Gaming Pet Peeves

[RiffRaff]

What's something that annoys you while gaming?

I hate it when it's not clear where I have to go to next, especially in modern games. It's forgivable in older games, but if I'm wasting time searching for the next spot to advance the game for more than 5 minutes, fuck that jazz. Always give me clear direction unless the main point of the game is figuring out where to head next and the design is based around that (Hollow Knight, La Mulana for example).

Also, arbitrary, busy-work puzzles. Fuck you and your switches.

 

[Heat]

Maybe its my fault to play that kind of genre, but i grew to HATE talking animals/mascots/fairies/angels on JRPGs. Seriously, at least give me the option to mute that lil bastard!

Also, tutorials that go on for an hour of gameplay can go to the juiciest moistest part of hell.

 

[zatoseyes]

Unskippable cutscenes and cinematic walking are up there for me.

But nothing upsets me more than playing the sequel to a fighting game and finding out my favorite character doesn't play like they did in the previous game. It's like going to put on your most broken-in comfy pair of shoes to find out that they are now cowboy boots that are just a little too tight.

 

[Rico Penguin]

Tutorials. Specifically ones you can't completely skip or turn off. I dislike them more than almost anything in entertainment. Partly why mobile games just don't work for me.

 

[Parismio]

Padding. Especially in RPG's. I could tolerate it when I was younger cause I didn't know any better but now I can't stand it. Every RPG could learn a thing or two from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Both are pretty lengthy that could be beaten in about 25-40 hours but they both have minimal fluff whose story gets right to the point. I felt like I was hitting story beats back to back to back.

 

[Charlton Heston]

When people complain about the luxury of having entertainment to complain about.

I apologize: I'm old and cranky.

 

[NeoTurbo]

Missable sidequests and items. Just let me do the things or get the things whenever!

 

[Avoclefo]

Excessive grinding without a 2x/4x speed mode. Getting destroyed by a boss and then killing the same enemy for 2 hours to level up is such a pace killer.

 

[LaserPirate]

Maybe its my fault to play that kind of genre, but i grew to HATE talking animals/mascots/fairies/angels on JRPGs. Seriously, at least give me the option to mute that lil bastard!

Also, tutorials that go on for an hour of gameplay can go to the juiciest moistest part of hell.

Trying to play through Xenoblade Chronicles 2, those weird guinea pig things are the worst. Why do they have to sound like that and speak like their dumb?

 

[RiffRaff]

Unskippable cutscenes and cinematic walking are up there for me.

On the flip-side, I hate it when cutscenes aren't pauseable and even worse, when you press the pause button and it skips the cutscene (even more egregious when you don't have a way in-game to go back and watch said skipped cutscene other than reloading a save)

 

[RiffRaff]

See, this is what I love about the 3DS, the Vita, and the Switch. It's just so easy to quickly hit the home button or close the console, pausing whatever part of the game you're in -- even cutscenes.

That sleep button is low-key one of the best features on the Switch. I often don't have to wait for long loads when playing something like The Witcher 3 or Divinity 2!

 

[Kerrik52]

Action sequences where you die instantly if you can't guess the content of the director's script. Uncharted and RE6 does this a lot.

 

[Dango]

Genres bleeding together for no reason other than to attract a wide audience. It's so cynical, and it happens even in games I otherwise love. I'm not even sure it's that effective. Call of Duty, Gran Turismo and Super Mario are all top sellers without needing this to do shit.

Also, these days I really hate everything that goes against my "finish game after game" mentality. Overuse of the open world structure is especially bad. Bonus content and replayability is great though. More games should focus on "width" instead of length.

 

[RiffRaff]

More games should focus on "width" instead of length.

Word! My wife definitely appreciates some girth.

 

[zatoseyes]

More games should focus on "width" instead of length.

I do love me a nice girthy video game.

 

[Scrustle]

When the game makes you hold down a button to do basic interactions instead of just a press. It just wastes time and makes the UX feel awful. There are times where it is appropriate to use, but it should be avoided for basic stuff that you're doing all the time.

Missable sidequests and items. Just let me do the things or get the things whenever!

Rarely a problem for me, but it did annoy me in Nier Automata. I was trying to get all the endings, and it turns out there's one which is missable, because you can only do it during a specific sidequest. Not only had I already done that sidequest, the way to get the ending was to die at a specific point during the quest. So not only is it missable, to get it you have to be bad at the game, but only during one tiny window.

 

[RiffRaff]

When the game makes you hold down a button to do basic interactions instead of just a press. It just wastes time and makes the UX feel awful. There are times where it is appropriate to use, but it should be avoided for basic stuff that you're doing all the time.

I will say, I appreciate it when a game gives you the option to simply hold the button opposed to mashing it (Naughty Dog games for example). I'm with you though. Holding a button, especially for picking something up, is annoying!

 

[Boxman214]

This is more than a pet peeve. It's something I genuinely despise.

Stealth sequences in games non-stealth games. They are some of the most infuriating things ever.

Literally dealt with this yesterday. Was finishing up Deliver Us The Moon. It has a stealth sequence in the middle of the final act of the game. And it's TERRIBLE. Fortunately, the game is very buggy. So I was able to cheese my way through it even though I should have died. But even pulling that off took about a dozen tries.

 

[LaserPirate]

On the flip-side, I hate it when cutscenes aren't pauseable and even worse, when you press the pause button and it skips the cutscene (even more egregious when you don't have a way in-game to go back and watch said skipped cutscene other than reloading a save)

Oh, I hate that. I'd say accidentally shippable cutscenes are just as bad as the unskippable ones.

 

[Rico Penguin]

I will say, I appreciate it when a game gives you the option to simply hold the button opposed to mashing it (Naughty Dog games for example). I'm with you though. Holding a button, especially for picking something up, is annoying!

FF7R does this and I'm always like "But why though?" lol.