Remember the good ol’days before hardware could handle more than 100 MB? The games were so simple and straightforward. There was a basic gameplay loop, a set series of levels, a lack of saves, and crushing difficulty. It was everything a game needed to succeed. However, as hardware and graphics have gotten better, so has the possibility of gaming. Players are no longer confined to one route or one playstyle. They’re free to explore.
However, some games have taken “give players gameplay options” to an extreme. If anything, they offer players too much choice. Some games do it for added depth while others do it simply because they want to. Regardless of the reason, a novice gamer might be put off by some titles’ overwhelming choices. Although the games themselves aren’t bad and are often “game of the year” winners, gameplay options are a balancing act. Too little and players are bored; too many and the game becomes a chore.
9 Added Guns To Sonic – Shadow The Hedgehog
Most gamers want to know who decided to add guns to Sonic. However, it isn’t even the worst offense in this game. Gamers must play this decidedly mediocre Sonic adventure over ten times before they can see the whole game and unlock the “true ending.” The game divides its missions into “Hero,” “Dark,” and “Normal.” Then, depending on the order players decide to accomplish their tasks, they’ll find themselves in various levels and areas. Although it’s undoubtedly a cool concept, its lackluster platformer becomes a grueling task to get through just to see everything the game has to offer.
8 Too Many Options For The Better? – Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an example of gameplay options done right, despite having an overwhelming amount of them. However, what Deus Ex did – compared to some other offenders – is make each gameplay option a viable way to complete a level. In fact, depending on how players attempted to get through its mission, be it through smooth-talking, stealth, or violence, the game’s story would change to account for their choices.
Deus Ex understood that a breadth of gameplay options work well if they’re all accounted for by the end. That’s why it remains one of the greatest games ever made. The scale of what can be done can be overwhelming to inexperienced players, but make no mistake, Deus Ex knows how to make itself engaging to experts and novice players alike.
7 100 Hundred Endings – Star Ocean: Second Evolution
Completionists beware, Star Ocean: Second Evolution is a game that doesn’t become too much until players are ready to end it. The game consists of over one hundred different endings, all of which depend on how the relationships play out in this action role-playing game. If gamers are a one-and-done kind of player, this won’t be an issue and they can move to the next game in the series. However, for those looking for that 100% completion mark on their game, gamers will have to play through the adventure almost one hundred times to even get close to finishing. That means making the right decisions through an already lengthy adventure to get just one more achievement – times one hundred.
6 Invested Wrong? Restart – System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is anything but a bad game. In fact, System Shock 2 practically mastered the survival horror genre. It’s the reason games like Bioshock or Dead Space even exist. It has masterful action-based storytelling and is still downright terrifying to play. The issue? Many people haven’t finished the entire game. In part, this is due to System Shock 2 giving players too many options on how they want to play, without making the game work around that.
Many players find themselves locked out of the game at a certain point, all because they invested too many skills points towards other upgrades instead of the select four that mattered by the end of the game. For example, players can get to the end of the game, only to find out there are no skill upgrades left and they need one more point in “X” to be able to go onto the boss fight. It’s a frustrating gameplay design.
5 Introducing New Mechanics Halfway Through – Persona 5
Persona 5 is the high-adrenaline anime adventure every gamer needs in their life. Just listen to the sweet soundtrack, and that alone should be enough to convince players to give it a go. However, Persona 5 is a notoriously long game. This is mainly because of its decision to jam pack the game with every minigame, social stat, combat mechanic, palace, confidant rating, etc. possible. Shockingly enough, despite having every conceivable gameplay mechanic imaginable, Persona 5 masterfully balances it all. It’s overwhelming, yes, but never distracting. Everything seeks to immerse the gamer in the experience, which is something other games fail to do.
4 Living Life Realistically – Always Sometimes Monsters
Always Sometimes Monster is a life sim that strives to be as much like real life as it can. In many ways, this is a wonderful thing. Players can create characters of all kinds of genders, races, and sexualities who exist in a world equally diverse and interesting. Players can choose how they wish to make decisions with every choice they make coming back to haunt them. However, the issue with Always Sometimes Monsters is that it’s a game, like real life, which has an OVERWHELMING amount of choices.
The game makes players decide on hundreds of options day to day, giving them the freedom to do just about anything. With a clear goal in mind (to get back their ex), players are often left wondering exactly how they’re supposed to do that amongst the choices on offer. To get the “good ending,” players will need to follow an extremely extensive list of instructions carefully and tactfully on a walkthrough guide. So, although one can argue it’s realistic, for most, it’s exhausting enough dealing with actual real life, let alone a virtual one.
3 Too Much To Do – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Readers might be rolling their eyes seeing Skyrim – the master of open-world fantasy – on this list of “too many gameplay options,” but Skyrim is an overwhelming game. On numerous forums, readers can find players writing about how they’re struggling to get into the game. There are too many side quests, too many choices, and too many side-jobs. In fact, the freedom Skyrim gives players is far too much at times.
If players aren’t the quick thinker “do this or that” kind of person, they’ll often find themselves spending three hours on the character creation screen, debating how much difference a charisma or alchemy point can make. Skyrim is no doubt a masterpiece, but it’s one that hard thinkers should approach with a degree of caution.
2 Eight Too Many – Octopath Traveller
Octopath Traveller is a classic case of too-many protagonists to choose from. They’re well-thought-out and realized protagonists, but too many. Each story could be its own game. In fact, a lesser developer would have released this eighty-hour game in chapters and charged players for each part of the game as it was released. However, what the game fails to do in this JRPG adventure is make the characters interact in any meaningful way. As IGN described in their review of the game: “There is no absolute evil against which our travelers must band together to battle.” They simply run into each other and occasionally join the party. It’s a beautiful game with a breathtaking scale and story but could have used a little more connection to its characters.
1 Number Of Mechanics Can Stifle Combat Flow – Doom Eternal
What makes a Doom game so good? The smooth transition of a multitude of powerful guns and chainsaws as players bounce around exploding demon heads. In short: the Doom series is the master of smooth gunplay. Doom Eternal also did an excellent job. However, some players found the experience lacked the same “oomph” the earlier titles had.
Doom Eternal is an intense and fast-paced game. It begs for the best computer system and requires the player to always move and know exactly how to use each mechanic. It doesn’t have time for slowpokes. Unpracticed players who are learning the gameplay systems, the gunplay, and the movement will find themselves slowing down (and even stopping) as they try to remember how to switch between the multitude of explosive weapons. It’s an excellent game but one that could’ve used a bit more novice assistance.
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About The Author
Noah Pantano (32 Articles Published)
Noah Alfred Pantano is an all-around geek currently studying for a Master’s in Scriptwriting at the University of Essex. He is also a graduate of Ithaca College’s Communications Management and Design program with minors in Theatre and Business Administration. In his free time, you will see him cosplaying as spiderman or working on his latest script. He is thrilled to be working for CBR to use his expansive geeky knowledge for your entertainment. It also must be noted he’s a chaotic neutral and should be approached with caution.