Does it matter if a game has lots of "choices that matter and replayability" if you're only playing it once?
- Thread starter Achelexus
- Start date
Loomy
Thinks Microaggressions are Real
There are people still starting yet another fresh Skyrim runs to this day.
I think it's good that the choices and opportunities to replay and experience something slightly different is available for people who choose to explore them. I don't think that affects the experience of those who choose the one and done path.
I think it's good that the choices and opportunities to replay and experience something slightly different is available for people who choose to explore them. I don't think that affects the experience of those who choose the one and done path.
Chukhopops
Member
Of course it matters, even if you only experience a single path out of several it still feels like your own story in the end.
Imagine a game like New Vegas, DOS 2 or BG3 where you'd be forced into a single faction choice or path. It's even better when you can actually join (or become) the antagonist.
Imagine a game like New Vegas, DOS 2 or BG3 where you'd be forced into a single faction choice or path. It's even better when you can actually join (or become) the antagonist.
The Cockatrice
I'm retarded?
There are only a handful of 100 hour rpg's where story chocies are vastly different such as Baldurs Gate 3. Having a different line of dialogue or a/b/c ending doesnt actually mean it's different. Hell, there are barely games in existence where story choices actually matter and change the story drastically, like say... Detroit Become Human, but it's a short game.
Gameplay choices where you can roleplay and explore freely is an entirely different beast such as Skyrim, Cyberpunk, etc. and yes those can be replayed even if 100 hours, even more so if they have a modding community.
Gameplay choices where you can roleplay and explore freely is an entirely different beast such as Skyrim, Cyberpunk, etc. and yes those can be replayed even if 100 hours, even more so if they have a modding community.
ShadyAcshuns
Member
If I enjoy a game, I'll likely re-play it, so that stuff kinda matters.
Larxia
Member
Exactly this. I'm confused by the question of this thread and some replies because it implies that multiple choices only matter if you see all of them. That's not how it should be.
Forget about trying to see everything, just enjoy your own adventure, with your choices, that's the beauty of it. It's not because a game has 10 possible different endings, that you have to see all of them. One is enough. Seeing all the possible outcomes actually kind of ruin the "your own adventure" thing.
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kevboard
Member
player agency is always important.
and not because of replayability. in fact, some of the most replayable games don't have a lot of agency. like arcade games such as Streets of Rage etc.
player agency, and the feeling that the choices the player makes are meaningful and the feeling of having multiple ways to approach a situation (both in terms of gameplay/strategy and NPC interactions) aids immersion.
replayability is more about how fun a game is to pick up and play, and less about choices and agency. Resident Evil 4 doesn't have all that much you can do differently each playthrough... but it's insanely replayable because it's just instantly fun and arcady, and there's a skill gap element there etc.
and not because of replayability. in fact, some of the most replayable games don't have a lot of agency. like arcade games such as Streets of Rage etc.
player agency, and the feeling that the choices the player makes are meaningful and the feeling of having multiple ways to approach a situation (both in terms of gameplay/strategy and NPC interactions) aids immersion.
replayability is more about how fun a game is to pick up and play, and less about choices and agency. Resident Evil 4 doesn't have all that much you can do differently each playthrough... but it's insanely replayable because it's just instantly fun and arcady, and there's a skill gap element there etc.
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PeteBull
Member
Yes it matters, elden ring is such a game so i made sure to not omit anything/get best results from quests so i watched whole playlists of guides(i think it was 7 x 20-30minutes parts) while i was playing, but satisfaction was immense, way greater than if game gave no or only obvious choices.
DarkShadowXI
Gold Member
I play way too many games for this to matter.
At 40+ years old, the only games I've played after beating them have been a handful like the old NES and SNES Zelda and Mario games.
For the few games that I do beat these days, I savor the near end as much as I can, and wrap up what I want, because I know I'll never touch the game again.
But I also understand that some gamers prefer to play a fewer amount of games.
At 40+ years old, the only games I've played after beating them have been a handful like the old NES and SNES Zelda and Mario games.
For the few games that I do beat these days, I savor the near end as much as I can, and wrap up what I want, because I know I'll never touch the game again.
