5 RPGs That Punish Poor Resource Management

Role-playing games that are developed immaculately are a blast to play through. The most memorable video games aren’t the ones that thoughtlessly throw items at the player, trivializing the difficulty even on the hardest level. Instead, games that understand how important it is to manage resources and force players to be thoughtful about the items they use are the ones that end up having a major impact on players.

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Resource management requires a lot of balance to ensure that players enjoy this mechanic instead of feeling irritated by it. Sure, the idea of not flooding a player’s inventory with items is certainly novel, but things can get even worse if players find absolutely nothing no matter how much they explore the world or defeat its many bosses. Thankfully, some games nail this balance, making the entire experience feel largely rewarding.

1 Elden Ring

The Balancing Act Between Crimson And Cerulean Tears Requires A Lot Of Thought

The sheer impact that Elden Ring had when it launched was truly impressive. Players from all over the world loved what this title did for the Soulsborne formula, with the integration of an open world feeling as natural and engaging as possible. Sure, the game had some problems with repeated boss fights, but that’s a small complaint in the grand scheme of things.

As is the case with most FromSoftware games, resources need to be managed wisely for players to make progress. Items that can help out against a boss shouldn’t be needlessly wasted, but the biggest balancing act was between HP and mana potions. Much like Dark Souls 3, players could split their allotment of Flasks between Crimson and Cerulean Tears, with magic or ability users finding it hard to strike a balance that helps them tackle foes without facing a dearth of either item.

2 Persona 3 FES/Portable

Going Into Tartarus Without Enough SP Recovery Items Can Waste An Entire Night

• 	Persona 3: FES	Persona 3 Portable
  Platform(s)	PS2	Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PSP, Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox One
  Released	2008-04-22	2010-07-06
  Developer(s)	Atlus	Atlus
  Genre(s)	JRPG	JRPG

Pretty much every Persona game can make the cut for titles that prioritize resource management. Infiltrations are common across the three games that popularized the series format, with players having to manage their SP levels to go through dungeons and reach the end without wasting too many resources or lacking the SP needed to exploit enemy weaknesses.

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While later games gave players more options to deal with dwindling SP, the same can’t be said for the games that started it all. Persona 3 was brutal in this department, and going through Tartarus in a single day was downright impossible in certain instances unless players were willing to use up a wealth of valuable SP recovery items that could help them out against boss fights and the like.

3 Bloodborne

Players Are Forced To Farm Blood Vials If They Lose Too Many Of This Valuable Healing Resource

One of the hardest and most aggressive combat systems in a FromSoftware game to date, Bloodborne is beloved by many as what many people consider to be the best game by the studio, which is hefty praise indeed. The sheer amount of love that was put into this game was truly amazing, with the Lovecraftian and Gothic influences elevating this title’s status by a notch.

However, the many tough encounters in this game meant that players had to be judicious about using their healing items and other such buffs. Too many deaths would lead to players running out of Blood Vials and Quicksilver Bullets, forcing players to farm for more items and getting them stuck in a frustrating loop if they did all this work only to end up dying again.

4 The Witcher

Meditation Is Important To Both Craft And Ingest Potions Before A Tough Battle

Most people who played The Witcher 3 loved the focus on alchemy and how players were encouraged to prepare by using oils and other buffs to make certain fights easier. However, navigating the same menu over and over again could be a chore, so the Next-Gen Update made things easier by auto-applying oils as well.

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Fans of The Witcher 3 will be in for a rude awakening if they try to give the first game a shot. Potions can only be made and ingested when meditating before a battle, and failing to prepare before a tough fight can have serious consequences. Old fans of The Witcher loved how much importance the game placed on this preparation stage, and they consider it a shame that the most popular Witcher game doesn’t feature anything like this.

5 System Shock 2

Leans Heavily Into Survival Gameplay, With Everything From Ammo To Healing Being Rare

Any RPG with survival horror elements is bound to make resource management a huge part of the gameplay, and System Shock 2 is no exception. This legendary game is tough as nails, with players having to think about their build before jumping into a title where combat is extremely challenging in the early stages.

Stealth is the need of the hour early on, especially with both ammo and health being scarce. Players need to spend a few levels coming to grips with the infinitely spawning enemies and claustrophobic level design before they can finally be confident enough to use their best weapons on enemies without any fear of sacrificing all their ammo.

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