How can you tell which games are immersive simulators and which aren’t? RPGs like The Elder Scrolls or The Legend of Zelda give players plenty of freedom, but no one usually calls them “immersive sims.”
I understand that immersive sim isn’t so much a genre as a genre characteristic, but where exactly is the line drawn? As a fan of Arkane games, I’ve always wondered about this.
As so often in life: there is no line! If you are immersed in the game then it is, really that simple!
“Immersion” itself doesn’t have an absolute clear definition, people sometimes mean “feel like a part of it” and sometimes “getting lost in”. Both is fine :)
For games specifically it’s along the lines of “what does a majority feel”? To give a specific example: Legend of Zelda is often described as an immersive game - and I never saw why, just accepting that for many people it seems to be.
an imsim isn’t just an immersive game, it’s a genre of rpg. examples include deus ex, dishonored, cruelty squad, system shock, thief, and others of that ilk. characteristics include mechanical depth, freedom of approach, open-endedness, and worlds that move with or without the player.