and despite the multiplayer
format, at least you can take the time to
enjoy the world at your leisure, too.
Control, with its strong narrative drive,
strong themes and central character,
and complete lack of multiplayer, is
almost bravely out there as a proposition
in 2019. But Remedy is assured in its
game, and I sincerely hope gamers take
the time to play it and appreciate it.
Single-player games need to have a
bright future, for all the explorers. QFollow us on Twitter @oxm.balanced for optimal gaming experience,
reminds me why I love games. Games
can be a true art form, and as the tech
continues to advance, the best games
deserve to be considered as such.
With every generation of Xbox, game
worlds get more intricate, more beautiful
and filled with every detail imaginable,
sometimes with an astonishing levelINSIDER OPINION
Chris takes a moment to appreciate game worlds
The Editor
Chris Burke is...
“As a gamer I
consider myself
an explorer not a
competitor”
020 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE