Soapbox: Cyberpunk 2077 and the Question of Fast Travel

i avoid fast travel on my 1st playthrough most of the time.

I do find myself using fast travel far too often. I think that’s why I loved Red Dead 2 so much, it gave you a reason to really appreciate the journey. Compare that to Horizon and Witcher 3, where you constantly feel like you’re moving from one marker to another in the shortest time possible, I just prefer the approach of enjoying both the journey and the destination.

I can't remember the last time I fast travelled.

Never in Bethesda games is a personal point of pride.

Fast travel is for casuals

If the world is worth exploring, I'll do so the extensive way on my own terms and time. I love fast travel. I don't want slow, long exploration and traveling forced on me. Only very rarely does that kind of game design work for me.

I hardly ever fast travel. It's probably the reason why I clock up triple figure playtimes in most open world games. Plus, I like to actually role play in them.

@ShogunRok Oh no, the hardcore gamer has arrived.

I rarely use fast travel but I'd rather it be there, however if a game world is worth exploring and the missions are structured in a way so that you're not needlessly travelling, I'll basically ignore it and enjoy the journey. Or in Spider-Man's case it was far too much fun swinging around so I never fast travelled

After I’ve seen an area over and over, I’ll fast travel.

I understand this and applaud it. I try not to use fast travel much in sprawling RPGs because exploration is half the fun.

However, I will say this: I am a gamer with a wife and kids and a fairly demanding job. With obviously limited time, fast travel can be an invaluable tool when I only have an hour to play and want to progress. I don’t think I finish Witcher 3 without some fast travel involved, and that is my game of the gen!

So: I think it is wise to cut fast travel when possible, but I am also glad that this modern gaming tool exists.........

I've tried not to use fast travel in Death Stranding to keep my structures last longer, but some games just force you. There's just no access to go from one map to the other, any other way. If I remember correctly, The Witcher III did the same thing, early in the game. Sometimes you just have no choice.

Fast travel on PS5 will be more like instant travel.
Hopefully Devs will realise this and make the world's interesting and varied enough to keep you exploring. Perhaps smaller worlds but more dense?

Fast travel is necessary for a game like The Witcher 3, considering the open world is pure set dressing and points of interest are already marked on the map. I mix up horse travel and fast travel depending on how much there is to see and do in an area, which the map freely reveals. If I've cleared all the points of interest in an area, there's no point in not fast traveling. But if there's question marks everywhere, I'll probably take my time and poke around.

@carlos82 I agree with you about Spidey (some of the best movement in a game ever) but you should fast travel once or twice just for the great scenes that play during it. Highly amusing!

Fairly often, especially if it's a long journey around areas that I've already been to.

@LiamCroft He Used Fast Travel To Get To Work Today.

I only fast travel if there is a trophy involved.

@Westernwolf4 100% yes. In the real world of adulting with jobs, families, and commitments, we don't always have time to spend hours and hours in a game just traveling around. This is part of why I gave up on Red Dead Redemption 2 - it's a beautiful game with amazing details to find, but I just don't have that much time on my hands. So fast travel is definitely an appreciated modern convenience in gaming!

I haven't played Witcher 3 yet (it's near the top of my To Buy List, once I've cleared out more of my backlog), but I understand the frustration. I definitely felt that while playing Skyrim, and I think the problem was that there were too many fast travel points. You're able to fast travel to hundreds of little points all over the map, and it chops up the world too much. I also almost never ride a horse in open world games, as I find it's too easy to miss the nooks and crannies if you're galloping everywhere.

Try Snow Runner, its all about the journey.

The amount I fast travel is dependent on how far I have got in a game. I pretty much never fast travel early in a campaign but when I get near the end and have already covered most of the map that is when I will start taking the convenient option.
I also find the quality of the world will dictate the speed at which I traverse the world. I often find I will slowly walk around in RDR 2 and Horizon just to take in my surroundings while often find myself sprinting to markers in something like AC.

Depends on the game, and how fast 'fast' travel is. In some games, it can feel quicker to actually make the journey than wait for the reload.

