What do you look for in games

A few days ago I was thinking about how my list of favorite games and how they all are pretty diferent, varying in genre a lot, and I started to think about why I actually like those games that much. Sometimes, like God Of War, it's the story. Sometimes, for Portal 2 it's the jokes and story and game design. My favorite game of all time, Hollow Knight, is there mainly for the brilliant game design. Some of my other favorite games are things like Dreams, Doom Eternal, Halo 2, Rayman Legends, and with that I realized that maybe what I look for in games is if the game does what it's trying to do well, or if it takes something away and gives back something as equally good. For example, look at Mario or Banjo Kazooie. They don't have basically anything in terms of story, but gameplay more than makes up for it. Because I do believe that games don't necesarilly have to be fun to be good, as they're art at the end of the day.
So this long ramble about nothing really is to ask you what do you look for in games and why do you play the games you play, as I think it's a necesary step to understand better why we like the games we like or why we hate the games we hate. So yeah, I'm curious

Story, exploration, aesthetics, game genre/style. There has to be a good pull for me in at least two out of three. I probably wouldn’t have picked up many of my titles if I wasn’t interested in what they were about. I’m also more likely to play something if it’s from a genre I know I love, so I’m more willing to do a blind leap on it if it has at least that. However, if I feel like I’m going to be in the same spot and not moving anywhere I’ll feel like I’ll get bored. Lastly, aesthetics is what might initially catch my eye to begin with. I might play something I wouldn’t normally if something about how it looked grabbed me.

A good gameplay structure and a reason to play, I struggle with things that are too sandboxy without any real direction.

The one aspect that I look for the most in games is story. It doesn't have to be anything grandiose over a long course of time or even good. Just a few interactions with interesting NPCs is enough. Hearing their chatter while passing through, talking to them until I squeeze all of their possible dialogues, or just seeing their day to day life in the game. It's always cool to see how NPCs interact with the main character and with each other

This next aspect still ties in with story. Good worldbuilding will also keep me interested with the game. It is impressive how developers can build a whole different world that could actually makes sense if it exists. It is always a nice moment if a game can make me take a break from my journey and see this magical world that I'm currently in

From the 2 points above, I think what I really look from games is immersion. In the end game for me is a form of escapism. Living a new life as a character in a different circumstances or world than I live in is magical. I want to be fully immersed in a game, to forget real life for a moment and fully invest my being in this virtual space

Some aspects are very genre-dependant, but something like variety and gameplay mechanics should generally be good across the board. If I was to break down the 3 most common genres on my playlist by features I consider the most important, it would look something like this:

- atmosphere, narrative and sound design in horror-themed titles ( Dead Space series, Silent Hil series )
- pacing, difficulty and responsive controls in shooters, both TPS and FPS ( F.E.A.R., Resistance: Fall of Man, Uncharted )
- level design, soundtrack and good sense of progression in action adventures (Batman: Arkham series, Tomb Raider series)

Good graphics, flawless performance and the absence of glitches are always welcome, but some games can be just as fun and engaging without it all (Cry of Fear, Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason, Deadly Premonition), a good narrative in a shooter would also grant it a bonus (Spec Ops: The Line).

I think I am always looking for the surprise of playing something that feels completely new and exciting. I rate my games by how they made me feel when I played them, not by how technically good they are.

For example, because it was my first MMO, the first few months I played World of Warcraft were mind blowing to me.

The first time I played Bayonetta 2, I laughed like a child because it made me so happy. I had never played a game like it.

The first time I played Astrobot Rescue Mission, my first VR game, I actually cried!

The first multiplayer game I ever tried, Rainbow Six 3 on Xbox, is also my favourite multiplayer ever.

My first Souls game was Dark Souls 2, and is actually my favourite. I know it's not the best souls game, but it made me the happiest because it surprised me.

