Can you still enjoy a game if you skip cutscenes?

I've read on here some people saying they always skip cutscenes. If true how can someone enjoy the game? I understand that gameplay is ahead of story for many people, but isn't this taking it too far? How can you blindly complete objectives without knowing the reason behind your actions and what you are doing? So, can you still enjoy a strory-driven game if you skip the cutscenes?

@worlds_apart:

I think it's possible but I doubt that it would be very enjoyable like that. It could drive a game from being an 8/10 to a 6 or 7.

Yes, of course you can. There are games out there that are flat out better if you skip their stories because their stories is so increbible stupid. The recently released Jump Force is a perfect example for this. But people skipping the cutscenes in one game doesn't mean they skip it in every game. It - as always - depends on the genre. Sure a game with a decent story and a lot of lore might lose something if you skip everything. But what is lost if you skip cutscenes of a fighter or racer that barely has any story besides "I wanna be the very best"?

With your suggestion, that you need a reason behind an objective, you dismis entire genres like simulation games where the whole point is to create whatever you want.

I spam the A or X button to skip a cutscene to get back to what I came for - the game.

I do not like stories in games. I just don’t.

I'm sure for some people it easy but for me if I'm playing the game for the first time I'll never skip a cutscene but if I'm replaying the game I will easily skip it.

It depends. I rarely skip cutscenes, but there are some games that I do. Soul Calubur and Blazblue for example have really boring story. Blazblue is even worse, as in ChronoPhantasma the story mode starts with freaking 3 hours of boring bullshit until you get to play... But I do like the gameplay in Blazblue and Soul Calibur, so in that case it works. Fate Extella is another example for a game with fun gameplay but boring story.

If it's Bayonetta...

Well I’m sure some can but not me. I always watch the cut-scenes myself.

I can't do it. I play a lot of story driven games and I feel that getting to know the game's world and it's characters increases immersion. I would've never completed The Witcher 3 if the story wasn't good and the characters weren't well written. It's just too damn long but watching and listening to everything like the political intrigue and the conflict brewing between different nations and races made it start to feel like a living breathing world.

@Sevenizz: Same here

Can you still enjoy a game if you skip cutscenes?

Yes.

I do it all the time.

I play games for gameplay, not to watch a movie.

An occasional short cut-scene to define my objective and setup the world is fine, but a game should not need cut-scenes every 5 minutes and they shouldn't have to be very long. All that I really need to know through cut-scenes is something like: "Dracula's castle has reappeared and it's up to me to make my way through this castle to destroy Dracula once and for all." Great, given that this is a video game and not a movie, that's all I really need to know before getting to the gameplay.

So if cut-scenes are too long or too frequent then I will usually skip them to get to what really matters to me which is the gameplay. If the gameplay can't be enjoyable without long, frequent cut-scenes then it's not much of a game in my opinion and therefore it's not worth my time.

Depends on a game, if it is story driven, then what's the point of you even playing it, if you're just going to skip the story? If it's gameplay driven and the story is from none to left to be desired (like fighting games (Xenoverse, for example comes to mind) or sports games (NBA 2K with their implemented "My player story" or NFS games etc.), then, sure, skip to your heart's content.

EDIT: also, I skip cutscenes, if it is not the first time I'm playing the game (and I found the particular cutscene to be boring, or simply to get through the game again quicker).

Some people don't get invested in the story, what's the point for them to watch cutscenes if all they want to do is punch/shoot stuff?

@Black_Knight_00: skip all you want, but don't expect that no one will have comments on that, if you are publicly stating this.

Everyone has preferences.

Have no complaint context being given in a game. Suppose for me it depends on the length of cutscene, and if the characters are rambling/ monologuing.

In games like Dishonored I enjoyed the idea of taking down a target before they could utter another word. I got more out of reading a single item than I did from every NPC in that game.

Voice actors in games commonly have a tendency to be long-winded and trail-off from relevance. It helps the actors portfolio, sure. But also wastes my time I could be spending in the gameworld. And usually a good game will explain things better outside cutscenes, using visual awareness of a situation_

Games like the recent Resident Evil 2 Remake kept the cutscenes short and sweet so didn't mind so much. Even then I didn't exactly watch them past a first run. Only times I wished it stopped was Adas long speech between the RPD and sewers (not a cutscene but locked-walking and chatting is the same to me)

@RSM-HQ: yeah, I get what you mean, preferences and all. Personally, did not find a game where I would go: "Oh, please, shut the f up already" and press skip from the initial get go (minus Pokemon games on an emulator, but they fall in to my category of gameplay driven games, so the story is from meh to much desired for).

I usually won't skip them unless I've played the game before. I love hearing the story in games in general, to the point where I'll read all the quest dialog and such even if it's optional.

I'm more a "if I wanted your life story? I would read your novel" kind of person.

I do read poetry quite a lot ironically, yet when I play a games, I'm looking to give my controller some use, because I got into gaming because of the fundamentals. And that's usually what gives me excitement. Not set it down and enjoy a movie. I think The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the rare exceptions, as I liked its sense of humor.

Everyone likes games for different reasons though, and that's why we have so much variety. What I like should not be the standard by any means.

minus Pokemon games on an emulator

Can relate, prefer the multiplayer aspect of those games. Very fun building a team, I look forward to the core Switch game.

I don't skip cutscenes, I just dont criminalize people who do.

I had a mate that used to do this all the time. Particularly when playing through Alan Wake. It was annoying. But I guess if the game isn't story-heavy and it's just fun gameplay....no worries.

I personally don't know how that can be enjoyable, but I'm a story guy.

@Black_Knight_00: oh, boy! Now, I'm criminalizing someone *rolls eyes*

I know some people who are in it only for the gameplay. The story, reason, and motivation don't matter to them.

I don't really understand them, but that's why they skip cinematics.

Depends, some games I do not care about the cut scenes and just wanna the play the game like the Spyro trilogy but when it comes to games like red dead 2 I always watch the cut scenes.

I think all games there needs to be exposition otherwise the game won't make sense. But for rpgs and adventures its a bit more important.

For a game which is 99% controlling something cut scenes just need to be skippable because the story should be told in the game within the levels and platforms with just a little bit of cut scene after four stages or so.

For a platform game story is not really important, or a pinball game or s shooting game like Darius which has a 15 minute opening story on the Mega Drive. But you skip it once and your never bothered by cut scenes again.

Cut scenes are only a problem when they are in a game they belong in like action platformers, puzzle platformers or are just too long and the story is just stupid.

I mean, as much as I like King of Fighters 13, even I will say it could really do without the dialogue that takes time playing away from me as it is all gibberish.

You can if it controls well enough and you enjoy the mechanics of the game. Sometimes puzzles need you to watch the cutscenes to know how to solve it though.