I just watched a video of someone completing a SASO run in Sapienza in 52 seconds, which is amazing. But also it’s a kind of gameplay that is completely different from the Dev’s intention which, I believe, is to create an experience that requires some amount of improvisation on the player’s part. In order to complete a run like that you have to know the game’s mechanics and maps cold; it’s a display of mastery and this is not a criticism of speed-runners at all!
But I think that maybe one of the best things about freelancer is that, by introducing randomness, it prevents that kind of planning much like the chess variant known as chess960 prevents players from memorizing lines of openings by shuffling the pieces in the back rank.
We live in a confusing, unrestful world. In fact, 47’s role as a hitman could be seen as a way to restore some kind of order to this world, which might be one of the reasons the game is so popular. And we as players try to exert still more control by mastering the maps, eliminating the variables.
Freelancer doesn’t allow that, which is maybe why it’s disliked by so many. It strips away the illusion. In fact, were not in control.
But I think that’s also what makes it great.
And if you haven’t tried chess960, you should!