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.
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.