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[Razgriz-Specter]

Would the Warthog driving mechanics in Halo 1 count?

To this day its one of the best feeling vehicles in a game
(especially in a game where it wasn't the focus)

 

[Durock]

Secondary functions for weapons is up there. Perfect Dark I think was the first game to really show how awesome the mechanic could be.

 

[itwasTuesday]

I present to you, The Parry

 

[jedezel]

Prince of Persia: the Sands of time -> the ability to reverse time.
I don't know if it is the best of all time but it was a really great tool during all the game.

(also in the same game : wall running)

 

[TimExecutor]

The entirety of Grandia II's battle system.

 

[theaffection]

No More Heroes sword charging
Tony Hawks Pro Skater grinding
SSX trick system
TF2 Medic healing
Phantasy Star Online combat

 

[Jumeira]

Halo:
- Recharging health, so action is always tense and character still vulnerable without needless time spent searching for healthpacks
- Dedicated grenade, just as important as shooting + perfect trajectory mechanics
- 2 weapon limit
- Universal driving / FPS controls, this was a stroke of genius
- Set standard for dual stick/triggers for FPS

Changed console FPS forever, like Mario 64 did for 3D adventure.

 

[D.Lo]

Z-targeting and wall jump are the kings.

Those saying Double jump? Double jump is a stupid mechanic. It should simply be a higher jump. The only exceptions are unique ones like Yoshi flutter.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

The battle systems in Dragon's Dogma, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Bloodborne and Devil May Cry 3 and the gunplay and enemy reactions in Killzone 2 come to mind. Fighting in those games is so much fun and intense.

 

[silva1991]

Double jump
Bayonetta's dodge offset.
HP regenerating

Spoiler

/s of course. Fuck this mechanic.

 

[IbukiLordSA]

Witch time
Air Evade
Parry

 

[shockdude]

Definitely the Combo in fighting games, as others have mentioned.

Dynamic boss fight music, notably in Metal Gear Rising.

All the crazy tricks that make F-Zero GX absurdly fast.

 

[Greedings]

I want to say stealth, but really it's stealth done right. Good stealth - splinter cell, MGS, thief, mark of the ninja - is fantastic.

Bad stealth - any game with a bolted on stealth segment, too many to name - is just AWFUL.

I also have to say Breath of the Wild's climbing. It makes the world feel open, and going to other "open world" games I constantly get a jarring sense of "this is a game" every time I can't go through a small gap or climb/jump over a little wall.

 

[Lux R7]

Dragon's Dogma magic archer's hunter bolt and fighter's burst strike skills (this is my favourite in particular)

 

[kubricks]

I present to you, The Parry

This.
The ultimate real high risk high reward mechanic.

 

[Frenzy-kun]

Super sonic. Really. After you play the levels a dozen times and you believed you mastered the levels, then you finally get all the chaos emeralds and new horizons appear.

After so many years I still never found a better reward for a game. Not even having an extra new location like it happens in many games is as powerful as earning through brute force the reward of being able to transform into something that pushes the gameplay into a new stage, breaks records and changes attention focus within the same game.


On the other hand, I want to make a special mention to fatal frame / project zero camera mechanic. This camera allows to harm the ghost enemies by making photographs. When you make a photo you still need to wait for recharge. Spamming photos is usually a very bad idea because you deplete your ammunition and they deal little damage. In order to make the best shot you need to wait for a fatal frame. Landing a shot during fatal frames critical hits enemies and pushes them backwards, breaking their attack patterns. BUT the fatal frames are not only rare, but they appear when the ghost is attacking you. So, as you understand how to attack you notice that the best strategy is to wait for the ghost to come at you and attack you. As a horror game, having to wait for the enemy to get close to you and attack you before you can do anything and if you miss is basically a game over is genius. No other horror game makes this and I believe it is essential.

 

[deadfolk]

Insult sword-fighting in Monkey Island.

 

[nekkid]

Active Reload in Gears.

 

[Axass]

Majora's Mask 3 days mechanic is still one of the best things that almost no game has copied till now.

I want to see a whole AAA game with a week's worth of stuff to do.

 

[BanjoLayleeYookaKazooie]

The Legend of Zelda Majora's Masks' 3 day cycling. It's not even something worth describing nor something that could be shown off in a GIF as one only truly appreciates it by playing the game and ultimately playing the system. It impacts everything from the gameplay, the atmosphere, the story, the characters, the setting everything. It's absolutely genius.

EDIT: damn beaten.

Ah well other that come to mind that I really like are Splatoon's movement mechanics, BoTW's climbing, Bloodborne's rally system, Xenoblade Chronicles' chain attacks, Xenoblade Chronicles X's Skells, DOOM (2016) gory kills, Chrono Trigger's time travel, Earthbound/Mother 3's rolling health system, needing to stop moving to aim in Resident Evil 4, Brave/Default system in Bravely Default, mercy option in every fight in Undertale.

 

[Playsage]

Name any original Hideki Kamiya game and you have a contender for that title

*starts drawing circles to make trees bloom*

 

[KonradLaw]

Skiing mechanic from Tribes series.

