What are some of your LEAST favorite game mechanics?

Unrepairable weapons are the worst thing. There's nothing worse than finding a super cool, rare weapon and being paranoid about it breaking.

Radiant quests. You can never complete the game because of this, the quests are generic and repetitive and offer nothing but "stretch the playtime".

That and mechanics like "rando dragon attacks in Skyrim" and "City is under attack from Fallout 4. I quit F4 because I was on my way to a mission and got the "city under attack notification, and on my way to defend another city was under attack.

Game timers. I want to screw around on my time. The more time-based a game becomes, the less I enjoy it.

Pay 2 win and excessive abuse of FOMO.

E.g. for the next two weeks you can purchase/grind for [character] with a LIMITED EDITION green hat!

It would be OK if such thing was behind an achievement and allowed to be gained later.

Some companies have gotten a little sneaky with it, like Microsoft with age of empires. They make their newly released DLC civs overpowered for two months then nerf it every time.

The new Gollum game was very impressive in the way it managed to implement so many of the mechanics in this thread

Anything using timers, especially based on the clock. It just artificially adds playtime, and it also means I forget about them and lose track of what I was doing most the time, too.

Escort quests. Stealth sections in games that aren't built around stealth would be close second.

Less of an issue nowadays but unclimbable knee-high walls which force you to go round. Always drove me crazy!

Offline games which require an internet for no apparent reason has to be my pet peeve

Perhaps not specifically a mechanic, per se, but save points. I want to be able to save whenever, wherever. I don't always have time to make it to the next save point before I need to stop playing.

Quicktime events. Please make up your mind if you show me a sequence or if you want me to play. I can enjoy watching, but I don't want to feel like I am being tested for paying attention.

The beginning of the Tomb Raider remake pissed me off especially. You played a few minutes, then watched a minute of sequence, then play, watch, play, watch. One of the sequences took like 5 minutes, so I leaned back to enjoy when suddenly it flashes a heavy PRESS X in my face. I tried to quickly grab the controller but failed... too slow. I almost rage quit.

I am not playing games to get stressed out...

Any sort of intense micromanagement of units, resources, etc. I've got like 16kb RAM in my brain. I can barely remember what I ate today lol.

Also, invisible walls that make absolutely no sense. Maybe just all invisible walls, really.

Sadly, the whole "rogue" genre if that counts as a mechanic. I don't enjoy replaying everything over and over again in different ways in a system where its designed one should fail eventually, so you must lose to continue. It sounds great on paper but hell it really sucks. Also, turn based stuff.

Obligate stamina bars/circles for traversal. Just allow me to move at the speed of fun, and definitely don't make me stand still to recharge when climbing.

I think it's telling that death stranding, a game all about traversal, let's you sprint outright for as long as you want until well after your character's shoes literally fall off. The stamina bar is more a measure of abuse rather than a limit on your movement.

For me, the absolute worst is when the game effectively punishes you for not constantly menu diving to change your equipment.

Some random examples:

Disco Elysium - your clothes have a MASSIVE effect on some specific stats which influence dialogues. In order to get the best outcomes, you have to change your clothes before an interaction with another character.

Ghost of Tsushima - you get separate armor sets for different activities, which is not too bad, except one of the sets is for exploration. So every time you switch between combat and riding your horse, if you don't switch your armor sets, then it feels that the game is punishing you.

I love both of those games, but really really hate that mechanic.

Quick-time events but SPECIFICALLY the ones that give you way too little time to react. Like, I never mind them too much, especially the ones in the Yakuza series, but I remember there was this game on the Wii called Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings that would throw these inputs WAYY too fast at you.

Enemies that scale with your level in an RPG. I would rather get completely curb stomped by rare high level enemies, so I have something to work towards. In the same vein, I don't like it when the stat gain you get from leveling ends up with you literally being unkillable by lower level enemies. Most MMOs are an offender to this, where you can just sunbathe in a group of 30 level 1 enemies and are unable to die to them.

non-renewable consumable items.

using consumables is hard enough, but you're telling me there's a finite number of these? forget it.

only exception is rougelikes.

In any competitive game, golden snitch mechanics. If I'm kicking ass all game, I shouldn't instantly lose for making one tiny mistake at the 11th hour.

People have said escort quests but I'm going to go more specific.

Escort quests WHERE THE NPC INEXPLICABLY HAS A DIFFERENT WALKING/RUNNING SPEED THAN THE PLAYER.....

Daily quests or login rewards, things to force me to play the game, always stop playing

Squad/micro-strategy mechanics in fps games. Commanding npcs to do specific things in the middle of a gunfight isn’t fun. Bonus points if the npc ai gets in your way when you're not fighting as well.

