Anything in a menu that you have to do a lot, but still requires multiple inputs to achieve. Think resource management in No Man's Sky or Dark Souls. Crucial to the game, but breaks your flow over and over again.
Not being able to pause and rewind cutscenes. I’ve got ADHD and my attention wanders even if I’m interested in something. Let me rewind to see what I missed when my brain seeking dopamine told me to check my phone.
And being forced to walk slowly in a scene for reasons. It’s not fun; it’s frustrating.
-The save points just before a cutscene, so if you die, you are forced to watch the said cutscene again and again.
-When characters are discussing, they say what the player is supposed to do. Dude, i'm the one who's supposed to do so, not the guy you're talking with.
@daredevil when I find myself in an ancient cave or tomb that has been abandoned for centuries but there's a torch burning on the wall and candles next to every treasure chest.
Having basic features like split screen, or even the settings themselves, locked behind progression walls.
This one is kinda specific to Bethesda games but fast traveling to a point only to have to load again because it put me right outside a door that is a load screen instead of putting me just inside that door so I only have to load once for the actual fast travel.
Not having an FOV slider.
Constant bullshit popping up on screen. Damage numbers, kill streak messages, onomatopoeias, etc. That shit is distracting as all fuck.
Games with special currencies you can pay for with real money but can also be earned by playing, but limit how much you can earn by playing.
Not having quick easy saves whenever it would be easy to do. There are times when it can't be implemented for a good reason (a bad reason would be to make the game harder. sure ok but that's such a boring way to do that) and it's fine but i still might quit playing the game forever when i realize my cat launching herself on the keyboard somehow closed all my programs. there goes that whole pain in the ass boss fight.
A nice post prompt, OP. To start, and to riff off yours, I'd say games that don't have a run option, and insist on a milquetoast in between of "fast-walking." Here are mine that I can think of from some of the most recent games I've played:
–No third-person viewing option in an RPG; e.g., Cyberpunk 2077. After readily having the option in my hundreds of combined hours in Skyrim and FO, it felt preposterous not having the option to view my character at will. Crazy.
–Needlessly loud start menu music or fx leading to the title screen
–I'm doubtful there's any sort of terminology for this, but, mission-style games that don't make any attempt to establish a linear, interlocking world. E.g., Nioh. It's very souls-like overall, but I really wish this aspect of the game was more like a From game in this regard.
Might edit in some more if this post stays active.
Sequels having less features than the previous game without being a complete enough experience that you could ignore it. If they got rid of a lot of shallow features to focus more in-depth on others, that's understandable.
@daredevil oh and also cutscenes every two minutes.
I tried to replay Max Payne 3 recently and it's intolerable. You never get time enough to get into any kind of flow. Even though the actual gameplay is fun, I put it down after an hour or so (and about thirty cutscenes up to that point). 😩
I couldn't agree more. There's a time for story and exposition, and a time for gameplay. Developers who don't let the player flow in either direction create a very jarring experience. It totally breaks the immersion.
Honestly I am so over tutorials/slow starts. If it takes an hour of cutscenes, bullshit exposition, walk forward, jump three times… i don’t have the patience for it anymore.
If I wanted to fucking hold down a key while wiggling a mouse or tapping an arrow key, I wouldn't need a game to do it. It isn't fucking fun for me. Yeah, yeah, what about those graphics as you travel? Well, the first dozen times, that's great. But it gets fucking old fast. Give me a fucking mount already, or do a quick cut scene, whatever; just don't waste five+ minutes of my life watching fake things scroll by. If I wanted to watch scenery go by, I'd call a fucking taxi in the real world.
-Being sadistic towards my character and the NPC. I kill myself if it can be done in a spectacular manneer and i shoot gratuitously at the NPCs.
-Explore the world outside the limits of the map.