10 Linear Games That Give You the MOST FREEDOM 

I think Metro Exodus was also a great "semi" open world Linear shooter which gave a lot of freedom.....

When I was a kid, I thought Super Mario Galaxy gave a ton of freedom to the player, allowing them to explore literal planets and different worlds. Once the Mario 3D collection released on Nintendo switch, I hadn’t realized how linear Super Mario Galaxy was replaying it. It’s funny how when you’re a kid you totally fall for the illusion of vast open space within very linear games.

Honorable mention to the Sniper Elite games. Especially 4.

The amount of hours I put into dishonored 1&2 levels discovering new paths to maintain low chaos and finally coming to RU-vid only to find multiple new paths. Especially with dishonored 2's clockwork mansion. Level design was phenomenal.

Holy Hell, I can't believe you guys mentioned SteamBot Chronicles. It's one of my all-time favorite PS2 games, but it went extremely under the radar. I really wish it got more love. Thanks for bringing it up!

Just crazy how well Crysis still looks. Like some parts of the game looks way better than stuff nowadays

The best thing with the first Crysis game was the level of destruction you could do. Shooting trees had a good realistic feel. The building destruction was also great. In all the other Crysis games, that ability was removed.

I believe Helldivers 2 gives us the most freedom! And democracy too!

I actually think it would be pretty sweet if they flipped the Far Cry formula on its head and made them more linear-maybe just in certain aspects

I platinumed 11 games, and out of all the ones I did, the dishonored series, Prey, and days gone were my favorites to do.

I haven’t thought about the steambot chronicles in years. I love when there are deep cuts on the list.

Crysis in the year 2007, on Dual core CPU, dual SLi Nvidias and 4 Gigs of RAM with that much to offer was a mind-fuck all it's own. I'd say the same for Bioshock in the same damn year!

Dishonored and BioShock are great linear games that give a variety of tools and methods to progress through their levels 👍

Hell yeah! Steambot Chronicles was my jam as a kid!

Obviously Deus Ex is the best linear, non-linear game.

Man the Ghost and Clean Hands trophies for Dishonored are among my proudest trophies I’ve gotten. I love the Dishonored games so much and I really hope it gets off ice at some point because I will throw money at my tv for Dishonored 3 lol.

Arkham Asylum should've been included. God, I miss Kevin Conroy so much. He was perfect in previous Arkham games. I got a voice acting background and have to say that his voice has been such an inspiration for me since the Batman the Animated Series. The vocal training was really tough, sometimes without noticeable results for months but actors like him are a great impulse to not give up - I was almost a face of Leon in those new RE games :)

It's videos like this that made me subscribe to gameranx. It's a unique top10 list, also doubles as recommendations for that very niche game design of "linear, but open". Crysis wasn't just a meme, it was actually a good game for anyone who could run it. The openness was like the cherry on top of an already very competent storyline, gameplay and tbh, some of the best voice acting I've heard in an FPS. The abilities you get with the nanosuit were just fun to mess around with. It was like, starting Super Metroid but with all upgrades while still being challenging, like, you aren't invincible and can easily get overwhelmed by enemies if you're not careful. I love it, I playthrough it like once a year.

Ah AC6... Menu Simulator: The Game I love it. Fully completed it a few weeks after launch. Cannot wait for the next in the long sequence. 😁 Wanted a mech game exactly like this since I was 4. Literally a childhood dream come true.

I thought I never hear that game Steam Bot Chronicles ever said on this channel, lol, love that game!!

❤ The video, definitely made me want to go play/replay a few of the games on the list.. However, cmon Falcon, how could you not put Control, imo Remedy’s best game overall. And I’d say a fact, that it’s one of their most important too, being the game that brought the Remedy Connected Universe to be official & fully on display to the player. That is if you’re looking at it as whole, Foundation & AWE included, so I’d say it was an amazing proper introduction & more importantly one of the best overall gameplay experiences I’ve seen in my many years of gaming. Albeit, just not enough of it, even with the full package. I hope now that they’ve proved the IP and Control 2 can actually have a AAA budget & just make something bigger and better, and turn The Oldest House into like the main hub and setting, then use the Astral Plane/Oceanview to let jump to different places and what not.

Great topic and coverage. Aside from what you mentioned both God Hand on PS2 and Remember Me on 360/PS3 come to mind for the same reasons. Both games allow you to customise your attacks and combos, button by button, by mapping specific attacks to each button. It really adds a layer of strategy to the combat. God Hand is the supreme game of the two, but Remember Me was one of capcom's better releases during that gen, despite not being at the top of thier releases.

What a wonderful feeling to have Falcon talk about Steambot Chronicles

This is impressive the fact that you guys keep coming up with new videos everyday. Kudos to you guys and thanks for keeping my day interesting.

Was watching an old GTA5 video you made and man have you made a lot of progress in putting these together. So much better now

Hold on, if BG3 is considered a "linear game", then what is a non-linear game?