Bad tutorials. Don't teach me the game mechanics that could be learned in-game in an environment different from the rest of the game. Also dislike sudden lore dumps after the tutorial.

Mechanics in games where they don't belong. Not every game needs skill trees, not every game needs stories or lore.

• Excessive grinding or padding in a game just for the sake of it or for microtransaction reasons.
• Microtransaction and pay-to-win models in full price $70 games...
• Overuse of Quick time events Press E to dodge etc etc
• Escort missions when developers want to pad their game out
• Terrible stealth mechanics when an enemey spots me when im standing still in a bush from the other side of the map

Escort missions

I'm not a big fan of fishing mechanics, they're usually shallow "press button at random signal, get a random prize" mechanics.

Also escort missions where the NPC being escorted does not understand that it should protect its own life. I don't mind repeating a mission due to my own mistakes, but I don't want to do it because some AI went potato.

Gacha. I can tolerate lootboxes but when lootboxes are the central feature, I'm out.

Cutscenes for repeated actions like in the Zelda series. Having to dig through the menu to perform simple actions.

Consumables.

They either offer too little for a too short time or too much too easy.

I haven't seen a game where consumables are promoted from the get-go and are easy to use and not a hussle or completely broken.

Alaloth has a great iteration of consumables but I still wouldn't say it's fun as a standalone mechanic.

Card games that get bolted on to other genres. cough genshin cough

I hate how in a lot of retro games water kills you instanly.

Probably simple, mindless side/fetch quests. Defeat enemies, get loot, run it back, rinse and repeat. It also is incredibly dry to watch as well as actually do yourself.

Stealth. I hate hiding and creeping around waiting for an NPC to move. It's like, "oh, you want to play the game? How about not playing the game instead?" Infuriating.

Loot

I hate collecting it, managing inventory, selling it, crafting it, and so on. I used to love it, but these days I much prefer a more guided experience where the only items I get are interesting. Elder Scrolls completely destroyed this whole mechanic for me because I'm a bit obsessive and would try to bring literally every plate back to town to sell.

As a corollary, I'm not a fan of dealing with shops in general. I'm fine if they exist, but I really think the game should supply you with everything you need to complete the game, and shops should be a backup plan, not a core mechanic.

I've never been a fan of character weapon skill being tied to the bullet not hitting where the player is aiming in first person RPGs and immersive sims. Think something like Fallout 3, where a shot with a sniper rifle can be perfectly lined up, but the bullet might veer off randomly.

I do understand and appreciate character weapon skills being tied to certain weapons being more viable, but there are many other ways to impliment it that don't feel as arbitrary. Tying character skill to greater reticle swap, longer time to aim down sights, longer reload times, more likely to jam or jams taking longer to clear. It accomplishes the same goal of rewarding putting points into the skill and making players feel like they are progressing, but without creating the instant frustration of missing a clearly lined up shot.

On that note, actively degrading weapons are not something I think has ever been a good idea. It's neither fun, nor is the rate of degradation ever realistic. If the goal is to make player cautious, then limiting ammunition and the availability of good weapons is a much better idea. I have no problem with weapons in different conditions existing in a game, for example: Pristine rifle, good rifle, rusty rifle, etc. That's fine, but a good rifle should never degrade into a rusty rifle in the hands of the player.

Areas of open worlds dynamically level scaling to match players is another gripe I have. Once a player notices it, it takes away the feeling of progress from leveling up. In some cases, smarter players in games have found certain areas easier to beat with low level characters. It creates a bad kind of meta-game. I much prefer worlds where every area is built with a certain player level in mind. Honestly, overleveling in RPGs and going to wreck starting bandit camps is a joy that shouldn't be taken away.

I cannot jump. Not for the life of me. I mean I do press space at the right moment, but somehow I miss, or it's just not working, I keep falling down or to my death. That's why platformers aren't for me sadly, even though I'd like to play them. I cannot do jumping puzzles in Guild Wars 2, I even struggle in Doom! Please, I'll do everything, but don't make me jump!

Endless monologues and dialogue-dependent quests. Tell me what to do once, then be happily surprised when it's done. I don't need to know why it's important to uncle Sandy to find the green gate key, he can say "Thanks!" later if I want to talk to him at all.

Death penalties. Any game that seriously penalizes you for dying is just so frustrating for me. I understand that there has to be some form of reason to not die but please, at worst just reload an earlier save for me (and make sure you have frequent autosaves too).

If I lose all my items on death I'm just reloading a save. If I have to respawn at a checkpoint ten thousand years away I'm going to be very mad. If I have to listen to someone monologue to me every time I die I'm refunding your game.

