There’s been a lot of talk about Final Fantasy XV following its re-reveal back at Tokyo Game Show 2014, specifically with regard to its “open-world” – a term thrown around rather loosely in the modern era – and often confused for things it’s not. Speaking once again with Examiner, game director Hajime Tabata gave us a further look at what players can expect and how the structure of the game progresses based on the best aspects of both linear and open-world game styles when it launches later this year.

“As you travel through each region, you’ll see different kinds of enemies and will take different paths that make you do unique things in each one of them,” Tabata explained. “As you move through each region, the options for character growth and the different skills will start branching out as well.”

As the player progresses through the game, new regions will open up for exploration. “Each region will move the journey forward,” Tabata said. “How the story is handled, it’s not 100 percent pure open-world, but it’s also not a pull along the rails kind of story. It’s very much a hybrid of those two styles, which I think is the best of both of them.”

Players will also have access to several modes of transportation at their fingertips including by train – a journey which he expects people to be very excited about.