20 CONTROVERSIAL Game Mechanics Nobody Can Agree On
video description
Date: 2025-06-22
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 20
whyjnot420
Weapon durability is a great way to start off a list like this. I honestly think everyone hates it, but there are two distinct groups. People who hate it and people who love hating it. Nobody actually enjoys it even if it adds enjoyment to their experience. If that makes any sense. It is like the difference between hating how an author wrote a character and truly hating the character itself.
The original S. T. A. L. K. E. R. is a great example of why it can be awesome and why it can be atrocious at the same time. Repairing weapons wasn't a thing in the original Shadow of Chernobyl. That was objectively bad. But because of the mechanic, you could end up in mad scrambles during fights, looking for a less worn gun. It could get chaotic and completely fit the atmosphere of the game. Stuff like that added an authenticity to the action in a way not many things can do.
(My own basic thoughts on it are that it is fine to implement it into a game, so long as it makes sense as to what kind of wear it actually is and why it occurs. Also that it cannot by any means be implemented in such a way as to penalize the player. Give things a fair bit of durability and a way to fix things that isn't too hard or time consuming and also fits in organically)
reply
Weapon durability is a great way to start off a list like this. I honestly think everyone hates it, but there are two distinct groups. People who hate it and people who love hating it. Nobody actually enjoys it even if it adds enjoyment to their experience. If that makes any sense. It is like the difference between hating how an author wrote a character and truly hating the character itself.
The original S. T. A. L. K. E. R. is a great example of why it can be awesome and why it can be atrocious at the same time. Repairing weapons wasn't a thing in the original Shadow of Chernobyl. That was objectively bad. But because of the mechanic, you could end up in mad scrambles during fights, looking for a less worn gun. It could get chaotic and completely fit the atmosphere of the game. Stuff like that added an authenticity to the action in a way not many things can do.
(My own basic thoughts on it are that it is fine to implement it into a game, so long as it makes sense as to what kind of wear it actually is and why it occurs. Also that it cannot by any means be implemented in such a way as to penalize the player. Give things a fair bit of durability and a way to fix things that isn't too hard or time consuming and also fits in organically)
reply
TheThird1977
#20 - Days Gone's mechanics for repairing melee weapons is, in my opinion, the perfect balance between weapons being worn down and the player's ability to keep a favourite.
#15 - Zombi utilised a corpse run mechanic exceptionally well AND gave a perfect in-story reason for it existing.
#9 - The level-scaling in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey was ridiculously annoying. For me, the level of enemies in the area should have remained constant so that you felt like you were progressing beyond the generic goons (i. e. becoming the legendary warrior you are supposed to be. At least make it an option you can turn on or off.
#3 - The yellow paint guides has at least a tangential base in reality. Smugglers in olden days would mark passageways and secret routes with symbols or paint, so it being a feature in games where passageways and secret routes would be marked makes sense.
reply
#20 - Days Gone's mechanics for repairing melee weapons is, in my opinion, the perfect balance between weapons being worn down and the player's ability to keep a favourite.
#15 - Zombi utilised a corpse run mechanic exceptionally well AND gave a perfect in-story reason for it existing.
#9 - The level-scaling in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey was ridiculously annoying. For me, the level of enemies in the area should have remained constant so that you felt like you were progressing beyond the generic goons (i. e. becoming the legendary warrior you are supposed to be. At least make it an option you can turn on or off.
#3 - The yellow paint guides has at least a tangential base in reality. Smugglers in olden days would mark passageways and secret routes with symbols or paint, so it being a feature in games where passageways and secret routes would be marked makes sense.
reply
whyjnot420
I recently played through the remasters of Suikoden I & II (Konami actually did a great job here. The random battles work as well in those games now as they did 30 years ago. OK, they aren't necessary due to limitations anymore, but they still work as a stylistic choice.
food for thought: Random battles punish people who love their quicksave too much and a lot of the hate comes from this avenue. Especially since another system that often accompanies random battles are preset save points. Which of course means the ability to save anywhere is totally gone. So, is it a case of the kids being spoiled I know for a fact that tons of people only really enjoyed 8 and 16 bit rpgs and other games, because of emulators and being able to save the state of a game outright. Quality of life improvements The kids being spoiled I think people just need to lay off the F5.
reply
I recently played through the remasters of Suikoden I & II (Konami actually did a great job here. The random battles work as well in those games now as they did 30 years ago. OK, they aren't necessary due to limitations anymore, but they still work as a stylistic choice.
food for thought: Random battles punish people who love their quicksave too much and a lot of the hate comes from this avenue. Especially since another system that often accompanies random battles are preset save points. Which of course means the ability to save anywhere is totally gone. So, is it a case of the kids being spoiled I know for a fact that tons of people only really enjoyed 8 and 16 bit rpgs and other games, because of emulators and being able to save the state of a game outright. Quality of life improvements The kids being spoiled I think people just need to lay off the F5.
