10 Video Game Cliches That Need To Die

Why are there only four sub-bosses every developer uses?!

Batman detective vision
Rocksteady

Video games have never been more popular than they are now, but they've also never been more similar. This industry is pretty much the equivalent of that 'can I copy your homework?' meme from a few years ago, as once something becomes successful, be it a specific mechanic or entire gameplay suite, it's guaranteed to be aped across the board.

This doesn't necessarily mean that all new games are bad or unimaginative, but that you can usually tell when a certain feature will show up in a new release based purely on its genre. That can make games more accessible and help players jump into them quicker without having any barrier for entry, but it can also breed familiarity, especially when certain cliches are included seemingly to tick a marketing box.

With a new decade and a new generation looming, it's time developers did some things differently. These features might once have been unique and innovative, but now they're nothing but cliches that stop games from being as creative as they could be and genres from evolving.

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Writer. Mumbler. Only person on the internet who liked Spider-Man 3