9. There Haven't Been Any New Game Mechanics In Years
Remember when Call of Duty 4's perk-based multiplayer revolutionised the very way you played online? How about Gears of War's stop n' pop cover system that finished what Resident Evil 4's behind-the-shoulder gameplay started? The nearest thing to a new mechanic in a game that's worth copying is Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system, and even that didn't have an end goal. It was definitely awesome and great fun to run into the same orc over and over with different dialogue and buffs packing out how each confrontation would go down as you remixed their hierarchy to your liking, but when the answer to "Why am I doing this?" comes back "Because you can!" it just isn't enough. When game budgets are as gargantuan and small island-sized as they are right now, publishers just literally can't (or won't) take a punt on anything new. The very reason that Nemesis feature got in was because the rest of the game was a carbon-copy of Assassin's Creed - albeit, y'know, actually playing well. Point to 90% of the titles coming this year and apart from No Man's Sky's world-generation (which is more of a programming feat than a worthwhile game mechanic) is there anything you're truly dying to try out that hasn't been done before?