10 Hated Video Game Mechanics The World Was Wrong About
3. Crafting - Horizon: Zero Dawn
Crafting systems, by and large, are often sneered as an inclusive feature nobody asked for. Often seen as a shorthand excuse to throw an arbitrary scavenging system in for the sake of bulking a game's length out.
Personally, I don't think Alien: Isolation needed one, given how much was on hand to use, but it made sense of Amanda Ripley's talents as an engineer. But in post apocalyptic games like Mad Max, The Last of Us and Fallout, it would make sense given that their respective worlds have lost structure and bits would be strewn about.
The prime example of this is Horizon: Zero Dawn, a game in which the human race has essentially been rebooted.
In the wake of technological destruction, it would make sense that humans rely on arts and craft to build communities and dwellings. Given there's very few autonomous weapons for you to use, how else would you build ammunition to fend for yourself or take down enemies?
Yes, crafting is a mechanic that does get thrown about all too often. But if you step back and look at the context of the game it's in, it makes sense.