10 Outdated Video Game Design Tropes That Must Die

9. Detective Vision

Ever since the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, the "detective/magic vision" trope has become exceedingly popular, especially in open-world third-person action games.

The mechanic typically allows players to switch to an alternate viewing mode where they can see an enhanced perspective of their environment, singling out enemies, combat possibilities, collectibles and so on.

It's appeared in the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Dishonored, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3, the more recent Hitman games and Horizon Zero Dawn, to name just a few.

It's basically a lazy way for developers to hold the player's hand and ensure that everyone can make their way through the game no matter what.

But ultimately it just diminishes the incentive of players using their own observational faculties to progress, and also encourages them to ignore their beautifully-rendered surroundings in favour of the typically washed-out new viewing mode.

Though these modes can usually be toggled on or off, the fact that games are designed around them often means that players have no choice but to switch to a neon-tinged view of the action.