Handholding - e.g.:
- quest compasses that you can't switch off (or where the game isn't designed to operate without the quest compass, e.g. you can't just go up to an NPC and ask for directions to a location that he/she should know about),
- environmental 'puzzles' where they tell you exactly what to do (hence removing any challenge, and any point to the damn thing),
- games that ruin any exploration element by telling you in bright shining letters everytime there is something you should do or look at,
- games where all dialogue choices (no matter how moronic) will always lead to an equally good outcome (hence making the non-combat sections pointless breaks between the 'real game').
- rpgs that lack meaningful non-combat builds/solutions (great example of a game that does that right is Fallout 2 back in 1998-1999; you can play it through as the 'diplomacy guy' with a party of companions to fight for you, or as the 'science guy' with a few companions for protection and using your superior knowledge of technology to avoid direct confrontation. Though playing with a scientist build will mean that you've got no use for (and probably can't spare a combat-oriented companion spot for) the game's best NPC 'Myron!, baby, Myron!' the cocaine/'Jet'-making, drug-dealing, whining arrogant lovable 'boy genius' - goddawfully useless in combat, but he makes up for it with humour and drugs.
