Nimran
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I’m in the same camp, honestly. I much prefer the more local, smaller scale quests over saving the world/universe.
Let's discuss replayability of RPGs
- Thread starter Eternal
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I often just read... the god-like battles are really not that interesting to me... The new Pathfinder is an exception although I did restart in order to play a barbarian to tone down the importance of magic in my main character. I like my main character being the one who jumps in the front of every battle. Magic is for my companions
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Black Elk
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I just crossed the 2000 hr mark in BG3, so thought I'd necro this thread right quick to ponder the "why?" on that hehe.
I'm not sure on the specifics, but I'm just going to ballpark an even split and say that 1000 of those hours were probably vanilla, and another 1000 modded. Early Access began in 2020, and I'd say I put in maybe 250 hrs tops there, including the modded EA game. I mean that's being generous though, as I was not overly impressed with BG3 in EA by any stretch and for particularly Character customization on offer, which I felt was mostly filler and the illusion of choice. Even with mods it seemed pretty limited, and still does, but the full thing got me right out the gate, despite not making most of the changes I'd hoped might happen in the move from EA to Launch. Most of the Char creation stuff was largely identical to EA, which quickly dispelled the notion I had, that they were holding a ton of stuff in reserve to bowl everyone over at release. Still for what it was, got me there for several hundred hours beyond what I'd expected. Like 200 hundred hours I think ok, that makes sense, about 4 playthroughs maybe over the course of a year or so, but 2000 hrs? lol How does that occur? That's a big jump up, cause those later playthroughs aren't going to be completionism 100 hr runs where we do every little thing, so the longer it goes like that the more runs required to meet a similar playtime.
Typically the only games where I'm putting up those sorts of numbers or slipping that far down the time sink, are in the 4x genre, or Grand Strategy. You know, where if I like what's going on in a 4x game, I'll invariably end up playing at least 1 campaign as each faction available. That's almost baked in for me in Grand Strat games, but in single player RPGs? Not typically the case for me. I wouldn't say that replay is a given there either. Witcher 3 I played one time. Breath of the Wild was similar, even though at the time I thought it was maybe the greatest game of it's type ever made. I think I'd consider both those games more action adventure with RPG elements, but for me it's a bit hazy what qualifies. I just always want to innovate a role, as opposed to stepping into one, so I think that's the key factor. Beating Zelda did not result in me immediately starting a new run and replaying. I didn't even buy the expansion with the Hyrule motorcycle! lol. Again, fantastic game I thought, but it's not like reloading and playing as Princess Zelda was an option to see some second path, or a different take on everything. Sorta one and done for me there. It was fun to watch other people play it, but it didn't have the gravitational pull like a BG for me.
Then I'm looking at other titles in a similar timeframe from the steam Library. Solasta? Barely 12 hours. I reloaded it yesterday just to see what sort of stuff might have landed in the adventure maker toolkit thing, or to check out what new Char Creation art or extended campaigns were available. I thought maybe it might be getting to the level of a poor man's NWN to keep me engaged while I decompress from BG3, but I found myself immediately annoyed that a lot stuff in Char Creation was gated behind the Expansions. So basically to get a feature complete set of Races/Classes for Solasta, I'd have to pony up for like 3 additional DLCs or another bundle at about the price of what I'd swooped initially. I don't think it's really a price thing, but rather just irritation at holding back on Char Creation stuff that I felt should be part of the base package, and then seeing a bunch of stuff in the main menu gray'd out. That's particularly grating for some reason. I don't know, I guess I got spoiled cause BG3 just keeps throwing these patches at me without trying to dime us on that, and it makes we way more forgiving of whatever jank might crop up. Cause it's always accompanied by hella jank right, like each and every patch something breaks, but because they're not gating it behind another 9.99 I just let stuff slide. Like 'well, least it's a labor of love somehow' rather than a rat race calculation to keep me feeding the beast. With that sort of rep, if a DLC somehow did materialize I'd probably pay whatever was asked at this point lol. Some sorta weird reverse psychology, grass is greener thing going on there, but seems like the only game I actually wanted the DLC for is the game that categorically refused to indulge in DLC hehe. Go figure!