But I also understand that some gamers prefer to play a fewer amount of games.
crono686
Neo Member
I prefer if you can change playstyle instead of mostly inconsequential Story choices. I replay most games that i liked very much even if playstyle is fixed but prefer choices. I replayed Gothic 2 (modded) for the x time and still love it. I replayed Skyrim and mostly was a jack of all trades like always. Same with all the Final Fantasy games etc. Only thing, that they all have in common is that they do one thing extremely well.
crackajack
Member
There are very few games were choices really matter much. Vampire Bloodlines, the character choice at the beginning matters. Choices in Detroit become human trigger early deaths and very different scenes. Or something like Virtue Last Reward where you have to replay to really get the bigger picture. But most RPGs and all those GTA wannabes/RPG Lites struggle to even have one good story, watered down by numerous side distractions, story branches are then imho pointless and just show why the main story is so bad, it has to be so universal for everything with only minor details rewritten but meh overall.
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cireza
Member
So the issue is not them being replayable. It is them being bloated and leading to a poor experience that the story barely carries till the end, with you having no motivation to ever play the game again.
Then comes something like Brigandine, that you can finish in less than 30 hours while having the time of your life, and can play again as totally different characters, starting at totally different places, and completing it in less than 20 hours because you know the game, and yet having again the time of your life. And then, you can play a third time...
Also Shining Force II, that offers 30 characters but you will only really play 12 of them. As the pacing is pretty good, replaying the game is quite enjoyable.
Conclusion : get rid of the bloat to give back some meaning to replayability.
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Moochi
Member
Triangle Strategy was a good game, but I cannot be bothered to go back and choose different dialog choices to hopefully get a different outcome, even IF the game lets you begin from specific chapters. I feel like the only way it actually works is the roguelike formula where each complete game session is completed at 20-30 minutes, but each successful run gives story changes as well as increasing difficulty and new paths, options, enemies, and rewards.
LavitzSlambert
Member
Is it essential? No. But I like being able to make choices and it's fun to hear how things went from others who made different choices.
Fbh
Member
To me, in long RPGs the choices are less about replayability and more about the world and story feeling like they are reacting to my actions (to a certain extent).
I loved the choices in a game like Triangle Strategy not because I intended to go back and see all the different outcomes, but rather because the tough choices it presents and seeing the outcome of my decisions was fun, took the story in a direction I really didn't expect and made the whole experience feel a bit more personal.
Talking about the game later with some friends and discussing the ways in which our stories differed was also fun.
I loved the choices in a game like Triangle Strategy not because I intended to go back and see all the different outcomes, but rather because the tough choices it presents and seeing the outcome of my decisions was fun, took the story in a direction I really didn't expect and made the whole experience feel a bit more personal.
Talking about the game later with some friends and discussing the ways in which our stories differed was also fun.
vaibhavpisal
Member
Lot of choices allow me to role play.
I see something like, being able to rob random people also a choice.
I see something like, being able to rob random people also a choice.
Last Hearth
Member
It's not about how many times I replay, which I rarely do. It's about being about being able to accommodate whatever choices I do make in that one play through.
poodaddy
Member
It matters even more if I only play it once. It makes that one experience that much more memorable, as it's one that you crafted with your own choices, so you're more likely to remember the adventure than you are for titles where you don't make any decisions. At least that's how it works for me.
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cinnamonandgravy
Member
even if you dont replay it, its cool to hear how a friend experienced something different
but it can also stress me out... if i like the game a lot, ill try do to all the things during the first playthrough, and when i come to a fork it can really give me pause for thought
but it can also stress me out... if i like the game a lot, ill try do to all the things during the first playthrough, and when i come to a fork it can really give me pause for thought
Pimpollo818
Member
Yes. I give a game kudos if it does a good job of telegraphing ALTERNATIVE OUTCOMES. It encourages me to reload at MINIMUM, if not outright create a new savefile.
A.Romero
Member
I very rarely play a game more than once, specially when they are pretty long.
However, I don't need to play it several times to want my character's decisions to matter. Will I do an "evil" and "good" character run? No, but if I'm behaving like an ass, I want the world to react to that and the experience to be tailored around those decisions.
However, I don't need to play it several times to want my character's decisions to matter. Will I do an "evil" and "good" character run? No, but if I'm behaving like an ass, I want the world to react to that and the experience to be tailored around those decisions.