20 MORE Pointless Video Game Mechanics Nobody Used

7. Gear - BioShock Infinite (2013)

When private investigator Booker DeWitt is sent to retrieve a girl in the floating steampunk city of Columbia, the pair soon find themselves caught in the midst of a violent uprising while being pursued by the city's fanatical leader.

As the narrative unfolds in brain-bending fashion, players use an arsenal of weapons alongside a variety of supernatural abilities to survive the fast-paced combat. Players can likewise purchase a selection of upgrades for their core stats, weapons, and Vigors. Unlike the previous BioShock games, Infinite implemented a gear system where players could equip four pieces of clothing, each providing their own passive bonuses.

Found in gift boxes scattered throughout the game, each of the base game's 41 pieces of gear bestowed an assortment of buffs that ranged from damage multipliers to giving melee attacks different status effects. Although these kinds of upgrades are common in modern titles, their effects in Infinite were so minuscule that their impact on moment-to-moment gameplay was negligible.

In addition to randomised spawns making it impossible for players to create reliable builds, the first-person perspective meant that they couldn't even see Booker wearing his new outfits.

It really didn't matter if players equipped gear at all.