Basically what’s a game that you’ve played that seemed so mind blowingly unique at the time but for one reason or another the game never took off and other developers didn’t pick up and run with it either.
The HUD being at the back of your car rather than in the corner of the screen in Split/Second. It feels like a no brainer that the important information is where your eyes are already focused, but I’ve never seen another racer do this.
This reminds me of Trackmania. The “license plate” in the current title is your speed and the number on your car changes with your position.
You reminded me of The Getaway (PS2) a GTA style open world game set in London that was completely HUD less and they pulled it off well.
Navigation was done using car indicators, damage/health was done visually, bullets/ammo was tricky but there were always enough guns lying around to not be a huge issue.
Dragon’s Dogma Pawn system
Everyone has a Pawn, an NPC companion you create. The other two party members are also Pawns, but downloaded from other players.
Need a mage that knows a fire spell to fight a Griffin? Pop online and download one. One of your pawns too squishy? Download one with better armor.
The cool thing about this system is pawns retain knowledge from what they see and have done. If someone has finished a quest you haven’t, they will help lead you to the next location, or call out an enemy’s weakness.
Pawns also take back what they have learned to the player who owns them. And when you return a pawn, you can give it an item that goes back to the pawn’s owner.
It’s a great way to help other players in a single player game.
The entirety of Death Stranding. The whole thing works perfectly but nobody has dared to copy it
I’ve never played it, but I can tell it’s not my thing from looking at it. That’s not really a mark against it.
I think with something like Death Stranding, it’s less a collection of cool mechanics and more the entire package. And I mean the whole thing, which takes a monster level of dedication on the development side. Mechanics, story, characters, atmosphere. Even down to HUD elements.
Like I said, I know I wouldn’t love the game, but even being an outsider looking in, I can tell it’s truly unique in every way.
Kojima reminds me of Queen. Every Queen song sounds different from the vast majority of other Queen songs, but they’re all distinctly Queen. Same way I feel about Kojimas’ game franchises
This, I want to see inventory weight distribution and physicality + terrain angle taken far more seriously in certain kinds of open world games the way Death Stranding does it, they lead to interesting things that actually feel like an adventure you’re going on, with stories to tell not of your destination, but the journey.
I feel like Death Stranding’s movement is like, a first-ish (do car-based delivery sims like MudRunner count? Feels like something that would be up for debate.) baseline for something other games can elaborate on.
WB’s nemesis system.
Simultaneous sound and light meters in Splinter Cell. Yes, some games have the enemies respond to fast/slow walking sounds differently, but having an actual volume readout was next-level.
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is still my favorite stealth game.
It’s a goddamn shame that Ubisoft owns it. In the right hands, it could have had a second wind, but we all know that them rebooting the series would destroy it.
“Purchase your Thermal Vision Goggles for 4.99!”
“Purchase this invisible suit for 29.99!”