Even this year, I played Lonely Mountains: Downhill, a game I never even heard of until I read a review on this site, and had a surprisingly great time with it. That makes me very happy.

The downside is, I am often trying to recreate that feeling of surprise and it so rarely happens. Maybe that's why %Retired is quite high :)

Well, the only thing that I look for in a game is having fun. I don't mind if the game doesn't have a plot, or beautiful graphics. This is reflected in my completion list, with lots of different things.

I'm looking for a game I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. A game with a great personality, a sense of humor that matches my own, and similar morals and viewpoints. A game I can confide all my secrets in, take long walks on the beach with, maybe partner with in minor, victimless crimes. A game that can put up wth me during highs and lows, and accepts me for who I am.

Is that so hard to ask for?

Well, the only thing that I look for in a game is having fun. I don't mind if the game doesn't have a plot, or beautiful graphics. This is reflected in my completion list, with lots of different things.

I agree. I could play a game that has terrible graphics by today’s standards ie. Thrillville: Off The Rails or the Sonic Adventure games but if the story and gameplay still holds up well I’ll play it. It’s also the fact that I have to be in the right mood for a certain genre. Some days I might play a platformer, others a shooter or an open-world game. If I just bought a newly released game I’ll obviously play that first thing😂

1) Interesting characters, preferably voice acted.
This is usually my problem with JRPGs; even though I love them, I feel like all characters and their backstories are the same in A LOT of games.

2) Soundtrack.

3) Decent gameplay
It doesn't even need to be ~~~~~disruptive~~~~~ as long as it does the job.

4) Decent U.I
Needs to be decent for both PC and Console players.

5) QOL
I hate when, I.E., the game is very crafting-based and I need to keep going to my stash 30 times in a row to pick up materials to craft. Or you're playing an open world game and you cannot fast travel easily. Or when you cannot save your game in random places and the game doesn't have an autosave feature.

I don't care about graphics (unless the game tries to offer realistic graphics and fails miserably).

I appreciate many different things in games and buy certain ones for other reasons over others. Of course.

But the games that strike me the most are the ones that nail:
- Atmosphere because it can set a mood and evoke emotions/feelings. This can be very important.
- Themes whether that be tying them into gameplay and/or weaving them everywhere you go to reinforce the overall message.
- Tone which is just the way these things are done. I don't mind humor at all but compare the tone of any Wasteland game to the tone of Planescape: Torment. They both have jokes in them, sometimes quite silly ones but Planescape never does it in a way that will pull you out or make you roll your eyes. It's very serious, very dark despite the jokes. Wasteland has some serious things going on but never minds to stop and show you people dressing up in ballerina outfits while people starve in their city and crime runs rampant.

Examples of the games that hit these marks the best for me:
- Shadow of the Colossus
- ICO
- The Last Guardian
- Fallout
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Planescape: Torment
- Disco Elysium
- Bloodborne
- Dark Souls

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl comes close but doesn't quite stick it fully. There was a lot of potential there but it was too few in its themes that they really nail at the very end of the story. Otherwise, they never really touch on it much.

I appreciate all these games for multiple reasons but every time someone asks what my top games are, it's these. And it's not for their gameplay or their moment to moment design. It's those three pillars I listed. Those are the things that set them apart from every other video game I've played. Things that were failed to be executed so well in some of their sequels and spiritual successors.

Hmm, a few things:
- Genre: Prioritization, Is it an RPG, Puzzle, Action, Adventure? etc.
- Aesthetic: Does the game actually look good? as a Game? as a Concept? as an Entity?
- Story: (This is what I look at most) Will the game's story hold me to it? Is it compelling? Can it stand on its own?
- Characters: Do I relate to them? Is there comradery? Jokes? A love to hate villain?
- Soundtrack: Is the Music epic? Possibly sung in a foreign language? Overly Orchestra? Sombre? OH YEAH!
- Platform: How available is it to me? Am I gonna have to buy a new console? Is it gonna come to a device I own eventually?
- Worth: Is the price worth it? or is it more of a Sale only type?
- Gameplay: Does it feel like it would be fun to play? Is it hard? Is it challenging?