This is what makes those games still the most fun MP FPS experiences ever made.

 

[Kumomeme]

Monster Climbing

 

[uceenk]

Overwatch

prettty much all ultimates

 

[Danjin44]

Most people might not agree with me but I also would like to put Catherine's block puzzle mechanics here. To me it's the most fun puzzle gameplay I ever played.

 

[hotcyder]

Every game needs a wall run and a wall kick.

 

[RooMHM]

Gauss gun movement
Gravity gun
Rocket jumping (q3/qw)
Strafejumping/bunnyhopping
Plasma climbing (q3)
Portals

 

[Jimnymebob]

Flipping gravity on VVVVVV.
The entire game is based around pressing V on the keyboard to flip the gravity, and this single mechanic is pushed to it's absolute limits throughout the course of the game.

It's such a simple thing, but like SotN's

Spoiler

second castle

, it forces you to approach the screens from different perspectives.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Z-targeting and wall jump are the kings.

Those saying Double jump? Double jump is a stupid mechanic. It should simply be a higher jump. The only exceptions are unique ones like Yoshi flutter.

Not really, a double jump gives you much more control than one big jump.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Bayonetta witch time is pretty good

This is what I was coming in to say. I'm not a particularly big fan of Bayonetta on the whole, but Witch Time was an amazing gameplay element that made me appreciate the combat on a whole new level. I'm normally not all that good at dodging in action games but it was such a great feature in Bayonetta with this short but extremely sweet reward that it felt much more gratifying and I took the time to learn how to do it properly.

For those who don't know, Witch Time is where you execute a perfect dodge at the very last moment before it connects and time slows down for about two seconds while you wail on the enemy. It's incredibly satisfying to nail the timing and keep doing it.

 

[Regiruler]

The charge attack without question.

 

[Alpha_eX]

The grappling hook in Titanfall 2. Other games have definitely done it, but this one perfects it. Makes movement feel absolutely amazing.

Just running around in Titanfall 2 feels perfect, I absolutely love the grapple hook and feeling like Spiderman!

 

[Moon Patrol Pilot]

The single Greatest Mechanic has been and forever will be, Mario's Granular Jump in the Original Super Mario Brothers.

Yes, this right here. Sooooo under appreciated.
Hold "B" to run is a good one which has almost become extinct with analog controls. I was glad that SMB3DW had it.

And for 1 on 1 fighting games, hold <-- to block (streetfighter style). Screw those dedicated block buttons. Yuck.

 

[Jezan]

Chrono Trigger - double and triple techs
Xenoblade - chain attacks
EarthBound - rolling meter
Smash Bros. - attack strength depending on tilting or.... smashing the stick. Plus you can charge too.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

Dash + Wall Jump in Megaman X!

 

[FinalAres]

BOTW's climbing. It's pretty subtle, but it changes how you see the world quite a bit.

Bayonetta's Witch time is another one.

I like BOTWs climbing mechanic but hate its implementation.

The SLOWEST climbing ever, and on top of that there's a gauge which runs out until its upgraded to be actually fun, assuming there's no rain. Its no coincidence that the point I actually started enjoying the game was when I'd upgraded stamina not to be a major annoyance.

 

[ogbg]

Lock-on for third person combat

 

[Earthpainting]

A Boy and His Blob: Tactical hug action

 

[Kthulhu]

Instant kills in fighting games.

Tank Controls

Pat is that you?

 

[Gandie]

Rocket League: Flip to gain momentum.
Rocket League: Aerial control
Rocket League: Ball control/dribbling
Rocket League: Shot types, direct control over the ball by hitting it in different ways.

 

[The ๖ۜBronx]

- Timing an input to get a better result (Speed reloads, extra damage in Paper Mario etc)

Man, I hate active reloads. Think you're right about the system in other uses but that particular one always irritated me. Much rather they reduce or normalize the reload speed and I don't have to jump through a hoop to avoid the tedium.

 

[dno_1966]

I think my favourite is the turbo boost bar in F Zero, X especially. it's that perfect balance of risk and reward.

 

[KayMote]

In 'The World ends with you' :
Chaining fights together and basically setting the difficulty and level for each fight individually for better drops - it was the perfect risk-reward system for an RPG.

 

[Grudy]

The Bash in Ori and the Blind Forest.

 

[2+2=5]

Moving the joystick/dpad/analog/whatever to move

 

[moustascheman]

The disguise system in the Hitman series is great.
The style system in dmc3/4.
Blink in dishonored.
Power combos in mass effect 3/andromeda.

 

[Nuno Pinto]

Transformation attacks and dash in Bloodborne.

While it's nothing extraordinary if we look at a lot of action games it was the reason why I prefered the melee combat in this game compared to other FS titles. It just looks so stylish.

 

[Shotgun Kiss]

Drop Dash in Sonic Mania. So simple, yet I'll miss it whenever I go back to old Sonic games.

 

[Syril]

Mid-air jump control in Super Mario Bros.

 

[Duchess O'Death]

Rainbow Six Siege environment destruction.