Story or gameplay, which is more important to you?

[Cyhort]

A topic on another site got me thinking about this. For me it's story. Unless it's a multiplayer shooter or a strategy game (which I make up my own story for anyway) I play games pretty much only for the story. A good story can make up for not that great gameplay but no matter how great a game is put together if the story sucks it won't hold my interest. It's why I can't get into Zelda games anymore. There's only so much "Oh look, it's another Hero of Time fighting Ganon and saving Zelda" that I can take.

[Sympathia]

It's a tough one. For me to REALLY like a game both parts need to be in symbiosis, if one side is lacking then I probably wont finish the game or at the very least never do a replay.

 

Thats what put me off D3 for example. I knew the story wouldnt be that great..it's a hack and slash after all. But it was SO BAD I just did not want to kill diablo a thousand times. Then again D3 is a crap example as I found the gameplay to be utter garbage on hell.

[AnimalMorph]

My answer is obvious. Storyline is the most important element for me to enjoy any kind of games.

That why I only like the RPG genre since almost the other genre lack any form of story.

 

Even to this day, I still play 'ancient' games from playstation 1 and nintendo. Games like the very first FF1 and FF2 just to see what was the story like.

 

Although, I have a bit of trouble keeping my interest with the story if the gameplay really sucks and boring. This is even more so if the storyline is so predictable (saving the world, usually). So I wouldn't rule out the gameplay for my enjoyment, but my answer still won't change though.

 

Storyline is important. To me, it's like the soul of the game itself. The very reason I play a particular videogame is because I was interested with the 'story' not with the 'gameplay'.

Edited July 10, 2012 by AnimalMorph

[Dark]

I agree that the storyline is important; however, since I don't buy and play everything that comes out, what puts me off even when the story is good is the gameplay. I don't want to spend hours at the beginning of the game figuring out how to make my character(s) run, jump, or whatever. For instance, I loved watching other people play the Prince of Persia games, but I never got the hang of it.

[VictoryPanda]

Always storyline. I can't be interested in a game if it doesn't have a great story line or one I can follow somewhat easily.

 

It's the main reason I still play Resident Evil. Not that it still scares me, but because I'm so interested to see what will happen to the characters i grew up with. Games like Tekken, Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid just trap me in so tight that I never want it to end. Even if the gameplay is terrible, if the story is good, I'll try my hardest to finish it. Things like Street Fighter and such tend to lose my interest so badly because I can't follow it. I know it's a fighting game, but I can actually follow every single story of Tekken and I love it. Street Fighter has one too but i can not understand it for the life of me. When I heard that there's only FOUR main Street Fighter games, I was so confused. I didn't realize that the Hypers and Turbos and Alphas were just add-on's or whatever. A bit redic. The fighting part is fun and all, but I lose interest because I don't understand it.

[Traveller_23]

Story! A good story will keep me hooked, and bad story and I won't play. But then again, I try to avoid all games without good stories. If I play something like an FPS - I'll play the multiplayer campaign mode if the game has it with a friend as a fun social thing to do.

 

Bad gameplay with a good story I'll put up with, but only to a point.

 

Bad story AND bad gameplay? If there's comedy value I'll play

[kryshim]

I think I stand with most everyone here when i say that the storyline is definitely a bigger factor than gameplay, though you can't rule out the effect the gameplay will have on your enjoyement of a game. However, even if the gameplay is bad I will prolly still trudge through it just to see the end of a good storyline.

[Solus Magus]

Sorry but gameplay is much more of a priority to me. Period.

[Arkaven]

I like a mixture of the two.

I love a good thought provoking story, but if the game play confuses me or if i just can't get into it... i might pass.

Sometimes simple is better... I know it's an old game, but when i was a kid i loved the digimon games on the original Play Station. They were so fun... maybe the pretty colors just hypnotized me though... And the pokémon games keep seducing me... even though i have grown out of the franchise... The games still entertain my inner child.

But as for me in general, i love a good story. I love the Mass Effect trilogy and Dragon Age, in fact Bioware in general kinda has be by the... heart strings in most games. Shout out to the Fallout/Skyrim games too.