~

A good story, interesting characters and worthwhile exploration are the most important things for me. Games with no story bore me to tears and I hate every game where I don´t care about its characters.

I also found this video which relates to the topic of this thread, in case anyone is interested.

Games are my go-to form of escapism, so the most important things for me are a well-written cast of characters that feel real and grow as you progress and an immersive athmosphere that pulls you in and makes you forget about the outside world, whether it be through great music, great visuals, great setting, great story or (preferrably) a combination of them. I also tend to gravitate towards games with complex gameplay systems like RPGs because of the freedom that they give you in choosing how you want to play the game.

Some examples from my list of favorite games:
- BioShock Infinite: amazing lead characters, great story and very immersive game world
- Persona 4 Golden: the best cast of characters I've ever seen, great music and story, extremely big variety of possible playstyles
- Persona 3 FES: same as above but with a lot more focus on the plot and less so on the characters
- Transistor: incredibly immersive (so much that I completed my first playthrough in a single session), stunning visuals and music, a lot of choice in terms of playstyle
- VA-11 Hall-A: amazing music and art, very detailed game world, great characters (including the protagonist I can relate to the most on this list)

Ok, serious answer: I like games with spoopy ghost houses and extradimensional travel and ruins of long-dead (or fallen) civilizations and great vistas and non-straight player romances with women that aren't Christians but can be fantasy races. Actually, that describes Dragon Age: Origins, minus the "aren't Christians" part. I also like character customization, home bases that change based on gameplay, long-dead/fallen civilizations, collecting unique items, talking to strange people, exploring untouched places, convincing people not to kill me, convincing people to kill themselves, and writing that isn't variously juvenile.

A good story, interesting characters and worthwhile exploration are the most important things for me. Games with no story bore me to tears and I hate every game where I don´t care about its characters.

I also found this video which relates to the topic of this thread, in case anyone is interested.

I've seen that video, and it's really good

A good story, interesting characters and worthwhile exploration are the most important things for me. Games with no story bore me to tears and I hate every game where I don´t care about its characters.

I also found this video which relates to the topic of this thread, in case anyone is interested.

I enjoyed the video too. I did the questionnaire he mentions, https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/, and think the results fit quite well.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Architect, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Slayer.

Architects are solo gamers that enjoy planning, decision-making, and progression. They prefer slow-paced, relaxing gameplay where they can plan and build something grand and enduring.

Slayers want to be the heroic protagonists in a cinematic story. They are solo gamers who enjoy highly curated narratives and slower-paced gameplay. They see games as highly interactive action movies to be experienced.

Most of the games I like are slow-paced or turn based story focused solo game. This fits almost every game I play, with the notable exception of metroidvanias.

What I look for in a game is a great story and fascinating characters and worlds. I enjoy games that have something unique about them, like Danganronpa or Paradise Killer. Things I couldn't care less for are any interactions with people, loot and crafting, customizations, tough challenges, sandboxes, story free games (especially roguelikes), trophy hunting (I have one platinum but from a Visual Novel ;)). Most of the time I don't even notice soundtracks. There's just a handful of games which had such great/fitting music that I listened to it for hours.

I enjoyed the video too. I did the questionnaire he mentions, https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/, and think the results fit quite well.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Architect, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Slayer.

Architects are solo gamers that enjoy planning, decision-making, and progression. They prefer slow-paced, relaxing gameplay where they can plan and build something grand and enduring.

Slayers want to be the heroic protagonists in a cinematic story. They are solo gamers who enjoy highly curated narratives and slower-paced gameplay. They see games as highly interactive action movies to be experienced.

Most of the games I like are slow-paced or turn based story focused solo game. This fits almost every game I play, with the notable exception of metroidvanias.

