What mechanics from older games do you wish modern games still used

[QuantumToken98]

Game design trends come and go. Some things that were standard 15-20 years ago have disappeared almost entirely: save points instead of autosave, password systems, local co-op on one screen, fixed camera angles in horror, full manual transmission in racing games, no minimap or objective markers. What design choices from older games do you genuinely think were better and what happened to them?

[SilverSurfer51]

Save points in survival horror. The anxiety management of having to reach the next save point was a core part of the genre's emotional impact. Autosave everywhere removed a genuine design tool

[Blake_32]

Local split screen multiplayer. The experience of sitting in a room with someone playing the same game on the same screen has been almost completely replaced by online play. It is technically inferior and socially worse

[Hollow Tiger]

Fixed camera angles in early Resident Evil and Silent Hill were a deliberate horror tool. The unseen space was the threat. Modern third-person cameras show you everything and you lose the dread of not knowing what is around the corner

[Stuart_67]

No objective markers. Morrowind famously gave you directions written in text: go north until you reach the river, then east until you see the red building. Modern players would riot but it made the world feel real and the discovery meaningful

[PlanckLimit81]

Lives and continues as a resource. Knowing you could fail and the game would genuinely end or push you back significantly changed how you approached risk. Infinite respawn in modern games makes death meaningless

[GlassKnight35]

Manual difficulty with no mid-game adjustment. Committing to hard mode at the start and living with it created a different relationship with challenge than the modern ability to lower difficulty whenever you are stuck