Just a laundry lists of things that stuck out to me as I was going through the beginning.
Equipment durability is not an interesting mechanic. Having my pants break because I attacked a barrel is really bizarre. In early game it impedes progress and doesn’t let me throw myself at things until I’m satisfied. In late game, I imagine it becomes nothing more than a chore as the resources to repair are plenty available and it becomes arbitrary that repairs are even needed. Souls games have progressively done away with durability and they’re better for it, or it’s implemented in such a way that it does actually add a layer to the gameplay like Lies of P. I still prefer no durability in my combat focused games
Unlimited stamina outside of combat is really nice. There is currently unlimited sprint outside of combat, but it’d be neat to see that expanded to swimming and climbing. Expanding it to every stamina consuming action would be ideal.
Shove attacks from enemies come off as poise attacks, but the few I’ve encountered equal damage to normal swings. Doesn’t feel intuitive having an axe shaft deal as much damage as an axe blade.
A true pause would be neat. Make it so we can’t access the normal menus during it, but it’s always nice to be able to be able to pause a single player game. Also adding a quit to main menu from the escape menu instead of just the tab menu would be cool too
Rolling to put out fire would be a nice touch
I do like that shields don’t add to your weight if they’re on a loadout that doesn’t actually use the shield.