Sequels having less features than the previous game without being a complete enough experience that you could ignore it. If they got rid of a lot of shallow features to focus more in-depth on others, that’s understandable.

• escort missions
• press x to not die
• unskippable cutscenes
• long-ass mandatory tutorial missions (I can and do RTFM, fuck you very much)
• no subtitles for spoken dialogue
• shitty writing
• shitty voice acting
• non-union voice acting
• skinny dudes with huge fucking swords
• mandatory gacha/pay to win
• padding what could be a short, fun, memorable game with a lot of bullshit
• trophies/achievements
• a plot-relevant sidekick with an overly perky VA (gives Paimon from Gacha Impact the thermonuclear side-eye)
• characters who look prepubescent in outfits a grown-ass adult would think twice about wearing
• long, convoluted processes to find “ultimate weapons” that aren’t worth the effort

Things that are really hard to do with bad ping, like the Melody’s hair quest in Hypixel skyblock

-The save points just before a cutscene, so if you die, you are forced to watch the said cutscene again and again.

-When characters are discussing, they say what the player is supposed to do. Dude, i’m the one who’s supposed to do so, not the guy you’re talking with.

ALWAYS ONLINE SINGLE PLAYER GAMES

Honestly I am so over tutorials/slow starts. If it takes an hour of cutscenes, bullshit exposition, walk forward, jump three times… i don’t have the patience for it anymore.

A nice post prompt, OP. To start, and to riff off yours, I’d say games that don’t have a run option, and insist on a milquetoast in between of “fast-walking.” Here are mine that I can think of from some of the most recent games I’ve played:

–No third-person viewing option in an RPG; e.g., Cyberpunk 2077. After readily having the option in my hundreds of combined hours in Skyrim and FO, it felt preposterous not having the option to view my character at will. Crazy.

–Needlessly loud start menu music or fx leading to the title screen

–I’m doubtful there’s any sort of terminology for this, but, mission-style games that don’t make any attempt to establish a linear, interlocking world. E.g., Nioh. It’s very souls-like overall, but I really wish this aspect of the game was more like a From game in this regard.

Might edit in some more if this post stays active.