If there is one thing that seems prevalent in so many single player games and it's one of my most hated mechanics it's unlocking mobility in games to progress through earlier zones. If I am in a zone I want to be able to know I can complete everything in that zone not jot it all down for later.
You get to a point in a game and there's a part you can't get past, is it because it's a puzzle and you can't work it out or is it because you simply don't have the double jump & dash ability yet? It's anyones guess, so every single area of the game that I come up to that I can't get past I just instantly assume it's because I lack a certain ability and move on. This also means they can't create complex puzzles because anything to complex and everyone would just assume they lack the ability to get past it as how are you meant to know any different?
I waste my time travelling through an area just to find it's somewhere I can't access yet, to waste my time travelling back then 5 hours later I get said ability and have to travel back to this point and go through it again then you get over this bit just to find there's a bit slightly further on that needs another ability you lack. It's frustrating and for me adds nothing to the game, I don't mind if I need a find an ability in Zone 1 to access and move around Zone 2 but I hate that I need an ability from Zones 6, 9 and 12 in order to solve a puzzle in Zone 1.
It's something that I feel adds nothing to the game and actually takes away so much. There are many games that I have just stopped playing because of it, when I have travelled through an area for a solid ~20min just to get hit by "You can't pass this bit until you go get the double jump ability" so I spend another 10min going back to where I came from just to go another way and be hit by the same thing. Now I've spent an hour and got nowhere and I just turn the game off.
If I am in Zone 1 I want to be able to fully search the zone and move on. I want to know that if I am challenged by a puzzle it is something I am meant to be able to solve there and then.
Is there anyone that actually enjoys this mechanic and why?