Before you said number 1 I already knew what it was going to be. That game is fantastic and I love it with all my heart, it deserves all the praise it's gotten so far.

Steambot Chronicles was an awesome game! Glad to see you covering it!

The original two Thief games by Looking Glass should be very high on any linear/freedom list!

Thanks for the video. Just heard about Steambot Chronicles recently and here it is again. Darn, it's really expensive.

Falcon The Hero! Great vid Gameranx!

Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided.

Dark Souls 1 definitely deserves a mention. It's very far from an open world game, really a very restricted metroidvania. But the way those linear paths connect and loop on each other is incredible. After you finish the tutorial and get to firelink there are technically 8 different bosses that COULD be the first boss you fight, assuming you took the master key like everyone does. Pinwheel Taurus Demon Quelaag Gargoyles Moonlight Butterfly Sif Stray Demon Capra

You guys are the best top notch when it comes to gaming information. 8mill let's go!!! Your team deserves it for making this channel happen.

As a kid I always felt like the Zelda games gave me a lot of freedom until I realized they were just really good at producing the illusion of an open world. I'm talking about ocarina of time and Majora's mask specifically. I know Zelda 1 was the first true open world game lol

Absolutely adored Armored Core 6, got it to platinum but ran through it again and again for the variety

STEAMBOT CHRONICLES!

Super Metroid will always be a masterclass of game design. It starts off as a linear game and evolves into an interconnected open world as you play.

Steambot Chronicles is my favorite PS2 game of all time! I love it so much.

gameranxs i have been watching you for years I love you good job keep it up

BioShock and Thief seem like glaring omissions here, but I'm happy Deus Ex was included.

Gameranx be pumping out all this videos 😂

Metro exodus is missing from the list :)

Appreciate the video❤

I would like to see more of the demayo family. Such as Steven grandparents, plus it be cool to see if steven has any cousins and spend time with them

Omg, they brought up steambot chronicles. Makes me wanna cry because I remember the hundreds or thousands of hours playing it trying to find all the secrets. I wish the second one had come out

Great list as always! Hitman is such a gem!

i watch all your videos keep the good work on👍

BG3 linear? Come on guys, that's a stretch, even for you 🤣

That rake thing in Hitman at the beginning of the video is hilarious. I didn't even know you could do that lol. Hitman still is the most freedom you can have in any linear game, it should have been number 1. Even going back to the original Hitman games. Blood Money was probably my favorite.

I would suggest the Deception/Kagero series for such a list as the whole point of those games is to dispose of adventurers and assassins invading one's home castle in creative and increasingly elaborate ways.

Awesome list 👌

This comment is not related to this video but for this entire channel: but this channel really is the best thing to have come out of Fallout 4's release lol

Ive played deus ex so many times and it never gets old! Im currently playing it with the GMDX mod and it makes it even better!

Eyyyy! I saw Armored Core and I gave it a Like. But then I saw Steambot Chronicles in the same video and man oh man do I wish I could hit that Like button twice. Maybe one day we'll get a sequel or remaster on modern systems. Hopefully so

i absolutely agree about Deus Ex. love that game. played it way way back when it was new.. ish. wish i still had it. and if you like that one, try System Shock 2 wherein the character custimization is incredable, espcially for its time!

wow i was not expecting steambot chronicles to get a mention. that game needs way more recognition.

Can you make a video on the game Enshrouded?

LOL @ the Sideshow Bob at 1:28.

glad to see hitman on here, speedrunning really shows you the lack of walls to how you can solve the targets, theres methods they never mention remote explosives in briefcases that work exactly how they should, sniping all the way across the map through a window if you get just the right timing and angle, to knockouts that have the target fall into water and drown.

Yall should do a list of best and worst in game games. I'm playing Forbidden West and Machine Strike is brutally complicated, no clue what's happening. But the bug board game in Rogue Galaxy(ps2) was so much fun.

I don't think BG3 fits this list, it's not linear, straight up. There are multiple paths, and that's putting it lightly. I love BG3, but it's not a linear game.

Platinumed Elden Ring this morning!! First playthrough! thats my second this week with Control Ultimate edition. 140 hrs in Elden Ring. 45 hrs in Control.

The ideas of your's is very perfect

Most people I know are calling for more Linear games these days.

I’m playing Prey right now. Don’t know where’d you’d rank that one but I’m digging it.

Deus Ex is incredibly good. I played it for the first time in 2018 and was blown away. Peak immersive sim... only rivaled by Prey 2017 imo.

I'm surprised Peesona 5 vase and Royal edition wasn't on this list. But I can appreciate BG3 being number 1.

Imagine making a list like this where they also talk about games still being linear but having massive freedom in the gameplay and then NOT mention the "Metal Gear" series with one single word, the epitome of games like that that even started the modern era of games like these shown in the video.