reply
privacyvalued4134
Level scaling would be fine if their level scaled only in relation to their _original_ level based on a logarithmic curve. They can level but only for so long before they reach their absolute max. Let's say an enemy was level 1, then the maximum it should ever get to is maybe level 5. It initially level scales but then stops. After a while your character pulls so far ahead you can bash on them like nothing. In fact, they look at you and tend to just avoid doing battle altogether. Although a bum-rush of hundreds/thousands of low-level units carefully working to surround/overwhelm your character could be fun. A logarithm would allow higher level units to level scale a bit more than lower level units until their maximum.
reply
Level scaling would be fine if their level scaled only in relation to their _original_ level based on a logarithmic curve. They can level but only for so long before they reach their absolute max. Let's say an enemy was level 1, then the maximum it should ever get to is maybe level 5. It initially level scales but then stops. After a while your character pulls so far ahead you can bash on them like nothing. In fact, they look at you and tend to just avoid doing battle altogether. Although a bum-rush of hundreds/thousands of low-level units carefully working to surround/overwhelm your character could be fun. A logarithm would allow higher level units to level scale a bit more than lower level units until their maximum.
reply
whyjnot420
Getting rid of weight limits and other annoying inventory stuff is often some of the first mods I will do to a game.
I know how to limit myself when I want to play that way. Just because my inventory is unlimited doesn't force me to loot every single thing between point A and B. The way I see it is that I don't need the game forcing me to adhere to things that are as arbitrary as those are at times.
I do understand that it is a good mechanic for survival stuff and I think it works decently as a general way to limit inventory in online games. As I am not personally interested in such games, I will always see weight limits and other inventory stuff as too annoying to be worth it in the stuff I do play.
reply
Getting rid of weight limits and other annoying inventory stuff is often some of the first mods I will do to a game.
I know how to limit myself when I want to play that way. Just because my inventory is unlimited doesn't force me to loot every single thing between point A and B. The way I see it is that I don't need the game forcing me to adhere to things that are as arbitrary as those are at times.
I do understand that it is a good mechanic for survival stuff and I think it works decently as a general way to limit inventory in online games. As I am not personally interested in such games, I will always see weight limits and other inventory stuff as too annoying to be worth it in the stuff I do play.
reply
gameranx
yeah it may be degrading, but the easy modes that become unlockable aren't mandatory. If ya wanna 'git gud', you can just ignore the item or mode altogether. I think its awesome games this decade are leaning more into Accessibility options or, how I used to remember them Cheats. Now I can cater my difficulty to be easier or harder depending on how I feel or what kind of experience I am looking for. I think its awesome and does nothing but invite more players to play said game. Just like Lies of P's update where you can play as easier mode. Yeah, sure I'm a scrublord fake gamer, but at least I won't break 15 controllers trying to get past the first boss.
reply
yeah it may be degrading, but the easy modes that become unlockable aren't mandatory. If ya wanna 'git gud', you can just ignore the item or mode altogether. I think its awesome games this decade are leaning more into Accessibility options or, how I used to remember them Cheats. Now I can cater my difficulty to be easier or harder depending on how I feel or what kind of experience I am looking for. I think its awesome and does nothing but invite more players to play said game. Just like Lies of P's update where you can play as easier mode. Yeah, sure I'm a scrublord fake gamer, but at least I won't break 15 controllers trying to get past the first boss.
reply
Monty2289
In a large capacity race especially in recent titles the Blue Shell is not a comeback mechanic. It targets the person in first and to get it you'd normally be doing poorly. Even if you're a professional bagger the Blue Shell won't help YOU catch up. It'll simply hurt the one leading. In older entries this wouldn't be so bad. The shell traveled along the ground potentially hitting racers in front of you.
It hovers now and with MKW having large roads and you having even more ability to dodge it its literally a worse red shell in regards to your ability to mount a comeback. All of this to say its not a comeback item
reply
In a large capacity race especially in recent titles the Blue Shell is not a comeback mechanic. It targets the person in first and to get it you'd normally be doing poorly. Even if you're a professional bagger the Blue Shell won't help YOU catch up. It'll simply hurt the one leading. In older entries this wouldn't be so bad. The shell traveled along the ground potentially hitting racers in front of you.