I didn't even swoop the new Dragon Age, which I thought would be a shoe-in for me since I was looking forward to that for years. Although DA sorta lost me at Hawke, and they never really recovered that ground. Garret and Marian just didn't do it for me. Without a fully custom protagonist, it just doesn't ever feel like a true RPG to me and it's the kiss of death for replay if I can't iterate or innovate or riff with my main character. I don't know if the nameless one is maybe an exception to that, but then Torment was not a game that felt compelled to replay much either, so I think there is something to that for the replay longevity. If the character is a complete blank slate, or I guess a fully skills based character progression, rather than some sort of class based system, I sorta flame out on that and then have a harder time strapping back in for round 2 or round 3 or 4. Another example I guess would be Skyrim. Again, excellent game, but I really only played it twice to completion. Once as a Warrior and then again as a Witch, but flamed out on my Rogue Stone run, cause it started to feel more like a shooter. Anytime I re-up now, it just devolves into paragliding around for maybe a dozen hours, or trying to breathe under water or jumping off cliffs for a few, until I get sorta bored and turn back to something else. MMOs I've never really been able to get into either, though they have all the things I'd want from CC, but unless there is some form of main campaign SP element to it, I tend to pass. For the MMOs that have been around forever, I always feel like I'm too late to the game, and for those that aren't the inevitable transitoriness of a purely online game has me reluctant to put in the hours. Sure there are legacy servers that hang around in the afterlife guess, but even then, when things go dark or the sails start flagging and curtains call, I'm probably out, if I was even around to begin with. It's a tough one to crack for me. Like I don't think it's a repetitive compulsion thing per se, though that may be an element, as I find that I'm also inclined to say listen to the same song a dozen times in a row if I'm feeling it, as opposed to say wading through B-sides or full albums for variety. I feel like for the Jacob's Ladder endgame, I just want the hit list etched into my brain, and not a bunch of whack filler where I have to set my brain on shuffle and just hope it's a good tune. Like I want them to all be fantastic for DJ eternal lol.
The sorts of things I like are choosing my look, my bark sounds, my colors, and my name. If it's a portrait I want the options there, or if a 3d avatar same deal. After that party composition, and the same thing look/sound-wise for whatever companions are available. The more they give me there, the longer I can keep it going. Put a custom portrait palette in there, and 24 bits for the colorful duds, I'll play out my own narcissism of minor difference there between competing Charnames for just ages. Have that track on repeat for years and years hehe. Thus far, BG games occupy a unique and special space in the roster, as I'm pretty sure it's the only time I've seen a franchise go 3 for 3 like that without letting me down hardcore somewhere along the way. But yeah, it's kinda absurd just going by the hourglass. I could probably have another degree by now, but but instead I have Masters in the Dark Urge I guess? lol Good grief
I'm not sure on the specifics, but I'm just going to ballpark an even split and say that 1000 of those hours were probably vanilla, and another 1000 modded. Early Access began in 2020, and I'd say I put in maybe 250 hrs tops there, including the modded EA game. I mean that's being generous though, as I was not overly impressed with BG3 in EA by any stretch and for particularly Character customization on offer, which I felt was mostly filler and the illusion of choice. Even with mods it seemed pretty limited, and still does, but the full thing got me right out the gate, despite not making most of the changes I'd hoped might happen in the move from EA to Launch. Most of the Char creation stuff was largely identical to EA, which quickly dispelled the notion I had, that they were holding a ton of stuff in reserve to bowl everyone over at release. Still for what it was, got me there for several hundred hours beyond what I'd expected. Like 200 hundred hours I think ok, that makes sense, about 4 playthroughs maybe over the course of a year or so, but 2000 hrs? lol How does that occur? That's a big jump up, cause those later playthroughs aren't going to be completionism 100 hr runs where we do every little thing, so the longer it goes like that the more runs required to meet a similar playtime.
Typically the only games where I'm putting up those sorts of numbers or slipping that far down the time sink, are in the 4x genre, or Grand Strategy. You know, where if I like what's going on in a 4x game, I'll invariably end up playing at least 1 campaign as each faction available. That's almost baked in for me in Grand Strat games, but in single player RPGs? Not typically the case for me. I wouldn't say that replay is a given there either. Witcher 3 I played one time. Breath of the Wild was similar, even though at the time I thought it was maybe the greatest game of it's type ever made. I think I'd consider both those games more action adventure with RPG elements, but for me it's a bit hazy what qualifies. I just always want to innovate a role, as opposed to stepping into one, so I think that's the key factor. Beating Zelda did not result in me immediately starting a new run and replaying. I didn't even buy the expansion with the Hyrule motorcycle! lol. Again, fantastic game I thought, but it's not like reloading and playing as Princess Zelda was an option to see some second path, or a different take on everything. Sorta one and done for me there. It was fun to watch other people play it, but it didn't have the gravitational pull like a BG for me.
