I wonder what do you guys prefer? Do you like manual save or auto save? What type of games should have first one/second one?
Manual save example: Resident Evil games with typewriter
Auto save example: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
I think 2022 is mostly auto save with a profile. So you create a new profile and the game auto saves to the active profile.
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I like manual save, except when I lose unexpectedly- then there better be an auto-save or else I’m rage-quitting. 
Edit: in other words- it’s good to have both, if you can.
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i cant remember the last time i manul saved in a game.
if i was expected to do that, it would be a big surprise to me. I consider a design born of limitation from a bygone era. Doesn’t mean it would be unwelcome or that big of a deal though if the game is otherwise good.
I always use manual save, as i know when to save, and ive never lost anything in years. And it doesnt matter the game type, the sooner you save after a change, the better. Auto-Save is (to me) an annoyance, an un-needed, redundant, useless task. And the last thing is, do you have source control?.
I sounds like you’re talking about manual vs auto-save in the Unity editor, where-as I’m pretty sure the OP is talking about manual save vs auto-save in games.
For games, auto-save with the manual option to save, is the best bet. As saving for users is something they take for granted…
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Depends on game.
But generally manual saves are for save scummers.
Auto-saves makes games more immersive.
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I can agree with that, lol.
Auto-saves, with broader design ensuring immersion is never broken to remind me about how saving works. As in, I don’t want to be pulled out of the game world to be reminded to save (or load) my progress. I just want to start, stop and resume playing. Let the game look after itself.
There are exceptions, of course. But that’s the typical ideal.
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Sometimes I like to be able to save when I want to, because games don’t usually explain when and where auto-saves occur. If theirs no option to save and no mention of when the last save was, I tend to get paranoid that I’m going to lose some progress when I quit.
You could simply counteract this with a message like “Are you sure you want to quit? (Your progress will be save)” but a lot of games don’t have this for some reason.
I like to have both when playing a game. I like when a game give the player the option to manually save while also having at least two Autosave files, so that they don’t immediately get overwritten. Sometimes an autosave can occur at a time where you’re in a soft lock (unable to progress due to either a bug or bad game design) and need to access a save file that is further back to progress in the game.
Another good thing about manual save files that I don’t think are talked about a lot, is that they are kind of like a photo album where you could go back to them later on and experience them again without having to replay the whole game.
I think the save system needs to work with the type of game. I do enjoy when games have a save system that works well within the mechanics of a game (can’t think of an example off the top of my head, but they exist).
But in games like CRPG’s I’d prefer manual saving, with auto-saves at key points. Yes that’s because most of them are rather high-stakes and I want to save scrub, but it’s generally a genre with long periods of time even within the same zone, so having that control is preferable than having on a timer.
But in more linear games like Uncharted or God of War, auto-saves work a lot better, particularly for the aforementioned immersion aspect.
Games definitely shouldn’t use save/checkpoint systems that aren’t appropriate for their genre. Star Wars: Fallen Order really didn’t’ need a souls-like checkpoint system, and the game was worse off because of it. If it had a regular auto-save system like most character action games, I think less people would have bounced off it.
One thing regarding save systems that drive me nuts is save systems which force a game mechanic to happen at the same time that may not be desirable. As an easy to point to example, farming games like Stardew Valley where you can only save by going to bed, which forces you to jump to the next morning.
This also makes the game irritating for people who have unexpected real life interruptions, like kids or phone calls.
I like the design of “always forward” like Demon’s Souls. The moment you die, you can see that the game auto-saves but you instantly have at least 1 objective: Get your stuff back.
What i really don’t like is something like Disgaea 1, where you lose everything when you forget to save and is does nothing for flavour or gameplay. If saving is part of the design, like in RE1 with the Typewriters, i like it a lot. It’s not the same with autosaving.
In conclusion: Both is great, if it’s designed well. But most of the time, worrying about savefiles is not fun, if it’s not part of the core design.
Video games would be a lot better if we abandoned manual saves.
nobody plays through their mistakes anymore.
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I didn’t vote because I choose Both.
All the games I had played since long time ago have both saving method, in different slot.
I like both but when a manual save has just been done auto save delay should be reset, in some games this is not the case and then it can happen that you save in a difficult situation, you screw up and auto-save comes and deletes your safe point.
I agree, having both options is a good idea. Most of the games I played on the sega dreamcast years ago, had both options. And the auto save feature, would have an on and off switch too, which always came in handy.