One of the worst game mechanics ever found in a game was where the enemy got harder as you gained levels. The same enemy. It basically defeated the value of having more levels. I think it was Skyrim where I found this, particularly annoying.

Ps1 Spider-Man having 3 bosses in a row at the end of the game.

Waiting.

Puzzles that are entirely music based with no visual cues.

They’re bad enough for me as just a guy with no rhythm or note recognition, but also just fuck deaf people I guess?

“Here’s a rare weapon dropped by this boss! But wait, you need to be at least level 30 to use it, and you’re still on level 2.”

I went out of my way to repeatedly grind and kill this late game boss during early game, just give me my reward for not following the stupid linear progression

A multiplayer game that pits you against lousy AI bots with human looking names for your first "games’ so you feel like you know how to play and makes the game seem fair and fun.

Then after you’re comfortable, you get pitted against a lobby of 12-year-olds who haven’t seen daylight since birth who annihilate you and curse you out on coms.

Not the worst, but I’m annoyed by invisible walls. Just give me a reason why I can’t be there.

I’ve got a time-traveling kick in the nuts prepared for whoever invented wall-humping for unmarked secrets. I first remember this from Wolfenstein 3D but I’m not sure if it existed before then.

Miss a turn.

Exponentially growing requirements that out pace rewards. I don’t want to spend 10 hours grinding just to level up.

I feel like most game mechanics are good when implemented well and bad when implemented poorly. unless you count stuff like p2w/gatcha/gambling

Lootboxes

Fragile world-spanning deliveries.

Silksong has me screaming over them, 10 - 20 minutes of walking and one too many smacks at the end ruins it. And then there’s the one that’s also timed!

But to be fair, most of Silksong gets me yelling at the TV on the regular! I love it and hate it!

Ante, Magic the Gathering

Health as a resource