What's been your favourite specific gameplay mechanic this generation?

[tabris]

What's been your favourite specific gameplay mechanic this generation? This is a specific mechanic that has been in 1 or multiple games that was created (or just significantly improved from previous) in this generation.

My personal favourite was the settlement mechanics in Fallout 4:

There was a significant amount of issues with it - tons of bugs - but it was the closest I've gotten to the "build your castle" from Suikoden series or "develop your town" from Dark Cloud / Act Raiser / etc within RPGs of previous generation but adding a lot more Minecraft like building capabilities and farming for supplies via main game. And it did it such in a way that it can be enjoyed as a side aspect to the main game or in addition. So if you got tired of a main quest or side quests, you could go build out your settlements for a bit then come back.

I believe I've played Fallout 4 more then 200+ hours due to this mechanic plus Bethesda games in general being extremely long for completionists like me. That's almost getting on MMO territory hours.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Nioh's Ki pulse- active reload for stamina management

Easy to do, completely optional, multiple ways of doing it, but increases gameplay depth if you choose to invest time into it.

 

[808s & Villainy]

If the Wii U counts as this gen then I think Splatoon's ink mechanic is probably the most creative one I've seen in a long time. It's so simple, you can visually understand everything, and it's allows a large breadth of movement options. You have something that represents your ammo, territory, and allows you to move through at high speeds and even up walls. Hell, the verticality of the game introduced by the ink swimming is unique in itself and allows level designs fairly unique from pretty much any other shooter out there (even those with high mobility)

 

[BadWolf]

Nioh's Ki pulse- active reload for stamina management

Easy to do, completely optional, multiple ways of doing it, but increases gameplay depth if you choose to invest time into it.

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This, it's brilliant.

 

[Deleted member 249]

Paragliding

 

[Wrapped in Black]

Visceral attack from Bloodborne

It especially comes in handy when you have the Blood Rapture rune equipped, so you can restore some HP each time you do it

 

[SenseiX]

Throwing money.

So good.

 

[Transistor]

Visceral attack from Bloodborne

It especially comes in handy when you have the Blood Rapture rune equipped, so you can restore some HP each time you do it

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Yessssssssssss

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Darkest Dungeon's Stress mechanics.

Add an extra layer of management to your characters which gives them more personality, gives you something to balance with health, and calls back to Arkham Horror tabletop board games

 

[Goldenroad]

Nemesis system. Playing through Shadow of War right now and I completely forgot how addictive this is.

 

[carlosrox]

BOTW's climbing/paragliding.

Perfection.gif

 

[Artdayne]

I'm going to have to second the ki pulse but I'll also include stance mechanics which play into it in Nioh.

 

[Jamesways]

For Honor's stance and combat system. The absolute best.

 

[Xavi]

Octopath's Break system

 

[NediarPT88]

Pogoing in Hollow Knight is very satisfying and works really well for combat and platforming since it resets your dash and double jump.

 

[Deleted member 42221]

Bash mechanic in Ori and the Blind Forest
The combat of Undertale
Health rally in bloodborne
TRICO button in The Last Guardian
The chip system in NieR: Automata
The charm system in Hollow Knight
The health system in Hollow Knight
Stasis in Breath of the Wild
CAPturing in Super Mario Odyssey
Axe throwing in God of War

 

[Phendrift]

Pa-

Paragliding

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Yep.

 

[Crayon]

I think the climbing from grow home for something new.

And 2B's Dodge for a basics with flair.

 

[steviestar3]

Bouncing off of Cappy in Mario Odyssey

 

[DragoonC]

Throwing the axe in GoW.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

I'm going to have to second the ki pulse but I'll also include stance mechanics which play into it in Nioh.

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If you think about it, Nioh's stance switching is an improved version of DMC4's style switching.

Just easier to do and doesn't lock you out of basic moves but rather modified them.

For Honor's stance and combat system. The absolute best.

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The only thing I don't like about For Honor's system is that it's not suited for fighting multiple opponents

 

[lovecatt]

Does Splatoon count

If not then Capturing in Odyssey

 

[Matsukaze]

Darkest Dungeon's Stress mechanics.

Add an extra layer of management to your characters which gives them more personality, gives you something to balance with health, and calls back to Arkham Horror tabletop board games

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Yeah, DD Stress gets my vote. Adds a lot of depth to that game and helps build a consistent atmosphere of dread and panic as things go from bad to worse.

