One of my favorite pastimes in any open-world RPG is making money, and I will do whatever I have to do to get more of it. I'll hoard as much loot as I possibly can until my pockets are practically overflowing, and then I'll crawl across the map, if a weight limit makes me, to the nearest vendor to sell it all. In open-world RPGs that allow stealth and thievery, I'll steal as much as I possibly can without getting caught, and then I'll sell that too. Even if all it results in is me having a ton of money and absolutely nothing to spend it on, at least I'll have the comfort of knowing the finances are there if I ever do need them. However, I will admit that there are some open-world RPGs where being poor is half the fun, because once you have all the money in the world, there are fewer reasons to actually interact with it.
When I can control myself, I actually quite like the climb. I like having to think about whether I really need that piece of equipment right now or whether my money would be better spent somewhere else. I like when a seemingly insignificant job becomes worth doing because I actually need what it plans on paying me. More importantly, I love when being poor encourages me to engage with certain parts of an RPG that I may have completely ignored if I already had enough money to solve every problem. Not every game makes poverty enjoyable, of course, but these open-world RPGs somehow manage to make being broke part of the fun.
Being "poor" here refers to portions of these games where money is scarce enough to influence the way players approach the world. In each case, that financial pressure is part of the fun, even if it eventually disappears once they're wealthy enough.
If there is one game that wastes absolutely no time making poverty a core part of the experience, it's Outward. After surviving the shipwreck at the beginning of the game, players return to Cierzo only to find their family's Blood Price waiting for them. From there, they have five days to either come up with 150 silver or obtain a Tribal Favor before they risk losing their lighthouse. So, rather than opening with the usual RPG promise that some grand destiny is waiting just over the horizon, Outward essentially begins by telling players they need to figure out how they're going to keep a roof over their head.
کۆنسۆڵەکان بە ڕیزبەندی دروست دابنێ.
کۆنسۆڵە هەڵبژێردراوەکان لە نزمترینەوە بۆ بەرزترین ڕێکبخە.
Now, I absolutely love that setup, primarily because of how much value it gives to what would otherwise be ordinary activities in an open-world RPG. Fishing in Outward matters more than it might in another RPG because anything you manage to fish up out of the water can be sold, and the money you make from that sale is actually significant. Something that might be little more than junk to pass on in any other RPG is actually worth picking up if it helps get you closer to that shiny 150 silver. Even helping the right person can solve the problem entirely if it results in the Tribal Favor needed to clear the debt.
But it doesn't end there, because money continues to matter even after the lighthouse is safe, as Outward doesn't use a traditional leveling system and instead ties much of its character progression to trainers. Breakthrough skills alone cost 500 silver, meaning money is directly linked to your character's build. In that sense, being poor is actually one of the reasons exploring the world and interacting with it feels worthwhile in the first place, rather than just being some sort of artificial barrier.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/open-world-rpgs-money-actually-matters/
