Small Features, Huge Gameplay Impact
A game can look incredible and still feel frustrating if the basics are not handled right. It's often the pacing or how naturally everything fits together that sets the tone. These thoughtful design choices don't always get the spotlight, but players notice when they're missing. Here are 20 elements that make games smoother and far more enjoyable.
1. Manual Saves And Quick Saves
Being able to save at any time spares you the agony of redoing long sections, and quick saves let you test risky moves without losing progress. Some older RPGs faced backlash for lacking these, but speedrunners use them to master every frame.
How to Make a Quick Save in Assassin's Creed Mirage? | Save Your Progress by HardReset.Info
2. Customizable Controls
Remappable controls make gameplay feel more intuitive and are a lifeline for players with accessibility needs. Games like Celeste received praise for making every input adjustable. Meanwhile, poorly optimized PC ports tend to face criticism for locking players into rigid, default setups.
Celeste PC Settings & Controls by Magic Game World
3. Mission And Quest Tracking
The Witcher 3’s detailed journal made managing quests easy, while Dead Island’s clunky system left many confused and aimless. Without clear quest tracking, even great games can feel like a chore. The tracking helps players focus and avoid missing side content.
Witcher 3: Evening with a Vampire - A Witcher's Journal by Xenovox
4. Adjustable Difficulty Settings
A flexible difficulty system helps players enjoy the same game in different ways, without diluting its core experience. The Last of Us Part II set a new bar with its detailed sliders. So much so that more titles now include story-only modes to ease in newcomers.
The Last Of Us Part II 💠 Difficulty Settings Explained by Philminator
5. Skippable Cutscenes
Final Fantasy X drew lasting complaints over this, prompting modern games to auto-detect and skip already-viewed scenes. This allows players to stay focused on the action. Cutscenes can add depth, but watching the same one repeatedly after failing a boss fight kills momentum fast.
6. Auto-Save Systems
A smart auto-save system keeps progress intact without turning failure into frustration. Elden Ring impressed fans by balancing this with its high-stakes gameplay. You’ll notice that some horror games turn it off entirely to keep players on edge and make decisions more meaningful.
How to Save Game in ELDEN RING (Manual Save & Auto Save) by YourSixGaming
7. Fast Travel Options
When worlds get bigger, travel systems need to keep pace. Fast travel saves time, reduces backtracking, and lets players focus on discovery. Skyrim built its open-world flow around this, although some players willingly skip it to create a more immersive challenge.
How to Fast Travel - Skyrim by Waifu Simulator 27
8. Inventory Management Tools
A cluttered inventory can ruin the flow of even the best looter games. This is why sorting and filtering options matter so much. Resident Evil 4 nailed it with its grid-based suitcase, whereas Bethesda games fans still rely on mods to fix poor layouts.
Resident Evil 4 Inventory ASMR by coolkarmact
9. Clear Map And Navigation Aids
Good maps keep players engaged and moving. Getting lost in a game world should be exciting, not exhausting. Ghost of Tsushima impressed with its wind-guided navigation, unlike Ubisoft's minimaps, which often overwhelm instead of inform.
How To Use The Guiding Wind In Ghost Of Tsushima by Dainghia25
10. Tutorials You Can Skip Or Revisit
Portal 2 took a smarter approach, using clever puzzles and humor instead of stopping the action to explain. Rigid tutorials slow things down, especially for players who already know the basics. Letting you skip or replay them makes a game more welcoming.
Can You Solve This Puzzle? (Portal 2) by CahGames
11. Pause Anytime Functionality
Dark Souls fans still grumble about the missing pause button. Happily, some modern games now auto-pause if you set the controller down. When life interrupts, the ability to pause matters just as much as the gameplay itself. Single-player and strategy games, in particular, benefit from this.
HOW TO PAUSE THE GAME AT ANYTIME - ELDEN RING by PhreshGoon
12. Subtitles And Caption Options
Subtitles support players who are in noisy settings and those with hearing loss or language differences. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice used spatial captions for added immersion, and many newer titles now offer adjustable font sizes and backgrounds. This makes reading smoother and more accessible.
Behind the Veil - Embodied Psychosis in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice by melodioustear
13. Manual Save Slot Naming
Players in Baldur's Gate 3 often label saves before branching dialogue. Most players find that naming save files helps avoid overwriting progress or experimental paths. On the flip side, auto-named files like “Save 77” cause confusion in longer games where multiple outcomes or timelines need to be managed.
How To Fix PS5 Baldur's Gate 3 Won't Load Save Files by TDG Gaming
14. Camera Inversion And Sensitivity Tweaks
Comfort varies, so flexible camera settings are a must. Early 3D games lacked these and got called out for it. Kudos to titles like Apex Legends, which lets players adjust per-axis sensitivity to get precise control for individual habits and muscle memory.
BEST Controller Settings For Apex Legends Season 25 by ItsWestSider
15. Colorblind Modes
Colorblind filters improve clarity in competitive and puzzle-heavy games. Titles like Call of Duty include multiple presets, and some indies added them in after feedback. Features like these make visuals more inclusive without affecting the core mechanics or general visual design.
16. No Forced Motion Controls
Motion controls can feel clunky and disruptive when there's no way to opt out. Skyward Sword HD added button-based input following feedback. Several other VR titles now allow users to toggle between motion and traditional controls to match their comfort level.
How The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Works Without Motion Controls by IGN
17. Dialogue Speed And Auto-Advance
Speed control and auto-advance keep the dialogue flowing at the player's pace. Games such as Persona 5 offer these options during long stretches of text. For the same reason, some fans create mods so they can add them when the original design forces constant manual button pressing.
Persona 5 Royal Ep.274 - LETTER OF AUDIENCE | Japanese Dub | Let's Role-Play by Sousui’s Gamebox
18. Load Time Optimization
Long delays, like those in older Bethesda titles, were so disruptive that players created mods to fix them. Faster loading keeps players engaged and gameplay momentum intact. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart showed how SSD tech can nearly eliminate waiting entirely.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PS5 Loading Speed (PS5 SSD is Incredible) by Ultimate Gamerz
19. Text Size And UI Scaling
Readable interfaces make a huge difference, especially on larger screens or living room setups. Dead Rising 1 became infamous for its tiny fonts on standard TVs, and many accessibility reviews now highlight poor scaling as a major usability issue.
10 BEGINNER TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR DEAD RISING! By Filbee Gaming
20. Comprehensive Settings Menus
A flexible settings menu enables players to adjust visuals, sound, and performance to suit their individual needs. Without it, games risk alienating large segments of their audience. Cyberpunk 2077 initially lacked key options and had to overhaul its UI settings post-launch.
