Besides gameplay, what is the most important thing to you in a game?

Probably story for me.

It's hard to narrow it down, as all aspects are important... but story is definitely important to me. As is level design.

Ahh you added level design. Well that's my pick.

Quality/bugs.

You missed out depth, which I think is incredibly important in certain genres. It all really depends on the genre though so I can't really answer this. For a vast open world RPG, I want depth, story and immersiveness more than anything. For an arcade classic, I want pure gameplay, cool visual effects and music is a lot more important than normal too.

Atmosphere and immersion are for me the most important thing. maybe even moreso than gameplay mechanics

Beside gameplay? story comes way above gameplay any day of the week the only thing that matters to me is the story, if the story is good I will play the game.

Probably music. Growing up with SEGA games made me appreciate just how important having a high quality and memorable soundtrack is, because that is what will stick with you the most. All these AAA games with their generic music do nothing for me, but whenever I hear "Flight" from Panzer Dragoon for example, a flood of memories come rushing back.

You forgot to include the most important thing..... Gameplay.

Graphics because it adds to the immersion.

I hear how attractive the characters are is a big deal.

I’m gonna replay GTA4 and see if Nico Belic does it for me....right, cup.

Art style and animation.

None of the above.

I don't like being pushed. If I want to wander around and smell the roses I freaking will. I've fallen out of love with mission-based games. Hell I've had GTAV for a few years and have like 19 hours in it because **** off. Kerbal Space Program, on the other hand, is crack cocaine.

I like games that either allow you to set your own goals or just give you a general goal and let you decide how to get there. Not many AAA titles on my list these days.

I voted story, but so many of those are important (and some games don't need a story at all of course). I really like your pony about music. Good music can add so much to the experience

@Jacanuk: I really can't understand this way of thinking. If you care far more about story then why not focus on movies, TV shows, or books which generally provide much stronger stories than what video games have to offer. The gameplay is essentially what separates a video game from movies and shows.

@xhawk27: Is that a weird joke or did you not read the title?

Performance is a huge thing for me... The game could have the most well-written story and the best music, but if it performs like shit, it's gonna drive me nuts. I dunno if i'd put performance as the most important thing, but it's certainly the first thing to jump to mind. I just played Mankind Divided on a 2080/i7-7700k at 1440p (up to 120hz) and i'd still get the odd dip to the 50fps region. 4K was a big no-no for me on that game with a 2080.

level design and sound are big for me, but I voted art style, i like a game with personality.

I don’t know. Art style is a big one.

Level design, then controls, then Story.

is that why you like Nioh?

These days, I just want a nice pick up and play game, not some cookie cutter open world epic grind designed tp pad the game for dozens upon dozens of hours without providing anything of substance. Got a lot of those on my backlist I might as well write off.

Characters, even a bad story can be enjoyable with great characters, but not so much the other way.

Level design n controls fall into gameplay. Shit so does performance. So does animation (for tells n shit, n game feel), no bugs, user experience, etc fall into that as well. So yeah I guess a bitchin soundtrack or characters. But otherwise don't care, a game is as good as its gameplay. Anything else is just a superficial achievement.

The top 5 things that make or break a game for me are:

1. Gameplay
2. Level design
3. Characters
4. Story
5. Art Direction

Atmosphere and immersion is really important for me.

Caused by a mix of graphics/artstyle, the sound as well as lore inside the game.

I'm just gonna say atmosphere.

Definitely atmosphere good character development for me.

Story 100%. If a game does not have a good narrative I get bored quickly.

@SolidGame_basic: yeah Nioh is gorgeous. Gameplay, combat being on point, art style, going from knight to samurai is all awesome imo.

I like a good story also but I can play a game with great gameplay even if story is blah. Like Bayonetta. I still don’t know what is going on in that game but gameplay is awesome. Then things like Beyond 2 souls focus on story but the gameplay is absolutely horrible so I don’t finish them.

Port quality.

Things have improved, but early 90/2000 was a shit-pit when it came to pc ports.

Definitely going to try possibly heavy rain next on PS4 didn't get around to it on PS3. I do like the idea of quantic dreams stories.

I guess not being a broken piece of shit. So quality/no bugs.

Depends on the game but art style and music are always high up there.
For any game that has a lot of dialogue or cutscenes, story is fairly important.
Anything that requires precise inputs like Ninja Gaiden or Punch Out, performance is very important.

@robert_sparkes: Really good game.

I suppose it would be level design and controls out of those. Visual style and animation also plays a pretty big part for immersion and satisfying feedback to your input.