Why are reviewers putting so much emphasis on story rather than gameplay/replayability?

[Darwinianevolution]

If the game is trying to focus on the story as one of its main aspects, critics will talk about it as such. TellTale games will be judged more for their story than a game more focused on gameplay. TellTale's The Walking Dead and Mario Kart 8 have a very similar Metacritic score, and are both very different games. (Critic score for TWD 89; score for MK8 88)