10 Popular Video Game Mechanics The Industry ABANDONED
1. Cheat Codes
Cheat codes are such an ingrained element of classic gaming that you might not even think of them as mechanics - they're just... part of the game.
But the joy of finding cheats for your favourite game to enable God Mode, infinite weapons, and considerably sillier options like GoldenEye's DK Mode, have largely gone up in smoke in modern gaming.
The primary reasons for this? Achievements and DLC.
For one, because cheats would largely eliminate the reward factor of achievements - one of the biggest drivers of player "engagement" these days - it's not in the interests of most developers to include them. And certainly not for free.
After all, when DLC is a thing, why would you let players unlock secret characters or modes with a few button presses? Charge a few bucks for it instead.
As such, modern games with honest-to-God cheat codes you don't need to re-open your wallet for - like Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - are serious outliers, and for generations of players who grew up with them readily available, it's a sad loss.