What is your take on alcohol in games?

Many games allow your character to drink alcoholic substances.

Which often gives stat bonuses, balanced with various negative effects.

And can also be represented by inebriated state and distorted vision on the game character.

But anyways, what is your opinion on alcohol in games? And the effects of alcohol in various games?

Do you like the option? And do you find the drunkenness badly or well implemented in various games?

So, basically all opinions on virtual alcohol in games are welcome here.

But do note this only covers alcohol, not narcotics or narcotic injections (such as seen in Far Cry games)

****

Personally I like to see beverages in games, but only if they are implemented in a realistic manner.

If the characters go dizzy only after one drink, then its just silly and totally unrealistic.

Good old Baldur's Gate games did it really well; the effect of drink depended on how hardy the character was. So, big burly fighter would not feel coupla drinks at all. Very realistic system, which I really liked.

Compare this to silliness of GTA/RDR games, where your burly hero gets dizzy after single drink...

Drinking and driving in GTA IV was amusing.

The fact I really don't drink Alcohol in life, I rarely drink in any video games unless it's mandatory to the story line game that is. That said, I did fine drinking & driving during the fun sides in GTAIV to be interesting because I would never ever drink & drive. I always fear for my life.

Getting drunk in WoW was annoying.

I don't drink at all. I only drink in a game if it is beneficial to my character e.g enhancing stamina. Otherwise i don't see the point of having the screen blurred like in The Witcher 3 The Wild Hunt you get sloshed and are expected to find your friend, you can't control Geralt and it gets a bit pathetic..

I don't like it. It's just annoying.

I would also like to see drinking implemented in realistic manner. I think RDR 2 did a good job doing that. For example, when drinking a soda it shoudn't just be one sip. It should be multiple gulps. Who would drink in a big gulp with that acidic taste?

Also, there should be stats pertaining to realistic manners. Drinking soda gives the player a sugar rush that makes them faster/hyper. Eating a protein bar or any protein related foods gives you farts. Drinking energy drinks increases your stamina or replenishes your stamina to full bar. Some of the examples I gave above would probably need some tweaking here and there but my point has been made.

Monster Hunter is the only game that has handled drinking alcohol right in my opinion.

(if you don't know how to get drunk in MH? I assume you're new to the series)

The STALKER games handled alcohol pretty well. It's also a cheap way to handle radiation poisoning.

A lot of the other stuff suggested here have already been done in the STALKER games.

Funnily enough yazuka used alcohol well i liked the way the more you drank the more tolerant you were to it. Also the ability to unlock tolerance later in the skill tree was always helpful.

It doesn’t bother me to be honest.

It's the best part of RDR2.

I don't really use alcohol in games, unless it's a requirement or just to see the effects one or twice. Love alcohol irl though!

Thanks for the answers. Just imagine I'm giving each a like.

Anyways, Elder Scrolls games present a unique problem for tea totallers: the games do not have non alcoholic beverages!

So, if you want to give your character both food and drink in Skyrim, you can only choose between wine, mead and ale. There is no option to drink water. Or milk.

I find it bit annoying. I like feeding my characters just for the look of it, and having to give the character bottle of suspect wine to wash it all down feels bit silly. It would've been nice to have water out of well as an option.

Fallout 4 allows you to drink water, and of course it also has various sodas. Which is much better system if you want to roleplay properly.

I loved NARC back in the day.

Other than it makes me a better Halo gamer?

In real life I don't drink at all, but in games I'll do it if I find it funny or if it results in stat boosts like in Yakuza.

More or less a non issue.

I don't drink in real life anyway so when I drink in a game Im not bothered because its not real, at least thats what I think.

Witcher 3 keeps amusing me, as Geralt obviously has a drinking problem; every time he wakes up, you are informed that strong alcohol was used!

Do you really have to drink a bottle of strong alcohol every night, Geralt???

I don't drink alchohol in real life, never. But in games? It most of the time funny, like driving drunk in GTA, or passing out in waking up at junk in AC.

kingdom come deliverance has a whole skill line dedicated to drinking. I like how it gives you a temporary boost to charisma, but the penalty is a hangover later.

Hell, one of the three ways to save your game is to drink alcohol, called "Savior Schnapps".

As for in general, I think it's a neat gimmick but it's just extra filler for the most part, doesn't add or take away from the game. personally I love alcohol in general so why shouldn't it be in my games.

I do like when there are actual effects if it is used, especially excessively. GTA IV simulated drunkenness fairly well, and that you would get 1 star if you tried to drive was pretty cool (at least, I think that's a thing in the game). Fallout 4 has your character's speech become slurred after drinks, at least with basic greeting lines. Nice touch. RDR2 and GTA V handle it similarly to GTA IV of course. The Witcher 3 has been mentioned... also has the slurred speech thing and blacking out from excess drinking.

At any rate, I don't demand realism from games, so how alcohol is portrayed in games doesn't matter to me too much in the grand scheme of things.