I also think emotional connection is important for me, that's why I like games with some sort of social simulation like Fire Emblem Three Houses and Persona 5 where you build a friendship with your party, sometimes I somewhat felt immersed as if I was truly living the role play. Feeling as part of the story really helps me to like a game. That's how I ended having over 700 hours in Animal Crossing, who doesn't like to befriend cute animals ?
Sometimes empathy can appear even when you don't have the power of social simulation though, thinking of Hollow Knight, I really felt immersed in a dying world of bugs, connected enough to really want the Knight to succeed. I like when games makes me feel emotions and not coldness, a game where I finished and felt nothing is an empty game for me
