Mods and self hosted servers

Fun unlockables by doing some cheat.

Imagine telling a FIFA player that you used to be able to have a dog as referee by doing the Konami code. And it was not behind a fucking paywall.

International Super Star Soccer for SNES had this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYaHPm-yDl8&t=63

Fun fact: some mechanics never came back cause they got copyrighted and the studio with the copyright went "no, we're not doing that kind of game anymore" and as soon as anyone goes "okay, can we try?" they sue them into oblivion for copyright infringement

Nemesis system. But ~~Wanker~~ Warner Bros tossed a patent on it and no one else could use it.

Did you know Shadows of Mordor copyrighted the Nemesis System and then proceeded to never use it in any other games ever again despite people calling out for it?

That's one I'd like to see

Split screen coop/multiplayer

Way too many games only let you do multiplayer with one player and have online only coop campaigns

Used to be pretty standard that a guest could play with you online

It didn't really take off to begin with but dual screen support like Supreme Commander had with the real-time map overview on the 2nd monitor. It could be a skirmish map or live track map for a racing game, live scoreboard, player status or inventory system.

I really want to see a god game with gestures, like black&white, make the jump to VR

I want to see puzzles that are implemented using the physics engine. And I don't mean "toss the axe in the proper arc to trigger the gate" physics. I mean "stack the bricks on one end of the seesaw to balance it long enough to make the jump to the next platform". Or "use the blue barrels' buoyancy to raise the platform out of the water".

The scrolling health bar in Eartbound/Mother

Take a look at Half-Life 2's old Face Poser software. I feel like you don't see that sort of action-level control much anymore.

Indie studios are evading the need for lipsync entirely, by making simple models, giving people masks, putting them on radio overlays, etc. AAA studios are overengineering it, putting a $4,000,000 actor in a motion capture suit for each of their cutscenes to capture every fine detail as they stare in wonder at the white ping-pong ball in the studio with the sign written; "LOOK HERE".

Face Poser was a good median; it's where the director gets control, but you don't need a vast technical setup beyond animations, some vowel extraction, and some basic know-how. It means that if the director wants to add a criticism "No, character B should give a dubious, unsure look when character A says that", it's something they can apply directly rather than ask the animators to do by hand.

For some reference, old machinima like Clear Skies, or my own "AS" made use of Face Poser.

A grapple hook

Horizontal progression. Relatively flat power curve, but you gain more options.

Guild Wars 1 is a really good example of this.

Arcade racers that aren't just... Bad.

Burnout Revenge was a beloved game of my childhood. You had bonuses from wrecking your foes, got bonuses for creating wrecks, and for near death experiences. And there was an awesome mode where you would launch your car into a scene to cause as much damage as possible.

Midnight Club 2 where you could customize your cars and race them on fun tracks, but could also just beep around the open world.

Maybe it's nostalgia, but I would love a fun racing game that doesn't have a GTA attached to it.

Destructible buildings like in Red Faction: Guerilla.

Tanking with shields (force/kinetic shields in sci-fi games, not physical shields)

I liked when games let you face-tank damage with your shield (like in Mass Effect, before Andromeda where they made shields weak af and even removed shield gating) and not having to care for healing (unless you lose all your shields)

I don't know if it's due to the souls-like trend, but it feels like game developers need to make punitive games nowadays

I miss casual flight sims that were designed to be played with a joystick. Not so much Janes F-15 1997 or whatever, i'm more talking about Crimson Skies. I want more Crimson Skies.

Destructible environments like in silent storm. You could remove walls and floors with grenades or mines. Unfortunately it was a bit buggy and slow. Teardown is fun, but it feels like a tech demo.

Mechanics from the Mercenaries series. Destructible buildings, getting weapons and vehicles dropped to you anywhere at any time. Being able to ally with different factions. Oh, and the ability to call in airstrikes. Bunker busters, cluster bombs, artillery barrages, etc. Just Cause and Metal Gear Solid V are the closest things to that. But they just aren't the same.

And the ability to just fly like Superman. I'd like that in more games.

I was recently discussing Farcry 2 with some friends and how cool the fire spread system was - And how it essentially was never used again after that title.

In case you didn't know, Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have a very similar fire spread system.

Vehicle combat games. Which I guess is more like a genre than a mechanic.

Right now it's basically Mariokart or nothing.

Grip came out in 2018, but the physics were really unforgiving (clipping a corner could cost you like 10 seconds as you tumble) and there weren't enough players online.
Which is a real shame because it's gorgeous, fast paced, with effective power ups, and amazing tracks. And a hell of a sound track.

I really wished there are more games that implement something like the gambit system from FF12. My dream game is some monster / pet collecting and battling game plus the gambit system from FF12. now if only n*ntendo wouldn’t be such an @ss…

The vehicle damage modelling from GTA 4. The fact that it hasn't been surpassed is tremendously disappointing to me.

NFL 2K5 gameplay in a newer football game

Magicka 2 combat in some 3rd/1st person action RPG

The instant i read farcry 2 i thought of the fire too.

The fire was amazing and gave me interesting ways to burn out enemies in outposts etc.