10 INFURIATING Mini Games That Cost You 100%

We don't talk about Blitzball.

final fantasy x blitzball
Square Enix

Whether in the form of competitive party games that can be enjoyed alongside friends or small side activities within expansive RPGs, minigames can be a fun method of injecting various new ideas to mix up gameplay in interesting new ways.

Sometimes, a mini game can be so good that players will spend more of their time playing them than the main game they’re part of, with The Witcher 3’s Gwent and The Evil Within 2’s incredibly addictive Chain Attack challenge being just some examples.

Other times, though, a mini game can appear that’s so frustrating and unenjoyable to play that players will do everything in their power to avoid interacting with them as much as feasibly possible.

Although it’s possible to complete plenty of video games without ever having to touch this optional content, the completionists out there will unfortunately need play up to dozens of hours of these aggravating side activities to reach 100% completion.

As gratifying as unlocking an achievement can be, suffering through these mini games simply aren't worth the headahces they cause.

10. Digipicking - Starfield (2023)

final fantasy x blitzball
Bethesda

Despite being known for their expansive and immersive RPGs, Bethesda likewise have a habit of filling their titles with some lousy mini games.

Whether it was the broken persuasion system in Oblivion or the tedious block-based puzzles in Fallout 4's Far Harbour DLC, there are a handful of blemishes throughout Bethesda's otherwise stellar catalogue of games.

Starfield likewise suffered from the developers' need to incorporate a terrible mini game into this galaxy-faring adventure. This time, it was digipicking.

A brand-new mechanic from the studio, digipicking replaces how players would normally pick locks and hack in Bethesda games. The mini game tasks players with solving a puzzle by correctly matching a series of pins with slots on a circle. Clear each ring, and players will succeed.

However, the game never properly explains how this mew system works. The first few dozen attempts consequently become a series of trial-and-error guesswork until players either figure it out or give up in frustration. Even after deciphering how this mechanic functions, investing in the Security skill is the only way to make the harder puzzles more manageable.

Unfortunately, players will need to wrap their heads around this mechanic to unlock the Cyber Jockey achievement by unlocking 50 locks.

Contributor
Contributor

Glasgow-based cinephile who earned a Masters degree in film studies to spend their time writing about cinema, video games, and horror.