10 POINTLESS Video Game Mechanics Gamers Always Use

Look, I just need to make this soup, okay?!

Skyrim Cooking
Bethesda

As games have evolved from the basic run/jump/shoot fare of the eighties and nineties into the complex, nuanced art forms we know today, what we can actually do in them has grown at an exponential rate.

So why do we waste so much of our time on pointless actions?

From crafting to cooking, horse riding to house decorating, we have seemingly unlimited ways to experience our favourite games, and can tailor our experiences accordingly across hundreds of hours.

Our modern day controllers, too, offer a level of control and input which would have been dismissed as witchcraft back in the good old retro days.

With this multitude of input/output combinations coupled with the complexity and immersion of modern games, developers are constantly creating new and exciting mechanics to bake into our games.

Whilst some of the features and mechanics which are prevalent in modern gaming are literal game changers we couldn't be without today, there are plenty of others that developers have thrown in for no good reason.

Still, what are you not going to explore every facet of a given game??

10. Chores Around The Camp - Red Dead Redemption

Skyrim Cooking
Rockstar

Unlike some entries on this list, the chores which Arthur Morgan can complete around the gang campsite do actually have a legitimate benefit in RDR2, but are still ultimately pretty pointless.

Alongside more menial tasks such as shaving, cleaning his clothes, reading news snippets and staring wistfully at old photographs, Arthur can perform basic jobs to keep the camp ticking over.

Whether picking up hay bales and feeding the horses, chopping fire wood, or collecting water from the river to fill up the wash basin, completing these daily tasks result in an increase in Arthur's honour, and can also yield stat boosts.

That being said, should the player choose not to engage in these activities, the other members of your gang will simply complete them for you; the jobs still need doing regardless of who does them.

Whilst completing these camp chores does afford the player additional honour, it does not move the story along nor improve Arthur's stats to such a degree as to make it a vital part of gameplay.

Instead, the time spent around the camp is relegated to a mere pallet cleanser, a period of calm before the next bullet filled storm.

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Contributor

Jedi Knight, last son of Krypton, backwards-compatible gaming nerd, Dark Knight of Teesside...