Combo attacks - I'm not coordinated to hit the buttons in order fast enough. I tried Black Desert when it was free and this was the dealbreaker for me, though it wasn't the only thing that bugged me about the game.

Quest systems, especially in linear games. All is does is clog up the UI, and if you need to constantly tell me what to do and where to go, is your game really designed that well?

Stamina, why can't i just keep running forever!! Even worst in open world games.

I really don't like random bullet spread. Especially when it becomes more random if your character is moving.

Currently?
Having cool abilities tied to NPC companions.

And I'm pretty sure (nearly?) everyone knows why and what I'm talking about.

I think forced stealth mechanics in games not designed for them are my pet peeve. Looking at you Witcher 2.

The bit in a certain DOS game where a demon respawns lower level demons... If you know, you know.

Most open-world games have areas on the map that are blank until you "explore" them by climbing a tower of some kind and "activating" that region on your map.

This results in trudging blindly into the middle of every new area, ignoring interesting stuff along the way and beelining to the tower just so you can see the damn map. It's an annoyingly unnatural way to explore.

I didn't even realize that I disliked it until I played Far Cry 6, which has a much more organic and immersive landmark discovery process. You learn locations of interest from readables and by talking to friendly NPCs that you encounter in the world.

In FC6 it's even thematic, since you're guerilla fighters passing intel along by word of mouth.

Edit: sp

I honestly do not like the RPG mechanic of levelling up/buying skills, especially in FPS games. I'd rather have a Half Life experience over levelling.

I'm also not a fan of side quests. I find it breaks the immersion when you're character is on some crazy, world saving overall quest but sure, I can spend time to find that random thing for you.

Escort missions and weapons breaking without a reasonably easy way to get/make more (glaring at you, Dead Island...)

crafting dear god I hate crafting if I ever find the person that introduced crafting into the triple a formula...

Someone already sort of mentioned this, but I don't usually like crafting and building stuff. So games like minecraft and animal crossing new horizons are out. For the latter, greatly prefer new leaf.

I hate RNG-heavy progression that discourages playing the actual game.

Path of Exile had terrible loot droprates and gamble crafting when I last played in Ritual League. Starting a league = poring YouTube for safe league starter builds to follow step by step. Gearing up = only picking up currency and buying items from other players on a website. Making $$$ = flipping items (buy low sell high) in hideout (personal town).

Path of Champions (PvE gamemode in Legends of Runeterra) drops shards and fragments to unlock new champions and relics that add a passive effect. Drops are random and not duplicate protected. Champions need 2 star upgrades totalling their unlock cost to feel playable. Optimal progression = speedrunning dailies/weeklies, 2-starring meta champs, and logging out.

I know it's a popular mechanic that lots of people love, but I really don't like games where you die a lot, or where death has significant impact. I generally play games to chill out and just have fun and I often feel like games are punishing me when that happens and I find myself doing sort of "risk management" and becoming a hermit in the game.

The bit in the RPG when your character gets captured and you lose all your gear, and have to do the shitty stealth thing.

Disclaimer: not always

Character stats, commonly called "RPG elements".

In games with low enough detail that I have to use my imagination, it makes sense to have a character constitution 10 increase to 15 and take 50% less damage from blunt weapons. It works perfectly in Rimworld, ADOM, Terraria and the like because you can't completely see what's happening, so when your character does low damage your imagination has room for him to hit badly or be partially blocked.

But in games with modern graphics and animations, it feels... off. An attack animation that shows someone swinging a sharp steel battleaxe perfectly and connecting with bare flesh at momentum, deals... no damage because the wielder has low strength and axe skill, while the target has a high armor value.

Perhaps forced online with no way to self host.

1. Slow, boring climbing sections that add nothing to the game and just pad out playtime. I'm looking at you, God of War (2018).

2. Lives systems. Luckily modern games never use it anymore, but every now and then I play an older game and wow, losing 30+ minutes of progress just because you died a few times SUCKS.

Flowcharts for multiple endings. Let me take multiple distinct routes from the start, or make a choice at the end I can come back to. I hate going through some of the same content again and again and having to look up guides just to find the true ending (looking at you Persona).

QuickTime events. I started replaying RE4 original. Did not miss them.

Anything that encourages toxicity and trolling behavior, though I suppose in some ways that's unavoidable and is the nature of anonymity/pseudo-anonymity that online gaming offers.

Crafting. I don't want to have to remember the recipe to stuff, then find out where it is, then keep going back to make it again

Fast travel that is just a game mechanic with no story ties in open world games.