It can also depend on the game systems in place. If it's a game where XP is a factor, then in the early game it's actually beneficial to make the journey because you can build XP on the way. In late game when you're more powerful and don't need the XP, it can start to feel more of a chore with 'busywork' you no longer need.

@LiamCroft
Make sure to play the expansions, matey, they are absolutely brilliant. So many get distracted and don't come back to play them but they're better than most full games, the story telling is truly excellent.

I use it all the time. To be honest majority of open world games are pretty lifeless and traveling "manually" usually doesn't lead to interesting discoveries. Couple exceptions for me like BOTW and most open world racing games but I use it religiously. No point wasting time walking to me.

Didn't fast travel once during my entire playthrough of RDR2. Only fast travelled in Days Gone once I had seen the secret ending.

Most other open world games I fast travel most of the time in particular The Witcher 3. Apart from Toussaint, that world is gorgeous!

You mean you didnt plot witcher 3 journeys by following random question markers?! I try and mix it up a bit but some massive games like witcher 3, fallout 4 and skyrim need some form of fast travel. Getting from one side of skyrim to the other takes about 25 mins!! I maybe only get to play games for 90 mins a night

@nessisonett Cant disagree more if i wanted i loved everything about HZD the hunting was awsome one thing i hated was that i didnt have enough room for all my stuff. 😆

@Futureshark On PS4 Assasins Creed Syndicate the fast travel took so long a lot of times it was easier too just do it the normal way.

@Flaming_Kaiser I’m just really not a fan of map markers. I burned out so hard on Horizon because it felt like a chore and I still haven’t finished it.

@ShogunRok Guess im a casual. 😆 👌
Even without any kids i have limited time i cant even make a dent in my backlog.

I think not everyone has the time to play for hrs each game session. And want to feel they progress a bit regardless (not spent half the time looking at trees)

I always fast traveled in AC: Odyssey after completing a Ship quest. Sailing all the way back to the Island I needed to be was a massive waste of time for me.

@nessisonett Just go out and hunt a thunderjaw i was in the starting area for 30 hours hunting small machines and that first Thunderjaw. 😯

I played for 110 hours and go for the collectables they are the missing pieces in the backstory. Its so fun to hear the complete story that way. And the photomode i put so much in it with Aloy awsome character just awsome.

But everyone has his own favorites.

I normally start to use fast travel towards the end of a game, when I'm sweeping up the last few bits and pieces and I've already traveled those paths over and over.

I liked the GoW and HZD systems where fast travel only becomes available/viable later in the game.

Fast travel allows me a great option in how i want to play a game. Games i love like Fallout would just not be the same and as enjoyable if i had to walk everytime to everywhere.

I wish Fast Travel didn't exist in games honestly. I never use it unless there's no choice like traveling to The Institute in Fallout 4 or Vizima or Skellige in TW3. Or when it's realistic like taking a train, stagecoach, taxi in R*'s games not just teleporting anywhere.

Btw @LiamCroft Witcher 3's Platinum doesn't look too fun though - Use Ard to blow enemies off an edge 10 times - type of trophies aren't that fun to me.

Watching my kid play SWJFO all I could think was that games play time was padded to twice as long as the story b/c there wasn't any fast travel. Sure, not having it helped with those run ins with the random bounty hunters, but after going through a planet later in the game b/c you are missing a chest or 2 somewhere in the far end away from your ship, well I'm just not getting that.

Fast travel serves its purpose.

I personally don't like fast travel because it turns the world into a checklist of already marked points of interest, and I find no appeal whatsoever in an open world if there is no reason to explore it.
Of course there are exceptions, but that's my main gripe with open world games.

@LieutenantFatman I am looking forward to getting to Blood & Wine!

Fast travel makes games more fun. Often the journey isn't as good as the destination in games. It is on you the player to want to take the long way which for many takes to long or is boring.

