Without a doubt, there are many great games released to date. Yet some of their mechanics make You question whether they were meant to be irritating or overlooked by the creators. From frustratingly slow NPCs to finicky physics, almost each game has something annoying.
Loot boxes
Loot boxes, which also include gacha, are one of the most frustrating mechanics in current games. Game creators tend to set rather high prices for loot boxes in in-game currency. This greatly encourages players to spend real-life money to buy them. On the other hand, this behavior has an explanation as many such games are free-to-play thus creators are looking for ways to monetize gameplay.
Besides unsettlingly high prices, loot boxes can easily get on Your nerves because of their randomness factor. At most, they will guarantee the drop of an item of certain rarity yet without specifying exactly which one. This can definitely deter gamers away from this mechanic as it is highly frustrating even if otherwise their gaming experience is great. There is little nothing more infuriating than spending days grinding for lootboxes but not receiving any of the items wanted.
Gacha
Image via ign.com
While each Western game studio implements loot boxes differently, without following any common standard, the situation is different the East. Gacha (toy vending machine) is a loot boxes mechanic implemented in almost every free-to-play game created by Asia studios. It is usually the only way to get the most powerful items or characters in the game thus making playing the game without spending real-life money rather challenging.
Gacha usually also encourages players to pull the same item several items by using a pity system. The chance of getting the desired item increases each pull encouraging to try luck as much as possible. Also, the item is guaranteed to be given after a certain amount of pulls. This, usually combined with difficult-to-earn in-game currency and intricate modeling of dollar value in the game leads to players spending real-life money to pull the desired item. There is no wonder that more and more governments are banning loot boxes as a form of unsolicited gambling. Games do not have strict age limits thus exposing even the youngest gamers to addictive mechanics.
Frustratingly Slow NPCs
Image via residentevil.wikia.com
Just as it sounds – NPCs that walk slower than the main character and make You awkwardly stop every few steps to wait for them. There are various reasons for this the main one being that player‘s character usually moves unnaturally fast. It would be rather unsettling to see an NPC running around at the speed of 20mph.
Even with that in mind, there are some games that successfully avoided this frustrating problem. One of the simpler solutions is just making NPC run if it falls behind you and stand still if the player does not keep up. This can be seen in Sleeping Dogs and Seelies from Genshin Impact. Other games allow the main character to match NPC‘s speed by pressing a button. Some even lock players into a walking formation thus requiring the player not even think about the direction they are walking.
Annoying physics
Image via gta.fandom.com
Sometimes it just feels as if the creators of the game did not have the resources to properly finish the controls for certain game activities. Such occurrences are incredibly rare when it comes to the main parts of the game. Nonetheless, they often occur in side missions or quests. With them being less vital to the game, game studios tend to cut corners there. Even
One of the most famous examples can be seen in the Grand Theft Auto series, especially older games. A helicopter mission in Vice City where the player needs to control an RC helicopter within a tightly spaced building is usually considered to be the prime example of frustrating mechanics in the game. Dodging 200 thunderbolts in Final Fantasy X is another example of low effort. There is no particular way of getting the achievement, just walking around and blindly guessing when to dodge as it is needed to be done before the bolt animation starts.
Stay Tuned to All The Latest News on Gaming
Interested in learning more? Follow Breach for the latest industry news & don’t forget to Sign up! And be one of the first ones to join Breach MVP, which is rolling out soon!
