Gaming

Actraiser. That game was my favorite when it came out. Part Sim part platformer. Blew me away as a kid. I still give it a play through every few years.

In Everhood, an RPG with rhythm-based battles, you start out only being able to dodge enemy attacks. Much later into the game, your character regains their memories and a new sense of purpose as well as finally gaining the ability to attack.

Then you have to return to the battles you scraped by by dodging and look for opportunities to sneak attacks in. It adds a new level of challenge to an already challenging game.

I'm bad at explaining but I love Kirby's boss battles, they're simple, challenging, and somehow extremely cinematic. Just can't get enough of them. If there's more games that are just the boss battles as a full game let me know.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the monster catching systems and subsequently the battle system in Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. So much so, that I got the platinum trophy in both the PS3 and PS4 versions. I loved that the battles were technically in real time but with cooldowns for each character and their familiars, and I appreciated that the characters (3 of them) are on the battlefield WITH the familiars rather than either/or. This meant I could deal some damage to exploit enemy weakness using the main characters while some of the familiars tanked damage and all that. It wasn't perfect but it really resonated with me.

There are a few that I find really cool.

The "bullet time" in the max payne series was very enjoyable to me. Dodge-flying around enemies while bullets hit your last position and all looking like you are in the matrix movie? Yes please!

Then there was the flying in GTA5. The controls and "feel" of all the vehicles are very good, but flying is really implemented in a great way. Its by no means to difficult to learn (like a real simulator), but has a pretty high skill ceiling. To really "fly beautifully" you have to know your shit. And thats not even counting fighting air-to-air or air-to-land. It's beautiful.

Also I'm a sucker for all atmospheric games. Bonus for being dystopic. The System-/Bioshock series, Stalker, Fallout, Cyberpunk2077 and many many more. Disco Elysium. Some games really are art in its purest form. Still entertainment, but art at the same time. I remember the first time I entered Novigrad in Witcher 3, not even on a good graphics card. Such a vivid, "living" town, with logical alleyways, bridges, beautiful architecture, soundstage just amazing, ... I think to this day no other game has surpassed W3 when it comes to creating a believable city. It's just art!

I loved the mechanics in Company of Heroes 1 and wished it was more accessible and window-friendly.

Infantry: MG suppression, cover system, retreating and reinforcing squads, squad members spreading out and dodging shells, captureable weapons, occupiable/destructible buildings, destructible terrain, artillery leaving massive dirt clouds and craters (aka cover). It made me feel like I was fighting in a real war, but without the "unfair" TTK of real life MGs/tanks.

Macro (vs Starcraft 2): no workers (capture territory to generate resources), no 6 pool (base has starting bunkers) or proxy (can only build production in base), 1 of each building all game instead of 10+ Rax/Gate, 4-6 squads instead of 100+ Marines, cutoff harass (disconnect enemy territory from their base). I felt like I was fighting my opponent instead of the game.

I've played mainly fighting games for years and my fav mechanic is the comeback mechanic ala XFactor in UMVC3, Instinct in the recent Killer Instinct, and the Critical Art in the new Street Fighter 6.

It ain't over till you see the K.O. screen.