I know we get bogged down a lot talking about the aspects of crafting/progression we hate but figured i would mention a few crafting / progression systems i really enjoy and why.
Nightmare Reaper - Randomized weapon stats married to Rise of the Triad
Nightmare reaper is a retro fps with rogue like elements and progression done right. Generally you get new weapons from boxes, killing enemies, and completing with random stats and bonuses. The random stats however are extremely creative and reward you for experimentation. The base weapon will usually preform the same, an ak-47 will work like an ak-47. The ak-47 however may get different talents and perks depending on the weapon: regular bullets can be replaced with rockets or even gore chunks, it may take your health to use instead of ammo, it might heal you when you hit enemies, and more.
Part of what makes the system work is that you are absolutely showed with weapons on a given run. When exiting the level you often have far more weapons than you can take with you, you can save 1-2 weapons per level to take to the next zone and only up to a certain rarity cap (1, 2, and eventually you can save a level 3 weapons but it’s a late game upgrade). This allows you not only to experiment with a weapon to see how it preforms but also make decisions like replacing 1 weapon stat with another, upgrading a stat and selling the weapon if you please.
There is a ton of progression that takes a long time but also a lot of experimentation and sometimes hard choices. Sure you can take super powerful level 3 weapons but those weapons usually eat ammo and aren’t great in tighter more conventional fights. I think what generally endears me to this is that you don’t need to spend a lot of time tweaking and modifying the weapons but instead you get them and can use them instantly. The longer form progression systems usually are confined to the menus and minigames which give smaller bonuses that stack up over a longer period.
AMC Squad - You got X-Com in my Build Engine FPS!
AMC Squad is a really fantastic project made by pretty much the best of the best mappers, modders, and artists from the Duke Nukem 3D Modding community. Without getting bogged down in explaining story elements you essentially play as one of a dozen agents who go around the world, solar system, and beyond to complete missions.
It’s a really fun game and if you have time and an interest in build engine games such as Duke 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood i highly recommend checking it out. As for progression all your missions are launched from a central base where you can select equipment for your agent, research upgrades, interact with the various npcs, and read up on the Bestiary and unlocked lore segments. While on mission you can encounter collectible temporary weapons, research documents, scannable posters with research information on them, and artifacts to help you.
In addition you need to use a special gun to scan enemies to unlock various research elements specific to that enemy. Maybe that enemy has a weapon with a special function on it, maybe it has a shield which can improve your own projects based around shielding, maybe it is mystic in nature which gives you an understanding of other paranormal artifacts.
After research papers, artifacts, enemy scans or environmental scans are done you can pay a sum to unlock the research that improves either your characters passive abilities, unlocks new weapons to take with you, or improves existing equipment / weapons.
This can then be equipped on agents as well as other things found in the field such as special gear or gear gained through research to improve your chances during a mission.
I find this system really compelling because it gives a reason to revisit levels you may have previously missed to search for secretes, research, and equipment you may have passed over. In addition it gives a big of a more involved progression loop as you may have the research unlocked but not the require scan or prerequisite research to complete the next assignment. In addition going back can unlock hidden weapons that have alternative strengths such as having better attacks vs robotic enemies or have alternative secondary fire modes. Having many of them be side grades brings a lot of experimentation to the table while most missions being fairly quick (20-30 min if you are really secret hunting or don’t know where to go, 5-15 min if you know what you are doing) lets you play around a lot with different setups.
Abiotic Factor - SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE!
Abiotic factor is a game that asks a fairly simple question; What if you were in the resonance cascade incident but instead of being Gordon freeman with a fairly powerful HEV suit you were just a random scientist with your tie, your wits, and a go get it attitude?
Abiotic factor starts you out as your first day on the job when this happens and you are left having to make due with what you can find. Advanced armor? No no no, you are nowhere near an unlocked security area, best put something together because you need that NOW. Firearms, stun sticks? Look, you aren’t a trained killer. Set up the bench, tape a knife to a standing lamp, and use that spear to keep the aliens back.
The crafting itself is a fairly involved system that rewards experimentation. Sure nothing is stopping you from just using a basic knife or a table leg but crafting it into an actual weapon can give you advantages like more reach, more damage, a better attack speed and more.
Abiotic’s crafting also has a fun (optional) mini-game where you sometimes need to get an idea in order to craft something, this can come from interacting with objects in the world, signs, picking up certain materials or seeing them in a crate or through story beats. Abiotic also understands the concept of giving you multiple ways to get resources.
Basic materials like screws can be crafted from metal scrap and you can also break down more complex materials into basic ones. Additional comments would be counted as spoilers but lets just say they have a fun in universe explanation for resource replenishment.
The biggest takeaway is that the devs understood players would be crafting a LOT so as a result they included plenty of sorting tools to compensate: Filters, search bars, pins, nameable crafting crates, sorting options and as you progress more sorting tools. Rather than just assuming people would be fine with a clunky system they instead invested into into overcoming the clunkyness of the early storage and crafting system part of the reward and the overall progression.
Conclusion
The general through-line with all these systems is that it feels like they are rewarding experimentation and branching out rather than punishing it whether it be doing more damage to some enemies, having new and interesting toys to play with, or making you feel smart for overcoming previous obstacles.
“Rocker did you do this to talk about games you enjoy?”
That depends, are you are cop? In all seriousness i think bringing up other systems and explaining the why for my enjoyment of them helps to explain why i think Darktide’s systems are lacking in certain places. Darktide has part of the formula for a really fun crafting and item system that encourages experimentation but how it’s played out now feels like it punishes you for getting experimental.