Then I'm looking at other titles in a similar timeframe from the steam Library. Solasta? Barely 12 hours. I reloaded it yesterday just to see what sort of stuff might have landed in the adventure maker toolkit thing, or to check out what new Char Creation art or extended campaigns were available. I thought maybe it might be getting to the level of a poor man's NWN to keep me engaged while I decompress from BG3, but I found myself immediately annoyed that a lot stuff in Char Creation was gated behind the Expansions. So basically to get a feature complete set of Races/Classes for Solasta, I'd have to pony up for like 3 additional DLCs or another bundle at about the price of what I'd swooped initially. I don't think it's really a price thing, but rather just irritation at holding back on Char Creation stuff that I felt should be part of the base package, and then seeing a bunch of stuff in the main menu gray'd out. That's particularly grating for some reason. I don't know, I guess I got spoiled cause BG3 just keeps throwing these patches at me without trying to dime us on that, and it makes we way more forgiving of whatever jank might crop up. Cause it's always accompanied by hella jank right, like each and every patch something breaks, but because they're not gating it behind another 9.99 I just let stuff slide. Like 'well, least it's a labor of love somehow' rather than a rat race calculation to keep me feeding the beast. With that sort of rep, if a DLC somehow did materialize I'd probably pay whatever was asked at this point lol. Some sorta weird reverse psychology, grass is greener thing going on there, but seems like the only game I actually wanted the DLC for is the game that categorically refused to indulge in DLC hehe. Go figure!
I didn't even swoop the new Dragon Age, which I thought would be a shoe-in for me since I was looking forward to that for years. Although DA sorta lost me at Hawke, and they never really recovered that ground. Garret and Marian just didn't do it for me. Without a fully custom protagonist, it just doesn't ever feel like a true RPG to me and it's the kiss of death for replay if I can't iterate or innovate or riff with my main character. I don't know if the nameless one is maybe an exception to that, but then Torment was not a game that felt compelled to replay much either, so I think there is something to that for the replay longevity. If the character is a complete blank slate, or I guess a fully skills based character progression, rather than some sort of class based system, I sorta flame out on that and then have a harder time strapping back in for round 2 or round 3 or 4. Another example I guess would be Skyrim. Again, excellent game, but I really only played it twice to completion. Once as a Warrior and then again as a Witch, but flamed out on my Rogue Stone run, cause it started to feel more like a shooter. Anytime I re-up now, it just devolves into paragliding around for maybe a dozen hours, or trying to breathe under water or jumping off cliffs for a few, until I get sorta bored and turn back to something else. MMOs I've never really been able to get into either, though they have all the things I'd want from CC, but unless there is some form of main campaign SP element to it, I tend to pass. For the MMOs that have been around forever, I always feel like I'm too late to the game, and for those that aren't the inevitable transitoriness of a purely online game has me reluctant to put in the hours. Sure there are legacy servers that hang around in the afterlife guess, but even then, when things go dark or the sails start flagging and curtains call, I'm probably out, if I was even around to begin with. It's a tough one to crack for me. Like I don't think it's a repetitive compulsion thing per se, though that may be an element, as I find that I'm also inclined to say listen to the same song a dozen times in a row if I'm feeling it, as opposed to say wading through B-sides or full albums for variety. I feel like for the Jacob's Ladder endgame, I just want the hit list etched into my brain, and not a bunch of whack filler where I have to set my brain on shuffle and just hope it's a good tune. Like I want them to all be fantastic for DJ eternal lol.
