Games have its rules.

But just because a game suggests you’re supposed to play it one way doesn’t mean you can’t come up with some rules of your own.

You played it once the vanilla way, time for something different, right?

There are many ways you can shake up your favorite games and make them feel new again.

1. No Minimap

Removing the minimap in an open-world game forces you to rely on the open world to orient yourself.

Turns out, most well-made open-world games provide plenty of visual landmarks, and it’s actually not that hard to get around.

Furthermore, once you’re actually relying on your memory and eyes to navigate, you’ll find yourself much more “in” the world around you.

Get your eyes up, there’s a whole world out there!

2. Permadeath

You get one life. If you die, you erase your save and try again. No takebacks, no deciding that “the game bugged out” or that you got “robbed,” nothing.

Death is the end. It can make your time with the game seem vital and terrifying in a way it never seemed before, and if applied correctly, can give you a whole new appreciation for how difficult video games can be.

3. Limited Weapons

Most big-budget action games have one or two game-breaking “ultra” weapons that they bust out for the final few missions.

Blame it on Doom and that BFG9000—at this point, we expect that a game’s final act will give us a powered-up gravity gun, or a railgun, or some other ungodly tool of destruction.

Once you’ve got that kind of firepower, many of the game’s battles become trivial, which can be an issue in an open-world game that continues once the story ends.

To counter your over-poweredness, try playing with a more limited arsenal.

Maybe you can only use handguns, or only use a bow and arrow, or only up-close weapons. Maybe you can’t use weapons at all!

4. Limited Healing

Unless a game has regenerating health, it probably features some sort of in-game method of healing.

Maybe you pick up medkits or stimpacks or you stuff your face with candy bars. Whatever it is, try to come up with a system for curtailing that.

5. No Leveling Up

Lots of games are at their best at the very start, when your character is underpowered and every fight is a struggle.

Then you start earning XP and leveling up, and before you know it, you’re effortlessly cutting through whole squads of the dudes who used to give you trouble.

It’s empowering, sure, but it can also become boring.

So, try... not leveling up. Resist the urge to unlock all those abilities all over again, and instead play the game with only the most basic tools at your disposal.

This can be great for second playthroughs, since you’ll have the advantage of knowing what to expect and how enemies work… and you’ll need every bit of that advantage.

6. A Single Save File

Most role-playing games these days allow you to keep multiple saves.

About to make a big decision? Save your game, try it, and see what happens.

With this approach, you can’t do that anymore—you can only keep one save, and you have to stick with every choice and action you make.

No more undoing your mistakes, and no more quicksaving your way through challenging stealth levels, either—if you screw up picking that lock, you triggered the alarm and that’s all there is for it. No takebacks.

Get your head in the game and make it work.

7. Change The Language

Many games were made by developers who don’t speak English as their first language.

If you’re going to replay a game, see what it’s like to play in the language native to the people who made it, or to the characters in the game.

You might find a voice actor who really works for you, and by reading English subtitles, you may find that you gain a better understanding of the plot.

8. Limit Your Travel Options

Most open-world games allow you to jump all over the map, saving yourself time and letting you hop from mission to mission.

However, many games can feel significantly different if you don’t let yourself fast-travel.

You can also limit your travel options—for example, in GTA, try only getting around on foot or on bicycles.

The minute you’re not flying through the game, you’ll start to slow down and take in the sights.

9. Really Role-Play

They may call them role-playing games, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of not really playing a role.

Maybe you make decisions based on which ones you think will lead to the coolest battle or outcome. Maybe you choose whatever will get you the best treasure.

Instead of doing that, try coming up with a complicated backstory for your main character.

Sit down beforehand and write down your character’s whole deal. What drives him?

Get ridiculously detailed, and once you start playing, role-play the shit out of it.

You are no longer making the decisions; your character is. It’s amazing how interesting this can make an RPG, even one you’ve already played.

10. Go Worldwide

This may seem like an odd final suggestion, but: Try streaming your game. Plug in a microphone, fire up your streaming service of choice, and start playing.

It’s remarkable how it can freshen up games that you’ve been playing for years!

(source:kotaku)