Five of the Best: Health pick-ups

Health pick-ups! Oh how very specific – but I need to be. I’m not talking about health systems but the things you pick up to heal yourself. Used to be all games did it this way, but then Halo came along with its recharging health and all of a sudden everyone wanted the same. Now that feels like the norm.

But there are old-fashioned health systems out there (and they’ll probably take offence at being called old-fashioned, so I’m sorry, I don’t mean it in a bad way!). I still see Overwatch health packs when I close my eyes at night, and potions, which I’ve written a whole Five of the Best on, are a dime a dozen in RPGs. They’re still out there, still crucial to how we get through games.

Here’s to their health. Here are Five of the Best health pick-ups in games according to me. Don’t forget to share yours below.

I know, I know, I’ve gone mainstream, but the bandages in Fortnite are great. It’s not the first game to use them and it won’t be the last, but the risk-reward idea of patching yourself up, and it taking time, works wonderfully. Do you leave yourself vulnerable while you quickly slap on a bandage – probably a conforming bandage? Yes I have done my first aid training, actually, very polite of you to ask.

It’s an even greater risk if using a medkit, which heals more but takes longer to apply. It’s also quite bulky – imagine carrying that around. And I wonder which things from the kit you actually use – seems like an awful lot of waste. Maybe a Burnshield dressing, making sure you’ve put your Nitrile powder-free disposable gloves on first. No of course I’m not just copy-pasting things from the St. John’s Ambulance website!