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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Why are reviewers putting so much emphasis on story rather than gameplay/replayability?

WC4Life on 30 November 2015

Hard truth is the majority of gamers aren't very capable in the gameplay department compared to what developers would be able to produce. And I disagree with the OP about games supposed to be fun. Fun can mean so many different things so I don't think it is a fitting term about what video games at heart are. Fun is at the center of the video game market but challenge/(possibility to fail) is the true core of video games itself or any game.



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Ultrashroomz on 30 November 2015

Wait, since when did reviewers focus solely on story?

Yeah story is still important, especially in narrative type games, but I'm pretty sure that they always look at gameplay separately from the story.



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Normchacho on 30 November 2015
Snoopy said:

I thought the biggest reason we play video games for the majority is for the gameplay and not the story. I don't mind a good story, but seems games that have an average story while having great gameplay and replayability get shitted on. Nintendo seems to be on the worse end of this to be honest. Nintendo games are about pure fun and yet everyone seems to give it lower reviews because of sparse story. I can understand if the story is innapropriate, but if the gameplay and replability is there and the rest of the game is average it deserves a great review by default because it succedds at suceceeds what being a video game is all about. FUN.


You do realize that this isn't actually a thing that's happening, right?

Super Mario 3D World - 93

Rocket League - 85

Super Smash Bros. - 92

Mario Kart - 88

Resogun - 84

On top of that, you're way off base about how important a story can be to a game. But please, go on.



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Snoopy on 30 November 2015
Normchacho said:
Snoopy said:

I thought the biggest reason we play video games for the majority is for the gameplay and not the story. I don't mind a good story, but seems games that have an average story while having great gameplay and replayability get shitted on. Nintendo seems to be on the worse end of this to be honest. Nintendo games are about pure fun and yet everyone seems to give it lower reviews because of sparse story. I can understand if the story is innapropriate, but if the gameplay and replability is there and the rest of the game is average it deserves a great review by default because it succedds at suceceeds what being a video game is all about. FUN.


You do realize that this isn't actually a thing that's happening, right?

Super Mario 3D World - 93

Rocket League - 85

Super Smash Bros. - 92

Mario Kart - 88

Resogun - 84

On top of that, you're way off base about how important a story can be to a game. But please, go on.


Yet games like gone home gets a fucking 86 for being a walking simulator with a decent story. WTF is with that. 



chakkra on 30 November 2015
DakonBlackblade said:

The bigest reason I play videogames is because it's a whole package. Games evolved and story is a big part of them now, there are plenty of games out there that are pure gameplay (Marios and such) and they have theyre space (and generaly review well) but we moved past the days that that was enought. Gamers are also older and therefore apreciate a story way more than they did on the infancy of the industry.

Bottom line is, if it werent important ppl wouldnt be giving as much atention to it as they do, so story matter.

This.

And to the OP.  Could you please define what is "fun"?  

Why do you think people play games like Until Dawn, Walking Dead, Beyond two souls, etc? It's because TO THEM those games are fun to play.

Now I'm going to give you my personal example: I have never been able to find fun in 2D platformer games (or at least not enough to finish them. I can play 1 or 2 hours).  And usually the platforming sections in any game are my least favorite parts in said games.  But I understand that they have their space and that there are pleny of people who enjoy them.   

In the end what I'm trying to say here is that "fun" is really subjective to each individual.



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daredevil.shark on 30 November 2015

Gameplay as well as key bindings in controller has become standard. In cover based shooters we know what to expect. So they are focusing on story which is still evolving and keeps us engaged in the game.



Normchacho on 30 November 2015
Snoopy said:
Normchacho said:


You do realize that this isn't actually a thing that's happening, right?

Super Mario 3D World - 93

Rocket League - 85

Super Smash Bros. - 92

Mario Kart - 88

Resogun - 84

On top of that, you're way off base about how important a story can be to a game. But please, go on.


Yet games like gone home gets a fucking 86 for being a walking simulator with a decent story. WTF is with that. 

First off, a good chunk of Gone Home revolves around it's exploration and discovery.

But beyond that, it doesn't matter why someone enjoys a game, as long as they enjoy it. If someone plays a game, and they find themselves really immersed in the world and story that the developer has created, that game deserves a great score.



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Dr.Vita on 30 November 2015

Gameplay is more important than story imo.




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TopCat8 on 30 November 2015

I don't like when games focus on the story more than the gameplay. Rockstar has this problem IMO, but their games always get great reviews. Even when I do play a game with a genuinely interesting story (Resident Evil, Fallout) I'm still much more focused on the gameplay. I think story is absolutely unnecessary for most games, but developers throw them in anyway.



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mikrolik on 30 November 2015

Well, ideally (in my opinion) games should be judged based on what the game has, and how well it does it. If the game puts more focus on the story, that should be judged more than a game that doesn't focus on story. Same with gameplay, replayability, etc. If you start judging a game based on what it doesn't have, or compare it to different games, you're doing a disservice to your own review and credibility.