Smilegate’s latest game has proven a hit amongst critics and players alike (read Twinfinite’s review), largely as a result of its deep role-playing mechanics that offer a huge amount of customization and replayability. But in regards to how big it is by sheer map size, many are wondering whether Lost Ark is open world. Here’s what you need to know about its level design.
Is Lost Ark Open World? Answered
No, Lost Ark is not an open world game in the same fashion as, say, Elden Ring or Horizon Forbidden West. Played from an isometric perspective, it is a 2.5D ARPG that is segmented into different levels and is actually quite linear by design. Even by comparison to other games that use a similar perspective, such as Diablo III, Lost Ark’s levels are much smaller and more “on-rails.”
Each area is more or less a track that you follow, exploring small areas off to each side in between fighting enemies, looting, and engaging with NPCs to progress the storyline. There isn’t much in the way of back-tracking, let alone traversing a giant single area — it’s certainly not what you would call a sandbox.
Still, no open-world doesn’t mean bad, and the game’s linearity instead puts the focus firmly on exciting combat and RPG mechanics. Many of Lost Ark’s levels are well designed, varied in appearance, and sometimes feature verticality and other tricks that help to give the adventure a sense of scale that it perhaps lacks in raw size.
That should give you everything you need to know about whether Lost Ark is open world. For more tips, tricks, and guides, search for Twinfinite, or see more of our coverage on the game below.
If you have a specific question that you cannot find answered anywhere on the website, do feel free to reach out in the comment section below and we’ll do our best to lend a hand.
