Watch all my exclusive videos by joining Nebula at Check out Masterful Mimicry, KingK's new series on Okami: While game design as moved towards integrating systems as much as possible, there are some mechanics that fall outside of tightly designed gameplay loops, and I have found myself appreciating them more and more due to the fact that they are "pointless" to engage with from a progression standpoint. Whether it be the salute in Hades 2 or playing Gwent in The Witcher 3, mechanics like these present a way to engage with games that isn't fueled by the desire for progression, and so I wanted to spend a bit of time talking about a few of them and analyzing the value they hold. Audio edit by @HeavyEyed Thumbnail by @hotcyder Additional Footage from @yakkocmn   Additional Music and Sound Effects by Epidemic Sound: