If you’re gaming today, you almost take it for granted: games save themselves automatically. Whether it’s autosave, quicksave, or even cloud saving – most of the time you don’t have to worry about losing your progress when you need to take a break. But it wasn’t always like this. Anyone who’s been around a little longer remembers completely different times, when saving a game was almost its own little science. So let’s take a look at how things have changed over the years – and why some developers still deliberately rely on manual saving mechanics today.
Back then everything was… more complicated
Let’s go back to the 80s and 90s. Back then, saving wasn’t just complicated, it was often simply impossible. The first console games, for example on the NES or Sega Mega Drive, had no save function at all. If you were playing Super Mario Bros., the rule was: all or nothing. You play until you either hit Game Over or finally defeat Bowser. A save file? No chance.
It wasn’t until games like The Legend of Zelda or Pokémon on the Game Boy that cartridges with battery saves appeared, which allowed you to permanently save progress. That was a real gamechanger back then. Suddenly you could experience an adventure over weeks instead of always starting over from scratch.
PC players had it a little easier. Many games already offered the option to save manually almost anywhere. In adventures or RPGs like Baldur’s Gate or Monkey Island you could always hit the famous “Save” button – and thus undo every silly decision or failed battle.
The rise of autosave
Somewhere around the turn of the millennium, things changed. With more complex games and ever larger worlds came the desire not to always have to take care of save files yourself. Developers started adding autosave functions. For example: you’re running through a level, reach a certain checkpoint or defeat a boss – and the game saves automatically.
On the one hand, this was a huge relief, on the other hand it meant that many players eventually didn’t think about saving mechanics at all anymore. “Set it and forget it,” so to speak. Whether in shooter campaigns like Call of Duty or open-world games like GTA: you could be sure that your progress was being saved regularly.
Of course, that also had downsides. Some players felt patronized by constant autosaves. If you made a mistake, you couldn’t just roll back a few minutes – the game had already saved. So a bit of risk remained.
Save points: Between annoyance and nostalgia
An in-between step were the famous save points. Especially on consoles this was common. Final Fantasy, Resident Evil or even Dark Souls relied on fixed points where you could save. Often these were special rooms, campfires, or save crystals.
This had several effects: On the one hand, such save points built tension. If you knew the next save point was still far away, you took every encounter much more seriously. On the other hand, it often caused frustration. Who doesn’t remember losing an hour of gameplay just because you died right before the save point?
When developers make it deliberately difficult
And this is where games like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 come in, which deliberately play with the saving system. Unlike most modern titles, you can’t just save anytime there. Instead, you need the famous Saviour Schnapps, a kind of in-game item that saves your progress when you drink it.
What sounds like an unnecessary hurdle at first actually makes sense. The developers want you to make decisions consciously and live with the consequences. If you know you can’t just roll back anytime, you proceed more carefully, plan more, and live with your mistakes. That creates more immersion – but can also be quite annoying if you just wanted to have a short session.
Interestingly, such mechanics are almost a counter-design to modern “comfort” gaming. While most games put as few obstacles as possible in your way, games like Kingdom Come Deliverance say: “No, you have to work for it, and we won’t make it too easy.”
Cloud saving and gaming in 2025
Today, in the age of cloud gaming and next-gen consoles, saving is easier than ever. Whether Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation – your save files are almost always stored in the cloud. You can start on one device and continue on another without even bothering with a USB stick.
Especially for heavy gamers this is a dream. Imagine you’re playing at home on PC and want to continue on the console in your hotel room on vacation – no problem. Backups are basically integrated too, so you don’t lose your progress even if your hardware breaks down.
Of course, there are still a few exceptions, but overall saving has become so self-evident today that it’s almost invisible.
From luxury to normality
Looking back, you realize how much saving mechanics have changed. Back then, it was a privilege to be able to save at all. Today you hardly notice it – unless a game deliberately makes it hard.
Whether autosave, save points, or the somewhat quirky Saviour Schnapps in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 – the way we save directly influences the way we play. And maybe that’s the point: saving mechanics are not just comfort features, but also a stylistic tool.
Sometimes that brings nostalgia, sometimes frustration. But no matter how much the technology has developed: in the end, good old “saving” remains a fixed part of gaming – even if we usually don’t think about it anymore today.