Annoying video game mechanics or quirks.

_games
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Any particular mechanic you just can’t stand? Lack of mechanics applies too.

In my case, there are:

Hitting an enemy being based on RNG in Morrowind.

Not being able to replay stages with any character in Devil May Cry 5.

Heat in Tekken 8.

The main character dying while the rest of the party is alive in an RPG meaning an instant game over.

Unskippable cutscenes, your plot ain’t that good, bro.

Unskippable tutorials, specially if they’re tied to the story. Again, your story ain’t that good, bro (looking at you, BOTW and TOTK)

Unskippable start screens.

Quest items being in your inventory after they’re already used.

NPCs walking faster than your walk speed during conversations but slower than your run speed.

Hard mode lazily making enemies tankier.

Fighting games without good training modes (lack of frame data and hitbox displays, no recording options, etc.)

Being found once during a stealth section meaning an instant game over.

At the same time, poorly implemented stealth AI.

Also also, being found somehow means everyone else in the playable area knows where you are.

Having to wait IRL time for an item to craft.

Crafting in games that don’t need it.

Running using stamina outside of combat.

Only being able to sprint for like 3 seconds in horror games.

NPCs telling you to hurry up when the game puts you in an area where there might be stuff to find.

Making it mandatory to win a boss fight just so you get sonned in the cutscene anyway.

Tripping in Super Smash Bros Brawl, you have 1% chance of tripping each time you run and 1.25% when you turn around while running and, if I recall correctly, you have more chances of tripping the better you’re playing. Literally zero reason for this mechanic to exist other than to annoy players.

Long death screens. Ninja Gaiden 3 might have been booboo, but one thing that game did really well is that they completely removed the game over screen. As soon as Ryu dies the game fades to black and fades back in with Ryu alive at the checkpoint.

Being able to get hit while in the middle of animations such as executions (looking at you Bloodlines 2 and Space Marine) climbing objects, etc.

Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring not having pause buttons in offline mode.

Only one save slot.

Not being able to kill important NPCs in some RPGs, instead just “knocking them out.” What happened with still being able to play but if you want to continue you have to load a save file?

Choosing a job that’s considered “evil” in RPGs, for example Necromancer, immediately locking you out from making a morally good character. (Let me be an ethical Necromancer, please!)

Make the same button do different functions.

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I haven’t heard that complaint levied against Breath of the Wild before. One thing I love about it compared to other Zelda games is you get right to the game/fun right away. Are you referring to the Great Plateau as the tutorial?

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I hate when games complicate saving, I understand games wanting to be hard but if you being hard makes is harder for me to have a normal life because the creators don’t want people to save scum then kindly fuck off, I’m modding this out

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Haha this confused me to no end as a kid. Morrowind is now one of my favorite games, and I actually like this feature, but think it’s a totally valid thing to be turned off by.

Agreed on this one. I don’t think I can think of a single example of this I like.

This is one I almost like but only because it’s so spiteful. I’ve heard rumors that this was implemented because of the techniques that evolved from competitive Melee (no idea if it’s true or not). If that’s the case, it feels like a clash of ideals between the developers and the players. While I think this is funny and prefer casual Smash, this feels like a super heavy-handed approach when almost every other competitive option is behind a toggle.

I can get behind this if the design really works with it. I actually like this a lot in the Dragon’s Dogma games, but I think they removed it from Dogma 2 after a lot of negative feedback.

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Both the Plateau and the floating islands, yes.

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Interesting!

I barely even consider it a tutorial. I think it’s one of the best opening sections in a video game.

To the original question, I have a hard time thinking of a general mechanic I don’t like just because I think some games can do them well while others don’t. There are some mechanics that could be considered punishing that I mind in some games and don’t mind in others. Hmmm :thinking:

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Yeah I agree - a lot of how I feel about a mechanic is within its context, and that will of course vary game to game. For instance, I really like the real-time elements in Paper Mario’s turn-based battles but (and I know I’ll get some boos for this) it’s what turned me off of Expedition 33.

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Morrowind is peak personified.

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The classic AAA walk and talk semi-cutscene, especially if the game gives you back control for like 10 seconds and starts another walk and talk semi-cutscene.

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A game having good combat but them trying to make you feel bad about killing enemies

Make up your mind, please

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Metal Gear Solid 4 lol.

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THIS. This fucking garbage almost made me rage quit Valkyria Chronicles :face_with_steam_from_nose:

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The one I get massively stuck on, akin to body-slamming a cactus, is many online PVP games’ adherence to making you enter a hyper-competitive team-play-in-name-only shitstorm like League of Legends or Gundam Battle Operation 2. These are usually just for you to progress or get more currency to experience more of the game, such as characters, cosmetics, unique abilties, whatever.

Live Services are already non-games to me, but these take it a step forwards and may as well be a time/paywall hybrid. As well as withstanding whatever chance of absuive hostility and griefing from people who have no business being a part of a team.

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When a game gives you a wide range of options, and encourages you to do what you want

“Hey! Pick whatever class you want! We support a variety of playstyles!”

But then makes the game unbeatable if you pick the ‘wrong’ option.

Special mention goes to ‘Wrath Of The Righteous’, a pathfinder-based RPG where each character has a predetermined build the developers picked out for you.
You know, in case you just want to play the game and not do paperwork for a team of 12 NPC’s.
Seems like a nice feature, right?

The game is mathematically impossible if you pick the recommended builds.

Fortunately the game has a lot of difficulty modifiers, but it really kills the ending.

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This is straight up bad game design. Classic Fallout comes to mind.

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Yellow paint. Just, yellow paint:tm:.
I loved dishonored for letting you feel smart for things definitely intended. Yellow paint everywhere just makes for one and only one path forward and if you’re lucky with the title perhaps the game didn’t mark the optional area too.

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Obnoxiously short time spans to return back to the area the game wants you to progress to, or risk getting an instant mission failed, is terrible. Easily one of the worst offenders is accidently triggering the hun[G]ry for knowledge ending in Nier: Automata.

It makes you redo an entire slow walking segment before playing as 9S due to the last checkpoint being before the start of Ending B.

I don’t understand why modern games in particular are so stringent with this. Just let the player have fun exploring dang it!

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Is there any specific examples of this one?

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I think Far Cry 3 did this pretty well with Jason becoming better killer in the narrative being tied to the skill tree.

And it doesn’t really try to make you feel bad for killing enemies, but it does comment on how he became a very violent person by the end.

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Final Fantasy VII Remake Moment.