History Main / OnlyOneSaveFile

* ''VideoGame/DrawnToLife'': The second game only has one save file per game. It's possibly justified by the game itself [[spoiler:being AdventuresInComaLand]]- you can't exactly have multiple save files in a universe where [[spoiler:everything takes place in the head of supporting character Mike]].

* ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}'': The last FPS to use the Doom engine, initially had only ''one'' save slot. You could save as often as you wanted, but good luck if you saved next to a boss while being low on health or ammo and with no suitable powerups in sight. Even the producers found this to be too harsh, and removed the limit in a later patch.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': The series started as cartridge games for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, with ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' and this trope is now presumably tradition:

* In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'', you are allowed one ''town'' per cartridge, with up to four player characters being allowed to live in a single town; ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' increases this limit to eight. In most games, these characters can be deleted and swapped in for new creations whenever you desire, though ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'' and ''New Horizons'' disallow you from [[CantDropTheHero deleting the first created character]] (who serves as the mayor/island representative) without erasing the town/island entirely.

For more of a utility consideration, this might occur when giving the player a representation of the save file is not useful, like in most PuzzleGames, {{Rhythm Game}}s or some other game, where each individual puzzle / stage / song usually has no impact on any other, and there's no permanent loss state, so saving and reloading later would only be a loss of progress, so it's designed so such a negative event can't happen. Then there's the common UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame, EndlessGame, or GameWithinAGame which are just about ScoringPoints, so saving the high score at the end is the only thing that's saved, and you only need one version of that.

** ''Far Cry 2'' actually allows manual saves on the PC version of the game, with no apparent limit to the number of saves that can be made. ''Far Cry Primal'' on PC likewise allows you to create multiple manual archives of the most recent autosave (for some reason this feature did not carry over into ''Far Cry 5''). ''Far Cry 3'' has ''very'' limited multi-save ability, as you have both 1 seperate manual save and 1 autosave per player profile, and can also create 3 different player profiles.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'': Unlike the previous games in the "''Adventure''" era, this game only uses only save file per Xbox/[=PlayStation=] account.

* ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}'' notably only limits you to the most recent autosave, it doesn't even have a level select feature unlike almost all other games in the genre. It does at least give you 3 seperate player profiles.

* The first two ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games had only one save file. Come 3, save slots were added. Starting with 9, it went back to only one save file.

* ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}}'': The Japan-only ''Complete Works'' re-releases of ''1'' through ''6'' for the [=PlayStation=] as they have up to 8 save slots for its Original and Navi Modes, and ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' and its later ports on Sega Saturn and its ''Legacy Collection 2'' version have multiple save slots on their respective platforms, however, the ports of these games featured in the ''Mega Man Anniversary Collection'' limits players to only one save file for the game.

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'': The original release and its later ports on Sega Saturn and ''Legacy Collection 2'' version are aversions as they have multiple save slots on their respective platforms, however, the port of ''Mega Man 8'' featured in the ''Mega Man Anniversary Collection'' limits players to only one save file for the game.

For more of a utility consideration, this might occur when giving the player an indication of the save file is not useful, like in most PuzzleGames, {{Rhythm Game}} or some other game, where each individual puzzle / stage / song usually has no impact on any other, and there's no permanent loss state, so saving and reloading later would only be a loss of progress, so it can't happen. Then there's the common UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame, EndlessGame, or GameWithinAGame which are just about ScoringPoints, so saving the high score at the end is the only thing that's saved, and you only need one version of that.

* ''VideoGame/BulletWitch'': Only one save file is used throughout the game, with progress being saved as players clearn the game's stages. Mid-stage progress is also saved between checkpoints.

* ''VideoGame/BulletWitch'': Only one save file is used throughout the game, with progress being saved as players clearn the game's stages. Mid-stage progress are also saved between checkpoints.

[[folder:Role-playing Games]]

* ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'': Because it's {{Exergaming}} designed for only one person to use it.

* ''VideoGame/TheForest''

* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'' has only one save file. Unfortunately, there's a good deal of collectibles that are {{Permanently Missable|Content}} -- some of which are tied into NewGamePlus functionality.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
** Unlike the games in the series before it, ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'' only has one save file for each Wii U account.
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' also only allows one save file per Nintendo Switch account.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' has only one save file per Wii U account.

* The first two ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games had only one save file. Come 3, save slots were added.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'' only has one save file, and it's AutoSave only -- you cannot save manually.

As computer technology advanced and more and more durable memory became available to console manufacturers, saving progress as a feature of a game itself became possible. Due to how computers work, that save must a file, and memory limits might only allow one save file, a.k.a this trope. But that was the past. Now, technology makes multiple saves possible, so it's the software and therefore the game designers, not the hardware, truly controls the number of saves that can be concurrently stored.

* All of the ''VideoGame/StyleSavvy'' games have only one save file.

As a trope that isn't necessary now, if this is done in a modern game, there's likely designer intent behind it. Such as hindering SaveScumming as part of being NintendoHard, by making it harder to save favorable states if the wanted result has multiple points of slow failure, especially if the game only {{Autosave}}s so there's almost no player control over saving. Multiple slots allows the functional reversal of time, so having only one means that the developer assumes that there's no UnintentionallyUnwinnable states that can be reached. Or not, to ramp up the horror of SurvivalHorror with WideOpenSandbox, where the sandbox usually means saving anywhere is possible, for the freedom.

* The ''Treasure Hunter Man'' series, a.k.a ''VideoGame/TreasureHunterMan'' and ''VideoGame/TreasureHunterMan2'': Each game has only one file, so when selecting Load on the StartScreen, there's no selecting a save file, while making a new game doesn't tell the player that a save already exists.

* ''VideoGame/{{Strife}}'' is restricted to only one manual save file slot in its original engine. Running it on a source port such as [=GZDoom=] removes this restriction.

* ''{{VideoGame/Strife}}'': The last FPS to use the Doom engine, initially had only ''one'' save slot. You could save as often as you wanted, but good luck if you saved next to a boss while being low on health or ammo and with no suitable powerups in sight. Even the producers found this to be too harsh, and removed the limit in a later patch.

[[folder: Survival Horror]]