What do you look for in a game you've bought?

[Jirohnagi]

So i'm kinda curious you've bought a game that's caught your eye so it's appealed to you but what do you look for in the game that keeps you playing?

For me most of the time it's amusingly enough the soundtrack, despite the fact i've no musical notions at all i always find myself wanting to listen to the next track in the game, alongside this i generally play longer the more.......seamless (i think that's the phrasing i want) gameplay is and how well it merges with a story, though probably one of my most played games has arguably no story but is just pure gameplay of various types and soundtrack.

 

[Spirit]

I look for a solid gameplay loop, i want the game to be fun to play. I love combat in Zelda and can play TP and WW on 100% save files just to beat up enemies. But in BotW weapons break so i dont fight so the game feels way more boring.

So after buying a game that has appealed to me it must then be fun to play.

 

[DarkestLink]

Depends on the game. Platformers, Fighting, Action Adventure, and Open World games all have different standards. Take combat for example. I generally want good combat, but if it's an RPG I care less for how well crafted the combat is and more how well it suits strategy or roleplaying depending on the RPG. If I'm role playing as a powerful wizard, I should feel like an unstoppable God of Destruction. I shouldn't be having difficulty with common enemies.

 

[the8thark]

Fun.

If the game is my kind of fun, I'll look into it.
When I read reviews I look to see if the game has fun. Not for the quality of the game as most game reviews are biased as to what they consdider is good or not so good. Even bad games can be really fun - Goat Simulator as one example.

 

[NintendoCN]

An engaging story, if the story sucks, I don't keep playing.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

It depends. If it's a long game it needs to have sidequests that can hold my interest, and a well-designed world that I will want to keep exploring even after completing the main quest. For shorter games, I'll look for whether it has a story I like, and if there are other ways to progress through the game that I didn't try on my first playthrough. So, potential sequence breaking is always something I enjoy and look for on replays.

 

[Fraxinus]

enough content to justify the price. i cant afford to drop more than 10 dollars on a game if im only gonna play it for four hours and never touch it again

i only buy games if i can ensure i will play them enough, really. the game world is a bit part of it but what im permitted to do in the world is more important. i need good single player content most of yhe time. if theres repetition, it needs to be worthwhile

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Much like Satan, if there's enough content to justify its price.

And I'll add in if the gameplay, as well as the mechanics, are solid, as well as framerate is constant and consistent.

 

[Castle]

Yeah, it'll depend on the genre.

For RPGs I'm interested in good story, entertaining characters. But first and foremost I don't want to have to put up with inane busywork and constant arbitrary roadblocks to advancement that RPGs are often notorious for. "I DOUST DECREE THOU MUST LAUNDER THINE GYM SHORTS AFORE YE PROCEED!" <--- this sorta trash.

RPGs that gate progress behind skills or abilities also irk me. As do RPGs with excessive amounts of random. RNG is part and parcel to table top roleplaying but on a computer we can just bum right on off with it.

As @Spirit mentioned, pretty much any game's fun factor revolves around its gameplay loop. But generally speaking I need games to be fair and consistent. Action games with dodgy hit detection, RPGs with random difficulty spikes, fighting games with endless series of knockdowns and stun locks, stealth games with unreliable vision cones, shooters that over do it with enemy attack spams (grenade salvos, sniper one-shots, etc.) - anything that comes off as cheap will @#$% me off.

For instance, I just got severely ticked at Tales of Berseria. Here I was, battling along for over an hour having a grand old time when I randomly triggered one of the area big boss encounters. This prick shows up, dashes from one party member to the next and one-shots each and every one of them in turn with a boop on the nose. Before I know it, I'm wiped out and there's no option to retry... just reload.

There went an hour of my life....

@#$% THAT $#!%

There is NO EXCUSE for hard reloads as a consequence for getting wiped in the current year! The game uses a manual checkpoint save system with no autosaves either.

It's little things like this that developers overlook that can undermine an otherwise excellent game. In some games they're just too persistent to ignore and really drag down the experience.

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Yeah, it'll depend on the genre.

For RPGs I'm interested in good story, entertaining characters. But first and foremost I don't want to have to put up with inane busywork and constant arbitrary roadblocks to advancement that RPGs are often notorious for. "I DOUST DECREE THOU MUST LAUNDER THINE GYM SHORTS AFORE YE PROCEED!" <--- this sorta trash.

RPGs that gate progress behind skills or abilities also irk me. As do RPGs with excessive amounts of random. RNG is part and parcel to table top roleplaying but on a computer we can just bum right on off with it.

As @Spirit mentioned, pretty much any game's fun factor revolves around its gameplay loop. But generally speaking I need games to be fair and consistent. Action games with dodgy hit detection, RPGs with random difficulty spikes, stealth games with unreliable vision cones, shooters that over do it with enemy attack spams (grenade salvos, sniper one-shots, etc.) - anything that comes off as cheap will @#$% me off.

For instance, I just got severely ticked at Tales of Berseria. Here I was, battling along for over an hour having a grand old time when I randomly triggered one of the area big boss encounters. This prick shows up, dashes from one party member to the next and one-shots each and every one of them in turn with a boop on the nose. Before I know it, I'm wiped out and there's no option to retry... just reload.

There went an hour of my life....

@#$% THAT $#!%

There is NO EXCUSE for hard reloads as a consequence for getting wiped in the current year! The game uses a manual checkpoint save system with no autosaves either.

It's little things like this that developers overlook that can undermine an otherwise excellent game. In some games they're just too persistent to ignore and really drag down the experience.

Your rant brings to mind my numerous problems with CoD multiplayer, and why I think Aliens: Colonial Marines is amongst the top 5 worst FPS games that exist.