Gameplay trumps everything else, but I still care about look and sound
What do you prefer: graphics, story or gameplay?
In these order:
- Gameplay, so that when story is terrible I still can enjoy it.
- Story, when it's point and click, or Deadly Premonition, if the gameplay is cookie cutter or weak, then the story should be at least different / quirky enough, that will get me thru the game. If it's truly a slog, I'd rather just read tvtropes or wikipedia for it.
- Graphics, not really that important. I seem to tune out graphics when I really enjoying the game. Resolution doesn't seem to bother me that much (just recently played the Gemini Rue and enjoying the whole thing ). It does annoy me when it's not on stable framerate.
Depends on the type of game, but in general
Story
Gameplay
Graphics
Most cases I can tolerate 'not great controls' for a great story, but typically cant handle a bad/boring story in favor of stellar gameplay. Again, its kinda dependent on the genre
It's mostly a combination of gameplay and story. Great gameplay can excuse a bleh story, a great story can make me endure so-so gameplay, and the extreme ends of either ("little" gameplay or little-to-no story) is also fine if what's there is good enough.
I think maybe the most important thing though would be "vibe." Like, I love Hotline Miami 2 for its gameplay and its story, but something like Demon's Souls, Bound, Splice, the through-line for all of them (including Hotline Miami and others like Wolf Among Us, Bloodborne, etc., really practically everything I like) is that they've got a really fuckin cool vibe that I'm waaaaay into, so maybe it's that that I most of all care about. Kinda like styyyyyle I suppose, but less aesthetics-focused and more just "how does everything make me feel."
I suppose you could make the argument that this fits loosely under "graphics" as a catch-all, but general stability is something I find hugely important. It might very well be my #2 value behind compelling gameplay. It's rare for me to require 60 frames-per-second, obviously 30 is just fine, but if a game has severe swings or noticeable and regular frame drops, that's can be a dealbreaker for me.
Otherwise, I find the three strata of "Gameplay," "Graphics," and "Story" to be too narrow for this conversation. I don't consider Art and "Graphics" the same thing. "Longevity of Content" feels like a value that would have relevance in a conversation like this. There are so many parts to a video game, so many pieces that can drive what makes the game as a whole compelling.
There isn't a particularly definite answer for me but if I had to go with one over the others it'd be the gameplay. Most of the types of games I'm playing at the moment aren't hugely dependent on needing an engaging story for me and on the graphics side I care more about a game having a good and appropriate art style that is fitting for it and I like personally, the clarity and level of detail isn't something I worry about as long as it's "good enough".
The main draw of gaming for me was being in control of what I was seeing on the TV as opposed to watching a movie or show, my appreciation for good storytelling and graphic fidelity in games came about later.
I tend to favor gameplay pretty much over everything. Bayonetta is probably in the top 3 of past generation for me and was never able to fully appreciate the pre-reboot God of War series because of the noticable input delay.
The latest offender to me has been Assassins Creed Odyssey - in direct comparison to the predecessor Origins the combat is less responsive, floaty. Strikes lack an appropriate response from the opponent. It doesn't feel like I actually hit them but them being bad actors pretending to be hit.
Please Log In to post.
Log in to comment