It hovers now and with MKW having large roads and you having even more ability to dodge it its literally a worse red shell in regards to your ability to mount a comeback. All of this to say its not a comeback item
reply
edmonddantes6120
Lately the degradation of character design being imposed in games made in america and probably europe too, i mean they are fictional drawings, make them more appealing smh, to be the cherry on top for a good game, but instead they make them look like they are almost retired irl, and sending them to fight armies of monsters or idk, some games give them very limited stamina and dependent on certain meds to make it more realistic, instead of making some character in their 20's they look like my retired teachers, some of them, well, some are exceptions because they fit great in the story so i let it slide.
reply
Lately the degradation of character design being imposed in games made in america and probably europe too, i mean they are fictional drawings, make them more appealing smh, to be the cherry on top for a good game, but instead they make them look like they are almost retired irl, and sending them to fight armies of monsters or idk, some games give them very limited stamina and dependent on certain meds to make it more realistic, instead of making some character in their 20's they look like my retired teachers, some of them, well, some are exceptions because they fit great in the story so i let it slide.
reply
Jigsaw407
Oh yeah, FarCry 2 was horrible. You could barely make it through 2 mags until a gun exploded in your hands and you had to pick up a new one. Worst game mechanic: bosses with health bars 10 kilometers long that take half an hour to wear down. Tedious, boring and no fun whatsoever. Yeah, fun, the reason to play games in the first place. I want to continue my exploration and not spend a significant portion of my playtime in one location forced to slug through a part of the game that gives me no joy whatsoever. The same goes for grinding.
reply
Oh yeah, FarCry 2 was horrible. You could barely make it through 2 mags until a gun exploded in your hands and you had to pick up a new one. Worst game mechanic: bosses with health bars 10 kilometers long that take half an hour to wear down. Tedious, boring and no fun whatsoever. Yeah, fun, the reason to play games in the first place. I want to continue my exploration and not spend a significant portion of my playtime in one location forced to slug through a part of the game that gives me no joy whatsoever. The same goes for grinding.
reply
sophdog1678
Progress in an RPG that is gated through a time-limit stage. Or any mechanic that disturbs my turtling and tries to hurry me up. This made me quit God of War. There was some stage where I had to run around and hit three or four tough targets with my axe, within a time limit, in order to proceed. I ain't got the twitch reflexes for that any more, so I gave up after two or three tries. And even if there's a way around it I didn't know - I don't care, my interest just evaporated.
reply
Progress in an RPG that is gated through a time-limit stage. Or any mechanic that disturbs my turtling and tries to hurry me up. This made me quit God of War. There was some stage where I had to run around and hit three or four tough targets with my axe, within a time limit, in order to proceed. I ain't got the twitch reflexes for that any more, so I gave up after two or three tries. And even if there's a way around it I didn't know - I don't care, my interest just evaporated.
reply
TrumpNewPiercing
I don't mind the yellow paint in games. It helps the players out more where to go I played star wars I think jedi fallen order I was really getting into it then got to a tomb called Miktrull something like that I had no idea where the F I was going it wasn't even giving me directions in the game, so I took a break had work etc got back onto it a week/ 2 later and still didn't so just gave up I might try the game again in the future as with the follow up game
reply
I don't mind the yellow paint in games. It helps the players out more where to go I played star wars I think jedi fallen order I was really getting into it then got to a tomb called Miktrull something like that I had no idea where the F I was going it wasn't even giving me directions in the game, so I took a break had work etc got back onto it a week/ 2 later and still didn't so just gave up I might try the game again in the future as with the follow up game
reply
Lah-kahn
Complaining about unlockable easy modes that are completely optional and you have zero need to engage with is definitely an L take. Almost as big an L take as complaining about grind in a game that's essentially grind/loot/progress based in the first place. Like if someone plays Diablo or Destiny and complains about the grind then yea maybe just play something else. That's the same level of logic as playing CoD and complaining about getting shot at.
reply
Complaining about unlockable easy modes that are completely optional and you have zero need to engage with is definitely an L take. Almost as big an L take as complaining about grind in a game that's essentially grind/loot/progress based in the first place. Like if someone plays Diablo or Destiny and complains about the grind then yea maybe just play something else. That's the same level of logic as playing CoD and complaining about getting shot at.
reply
Rankoldbeast_UK
I understand the point of the white/yellow paint, especially as graphics get more realistic you need something to show you where to go. However, ghost of Tsushima managed to be easy to navigate and easy to see where to climb without any yellow paint.
Also I have never disagreed with gameranx harder than claiming food was hard to come by and confusing in RDR2. It's everywhere and not even necessary if you don't want to play that way.
reply
I understand the point of the white/yellow paint, especially as graphics get more realistic you need something to show you where to go. However, ghost of Tsushima managed to be easy to navigate and easy to see where to climb without any yellow paint.
