Plenty of games come with various ways for your character or team to replenish health. Med kits, bandages, and even consuming plants or pieces of food are all commonplace. Almost always, the ability to restore health can make or break endgame content.

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On the far end of the spectrum, some methods are more straightforward, and others are less intuitive. When it comes to the more unique methods of recovering health, such as the preparation of an item via a minigame - those are certainly worth taking note of.

10 Absorbing A Super Mushroom (Super Mario Series)

Super Mario Standing Underneath Blocks Awaiting Mushroom

Through the years, the Mario series has been synonymous with collecting two things – power-ups, such as the trademark magic mushrooms or bunny ears, and gold coins.

The mushrooms are especially useful, because when consumed they give Mario an extra hit which would otherwise prove fatal. They also can supercharge this Italian plumber's power, making him grow and allowing him to break blocks. The only caveat is that unless players are careful, the mushroom runs away.

9 Catching A Stim Pack From BD-1 Using The Force (Jedi: Fallen Order)

Fallen Order Stim Canister

Most droids in the Star Wars universe have great utility, but BD-1 in Jedi: Fallen Order is in a league of his own. Aside from being incredibly bubbly, he also aids players in many dead-end situations. Once they are unlocked, he can toss main character Cal Kestis a medical stimpack upon request to heal him. This is often a godsend due to being on the run from the Empire (this is post-Order 66, after all).

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Finding them, however, requires some level of exploration. There's also the added problem of only being able to save at designated save points. However, if players continue to raise Cal's abilities, this does become less problematic.

8 Absorbing Smoke (Infamous: Second Son)

infamous-secondson-18-Delsin Smoke

Although fans have been clamoring for a new Infamous entry for years, the series still holds up to this day. While the original two titles saw protagonist Cole McGrath absorbing and utilizing electricity, the more recent Infamous: Second Son saw newcomer Deslin Rowe absorbing neon, video, concrete, and smoke.

As the game’s main story progresses, so do the opposing forces hunting Deslin. As such a player’s health can quickly dwindle. In these specific cases, all one needs to do is stand on top of a vent that has smoke rising from it, and absorb the smoke to recover health. Becoming a human smoke stack has never looked so cool.

7 Crafting A Med Kit After Collecting Practical Supplies (The Last Of Us)

Joel crafting a med kit TLOU Cropped

No other entry on this list is quite as fulfilling as the crafting and then utilization of a med kit in zombie survival game The Last of Us. This is probably in large part due to the entire economy of the series itself, which is more grounded than other entries when it comes to surviving the living dead.

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Being the survival game it is though, players may find themselves struggling to find premade medical kits. But, time willing, players can find the right materials and Joel can craft one at any given time.

6 Casting A Well of Radiance As A Warlock (Destiny)

Warlock Casting a Well of Radiance Destiny 2

Within the infrastructure of Bungie’s Destiny 2, each player type has its benefits. Whereas Titans are essentially tanks, and hunters are lethal assassins, Warlocks are mystical healers. As such, they are able to heal themselves alongside other guardians at any given time - providing the ability is ready.

Upon activation, this solar super ability allows Warlocks to immediately summon a "Well of Radiance" (via the Attunement of Grace node in the Dawnblade subclass) which grants various healing buffs and weapon damage increases. However, the less powerful "Well of Light" class ability that can continuously heal as well as offering a overshield. This can come in clutch, even more so when utilizing one of the many Warlock builds that the vast player base engineers.

5 Getting Healed By Paladin Butters The Merciful (South Park: The Stick Of Truth)

South Park-The-Stick-of-Truth Butters Paladin

Leopold Stotch, or Butters as he’s more commonly known, is one character throughout all of South Park that is rather loved to be hated. But unfortunately, given his status as something of an easy target, he is constantly taken advantage of.

Within South Park: the Stick of Truth, however, his utility is especially useful. As a healer he can literally give a reassuring tap on the back to any of the party members. This will usually heal them more than halfway, cementing Butters' place as a crucial member of the party.

4 Cooking A Meal With Remy The Rat (Kingdom Hearts 3)

Kingdom Hearts 3 Sora and Remy Cooking

Aside from the usual Hi-Potions and Elixirs found within Kingdom Hearts 3, players can often go to Twilight Town and make bougie cuisine with Remy the Rat from Pixar's Ratatouille. This act can be a bit of a welcome change of pace in the game.

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Upon arrival, Sora can go through a variety of cooking routines in the form of minigames. Players then get ranked on how well they followed directions, and assuming players can hack it, Sora will then have a fancy meal that can really come in clutch for those harder endgame bosses.

3 Drinking Water...Out Of A Toilet (Fallout 3)

Fallout 3 Toilet Water

It should be a no-brainer given Fallout 3’s post-apocalyptic setting that desperate times call for desperate measures. Radiation is everywhere, resources are scarce, and danger is lurking around every corner. If regular food is unavailable, players can find replenishment nearby — in any toilet.

Although the idea sounds gross, it hasn't stopped Fallout 3 from becoming the crown jewel of the entire franchise. Considering that many of the more sought-after food items are stuck in abandoned supermarkets, frequented by various warring clans & factions, this is a resourceful way to recover health in the earlier parts of the game. Just make sure you wash your hands after.

2 Catching Fairies (The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time)

Fairies are often associated with healing properties, and that's no different in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. While there are often multiple ways to restore health within the fictional land of Hyrule, none is as powerful as using a fairy.

This is a great way for Link to quickly regain a good chunk of his health and continue on his adventures. This benefit is expanded upon even further since if our hero of time dies while having a fairy on his person, it can immediately ressurect him. Of course, half of the struggle is locating fairies in the first place, especially in the earlier parts of Zelda games. But one of the multiple fairy fountains spread throughout Hyrule should help with that.

1 Drinking Moonshine (Red Dead Redemption 2)

moony Cropped

There is a plethora of things to do in Red Dead Redemption 2's vast open world, some of which is restricted for a time by the actual story itself. One of those things is to drink heavily, specifically moonshine or aged pirate rum. Weirdly, it can restore health — but is still a rather pointless (albeit funny) endeavor.

From there, players can expect either Arthur to start nonsensically talking to himself or yelling at random strangers. If players continue to drink more, they will usually wind up blacking out until the next morning, with the worst headache of all time. Talk about realism in video games.

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