Survival games need to stop adding hunger and thirst just for the sake of having hunger and thirst.
Bit of a rant, but I feel like so many survival games just throw hunger and thirst bars into the game because apparently that’s what a “survival game” needs.
If you’re going to have hunger and thirst, actually make them meaningful mechanics.
Food should matter beyond “+20 hunger”. Eating a proper meal with carbs, protein and fats could keep you full for much longer, while living off fruit, honey, sweets or other quick-energy foods could fill you up temporarily but have your hunger drop much faster. Different foods could affect stamina, recovery, temperature resistance, carry weight, etc.
Same with thirst. If my character has just drunk a couple of litres of water, I shouldn’t be desperately thirsty again two in-game hours later just because the thirst bar needs something to do. Hydration could be affected by heat, activity, what you’re eating, illness, the type of drink, and so on.
That would actually make preparing food and water part of the survival experience. You’d have a reason to cook proper meals, stock certain ingredients and think about what you’re taking with you before going exploring.
But if the entire mechanic is basically:
Hunger bar low → eat random food → bar full → wait 10 minutes → repeat
Then what is it actually adding to the game?
It doesn’t make me feel like I’m surviving. It just feels like another meter interrupting whatever I actually want to be doing.
I’d genuinely rather developers either:
Build proper hunger/hydration systems where what you consume actually matters.
Make hunger and thirst much slower and something you prepare for rather than constantly babysit.
Give us a toggle to disable them.
Or just don’t include them at all.
Curious what everyone else thinks. Do hunger/thirst mechanics actually add anything for you, or do you usually just see them as another chore?