The sorts of things I like are choosing my look, my bark sounds, my colors, and my name. If it's a portrait I want the options there, or if a 3d avatar same deal. After that party composition, and the same thing look/sound-wise for whatever companions are available. The more they give me there, the longer I can keep it going. Put a custom portrait palette in there, and 24 bits for the colorful duds, I'll play out my own narcissism of minor difference there between competing Charnames for just ages. Have that track on repeat for years and years hehe. Thus far, BG games occupy a unique and special space in the roster, as I'm pretty sure it's the only time I've seen a franchise go 3 for 3 like that without letting me down hardcore somewhere along the way. But yeah, it's kinda absurd just going by the hourglass. I could probably have another degree by now, but but instead I have Masters in the Dark Urge I guess? lol Good grief
WarChiefZeke
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You can learn a foreign language and still play video games! Hobbies and productive activities are not mutually exclusive. In fact, you have to give yourself time to enjoy yourself if you are going to sustainably produce the motivation to pursue important things on your own time. At least, that is the case for me. In fact, I am almost fluent in Chinese already, spoken and written. And I still have the time to play RPGs and develop my own little NWN module on the side.
For the replay-ability is simple. I need to be able to see another ending and play as a new character. If I can do that, and explore mutually exclusive stories or systems, I will replay. If not, it's one and done.
For the replay-ability is simple. I need to be able to see another ending and play as a new character. If I can do that, and explore mutually exclusive stories or systems, I will replay. If not, it's one and done.
JustKneller
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I have a hard time even finishing a lot of RPGs and there are a bunch that I've started, a number of times, and then fizzle out. Part of it is me getting distracted with something new or having an idea for something else with a game, but most of it is the story arc and the writing not keeping me going. The gameplay for most RPGs is really basic and repetitive, so they really need a good story break the monotony.
I've still never finished the full Baldur's Gate trilogy. The story has too many plot holes and then just loses its way around Spellhold for me and I've rarely made it past that. It might be some of the worst writing I've seen in a video game. I'm currently struggling with Arcanum. It's a great aesthetic, but the story just isn't good. Or, I should say, I've hit enough plot points in a row that lack substance (I'm as far as Stillwater now). On top of that, the gameplay is pretty weak. I also haven't finished Pillars of Eternity. I get pretty early on (around Caed Nua) and just find it all to be to hollow. It's really pretty, but their magic system is very kitchen sink (both in gameplay and story) and they don't do enough to build an emotional investment. I've sorta finished Fallout 4 (there's technically no end game). The only good thing about that game was the premise. Strongest hook ever. And then it just shits the bed from there in both story and gameplay.
However, I've finished Icewind Dale a number of times. Despite the gameplay being even more monotonous (every location is just a gauntlet of combat encounters), the aesthetic is so much better and the story, while simple, delivers smoothly. Of course, there's Planescape: Torment. It's probably the world implementation of the system gameplay-wise, but the (brilliant) nature and story of that game makes the gameplay almost irrelevant. I've also replayed Fallout New Vegas a ton. The main story is decent (but would have been better if it wasn't cut for time). However, the DLCs (especially Honest Hearts and Dead Money) are just amazing. And I have no issue replaying some of the Final Fantasy games (IV-VI, and I would play the PS ones if I had a good place to put up a console) despite the gameplay being even simpler than a game like Baldur's Gate. The writing is just that good.
The same goes for tabletop gaming for me, as well. I can't stand new D&D. It's all flash and no substance. And honestly, despite using the classic systems, I think a lot of the classic settings (Mystara, Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, etc.) are not thought out well. When I do play, if I can help it, it's always going to be either Planescape, Ravenloft, or a homebrew that has a better narrative core than "fantasy playground".
But, yeah, that's what it comes down to for me. Is this a world I really want to visit and does the story give me the feels in any way? I have a pretty low bar for gameplay in RPGs, but that is balanced out by a high bar for the world building and storytelling. A developer can't just spit out some tropes to check the boxes and call it a day.
I've still never finished the full Baldur's Gate trilogy. The story has too many plot holes and then just loses its way around Spellhold for me and I've rarely made it past that. It might be some of the worst writing I've seen in a video game. I'm currently struggling with Arcanum. It's a great aesthetic, but the story just isn't good. Or, I should say, I've hit enough plot points in a row that lack substance (I'm as far as Stillwater now). On top of that, the gameplay is pretty weak. I also haven't finished Pillars of Eternity. I get pretty early on (around Caed Nua) and just find it all to be to hollow. It's really pretty, but their magic system is very kitchen sink (both in gameplay and story) and they don't do enough to build an emotional investment. I've sorta finished Fallout 4 (there's technically no end game). The only good thing about that game was the premise. Strongest hook ever. And then it just shits the bed from there in both story and gameplay.
