Oh yeah so I definitely agree with you to an extent there, in a perfect scenario every element would have to be important and should further every other part of the game

Gameplay. The game could have a great setting, graphics and characters, but the game isn’t fun, it’s hard to justify it being a “good” game.

Mafia III is a great example. Late 1960s - early 1970s setting, soundtrack is amazing and full of classics, story and characters are interesting, and it has really great setpieces. The actual gameplay part of it though? Repetitive, boring, drive from point a to point b nonsense.

The amount of content is another thing I value as well, something to keep me busy with the game and retain the fun factor. Side missions, secrets, New Game Plus, etc

Yuip that too I realized I can play anything from 1980 to 2020 without really caring about the graphics as long as the art direction is solid

Tbh some old SNES games look better than some AAA titles from these last few years and the other way around too of course

Oh yeah and I agree with content too, content is a good criteria

I think any amout of content is alright but what matters really is the quality of the content a long ass game with repetitive content would feel so much longer than a long ass game with interesting and engaging content

And a short game could have way more content than a long game too tbh

My tolerance for bad gameplay is a lot lower than my tolerance for bad anything else. But I'm not so sure that means gameplay is what matters the most to me though.

I guess gameplay matters when it comes to me sticking around for the game, but when I think of all my most loved games the thing that sticks out to me is their commitment to their vision and strong sense of identity.

I liked Nier: Automata's thematic ideas.
I liked VA-11 HALL-A's setting and charming characters.
I liked Bayonetta's cocky personality and flashy combat.

Immersion

But all immersion is not the same, if it’s a multiplayer game I need to still feel more in control and have convenient gameplay mechanics and options while still keeping the world immersed

For a single player game it needs to go all in

I agree 100%
What has made gaming the main source of entertainment for anyone 30 and under and accepted by everyone today is that video games let someone experience a characters narrative in their own fashion. Which in turn is why open world was always going to become overdone with majority basic gameplay standards (like Ubisoft core direction) Just like cookie cutter movies

Ngl, this focus on immersion is often done really badly and is what makes me dislike a lot of games. Feels like gameplay is actually sacrificed for immersion; hate being forced to go slow to enjoy scenery and s***.
This whole immersion thing is actually why I couldn’t get into RDR2, game tryna waste my time for damn near no good reason.

story

RDR2 is an awful video game. Does everything else great though. S*** is basically an engine showcase to me. Only reason I finished it was because of the story and the game is hands down one of the most detailed and beautiful games made graphically. And that's on my base PS4. i cant imagine what it looks like on PC.

But the movement and controls are probably some of the worst in a such a high budget game.

For me, it isn't one thing, it's how the game manages to strike a balance between all of its parts -- I've loved games with lackluster gameplay but fantastic stories, and I've loved games with incredible gameplay but stories that I don't care about.

RDR2 for example, is a game with OK gameplay but the presentation, characters, and writing makes up for it. That game is able to make me care less about the gameplay (which can sometimes feel dated and unintuitive) because the story is so engaging.

Destiny has a f***ing awful story but the gunplay and combat is so fun that I don't care.

Honestly, I got used to the controls after a while, it's that it was an open world game where there was essentially no choices or flexibility within the missions aside from which guns you choose to shoot with. If you choose to deviate even slightly from what rockstar wants you to do, you fail the mission. It's almost like a rail shooter frankly.

i mean yea sure i got used to the controls but man... in 2018, having to perfectly align myself to an item to pick up? no. wtf. and man look an animation for everything is cute but speed it up a bit. s*** do the animal crossing thing and let us mash to make it faster.

the mission design is a crime. and you mentioned why. sometimes i'd fail because the game was way too on rails. i'd be shooting guys then my team would move up while im still fighting and somehow im too far away and "Failed: left my crew" the f***? what kind of open world is this.

there's things i love about rdr2 but it has actually made me hesitant to buy GTA 6 on launch. i need to see what they do differently. and i know they're different franchises but they do share same gameplay philosophies.

people talk about immersion but gameplay is immersion to me.

when i press b Mario jumps. when i press forward and b mario jumps foward. so damn basic but man then you get all the combinations of movement?

Sekiro is literally a top ten game this gen. That gameplay is just so f***ing good.

i don't PLAY video games to put my controller down and watch a 10 minute cutscene

Story is not a big priority. If i can skip the cutscenes, i probably will.

Gameplay #1, graphics #2

Biggest facts I seen ITT

Gameplay I donut care for stories one bit.

B***ies

And butts too

Gameplay and story are neck and neck. That's why i can forgive games with gameplay that sometimes can be lacking like witcher's controls can be a bit annoying until you get used to it but the story makes up for all of it and so much more.

Immersiveness is a big one as well. Which is why i can get lost in witcher and Red Dead so easily. When you can lose your sense and really feel like its a different atmosphere is amazing. VR capitalizes on this and why ive really enjoyed my oculus rift. VR is really starting to up the quality of the games so it's really fun to experience these worlds in a different way. Sometimes i take off that headset and it takes a second for me to get my surroundings back

Seeing people's opinions in here is essential on what makes games fun

Everyone has their own thing

Cool character designs.
Cool animations.
Good world building.
Story.
And of course gameplay. Gameplay matters the most but if everything else is top notch then that can make up for lacking gameplay, as long as its not offensively bad.
Music is also important but eh... not the most important thing for me. But it is the singular element that makes the package feel complete when everything else is on point.

after playing the mafia remake im sure the story matters the most for me. graphics and gameplay can age like milk but an amazing story will stay forever

/Thread