Worst gameplay elements in RPGs


1	Num	Sin	Votes
2	1	Level scaling	135
3	2	False choices where it seems like you can choose one thing, but railroads you regardless	134
4	3	Unskippable cinematics or cut scenes	125
5	4	Multiple dialogue options that all get the exact same response	117
6	5	Quick-time events (QTEs) like Press "F" to pay respects, etc.	113
7	6	Unskippable tutorials	111
8	7	Bland itemization where it is just a few numbers changing	108
9	8	Lazy filler trash encounters	103
10	9	Mandatory grind to be able to advance the game	102
11	10	Moral choices you can't refuse for no logical reason other than the designer deciding it	101
12	11	Forced losing to enemies in cut scenes	99
13	12	Cut scenes forcing you to leave an area after a fight, before you get a chance to fully loot	95
14	13	Factions that have no memory of you murdering all of their buddies as long as you wait a bit	92
15	14	Crafting items and armor that are always inferior to stuff you find just lying around	89
16	15	Putting useless lore dumps in dialogues instead of books etc. for people who care	87
17	16	Games that cheat, or artificially break the ruleset in obvious ways	84
18	17	Time limits that punish exploration	84
19	18	Randomized loot stats with no way to compare items side by side	83
20	19	You've entered a new game level. Now you can never go back and explore the previous level	83
21	20	Quest descriptions and dialog that don't provide enough information to solve without Quest Markers.	81
22	21	Turn-based games with long animations that can't be sped up or removed	80
23	22	Mandatory quests that force you to use playstyles you haven't built your character for	77
24	23	The dialog wheel	73
25	24	Puzzles that require moon logic to solve	72
26	25	Console UI with huge text that takes up 10x as much screen real estate as it needs	72
27	26	Forcing players to go through long boring levels with little to no challenge	70
28	27	Long animations for harvesting resource nodes	68
29	28	Useless skills (or severe underutilized in the game design)	68
30	29	Modern looting, where you vacuum everything up without looking at the loot because it's so boring	68
31	30	Slow animations between stats screen, inventory, game	67
32	31	Detective/Bat/Witcher/whatever-vision	67
33	32	Crafting items and armor that are always better than the stuff you find just lying around	66
34	33	Plot essential immortal NPCs that you can't kill	65
35	34	Can only save at specific locations or times	64
36	35	Invisible walls	63
37	36	Forced companions	62
38	37	Quest timers	61
39	38	Stats or information being buried 3 or 4 levels deep in the UI	61
40	39	"Gimmick" encounters that require moon logic to solve	59
41	40	Inventory space being too low when the gameplay expects you to pick up tons of stuff	56
42	41	Difficulty tuned for metagamers	54
43	42	Games with false barriers you can never cross (shrubs), invisible walls, etc.	53
44	43	Hurt in a cutscene, game turns into a walking sim, you slowly stagger forward for dramatic effect	53
45	44	Having different walking speed than an NPC you are following	51
46	45	Dialogue options are different from what your character says	51
47	46	Inventory/Encumbrance requiring frequent trips back to town	50
48	47	Forced companion monologues, dialogues, conversation, etc.	49
49	48	Unused party members having no way to catch up with the main party with levels/xp	49
50	49	Long stretches of difficult gameplay with no opportunity to save in between	49
51	50	"hard locked doors" that you need story items to advance through	42
52	51	Losing companions for "story purposes"	40
53	52	Unviable class options	40
54	53	Enemies that take away experience/levels	38
55	54	Having only one movement speed	38
56	55	"Creative" systems like Int Barbarians and Str Wizards	38
57	56	Games that require "corpse runs" but your corpse can fall into geometry and you lose all your stuff	38
58	57	Rewarding or punishing the player for playing a certain way (bonus XP for stealth kills, etc.)	38
59	58	Long polls that don’t remember your previous selections when you want to change your votes	38
60	59	Bosses or mobs that "die" twice and turn into a super boss after dying the first time	36
61	60	Encumbrance	35
62	61	Games that encourage prebuffing before encounters	35
63	62	Combat encounters (especially boss ones) that can only be solved through trial and reload	33
64	63	Romance options with NPCs	32
65	64	Wrestles control of the camera away from you to show you an overview of the "level" you just entered	32
66	65	Arbitrary item equip restrictions (level, class, alignment, etc.)	31
67	66	Wrestles control of the camera away from you to show what new path was opened by activating a switch	31
68	67	Junking items for components	27
69	68	Unskippable cut scenes that plop you into a one-sided fight with no opportunity to buff or position	27
70	69	Not being able to open a chest without having a thief, or theif-like skills	26
71	70	Boss fights that introduce completely new mechanics instead of being a "final exam"	26
72	71	HP bloat	26
73	72	No Fast Travel	25
74	73	Arbitrary quest triggers, to progress in one quest you need to do something in a different quest	25
75	74	Junking components for materials	25
76	75	Voiced protagonists	24
77	76	Cooldowns	22
78	77	Painted path/floating quest markers	22
79	78	Auto-replenishing hp/mana	21
80	79	Forced backtracking through places you have already cleared	19
81	80	"lazy-fuck" Fast travel	17
82	81	Overpowered/Unbalanced abilities (Harm in Arcanum, etc.)	15
83	82	Permadeath	15
84	83	Permanent loss of valuable equipment like rare magic items	15
85	84	Escort quests	15
86	85	Other (list it below and I will add it to the poll)	13
87	86	Being forced to have idle conversations with NPCs	13
88	87	Mandatory regular consumption of food / water	12
89	88	Spinners	11
90	89	Mandatory alignment systems	11
91	90	Large empty, dead towns that would have been much better as Menu Towns.	11
92	91	"Sticky" cover systems which snap characters behind "approved" surfaces, Mass Effect 2 etc.	10
93	92	Permanent loss of companions (Battle Brothers, etc.)	9
94	93	Blindness	8
95	94	Unavoidable traps	8
96	95	Element or weapon type immunities on certain enemies	7
97	96	Deterministic skill checks	7
98	97	Head bob (causing motion sickness)	6
99	98	Screen shake (causing motion sickness)	5
100	99	Bickering, fighting, dueling, or incompatible party members	3
101	100	RTwP combat	3