However, I've finished Icewind Dale a number of times. Despite the gameplay being even more monotonous (every location is just a gauntlet of combat encounters), the aesthetic is so much better and the story, while simple, delivers smoothly. Of course, there's Planescape: Torment. It's probably the world implementation of the system gameplay-wise, but the (brilliant) nature and story of that game makes the gameplay almost irrelevant. I've also replayed Fallout New Vegas a ton. The main story is decent (but would have been better if it wasn't cut for time). However, the DLCs (especially Honest Hearts and Dead Money) are just amazing. And I have no issue replaying some of the Final Fantasy games (IV-VI, and I would play the PS ones if I had a good place to put up a console) despite the gameplay being even simpler than a game like Baldur's Gate. The writing is just that good.
The same goes for tabletop gaming for me, as well. I can't stand new D&D. It's all flash and no substance. And honestly, despite using the classic systems, I think a lot of the classic settings (Mystara, Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, etc.) are not thought out well. When I do play, if I can help it, it's always going to be either Planescape, Ravenloft, or a homebrew that has a better narrative core than "fantasy playground".
But, yeah, that's what it comes down to for me. Is this a world I really want to visit and does the story give me the feels in any way? I have a pretty low bar for gameplay in RPGs, but that is balanced out by a high bar for the world building and storytelling. A developer can't just spit out some tropes to check the boxes and call it a day.
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Well, I think you may like Dragon Age: Origins, then. The setting is one of the best I've seen and it's really the peak of (once) great Bioware (along with Mass Effect 2).
BelgarathMTH
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For me, it's several things combining into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. I have a list of RPG's I've played over and over since 1998, and I rarely add a new game to the list. These include classic RPG's like Might and Magic and Baldur's Gate, ARPG's like Diablo, Sacred, and Torchlight, and MMO's. I'll list the factors in no particular order:
*When I first got into gaming, I needed very badly to escape from several real-life stresses on a regular basis, relating to work, family drama, and my mental health. By getting immersed into a game world, I was able to change my mental state from stressed-out anxiety and misery to a blissful state of meditative concentration with all my worries and stress forgotten for hours at a time. The same games never fail to take me back to this desired mental state no matter how many times I play them.
*The first games that took me to the above-described desired mental and emotional state developed a huge nostalgia factor in my mind. I will never tire of repeating these games, because they remind me of being young, and of long-gone times in my life. I enjoy reliving the experiences I had in these game worlds on a constant cycle of repeats.
* I love to build characters. If an old game that I fell in love with has the potential to theory craft, I can try it again and again with different build ideas that I have, in different "flavors of the month". This is especially true of ARPG's and MMO's, but also somewhat true in classic RPG's, which have the added factor of party-building as part of the process. I love to start as a level one nothing with a junk weapon, one spell, and a dream, and then building that avatar from zero to hero. I never get tired of doing it over and over with the same old games I've always played. My gaming personality leans heavily into "builder".
*Bright art and good music. A vital component of how my games brought me to that desired mental state was beautiful colors and art, along with good music. I don't get tired of experiencing the same pieces over and over, and the playlist is long enough that by the time I do get tired of pieces at one end of the playlist, I'm ready to go back to the beginning of it and start again.
*Class fantasy. I'm super into the class fantasy of holy servants of the Light or the gods (paladins and clerics) and sometimes kindly old wizards, and I always have been. There must be an element of magic, even with my warriors. I can live out my class fantasies again and again through my chosen games playlist, and, it never gets tiresome to me to start yet another time as a level one paladin, priest, or wizard in one of the same old games.
*The Neverending Story. I rarely actually finish a game. Thinking of a game or a story being over makes me sad. I think this factor is why I have so many ARPGs and MMOs on my playlist. They have endings, but never The End. There's always another story to start, or another level to gain, or another piece of gear to chase. Plus, I just like low-level play better than epic level play. I find the open-ended possibilities of a low-level character, and the challenges faced by a character with a limited toolkit, to be very engaging. A near omnipotent godlike character, not so much. (And the trend in newer games seems to be toward every character being a demi-god who can do anything and fill any role, and beat any enemy easily, as soon as possible.)
*Classics and tradition. I love the classics. I always have. Trope subversion and what I call "Edgelord-ism" are the contemporary style, but that style makes me feel a sense of distaste at best, and outright disgust at worst. It's one of many reasons why most if not all games made after about 2015 are just not for me. The mood in the industry seems to be that "Classicism and tradition are boring, how can we subvert them and be cool?" Yuck.