 

[Thebeast!]

The ax in god of war

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

GoW Axe recall
Bash in Ori
Cappy

 

[Parenegade]

Pretty easily

Literally nothing else like it has been done in gaming before now. True innovation.

 

[Doggg]

The chemistry engine in BOTW.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Pretty easily

Literally nothing else like it has been done in gaming before now. True innovation.

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Feels like a faster and more freeform version of Rust to me, even with the ghost walls to show placement.

 

[Timeaisis]

Climbing in Breath of the Wild.

 

[HiroTSK5]

I think the climbing from grow home for something new.

And 2B's Dodge for a basics with flair.

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The first time I pressed R2 in the demo and saw 2B glide I knew NieR A would be one of my all time favorite games.

 

[Pakesaker]

Bash mechanic in Ori and the Blind Forest
The combat of Undertale
Health rally in bloodborne
TRICO button in The Last Guardian
The chip system in NieR: Automata
The charm system in Hollow Knight
The health system in Hollow Knight
Stasis in Breath of the Wild
CAPturing in Super Mario Odyssey
Axe throwing in God of War

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These are all really solid picks, and several of them are the first things that came to my mind.

 

[Servbot24]

Air dashing in Celeste

 

[LebGuns]

Throwing the axe in GoW.

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100% this. So so good.

 

[melikefishnchips]

Nemesis system and no man's sky sense of space exploration are the standout things of this generation where I can look at it and feel like they're things that would be nigh impossible on previous gen consoles.

 

[NightShift]

The slide dodge in Nier Automata. Feels fucking fluid to control, works great defensively, allows you to quickly and easily move in combat and makes traversal fun.

 

[higgsboson1997]

Splatoon's ink mechanic. Just makes movement so fun and inventive.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

God of wars combat system, especially the axe

Nemesis System in Mordor is under appreciated.

 

[SweetNicole]

Throwing the axe in GoW.

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Bingo. GoW combat system in general has probably my favorite mechanics of this generation so far.

 

[rusty chrome]

Visceral attack from Bloodborne

It especially comes in handy when you have the Blood Rapture rune equipped, so you can restore some HP each time you do it

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This.

Throwing the axe in GoW.

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And this.

The most satisfying things in gaming this gen.

 

[nicolasacmf]

Posses... capturing, from Odyssey. Anything that BotW does. Ink from Splatoon. 1-Button combat from Kid Icarus Uprising, which changes the type of attack between melee and ranged pretty seamlessly depending on Pit's distance from the enemies. Combos from Xenoblade 2.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Unite Morph from The Wonderful 101.
Axe recall from God of War
Bouncing of Cappy in Super Mario Odyssey
Horse poop in The Phantom Pain
Painting transformation in A Link Between Worlds

 

[trugs26]

Easily wall climbing in Zelda BotW.

 

[low-G]

Hiding behind a shield as a fire a gun around it.

 

[Deleted member 7279]

Cappy in Odyssey

A simple mechanic of throwing a hat and it is worked in so well

 

[Deleted member 42221]

Pretty easily

Literally nothing else like it has been done in gaming before now. True innovation.

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Gotta admit, this mechanic is great. It makes dealing with snipers in long open stretches way more interesting. And in 50 v 50, the fortresses people build in the lategame are incredible.

Plus, making a sky fortress and then exploding it with dynamite and getting a Victory Royale is satisfying as hell.

 

[Deleted member 42221]

Unite Morph from The Wonderful 101.

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Shit, I forgot about this mechanic. Wonderful 101 was Platinum's most ambitious game mechanically. Incorporating stick motions and the length of them into a combo system with Platinum flow is great!

 

[Master Chuuster]

Paragliding

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Hell yeah

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Shit, I forgot about this mechanic. Wonderful 101 was Platinum's most ambitious game mechanically. Incorporating stick motions and the length of them into a combo system with Platinum flow is great!

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Yeah. Definitely my favorite Platinum game, and probably my favorite Kamiya game overall too.

 

[Mediking]

Mario Ody with Cappy

Combos in DBFZ

Gun mechanics in Persona 5

 

[xeroborn55]

Visceral attack from Bloodborne

It especially comes in handy when you have the Blood Rapture rune equipped, so you can restore some HP each time you do it

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This.

But my #1 is the health regain mechanic from bloodborne when you take damage and have to attack to gain it back.