Audio logs aren't there to replace cutscenes, they are there to replace text logs. In the past, you would find a paragraph or so of text here or there which gave you some lore to flesh out the world. The problem with this is that it takes you out of the game and makes you read. Audio logs are used to deliver the same background info but by having things be aural instead of visual, it doesn't stop you from playing the game.

While they aren't the most elegant solution, they are a lot better than text logs. As long as the writing is good and there aren't too many of them, I don't have a problem with them.

As for the realism concern, I find it hard to believe that someone who is an avid player of video games has such a problem with suspension of disbelief. It isn't even far-fetched to assume that people would use something like this, even if they aren't contextualized like something like Dead Space.

That's what makes zero sense about this complaint.  Most of what I've posted, they're not going to make into cut-scenes.  They'd just cut it, period.  

In Fallout 4 you uncover tapes about a family that gets separated in the war.  They aren't going to make make flash-backs for that.  It would be expensive and time consuming and it would make zero sense for your character to know things that happened regarding this family that they've never met.  That wouldn't even be close to realistic, so realism cannot be a valid concern.

If audio logs weren't allowed, for some reason, then side-stories like this would simply disappear.  If someone doesn't want to listen to it then all they have to do is simply not listen to it.  Problem solved and it doesn't take anything away from people who like auxillary sources of story-telling.

I don't know what others think, but personally I think audio logs are a problem for immersion, and immersion is important even for unrealistic games. I think they break the immersion precisely because they're so unrealistic. You might not notice it all that easily if you enjoy them anyway, but if you don't particularly enjoy audio logs, you'll probably notice problems with them much more easily.

In general, the less cut scenes in a game, the better. Let me play, not watch.

I disagree. Games like BioShock and Dead Space are richer because of their audio logs. That being said, I hate Dead Space's text logs, which only became more plentiful with each installment.

Yes, that is good.

I hate it when games are trying to tell me the story while I'm running around doing stuff. That's one of my pet peeves with modern gaming. I would rather just read a text bubble. Even better would be to put the backstory in the instruction manual.

I can assure you audilogs are better than plain text... Sometimes when gameplay is in a good lvl, I skip text logs for the need of more action, and audiologs can still be heard, even when you are in a shootout...

The most realistic thing to do then is to NOT tell that story.

I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous.  All you have to do is not listen to the tape.  Stop trying to take things away for no reason, especially when plenty of people like the way they add personality to the game.  It's a fantasy world with Super Mutants, Deathclaws, and Laser guns--the idea that audio recordings are too unrealistic for that makes no sense.