For the most part, people would assume that locking on to enemies in most action games is pretty much a surefire way of easily dealing with most enemies. After all, there's a reason why so many games have lock-on mechanics to help players target their attacks without hitting empty air. However, this is not the case all the time, and there are instances when locking on to an enemy can prove to be a detriment that prevents players from using their attacks properly.
The following games in this list have a lock-on feature that might be useful in certain instances but can end up failing the player more often than not if they employ this mechanic poorly in combat situations. As a result, many players prefer to have free aim in these games, especially when it comes to tackling more than one enemy.
6 Yakuza
The Yakuza series is one of the best beat-em-up games that anyone can check out, especially if they want to experience the culture of Japan along the way. Each game in the series features a brilliant story and amazing combat, with characters like Kiryu and Majima doing a great job of carrying the series with their infectious personalities.
The Yakuza games feature a lock-on system that is definitely useful in certain instances, especially if players are using the Rush Style or fighting against a boss. However, most fights in Yakuza are against a group of people, and players should utilize crowd control moves instead of focusing on one enemy at a time. The latter will lead to their playable character eating the dust after being walloped by a string of attacks.
5 Final Fantasy 15
Final Fantasy 15 is a game that was stuck in development hell for the longest time before finally getting a guiding hand with Hajime Tabata's intervention. The story of Noctis and his buddies is pretty enjoyable, especially with the combat being pretty fun, if somewhat easy.
Given how wild the combat in this game can get at times, the title added a lock-on feature to help players focus their attacks more accurately against enemies that move around wildly. This can be a detriment in most normal encounters, especially with the game's soft lock being more than enough for Noctis to land pretty much all his attacks without too many problems.
4 Dark Souls
Dark Souls is one of the greatest action RPGs ever made, proving to the world that mechanically-sound games that push the notion of difficulty will always have a place in the gaming market. All three games in the series feature a camera lock-on to make combat less strenuous and help players keep particularly skittish enemies within their field of view.
However, there are several times when this lock-on can actually work against the player, especially in a group of enemies where players can get blindsided without proper crowd control. This isn't even mentioning the larger bosses where locking on is not recommended at all — instead, players should blindside these larger enemies and try not to stay right in front of them.
3 Dynasty Warriors
Dynasty Warriors is a video game series where players control extremely powerful soldiers and generals who can completely obliterate most regular enemies with ease. However, not all foes in Dynasty Warriors are simple fodder, and there are times when players need to focus on a sole enemy boss to take them out without being distracted by regular mobs of weak enemies.
Later games in the Dynasty Warriors series add a lock-on feature so that players can accomplish the same with ease. However, abusing the lock-on feature in Dynasty Warriors is not recommended since crowd control is also paramount to ensure that players get through most stages without too many issues.
2 Final Fantasy 14
Another Final Fantasy game makes its way on this list in the form of Final Fantasy 14. This MMORPG started out on a pretty rough note before the game was re-released to critical and commercial success across the board. The sheer level of content present in Final Fantasy 14 is truly remarkable, and the combat is just one of the many avenues in this game where it excels.
The game has a lock-on mechanic where players can easily target the enemies they want... But this comes at a cost. Locking on to enemies causes players to walk backward instead of running, rendering them pretty susceptible to a host of dangerous AoEs. As a result, most veteran players only use lock-on to quickly triangulate the position of an enemy before going back to free aim instead.
1 God Of War
The God of War reboot brought Kratos back to the mainstream gaming landscape in a truly incredible fashion. The shift of the game's setting to Norse mythology was lauded by the masses, with an emotional story and excellent pulse-pounding combat being quite fun to engage with as well.
God of War's combat includes a lock-on mechanic that is extremely useful during combat, especially with the game's narrow FoV that might cause players to be constantly blindsided by players over and over again. However, there are certain bosses like the Valkyries where locking on might actually be more disorienting, and this isn't even mentioning the fact that locking on to regular enemies when fighting waves can lead to unnecessary complications that are better off avoided.