10 WORST Things About Popular Video Game Genres
3. Menu Management - RPGs
Role Playing as a wanderer in Fallout 4 or Geralt of Rivia in Witcher 3 is designed to wrap you in a world unlike any other medium is capable of.
They often succeed in doing so, but only in the times you aren't meticulously organising your inventory or draping your party members in the finest armour. In titles like the aforementioned Witcher III and even quasi-RPG's like Mass Effect, more time is spent listening to the menu theme than the game's immersive soundtrack, which is the one thing that stops you from enjoying the role-playing adventure.
Weapon modding, armour equipping and party selecting are all core elements of the genre. No galactic commander or monster slayer would leave home without micro-managing to boost their survival odds, yet the often lack of an efficient, speedy means to do so results in an overall experience that's more akin to Football Manager rather than a high fantasy epic.
A simple button to select the best available gear set (like in Final Fantasy XIV, for example) is all it takes to streamline the process. At no point is a player going to select a far weaker, dumber looking item over a dashing, over-levelled piece.