Gameplay features that you love

[JoeQ]

We all have things we like seeing in games, so which are the gameplay features and systems that give you that warm, fuzzy feeling? I'll start:

-Hub worlds. I'll take good hub world separating the levels over your fancy open world sandboxes any day!

-Encyclopedias. I just love it when a game has encyclopedia of enemies, items and such for you to fill out, preferably with a blurb describing each entry.

-Quest logs. Closely related to the above, a must for any game with multiple optional side quests.

[Weasel]

If there's 100% completion involved in basically anything, I really appreciate integrated checklists. The Yakuza games typically tie a reward into whether you've eaten every food at every restaurant, and as of 4, you can see a checkmark in every restaurant's menu if you've eaten a given food there. Super Mario Odyssey, even, has not only a list of every Power Moon you've found, but also leaves flags on ones you've seen/heard a hint for - whether from the Talkatoo (who only tells you the name of the moon) or from either of the hint vendors (the Toad or the Amiibo robot, both of which only leave markers on the map).

Yakuza 3 had a character relationship map you could browse at any time. Useful to keep track of whose allegiances lie with whom. Sadly, that feature seems to have been largely removed from newer ones for some reason.

I'm a big fan of Zen Modes in certain games. Bejeweled, Cook Serve Delicious 2, among others - Zen Mode removes all Game Over conditions, disables all game timers, and lets you just play for as long as you like. CSD2's version disables Rush Hour and optionally lets you disable the patience timer on orders...and it still lets you gain "Yum Levels" and rewards for completing a work day in this mode.

[JoeQ]

Dec 4, 2017 9:39:29 GMT -5 Weasel said:

If there's 100% completion involved in basically anything, I really appreciate integrated checklists.

Oh yeah, definitely this too. Makes getting 100% much less of a pain, should be mandatory especially in sandbox games. I particularly appreciated Far Cry 2 (despite it's many faults) marking each diamond you found on the map, so you could easily tell which one's you'd already found and which ones were missing.

[ommadawnyawn2]

Yes to in-game journals/quest logs. Hub worlds can be nice when done like that, or not so nice like in Sonic Adventure for example.

-Mechanics explanations that aren't intrusive but can easily be found.

-Optional hints in puzzle or p&c games that don't make the solution obvious.

-FFW & Skippable text by paragraph/sentence/message box basis. MGS really needed this in the entire game imo. If I'm getting sick of a cutscene/dialogue scene and just want to get the info at my own pace this is very useful. 

[kaoru]

Save anywhere (even just temporary suspend saves).

FFW text.

[dsparil]

Cut scenes that let you rewind. I think I've only seen this once and I can't remember where. A great feature sorely lacking basically everywhere.

[Bumpyroad]

Balanced co-op.

[ZenithianHero]

HUB levels are cool. I don't mind big world map screens some are pretty to look at. As long as I am able to replay levels in a game with ease.

I appreciate it when you are able to exit the level and keep your collectable. I am playing Spelunker on Switch and you can even die and you keep the collectable.

Story/quest logs.

Able to easily access cutscenes you watched.

I like the idea of taking notes in-game. Like Etrian Odyssey or even a simple marker system in Zelda Breath of the Wild.

[GamerL]

Dec 4, 2017 9:09:20 GMT -5 JoeQ said:

-Hub worlds. I'll take good hub world separating the levels over your fancy open world sandboxes any day!

-Encyclopedias. I just love it when a game has encyclopedia of enemies, items and such for you to fill out, preferably with a blurb describing each entry.

Oh yes, I love those too, like the bestiaries in all the Metroidvanias.

And flavor text for weapons and items is great too, Ninja Gaiden 2 for example has surprisingly intricate ones, like ridiculously so where there's whole little stories about some of the keys, it's crazy and awesome.

I love a well done hub world as well, I think the best I've seen would be Banjo Tooie and Jak and Daxter (which was especially cool since there was a seamless transition between the hub and levels.)

Dec 4, 2017 10:35:13 GMT -5 dsparil said:

Cut scenes that let you rewind. I think I've only seen this once and I can't remember where. A great feature sorely lacking basically everywhere.

Or at least being able to pause cutscenes is nice.


Anyway, I love 3D games with Metroidvania elements like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Alien: Isolation and Prey 2017, it's so satisfying to be able to go back and unlock a door or reach a previously unaccessible area.

[🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀]

Losing or death being meaningful/well balanced and checkpoints/saving being carefully thought out. Game Overs were recently something I found very well handled in the original Super Mario Bros., for example. Another example I've been thinking about recently is Splatoon 2. Losing an online match stings because you'll most likely be upgrading something via drink/food tickets, but it doesn't give you absolutely nothing. It strikes the right balance providing a real motivation to not lose, but making losing not too frustrating.

Something like losing half your cash in Dragon Quest or having limited save options in Resident Evil are also great mechanics I think.

Dec 4, 2017 9:39:29 GMT -5 Weasel said:

If there's 100% completion involved in basically anything, I really appreciate integrated checklists. The Yakuza games typically tie a reward into whether you've eaten every food at every restaurant, and as of 4, you can see a checkmark in every restaurant's menu if you've eaten a given food there. Super Mario Odyssey, even, has not only a list of every Power Moon you've found, but also leaves flags on ones you've seen/heard a hint for - whether from the Talkatoo (who only tells you the name of the moon) or from either of the hint vendors (the Toad or the Amiibo robot, both of which only leave markers on the map).

I definitely like this. Mario Odyssey does this in a really smart way indeed. Funny, because the blue coins from Sunshine are one of the worst examples of something like that gone wrong.

[zerker]

Dec 4, 2017 10:27:52 GMT -5 kaoru said:

FFW text.

Personally, I prefer just the option to set the text speed to 'full text box at once'. Every game since Actraiser 1 makes me cringe when it doesn't have this. Please, don't make me hit the A button twice as much just because I read faster than the default text speed

[ResidentTsundere]

I love features like integrated checklists and cutscenes you can rewatch as well.

Some of my favorite features are:

1. Relationship values

2. Dialog trees

3. Item crafting

4. Weapons that can be leveled up

5. Randomized dungeons

6. Multiple endings

7. On-rails shooting sections, like when you man a turret on the back of a vehicle and have to fend off enemies while another character drives

[alphex]

Divekicking
Walljumping
Dashing
Overworld maps
Physics that are fun to play around with, even without a designed level being present

[jorpho]

Dec 4, 2017 9:39:29 GMT -5 Weasel said:

If there's 100% completion involved in basically anything, I really appreciate integrated checklists.

I posted elsewhere how bloody infuriating it was playing Kirby Triple Deluxe when I learned that there was no way of knowing whether you had missed the rare key chain in each level if you didn't start keeping track from the beginning. (There's not even a clear indication that each level has one rare keychain, for that matter.) No excuse for that kind of business anymore, nope.

[Sac (a.k.a Icaras)]

RPGs that have a "journal" system, so that if you put the game down for a bit and forget where you were meant to go but also what was happeneing, you can get just enough info so that you don't feel like you need to start over (or have to trawl through a walkthru and possible get spoilers)