A thread of the greatest game mechanics of all time...
Posted: May 16th, 2023, 6:00 pm
We all love games, but sometimes a game has an idea you've never seen before and it is amazing. Maybe the whole game is built around this one idea, or maybe it's just a small aspect of why any particular game is brilliant, but interesting game mechanics are one of the reasons we all play. How about a list of some of the greatest game mechanics of all time...
I'll start.
Link's Powers (Breath Of The Wild)
A huge open world sandbox where, aside from a small number of overall objectives, you're largely left to make your own fun through discovery, experimentation and - perhaps most importantly of all - Link's powers. Creating columns of ice in mud puddles to give you a headstart climbing a tower, dropping huge metal crates on the head of an unsuspecting lynel or freezing time to solve a tricky shrine, and that's not even mentioning the speed runners who managed to exploit Link's bomb abilities to catapult themselves across the map in record times. The possibilities were endless. I understand the abilities have been greatly expanded upon in the sequel, but back in 2017 we'd never had such a versatile set of powers to mess around and cause mayhem with.
Corvo's Blink (Dishonored series)
The ultimate stealth ability. Teleport yourself behind a guard, choke them out and carry them in the same move, and teleport you both to a rooftop, all in the blink of an eye. Corvo has a wide range of powers across the two games, but none are more important for stealthy play than the blink. I can't imagine playing these games without it. I'm not the biggest fan of stealth games, but being able to teleport out of sight or out of danger made these games much more playable for me.
Bullet Time (Max Payne series)
I'm sure it wasn't the first game to offer a slowdown effect but Max Payne was the game that surely brought it to the masses. There was little cooler at the time than slow-mo diving in to a room, popping out headshots before landing with a bump. The effect got even more interesting with subsequent games, adding more features and rewards for chaining kills. Heavily inspired by The Matrix perhaps, and we've seen it implemented in multiple games since, but I'll always associate bullet time with Max Payne more than anything else.
Grapple-chute (Just Cause series)
Whilst slightly more limited in use in the first game in the series, the grapple-chute (I'm sure it's probably got a proper name) really came in to it's own in Just Cause 2. A huge, open world map, where the slowest way to get around was in a car. If you were driving anywhere in this game, you were playing it wrong. Parachuting down on to the back of cars, taking out the driver and then launching back in to the air whilst grappling on to the side of a building for maximum speed - awesome fun.
Portal Gun (Portal series)
An entire game built around one mechanic could have got boring, but the first Portal is testament to what a great idea it was. A space-bending gun that allowed you to protect portals on to almost any surface was amazing fun. I don't think anyone who played that game didn't create themselves an infinite loop; one portal in the ceiling and one of the floor before jumping in and reaching maximum velocity. The gun was a joy to use from start to finish, and allowed players to get creative with how they solved each puzzle. They should put a portal gun in the next Call Of Duty.
Now post some more!
I'll start.
Link's Powers (Breath Of The Wild)
A huge open world sandbox where, aside from a small number of overall objectives, you're largely left to make your own fun through discovery, experimentation and - perhaps most importantly of all - Link's powers. Creating columns of ice in mud puddles to give you a headstart climbing a tower, dropping huge metal crates on the head of an unsuspecting lynel or freezing time to solve a tricky shrine, and that's not even mentioning the speed runners who managed to exploit Link's bomb abilities to catapult themselves across the map in record times. The possibilities were endless. I understand the abilities have been greatly expanded upon in the sequel, but back in 2017 we'd never had such a versatile set of powers to mess around and cause mayhem with.
Corvo's Blink (Dishonored series)
The ultimate stealth ability. Teleport yourself behind a guard, choke them out and carry them in the same move, and teleport you both to a rooftop, all in the blink of an eye. Corvo has a wide range of powers across the two games, but none are more important for stealthy play than the blink. I can't imagine playing these games without it. I'm not the biggest fan of stealth games, but being able to teleport out of sight or out of danger made these games much more playable for me.
Bullet Time (Max Payne series)
I'm sure it wasn't the first game to offer a slowdown effect but Max Payne was the game that surely brought it to the masses. There was little cooler at the time than slow-mo diving in to a room, popping out headshots before landing with a bump. The effect got even more interesting with subsequent games, adding more features and rewards for chaining kills. Heavily inspired by The Matrix perhaps, and we've seen it implemented in multiple games since, but I'll always associate bullet time with Max Payne more than anything else.
Grapple-chute (Just Cause series)
Whilst slightly more limited in use in the first game in the series, the grapple-chute (I'm sure it's probably got a proper name) really came in to it's own in Just Cause 2. A huge, open world map, where the slowest way to get around was in a car. If you were driving anywhere in this game, you were playing it wrong. Parachuting down on to the back of cars, taking out the driver and then launching back in to the air whilst grappling on to the side of a building for maximum speed - awesome fun.
Portal Gun (Portal series)
An entire game built around one mechanic could have got boring, but the first Portal is testament to what a great idea it was. A space-bending gun that allowed you to protect portals on to almost any surface was amazing fun. I don't think anyone who played that game didn't create themselves an infinite loop; one portal in the ceiling and one of the floor before jumping in and reaching maximum velocity. The gun was a joy to use from start to finish, and allowed players to get creative with how they solved each puzzle. They should put a portal gun in the next Call Of Duty.
Now post some more!