*When I first got into gaming, I needed very badly to escape from several real-life stresses on a regular basis, relating to work, family drama, and my mental health. By getting immersed into a game world, I was able to change my mental state from stressed-out anxiety and misery to a blissful state of meditative concentration with all my worries and stress forgotten for hours at a time. The same games never fail to take me back to this desired mental state no matter how many times I play them.
*The first games that took me to the above-described desired mental and emotional state developed a huge nostalgia factor in my mind. I will never tire of repeating these games, because they remind me of being young, and of long-gone times in my life. I enjoy reliving the experiences I had in these game worlds on a constant cycle of repeats.
* I love to build characters. If an old game that I fell in love with has the potential to theory craft, I can try it again and again with different build ideas that I have, in different "flavors of the month". This is especially true of ARPG's and MMO's, but also somewhat true in classic RPG's, which have the added factor of party-building as part of the process. I love to start as a level one nothing with a junk weapon, one spell, and a dream, and then building that avatar from zero to hero. I never get tired of doing it over and over with the same old games I've always played. My gaming personality leans heavily into "builder".
*Bright art and good music. A vital component of how my games brought me to that desired mental state was beautiful colors and art, along with good music. I don't get tired of experiencing the same pieces over and over, and the playlist is long enough that by the time I do get tired of pieces at one end of the playlist, I'm ready to go back to the beginning of it and start again.
*Class fantasy. I'm super into the class fantasy of holy servants of the Light or the gods (paladins and clerics) and sometimes kindly old wizards, and I always have been. There must be an element of magic, even with my warriors. I can live out my class fantasies again and again through my chosen games playlist, and, it never gets tiresome to me to start yet another time as a level one paladin, priest, or wizard in one of the same old games.
*The Neverending Story. I rarely actually finish a game. Thinking of a game or a story being over makes me sad. I think this factor is why I have so many ARPGs and MMOs on my playlist. They have endings, but never The End. There's always another story to start, or another level to gain, or another piece of gear to chase. Plus, I just like low-level play better than epic level play. I find the open-ended possibilities of a low-level character, and the challenges faced by a character with a limited toolkit, to be very engaging. A near omnipotent godlike character, not so much. (And the trend in newer games seems to be toward every character being a demi-god who can do anything and fill any role, and beat any enemy easily, as soon as possible.)
*Classics and tradition. I love the classics. I always have. Trope subversion and what I call "Edgelord-ism" are the contemporary style, but that style makes me feel a sense of distaste at best, and outright disgust at worst. It's one of many reasons why most if not all games made after about 2015 are just not for me. The mood in the industry seems to be that "Classicism and tradition are boring, how can we subvert them and be cool?" Yuck.
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BelgarathMTH
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So this is interesting. I wonder if there are internet algorithms in play that are connected to this forum, or if it's pure coincidence based on things I've watched on YouTube recently. Right after I posted here in this thread, I went to YouTube, and this video was in my suggested videos feed. None of his games are my games, and not all of his analysis fits my own, but some of his points do match up with mine, especially the section of his video titled "When Stars Align". It's an interesting, well-produced video with lots of food for thought on the thread topic, regardless:
WiseGrimwald
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I understand that. In Baldur's gate I often don't get far. I do though like to play completely different parties. It's highly modded so lots of extra NPCs to choose from most of whom have extra side quests. That I like! In my current game for instance I am running a tiefling party. In another run I may play a dwarven or an elven party. The NPC mods make that perfectly feasable.
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WiseGrimwald
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I regularly DO get lost and don't finish the game. Adding the Drizzt Saga and similar mods makes BG1 extremely long if you go down that route.
JustKneller
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There is no coincidence on the internet.
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These days, I don't have too much time to replay big single RPGs or other games. I haven't even finished BG3 (while I had like 5% of the game left) and the save is still there. I want to try out new games and try to finish them to get through the story and learn about the characters. When I tried to replay The Witcher 3 I had a lot of fun, but I didn't finish my replay. Though, those 30 hours spent were fun and I tried new tricks, perks etc. It's not imperative to finish a game, including a game that you replay. Same with Kingdom Come: Deliverance--I replayed it last year but again, didn't finish. Yet, it was enough to recall the vibe and just spend a good time in that nice countryside.
