When I read about immersive sims online I keep seeing them described as systemic games that give the player choices for solving the problems they come across. But in my experience the different choices you have are so imbalanced in terms of applicability, rewards and exclusivity that I find it hard seeing them as such.
In Bioshocks the aggressive combat playstyle is viable everywhere, is the most rewarding both in terms of gameplay and resources and doesn’t lock you out of anything. The alternative playstyles can still be used situationally to access any exclusive treasure. On the flipside going all in on an alternative playstyle takes more time and often amounts to skipping content.
Frankly I don’t like either, I don’t want to miss out on content and I don’t want my choices to be meaningless.
With Bioshocks and Prey the meta is playing aggressively. With Dishonored it’s stealth. To me the whole scheme seems antithetical to the game structure of a linear story based game. The developer can’t craft a particular experience because they have to accommodate for different options, and the options can’t be too different because the path is the same.
The games that best fit the description for me are BotW and Minecraft or even Hitman, none of which is considered an immersive sim. The popular immersive sims seem closer to Batman Arkham games, which have no pretense of player choices save for what tools you use in combat, than they are to the aforementioned titles.
So, which immersive sim did you play that fulfills the immersive sim premise?
Hmm…
Looking at the other reply, SomeAmateur’s, immersive sims start making sense, and so I’d take out Dissidia and Ultimate Ninja. They are pretty on-rails other than on combat.
Also with the other reply, I’d also say Bioshock isn’t. Having played the first and part of Infinity, both feel more like dungeon crawlers with hack and slash elements and some occasional choices. Not much on the part of simulating anything.
Also now I’d say Baldur’s Gate 3, TES games and Kingdom Come: Deliverance would be better fits for immersive sims with decent gameplay freedom.
Also unsure how well they’d fit, but maybe Undertale and Hades would be good picks. Yet to play either, but from what I’ve seem of both, they give you some freedom to choose how to progress, and the scope of the consequences that come are in accordance to your choices.