20 Hilarious Video Game Mechanics You Didn't Know Existed

Modern gaming is obsessed with optimalization. Most of the latest releases try their hardest to make sure every single mechanic hooks you in by making you feel stronger or more efficient.

However, not all game mechanics should be about combat or buffing your character. Sometimes all they need to do is let you have some fun.

Every now and then, developers include special hidden interactions that aren’t meant to impact gameplay in any significant way. Their sole purpose is just to make you laugh when you find them.

These mechanics are secret, but not because they offer a special advantage. They provide a silly interaction with an NPC, unlock funny dialogues that don’t normally appear in the game, or grant you a pointless “power” that you can use to mess around with the world.

Half of the fun of these secret mechanics is using them. The other half is discovering them in-game, as they can completely take you by surprise with how much they don’t fit into the rest of the gameplay.

If you’re curious about what funny (and totally impractical) interactions hide in your favorite games, the following list is for you.

Most games include idle animations for when the player isn’t doing anything, but MiSide, one of the recent titles in the genre of psychological horror disguised as a cutesy anime dating sim, brings this age-old tradition to a whole new level.

When you leave your character be for a while, after two minutes they will pull out a handheld game console and start playing a game about a fly collecting coins and avoiding enemies.

The game is fully interactable, and there’s even an achievement for collecting 25 coins in it. However, what makes this already amazing mechanic even more interesting is that the other characters in the game can still interact with you as you play the game.

When you pull out the game while Cappie is in the same room, she will snatch the console from your hands and toss it away, and she will also be awkwardly avoiding eye contact with you as you play the fly game.

Neither the console nor the interactions with Cappie are vital parts of MiSide, but their addition is still greatly appreciated. The developers didn’t have to do either of these things, let alone flesh them out like that.