Sometimes I just return to playing Skyrim or Oblivion--without any actual "target", just enjoying the world and the freedom of gameplay choices.
However, I do play an MMO, Elder Scrolls Online, regularly. And what I do there includes creating new characters, getting them to the end-game, and trying them out in the biggest challenges the game provides, both PvE and PvP. Essentially what I do is replaying the same game. But it's always not just a replay, it's a way forward. In the words of my favorite game character, Alan Wake, it's not a loop it's a spiral. It is the same in ESO: each new character brings my overall progress in the game forward.
NieR: Automata was a game that had to be run through many times. One could call it a replay, but essentially it was a continuation of the story's progress. Without experiencing it, it's hard to understand exactly, but NieR is not like running through Diablo II with its difficulty levels.
Sometimes I just return to playing Skyrim or Oblivion--without any actual "target", just enjoying the world and the freedom of gameplay choices.
However, I do play an MMO, Elder Scrolls Online, regularly. And what I do there includes creating new characters, getting them to the end-game, and trying them out in the biggest challenges the game provides, both PvE and PvP. Essentially what I do is replaying the same game. But it's always not just a replay, it's a way forward. In the words of my favorite game character, Alan Wake, it's not a loop it's a spiral. It is the same in ESO: each new character brings my overall progress in the game forward.
NieR: Automata was a game that had to be run through many times. One could call it a replay, but essentially it was a continuation of the story's progress. Without experiencing it, it's hard to understand exactly, but NieR is not like running through Diablo II with its difficulty levels.
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Due to time constraints (especially now, having a baby) I very rarely replay games these days, but even in the distant past, it wasn't frequent.
For me if the game is captivating and memorable, I usually try to hold the memory of it forever and often the thought of replying it is like ruining this memory.
There were, of course, games that I played more than once (like PST, DA:O or M&M6), but those are rare cases.
For me if the game is captivating and memorable, I usually try to hold the memory of it forever and often the thought of replying it is like ruining this memory.
There were, of course, games that I played more than once (like PST, DA:O or M&M6), but those are rare cases.
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I spend most days just replaying old games actually, sometimes even games I don't love but it's just easier to play something I know than to learn something new. And I compare almost all new games I try to old ones I love, find issues with them and encounter serious trouble falling in love with them. Every now and then a new game slips through my defenses though and I finish it. This almost always means I immediately start a new playthrough afterwards then don't finish it and dropping the game and never plays it again instead returning to an old game a third, forth or fifth time.
Replayability to me comes from, similar to what some of you said above, the potential to create a very new experience within the same game. For me, usually, that's not the story, ie searching for different ending slides, rather it's the game play mechanics. It can be tied to companions, but more often than not, is the potential to play the game in a very different way with another character. This applies to ie DII, Grim Dawn and the likes, as well as, BG1/2, PoE and the likes. Games that are good but don't really offer too much difference in game play no matter which character I play I drop. I like powergaming and exploits and especially like to find my own. Though it's rare I am first, I have encountered a few sometimes that I abused immensely and loved it. "Breaking" a game can be very, very entertaining in a second or third playthrough. This can also apply to non-RPG games, for example Xcom1 (the new 1, not the old one) where I found a strat to maximize the base building, satellites and stunguns to bypass a lot of research, keeping the best cashflow and becoming very strong, very fast. That took a few runs to find it, three if I remember correctly.
Replayability to me comes from, similar to what some of you said above, the potential to create a very new experience within the same game. For me, usually, that's not the story, ie searching for different ending slides, rather it's the game play mechanics. It can be tied to companions, but more often than not, is the potential to play the game in a very different way with another character. This applies to ie DII, Grim Dawn and the likes, as well as, BG1/2, PoE and the likes. Games that are good but don't really offer too much difference in game play no matter which character I play I drop. I like powergaming and exploits and especially like to find my own. Though it's rare I am first, I have encountered a few sometimes that I abused immensely and loved it. "Breaking" a game can be very, very entertaining in a second or third playthrough. This can also apply to non-RPG games, for example Xcom1 (the new 1, not the old one) where I found a strat to maximize the base building, satellites and stunguns to bypass a lot of research, keeping the best cashflow and becoming very strong, very fast. That took a few runs to find it, three if I remember correctly.