Gregory Weir’s games can be challenging to write about. The designer has one of the most prolific voices on game design, and his own creations consistently push his own philosophy in new directions.

One of his newest games, A Ride Home is his first 3D game and through minimalist mod graphical design he’s created a stark and lonely experience in which you need to investigate a beacon.

Surprisingly the game only has one ending which hasn’t been particularly Weir’s style as of late, but the simplicity is welcome.

The core experience of the game is naturally developing and linear, with little interaction from the player, but where it shines is in the knowledge that only one ending exists, and you can’t do anything to change that. How frustrating it must be for us, who desire full control of our worlds from the influence of today’s sandbox games.

The linearity is a beautiful thing, and I think it’s more like the human experience than the open-worlds of some of today’s designs. Whether or not one thinks it pathetic or accepts it and finds happiness in the silver lining, much of life for most of humanity is fairly linear.

Weir takes the single path idea that has been in place since Super Mario Bros. and places us at point A with only one single option.

Do we go to point B, even though we don’t have to, or even if what we’ll find isn’t at all what we wanted - but expected?

- Kyle