I miss steambot chronicles so much. That game filled so many hours of elementary and middle school for me

Glad the original Deus Ex made the list. Maybe I was unimaginative or an obedient rule-follower, but I was a kid playing it for the first time in the late '90s and it wasn't until I revisited it as an adult playing around with mods like a decade or more later that I realized you didn't have to flee out the window of Paul's apartment when the Men and Black were knocking down the door and he was telling you to run. You could stay and fight, and survive, and Paul would too. That game gave you choices and options you might not even realize it was giving you.

Throughout the years, I've enjoyed more linear games (from the more focused ones to the semi-open entries, too) than full-blown sandbox-style open-world games. I prefer games that have a particular flow to 'em. Altho I have, for the most part, grown to understand the criticism against games that are way too busy being cinematic and cutscene-heavy than having any meaningful gameplay whatsoever. There's a reason I've gravitated towards indie games lately more and more.

Dang i surprised u mentioned Steamboat Chronicle, that game has been forgotten by most media, has really enjoyable story, progression, and gameplay choices. that game is one of its kind

I'm always happy when Dishonored shows up in a video

Dead Island 2 is also a Linear game with ONLY the Outside areas that are somewhat open.

Such a good title for a video , describes exactly what I need😂 Clicked immediately

one mention should be the Earth Defence Force (EDF) series. sure it's just a third-person shooter about killing thousands of bugs, but there are four classes and so many weapons to choose from

I have a video suggestion. Could you do a list of the best towers, mansions, and castles in video games?

every day you post a top - list... is a day you give me a layup to say SotC deserved to be on said list...

This is random, but I think they should make a die hard video game. Realistic 3rd person tactical, stealth shooter/ mellee game where you're supposed to clear the building. Limited bad guys per floor, but increasingly intelligent Ai, and all damage is realistically damaging and permanent. First aid does not make you uninjured, just stops bleeding, improves use of limb. If you take too much damage to fight, you have to start your run over. Just sound fun to me

I'm curios about games that can't be played without a guide if that exists.. maybe like even online idk

I actually really enjoy linear games. I’m a completionist at heart and hate the idea of missing a hidden treasure, or weapon, or side quest, or Easter egg, or anything. So in really big open world games, like AC Valhalla and Odyssey, I end up getting bored before I even beat the main story because I’ve already spent 100+ hours searching every nook and cranny along the way and doing every side quest I come across. So open world games end up being sort of a chore to hunt down everything, and I can’t help myself in either type, but linear games are just easy to find everything and end up being more fun.

Nice to see Deus Ex appear cos it's a killer of a game and I'd so love to see a remastered version of it. It's criminal that it's not been remastered.

I can’t believe people find dishonored fun

If you like JRPG's, Octopath Traveler 2 gives you a ton of freedom, despite the linear story.

lovely video 🔥🔥🔥

Don’t agree with you about the Like A Dragon series. Linear Games, by definition, offer little in the way of side quests or mini games. They’re often focused on just progressing the main story. The Yakuza/Like A Dragon games have all the properties of an Action RPG open world sandbox. The sun stories are enormously entertaining and made to take you away from following the main story beats. The only thing that it shares with linear games is it’s location, which can often strand you to a single location. And I’m not just counting Kamurocho when I say this.

Ik you cant include everything but I think Disco Elysium is uniquely deserving of a spot on the list. You have traditional table top style RPG freedoms and character customization. But you can also literally change your character's entire ideology and outlook on the world; there will be written/acted dialogue and story consequences for doing so

I'll play a linear game that feels complete and straightforward then start an open world mess that never ends.

Shogo Mobile Armor Division, To Me Was One Of The Best Games I played and to be totally honest no game ever came close to the freedom it made me feel even though it was absolutely linear.. That game was way a head of its time and I almost never see it get mentioned

Divinity Original Sin 2 and Human Fall Flat not being mentioned hurts a little. Sure Baldur's Gate 3 is the grand project from the DOS2 devs but to not have either of those on the list is just wild. They are truly free

Stray should totally be on this list!

Deus Ex the conspiracy is one of my top 5 all time favorites

I always forget how awesome the “ Hitman “ trilogy is, such delightful chaos 😅

I still go back to the original Far Cry. Some of the one liners from the NPC's are the best and so damn funny.

BG3 finally clicked for me it took me talking to wife about how to play my under dwarf rouge and trying a Paladin on her play through to see the wild things you can pull off I’m so bad at it, but I’m in love with my rouge now and my stupidly strong paladin. Been showing people off ledges learning how to long rest and short rest and today I learned you can fast travel from the map

The advancement of open world games back in the 2010s led to a boom in open world games, but like any trend it eventually got tired with too many games having open worlds that are big for the sake of it. A bit of linearity is not a bad thing, it allows a developer to better design an experience for a gamer.

Persona games especially 5r and 3r are really free linear games, u basically control when u do day to day who u hang out with

Thanks Falcon

Baldur's Gate 3 just looks so complex and intimidating.