What I look for in a game is a great story and fascinating characters and worlds. I enjoy games that have something unique about them, like Danganronpa or Paradise Killer. Things I couldn't care less for are any interactions with people, loot and crafting, customizations, tough challenges, sandboxes, story free games (especially roguelikes), trophy hunting (I have one platinum but from a Visual Novel ;)). Most of the time I don't even notice soundtracks. There's just a handful of games which had such great/fitting music that I listened to it for hours.

My answers gave almost the right answer, but reversed: it said Gardener with some Bounty Hunter, but after reading the descriptions I think the opposite is true. I like Gardener-type gameplay, but only in a good enough Bounty Hunter game. In fact, I don't think I much enjoy Gardener-type gameplay in anything but.

And of course, like most people I'm sure, I have some other tendencies: in my case, Slayer, with a bit of Bard (I prefer single-player, but when I do play multiplayer I play socially/cooperatively). Though I admit that Slayer-type games are by far my secondary after Bounty Hunter, I played a good amount of them last year that I enjoyed: God of War, Night in the Woods, Beyond: Two Souls.

Looking at the descriptions and games, I notice some interesting things. For instance, I think of Far Cry (the recent entries) and Watch_Underscore_Dogs as Gardener games, not Bounty Hunter. Some elements of the latter, sure, but I would neatly categorize them as appealing to those who fit the description of Gardeners. It's also interesting seeing God of War (singular, not series) be included as Bounty Hunter, because my mind (as above) goes towards the original series when I think of it, i.e. Slayer-type games. And under Architect, I see Baldur's Gate. I actually agree with this categorization, but I always play them as a Bounty Hunter, so it's interesting to wonder if I'm an outlier in that regard.

I can sort of understand where the writer of this click-bait data-harvester was coming from, but as always I would have done things differently ;)

I enjoyed the video too. I did the questionnaire he mentions, https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/, and think the results fit quite well.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Architect, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Slayer.

Architects are solo gamers that enjoy planning, decision-making, and progression. They prefer slow-paced, relaxing gameplay where they can plan and build something grand and enduring.

Slayers want to be the heroic protagonists in a cinematic story. They are solo gamers who enjoy highly curated narratives and slower-paced gameplay. They see games as highly interactive action movies to be experienced.

Most of the games I like are slow-paced or turn based story focused solo game. This fits almost every game I play, with the notable exception of metroidvanias.

What I look for in a game is a great story and fascinating characters and worlds. I enjoy games that have something unique about them, like Danganronpa or Paradise Killer. Things I couldn't care less for are any interactions with people, loot and crafting, customizations, tough challenges, sandboxes, story free games (especially roguelikes), trophy hunting (I have one platinum but from a Visual Novel ;)). Most of the time I don't even notice soundtracks. There's just a handful of games which had such great/fitting music that I listened to it for hours.

Did that myself and I got Slayer

I enjoyed the video too. I did the questionnaire he mentions, https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/, and think the results fit quite well.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Architect, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Slayer.

Architects are solo gamers that enjoy planning, decision-making, and progression. They prefer slow-paced, relaxing gameplay where they can plan and build something grand and enduring.

Slayers want to be the heroic protagonists in a cinematic story. They are solo gamers who enjoy highly curated narratives and slower-paced gameplay. They see games as highly interactive action movies to be experienced.

Most of the games I like are slow-paced or turn based story focused solo game. This fits almost every game I play, with the notable exception of metroidvanias.

What I look for in a game is a great story and fascinating characters and worlds. I enjoy games that have something unique about them, like Danganronpa or Paradise Killer. Things I couldn't care less for are any interactions with people, loot and crafting, customizations, tough challenges, sandboxes, story free games (especially roguelikes), trophy hunting (I have one platinum but from a Visual Novel ;)). Most of the time I don't even notice soundtracks. There's just a handful of games which had such great/fitting music that I listened to it for hours.