Disclaimer: My main experience with games so far has been some Nintendo stuff, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls.

Of what I've played I like Morrowind's fast travel system the most. You don't just open your map and click a button, you talk to people or use a spell/item. And NPCs mention these travel systems and story wise would use them.

I like Oblivion's (and to a lesser extent, Skyrim and the 3D Fallout's) the least. Time passes like your character walked to where you fast traveled but not much is timed so that has little effect on immersion. Too much of the journey has to have gaps filled in by the player's imagination because walking on the road normally has a lot of encounters and wandering off to check out random buildings and people. It encourages less exploration and taking some time with the game.

Obviously I want a balance, I don't want to be walking the same road with 2 wolf encounters a thousand times because it's between two areas I need to frequent. And I don't want 90% of my playtime to be traveling. But I also don't want to keep instantly fast traveling to all places and feel "lazy" and like I'm missing experiences and encounters. And I want more immersion. More character interaction instead of UI interaction.

Crafting with survival elements, one button stealth attacks, random loot with stats in story games.

Not a gameplay mechanic but constant fucking talking mains and npcs

Swimming/diving, it usually has terrible controls. My prime example is Witcher 3, swimming with Geralt feels like steering a freighter while underwater enemies can quickly move in all directions.

Also I generally don't like platforming, but that's just me.

Controversial opinion but I mostly hate crafting. I feel like it's a huge time sink just to make you waste time in the game. It's not content at all just mindless farming for no real reason.

There are games where the whole game revolves around it so you couldn't really remove it from those games. Minecraft is an example.

But I feel like every single game now has some kind of crafting mechanics. Mainly the F2P to get some kind of weird limitation that will either take you half a lifetime to accomplish or $5...

3D 3rd person platforming. Any flavour of it. It consistently either sucks (souls games) or is just plain boring (the uncharted series). I'm sure there are some games where it's done reasonably well (probably some sonic or mario game), but I've never seen that.

Repeateable procedural quests. I feel like this explains it all.

The bane of my existence in any pvp game is crowd control mechanics.

In general, I hate every player skill in pvp games which take away the opponent's ability to play.

QTE by far

Those hints to success "difficult parts". Some games think their players are braindead. If you have some trouble or spend a bit too much time doing a quest or killing a boss, NPCs or game interface constantly yells at us hints to skip those "difficult" parts. Games are more and more aimed for dumb casuals. I'd rather have the satisfaction completing a challenge by myself. Lets not forgot that today's games are increasingly easier and shorter (and pricier) than before...

Games that require you to follow someone, and if you get too far behind, you have to restart.

Open worlds with markers. It takes every feel of exploration from me and changes the open world part of the game to really long and boring interactive loading screen through which I must pass between (very often) very linear missions.

Any puzzly or exploring games that suddenly introduce a twitch response element. Having to successfully jump onto a sequence of 14 wildly gyrating levitating rocks to get to my next “thoughtfully re-arrange some tiles” challenge has caused me to leave so many games unfinished. Basically if I can’t deal with it by mashing every button at random, it ain’t gonna happen.

Do this to get that to get this to get that One example is the Minecraft tech tree. Abosultely no choice whatsoever. I don't ever need to make a choice. Obviously Minecraft is now begining to take steps to sort this out. But it's been over 10 years and the system is ingrained into people's minds

The game over mechanic in platformers. Fine with it in RPGs, but after playing Rayman Legends and Mario Odyssey game overs seem more intrusive in platformers rather than something beneficial to the overall enjoyment of the game.

Either crafting or being Sonic the Hedgehog

Invisible walls, including on high places or on bridges - I get it, possibly it would be less fun if the character dies just because you go a bit off-road, but not everything has to be easy!

Pokemon-style puzzles and crafting.

Quick save/quick load. Not as relevant any more, but so many games used to have it. The meta game just became saving at the opportune moment and trying every possible action from there to progress forward.

Blew my mind in the first Bioshock where you could qs/ql, but the vita chambers were forgiving enough to wean you off it.

Might be a bit too specific but limited-time battles in JRPGs. Not sure how prevalent it is nowadays, but the most recent one to do it that I've played is Persona 5 Royal.

When you enter a level and the camera pans over every important thing in the level before you can move. I'm not an idiot. I can discover the level on my own. Stop holding my hand.

Grinding to advance and make the game easier.

Looking at you fdev with Elite Dangerous, or Rockstar and GTA.

Having balance and not level locking stuff is hard I get that. And you have people that will burn though content like it’s a free crackpipe. But it basically makes a lot of adults or people that just play games casually or in moderation just not fun