10 Most Bizarre Video Game Mechanics (That Actually Worked)

8. HUD Chips - Nier Automata

Not a delicious snack but in fact a very strange yet very clever mechanic, let’s talk about HUD chips in Nier Automata.

There are no shortage of bizarre mechanics in Nier Automata that totally work: the shifting of perspectives, multiple routes through the game, and puzzle-esque bullet hell moments to name a few. However potentially the best and most off-the-wall of them all is the way the game lets you alter your HUD. You can equip chips to attain certain battle perks which will go a long way to helping you through combat, though your slots for these chips are limited. If you disable chips you have more room for the sick perk ones. The chips you can disable include those tied to the elements in your HUD. This means that, for example, you can sacrifice the ability to see your minimap or health bar in order to equip a chip that boosts your attack, or one that enables auto-healing. You can even take out the OS chip, though I wouldn’t recommend it since you will immediately get a game over and hit the joke ending.

It’s extremely clever and it only works with a game that is super well balanced. Fortunately, that’s this one, so it’s very cool to see.