@ShogunRok
"Fast travel is for casuals"
I agree, but sadly every time I start a new game from my huuuge backlog I start out not using fasttravel, but when most games I play is 100+ hours long, some over 200+ I start to use fast travel more and more and in the end of large games I tend to use it regulary. But still, I wish I had more time in my life so I didn't need it, but that will never happen as new great games are released pretty much every week/month...

That 3% must still be playing the game now, as it would take them an eon to go back and forth between some of the quests without fast travel... How can someone NEVER use fast travel, you'd die of boredom eventually.

• Cutscene Skippers
• Dialogue Skippers
• Story Rushers
• Fast Travellers
• Default Character Players

If you're any of the above then shame on you.

@TheArt I would have quit gaming with no fast travel why i would i want too waste running 25 minutes too look at the same things. I want too play more then one game.

Fast Travel is a must for me given my time but I do like to at least ride or walk through each new area once rather than just dart from objective to objective. I still miss things but at least I get a feel for the location.

I think the true question is will we need to pay for the inevitable PS5 version if we purchase on the PS4?

@ApostateMage Some games are so boring im not going too listen too it again. If i start a new character on MH im not gonna listen or watch too the same exact thing. I take too much time on character creation as it is.

@Tha_Likely_Lad No, not really?

@LiamCroft as a PlayStation writer/journalist your not at all interested if Sony plan to offer the same incentives that Microsoft are offering it's customers?

@Tha_Likely_Lad Of course I am, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this article. Don't undermine an entire opinion piece by saying we should really be talking about the "true question".

@Flaming_Kaiser What's the rush, if you're skipping everything then you're simply not interested in the game. And if you keep skipping things in every other game then your interest in gaming is questionable like @ShogunRok is saying.

@LiamCroft my initial comment wasn't intended to undermine the topic at hand or to trigger anyone in the comment section - apologies buddy. Keep up the great work 👍

@ApostateMage I'm all of those things apart from maybe default player. I don't have the time otherwise. My worst kind of game is one where you can't skip the cutscenes. I don't even bother playing those as soon as I realise. Sorry!

Hi there good people. Fast travel i indeed a good option to have in a large open world game. Not quite a necessity, but a very welcome addition. Not everyone as the time to go from point A to point E if it takes 20 minutes or so when you can fast travel in 1 or 2. I t is great to explore a certain terrain or locale that you think might be worth to explore, but doing that over and over again, after you have already explored, can become quite tedious. Maybe so something like HZD that had limited fast travel packs or something. Food for thought. Cheers and happy gaming to us all.

Herein lies my problem with most open world games. Do I blindly follow a compass for hours on end to get from one place to another, or do I fast travel, which essentially means I miss out on the journey and world building? Often I find neither option appealing and tend to get bored very quickly. RDR and BOTW didn't have this problem for me as I found the act of travelling and navigation interesting; I'm hoping Cyberpunk and Tsushima are similar otherwise I know I'll lose interest after 10-15 hours

@TheArt Why would run the same road a hundred times. I have no time too burn i play long games i have a "busy" life i work shifts with nightshifts that takes a lot out of me.

Things like watching a skinning animation is fun a few times but what does it add in the long run. And whats next making me sleep in real time, cooking dinner in real time, taking time to go the barber, washing my clothes?

I play games for a escape to relax not to mimic real life. I play a lot of games and a lot go over 100 hours. MHW 720 hours, DQH 1/2 400 hours, HZD 120 hours to name a few. Add in a COD with seasons and im strapped for time.

I respect all people with kids and a job that find the time to play and run their normal lives.

@RaZieLDaNtE That is what i mean its fun too look at the road but why waste 20 minutes every time.

@Flaming_Kaiser I work nightshifts too and hardly have time. All I'm saying is there's no deadline on completing the game so why the rush. I've stopped that "complete one game before moving to another" thing because the average game is huge these days. So instead of rushing through them, take time and play bits of like 3 games and it'd take months to finish but at least you experienced everything the game has to offer than just skipping everywhere and missing random events or items.

@TheArt I always finish one game at a time i want to stay invested in the story. I dont like coming back to a game and thinking what was it all about again i forgot. If i miss one sidequest for collecting a farmers cow i can deal with that.