Suprised by how spot on that questionnaire was, I've got Acrobat as my primary player type, with Bounty Hunter following up!

I enjoyed the video too. I did the questionnaire he mentions, https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/, and think the results fit quite well.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Architect, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Slayer.

Architects are solo gamers that enjoy planning, decision-making, and progression. They prefer slow-paced, relaxing gameplay where they can plan and build something grand and enduring.

Slayers want to be the heroic protagonists in a cinematic story. They are solo gamers who enjoy highly curated narratives and slower-paced gameplay. They see games as highly interactive action movies to be experienced.

Most of the games I like are slow-paced or turn based story focused solo game. This fits almost every game I play, with the notable exception of metroidvanias.

What I look for in a game is a great story and fascinating characters and worlds. I enjoy games that have something unique about them, like Danganronpa or Paradise Killer. Things I couldn't care less for are any interactions with people, loot and crafting, customizations, tough challenges, sandboxes, story free games (especially roguelikes), trophy hunting (I have one platinum but from a Visual Novel ;)). Most of the time I don't even notice soundtracks. There's just a handful of games which had such great/fitting music that I listened to it for hours.

I just tried that out, and I got Bounty Hunter!

I got Bounty Hunter as well but with a secondary Gladiator. Fits me well enough. I like my singleplayer RPGs a lot and I like my online FPS games and whatnot too.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Bounty Hunter, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Gladiator.

Bounty Hunters are solo, action-oriented explorers who want game worlds that they can make their own through customization and discovery. They also enjoy power progression and unleashing mayhem.

Gladiators are competitive gamers who are more likely to identify as hardcore, and they want games to engage them using a broad spectrum of features. They are looking for an epic, skill-based experience in the games they play.

After seeing the examples they give for these archetypes though, I feel I have to disagree with it. Seeing a lot of lootfest games and MMOs for Gladiators whereas the games I was associating with it was more fitting with what they give for Skirmishers.

Bounty Hunter still works but more with a mix of Bard for me. None of these examples really fill my taste of RPGs though.

I got Bounty Hunter as well but with a secondary Gladiator. Fits me well enough. I like my singleplayer RPGs a lot and I like my online FPS games and whatnot too.

Your primary (dominant) player type is the Bounty Hunter, but you also lean towards a secondary player type, the Gladiator.

Bounty Hunters are solo, action-oriented explorers who want game worlds that they can make their own through customization and discovery. They also enjoy power progression and unleashing mayhem.

Gladiators are competitive gamers who are more likely to identify as hardcore, and they want games to engage them using a broad spectrum of features. They are looking for an epic, skill-based experience in the games they play.

After seeing the examples they give for these archetypes though, I feel I have to disagree with it. Seeing a lot of lootfest games and MMOs for Gladiators whereas the games I was associating with it was more fitting with what they give for Skirmishers.

Bounty Hunter still works but more with a mix of Bard for me. None of these examples really fill my taste of RPGs though.

After seeing the examples they give for these archetypes though, I feel I have to disagree with it.

So did I. Some really odd discrepancies. Then again, we live in an age where almost everyone is willfully, arbitrarily ignorant of genres to the point of trollish, arrogant, self-important idiocy, so I am not really surprised that someone could write out those descriptions and then list games that don't fit them.

There's a sweet spot with genres in my opinion. And we fail them. Metal likes to subcategorize everything to the point where the difference in sub-sub-sub-genres is the lyrical content that you can't audibly understand the first time you hear it anyway and RPGs don't mean a thing.

There's a sweet spot with genres in my opinion. And we fail them. Metal likes to subcategorize everything to the point where the difference in sub-sub-sub-genres is the lyrical content that you can't audibly understand the first time you hear it anyway and RPGs don't mean a thing.

I disagree. RPGs as a genre even predate the video game industry. It's like saying that "sports" and "racing" aren't genres.