Blog:Grust's Top Ten Favorite Features in Gaming

So we're all stuck inside due to Coronovirus, so I've been doing an extra 3 hours of gaming and.... ahh who am I kidding I had this planned long before this. But if we're stuck you might as well hear what I think are my top 10 Favorite Features in Video Games. For this list I'm looking at features in video games I absolutely love when they're around. So let's take a look.

10. Character Creation: Make your characters the way you want them to look. Make your character manly and buff, or scrawny and weak looking. Make your character a elderly looking mage, or a buff Barbaric Warrior. Make your girls feminine, delicate, to hide the ruthless heroine within. It's 10 though because it's mostly aesthetic and doesn't affect the overall story or gameplay, aside from maybe who your character gets to marry.

9. Soundtrack: I am such a gaming nerd that most of the CDs I own are video game soundtracks, no joke. I love music in video games more than I love most Western singers and is up there with anime openings. I love the apocalyptic tone of Battle With Seymour from FFX, the Latin chanting of Guardando nel buio from Kingdom Hearts, or the upbeat Jump Up Super Star, from Super Mario Odyssey. In fact if I had to pick my all time favorite soundtrack, I'd go with Ocarina of Time because I get a huge rush of nostalgia just from hearing it.

8. Stealth Mechanics: I'm not talking about the stealth genre. I'm talking about small parts in the game where you sneak past enemies as opposed to fighting. I feel these parts break the mold so to speak. First you're whacking at a giant bug in a sentient tree, next you're walking in a castle garden avoiding detection. Moments like this help create a break from the main game at some points. At that's kind of relaxing. Plus it's good training to get you ready for real stealth games.

7. Unlockable Abilities and Items: One way to make a game from going into a rut is with abilities you unlock, either from advancing the story or buying them from shops or other areas. For example, the abilities in Bio Shock allow you take advantage of the environment such as lightning used on water or fire on oil. It's also why the Metroidvania genre is so well liked, find new abilities or weapons to progress. This is even the primary reason why I love the Zelda franchise.

6. Thief Class: I LOVE the Thief class in RPGs, wielding daggers, focus on quicker attacks, an emphasis on agility over brute strength, and the ability to steal items from NPCs and enemies. If I had to pick what game did the thief class best, it's Skyrim with repeatable quests from the Thieves Guild, an emphasis on stealth, increased attacks from behind, and luck. The biggest thing the Thief class ever stole was my heart.

5. Skill Trees and Perks: Skill trees and perks are a mechanic most often used in more Western style RPGS than Japan. There are many styles but the main way these are used is by leveling up. As you level up you obtain certain points to distribute to the skill tree or perk unlock. Skill trees allow you to raise some stats or abilities to make a truly customizable character. Wanna be stealthy, invest in the stealth tree, wanna be more accurate with guns, focus on sharp shooter. Wanna be a deadlier melee fighter, invest in Warrior trees.

4. Story: One of the biggest reason I love RPGs in general is because of story (note to self: new top 10 list). A good story can keep me engaged in even a shitty game and a good story can encourage me to progress to see it through. JRPGs are the masters of story in video games and it often encourages me to play hundreds of hours to get through. One of my favorites is Final Fantasy 6 especially when Kefka destroys the world. Story in video games is a big deal despite what some idiots commenting on One Angry Gamer say (and yes, I saw a comment saying story sucks in gaming).

3. Stealth Kills: A good way to save resources is by the stealth kill. Low on ammo but an enemy is guarding a cache of ammo? Study his patterns, sneak up behind. And the enemy never sees it coming and not only have you saved resources and gotten more and made further progression, but it's one less enemy to deal with. It also sets up some good challenge. Whenever possible I like to do stealth kills even when I got a crapload of resources.

2. Crafting System: I LOVE Crafting Systems. It encourages exploration and investigating everything. It's the biggest reason I love 7Days to Die despite its flaws. Granted it's not perfect, some games do it poorly, but when done right, I like to loot everything I can for gear loot, food, health, shelter and so much more. I even admit this, I made the Games with Crafting system on Awesome Games just to get my brain to know more games with this mechanic for my collection.

One honorable mention

Good Gameplay: Uhh that's what every gamer wants. Anyone who says otherwise is either an idiot or Jonathon McIntosh.

1. New Game +: You beat a real fun game with a great story huh? Nods excitedly, Bet you want to go through it all again just for the story huh? You: "But it took 20 hours!" Well what if I told you you could play again with your best items or current level from when you beat the game for faster playthroughs? You: "What type of magic wonder is this?" Why it's New Game + that allows you to start a new game with the stats from a previous game. Sometimes you can even unlock new equipment like with Resident Evil 7. This allows you to enjoy a story more, not worry about resources or go medieval on evil's ass. It's why I rank New Game + as my favorite feature.

So do you have a favorite feature in gaming? Let me know in the comments.