Also I have never disagreed with gameranx harder than claiming food was hard to come by and confusing in RDR2. It's everywhere and not even necessary if you don't want to play that way.
reply
burningsheep4473
Don't know about Stalker 2 as the hardware requirements are a bit silly, but in Far Cry 2 you basically just tried to not engage every checkpoint and tried to play proactively: Exchanging the loadout occasionally instead of ignoring the mechanics and waiting till the jamming starts. You used stealth to get around or engage as far as possible. Fire was a very powerful weapon as well. And very cheap on ammo/durability.
reply
Don't know about Stalker 2 as the hardware requirements are a bit silly, but in Far Cry 2 you basically just tried to not engage every checkpoint and tried to play proactively: Exchanging the loadout occasionally instead of ignoring the mechanics and waiting till the jamming starts. You used stealth to get around or engage as far as possible. Fire was a very powerful weapon as well. And very cheap on ammo/durability.
reply
darkmirror21
as much as falcon ragged on the kinect, the actual peripheral is a very interesting piece of tech. i remember in uni, we played around using motion controls with kinect as an actual peripheral with computers. i was just someone who test it though so i have no clue what happened to the project but as awful as its use was on xbox games, it really was an astounding piece of tech for how it detects motion
reply
as much as falcon ragged on the kinect, the actual peripheral is a very interesting piece of tech. i remember in uni, we played around using motion controls with kinect as an actual peripheral with computers. i was just someone who test it though so i have no clue what happened to the project but as awful as its use was on xbox games, it really was an astounding piece of tech for how it detects motion
reply
philkensebben6672
I understand the thinking behind weapon durability in games like BOTW, and under other circumstances it could work, but in Fantasy settings your weapon is basically a character, and the Master Sword is no different. It’s a quintessential part of any fantasy adventure and forcing you to use tree branches and putting limitations on actual weapons just really kills a lot of the immersion for me
reply
I understand the thinking behind weapon durability in games like BOTW, and under other circumstances it could work, but in Fantasy settings your weapon is basically a character, and the Master Sword is no different. It’s a quintessential part of any fantasy adventure and forcing you to use tree branches and putting limitations on actual weapons just really kills a lot of the immersion for me
reply
James-lp5
Ark seems to check a few of those boxes, fall damage that doesn't seem to make sense in some places, rubber banding (though mainly due to crappy servers if your online, needing to back track to your dead corpse to recover your valuables, equipment like weapons, tools and armor have limited durability, managing food to live for you and your tamed animals and being encumbered by your mobile inventory.
reply
Ark seems to check a few of those boxes, fall damage that doesn't seem to make sense in some places, rubber banding (though mainly due to crappy servers if your online, needing to back track to your dead corpse to recover your valuables, equipment like weapons, tools and armor have limited durability, managing food to live for you and your tamed animals and being encumbered by your mobile inventory.
reply
ericsmith551
Tell me you don't understand what Prism Stones are for in the FromSoft games without saying What Prism Stones Heh. Never thought I'd get to call Falcon a n00b about something. Not sure about a drop Afraid you'll lose that mountain of souls/blood echoes/runes Toss a Prism Stone down. If it shatters You die. Lands and gets all sparkly shiny You should be good, provided you don't have low health.
reply
Tell me you don't understand what Prism Stones are for in the FromSoft games without saying What Prism Stones Heh. Never thought I'd get to call Falcon a n00b about something. Not sure about a drop Afraid you'll lose that mountain of souls/blood echoes/runes Toss a Prism Stone down. If it shatters You die. Lands and gets all sparkly shiny You should be good, provided you don't have low health.
reply
Psycho250785
Em I think Save and quit was available in KCD 1 as well.
However, I think it didn’t have saves at story progression points like the 2nd one.
Anyways, never had problems with saving mechanics in both KCD games. Yes, it could have been challenging for the 1st few hours, but then you either learn how to make the schnapps, get enough money to buy it or just find it in the loot.
reply
Em I think Save and quit was available in KCD 1 as well.
However, I think it didn’t have saves at story progression points like the 2nd one.
Anyways, never had problems with saving mechanics in both KCD games. Yes, it could have been challenging for the 1st few hours, but then you either learn how to make the schnapps, get enough money to buy it or just find it in the loot.
reply
cjdowns5748
I hate it when the ai has 100% accuracy. I just started playing skull and bones off the ps extra catalog and besides the crappy inventory horrible sailing, pathetic fast travel etc the thing I hate most is getting hit with a full barrage of cannons and mortars from every enemy ship while at full sail while gigantic waves obscure anything further away than 10 meters.
reply
I hate it when the ai has 100% accuracy. I just started playing skull and bones off the ps extra catalog and besides the crappy inventory horrible sailing, pathetic fast travel etc the thing I hate most is getting hit with a full barrage of cannons and mortars from every enemy ship while at full sail while gigantic waves obscure anything further away than 10 meters.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
