What makes you replay (any) games?

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We have two people in this household replaying the same single player game at the moment. I was all excited about trying new skills, new weapons, new quest choices and well... everything I hadn't done before. I'm also waiting for my next playthrough, where I'm gonna do things differently again.

While the other half is playing just the same as before. Same character looks and lifepath, same weapons, same skills, same story... And we are both equally enjoying our games.

So this made me curious about what motivates other people replay games?
 
I would say : The same as watching a movie regularly, it because I really like it.
My main interest is generally the story and/or the lore, so replayability is not that important for me. I want to play the story that I liked, which mean that I won't change my choices for the sake of changing "something". I have several games which offert a "good" replayability (builds/choices/gameplay), but "sadly", I don't really have the desire to replay... When I check my library, it's just... nope, not interested.

For example, I replay Mass Effect times to times (let's say about every 6 months...). And I replay it, almost exactly as before. I won't change anything, "my" ME story is awesome as it is... So I definitely won't destroy the geths nor the quarians, play a renegade character or choose another ending just to change "something". I'll always save both, play a "Paragon Shepard" and choose the synthesys ending.

It also the case with Cyberpunk, but amplified. Because since, I have a hard time to find a game which keep my attention/interest long enough... to not return in Night City.

In short, it's like when you just finished a jar of haagen dazs and you open another one (the same one) immediately... It's not because you still hungry, not just to change perfume, but only because it was "soo" good and one was definitely not enough. In case of Cyberpunk, let's say that I emptied the freezer several times...
 
It varies between genres, for RPGs it's often to experience the story again, roll a new character, try new things. For third person combat games the gameplay is the biggest draw and I often replay to try to improve or challenge myself.

Then there are games where everything is perfect and playing through is like others have said; like re-reading your favourite book or watching a favourite film.
 
With some small exceptions (like the Sonic games), I generally go for the story and the characters. Games I have replayed: Cyberpunk 2077 (the winner), Outer Worlds, Horizon Zero Down, Detroit become human, Syberia series (with exception 3), Final fantasy VII, Dreamfall chapters. About making choices, I don't enjoy being the villain, so I often end up just repeating my choices :).
 

"WHAT MAKES YOU REPLAY (ANY) GAMES?"

I always try to roleplay the most perfect playthrough after the first time. Do that with every game. Play the story from beginning to end without dying, kill all enemies or not a single soul, grab all loot, do all things the game got offer.
 
Comparing to books and movies is interesting. Never even thought about it that way myself.

I also have my favorite books and movies that I tend to read/watch over and over again. But with books and movies I do that after long time (years) have passed. With games I keep instantly going over and over again practically non stop until I have "seen it all". Then the game is pretty much done and I move to the next one. I might start it again years later because feeling nostalgic, but usually I stop after first hour and never come back after that. Magic is gone.

Only exception to this has been Witcher (not sure if I ever finished first Fable second time). That game still feels like coming home after all these years and 7 (?) playthroughs. It's currently waiting next gen upgrade and then I'm going back to it again. How am I going to replay it this time? Even I don't have any idea yet. I'll just go with the flow.

With Cyberpunk I had long-ish break, but that was because real life busyness. Not because I was "done" with the game. I always planned to go back to it (and now I have).

Then there are games like Horizon Zero Dawn. Both games were amazing and I enjoyed them very much, but I never replayed neither of them. I had already done everything I wanted in one go. That series is waiting for expansion and final game of that trilogy.
 
It honestly always surprises me how it is possible to re-watch, re-read something over and over again with all the plethora of new things waiting to be experienced (ok, except maybe certain movies you tend to re-watch every year, because ..vibes?). With games, slightly different as long as there are enough variations, but even then I tend to sort of fall into my playstyle eventually.

For me maybe it is chasing that first impression, be it a story, or any other sort of happening when playing it the first time. Of course it is never attained, really.

When it comes to multiplayer games, e.g. - it's mainly engagement with few elements of gameplay, because the rest is painfully repetitive, no wonder it is literally a sport. :D(but it can be addictive)
 
For me that has changed over the years.

Before CP 2077 my most played story driven single player game was the Deus Ex (2000) that I played through three times. It was not like with CP 2077 there were years between returning to it. Then at some point, if I came to think about it I just ended up listening to the soundtrack from youtube.

I think it had a system that made sense, it didn't feel something convoluted you needed to pay much attention but just kept focus on other game play and story aspects. Characters made sense, they had motives that made sense, they weren't always super evil nor good, Maggie Cheung(?) being a good example. There were different ways to solve scenarios game threw to player. It had great atmosphere and somehow paradoxically managed to be more than a sum of all possible things that were used to cook its main plot. I think it's also prisoner of that paradox, formula can't deliver more, yet it should deliver more to meet expectations.


CP 2077 became my most played single player story driven game because it felt like good cyberpunk novel or what makes a good novel or movie, tv show, something I reread or watch again, it has intellectual aspects that I can continue to explore in real life. Though it was convenient that I had way too much free time during worst of the pandemic, but it was not time wasted for something that's a dead end. I think huge contributor was also that it's easy to access, character adapts to playstyle, I don't need to think about it too much and especially in early versions of game, not sure about current, playing on normal, I could focus on story elements and forget about the loot and that.

General rule is, did this work, regardless of medium, contribute to know understanding of the real world, did it make something easier to make practical applications, those sometimes being thought exercises, being able to communicate different kind of matters in more efficient way and CP 2077 has all that.

It's a bit sad that, as far as my pattern recognition goes, tried all kind of things during pandemic via Xbox Gamepass, direction game and most likely franchise is taking just make sense economically as certain features just don't work for someone like me, but at the same time, I sure as heck got return to time spent with product already.
 
(not sure if I ever finished first Fable second time)
What a bad chicken hunter :giggle:
It honestly always surprises me how it is possible to re-watch, re-read something over and over again with all the plethora of new things waiting to be experienced (ok, except maybe certain movies you tend to re-watch every year, because ..vibes?). With games, slightly different as long as there are enough variations, but even then I tend to sort of fall into my playstyle eventually.
I didn't say that there are "plenty" of movies that I can rewatch nor plenty of games that I can replay (over and over), in all honesty, for both, the fingers of my two hands could probably be sufficient... But I can rewatch for example Termitor 1/2, Blade Runner, Fith Element or Ghost In The Shell quite "often" without get bored... Like I can replay Mass Effect, Cyberpunk or The Witcher quite often without get bored.
Sure it's not better than the first time, it can't, but it's definitely better than most of new things "generally" :)
 
For me is more games that "block" content or offer alternatives that depend on stats ,items or paths , story can be quite linear if each "vignette" offer different solutions. In more story driven games, unless i really liked them i end up with only one playthrough.
 
It kinda depends for me. Bioware games i generally replay with diffrent objectives. Paragon then renegade then whatever i would do in that choice (often turn into a middle road playtrough) i try too make a worst case playtrough too where everyone dies ^^. Kotor same good/evil (i prefer evil :D) After ive done those i generally try too find my own choices. DA is a bit more testing out diffrent fitting character builds. Generaly atleast 1 of each (mage, warrior, rogue) most of the time if im replaying i have an ide of what i want my character too be and so on before i start.

More choices are pretty important for me since i generally play RPGS. Some games are more build focused then story focused but its rare and needs too have unique choices (Pathfinder WOTR for example) Im the type of dude that was making melee sorcs in diablo 2 LOD before it became really valid since i love testing odd builds and so on ingame.

"Action" games tend too become very similar for me, if theres choices they tend too have a best choice.
 
Nostalgia. It can be because of sounds or sights or a feeling - something intangible that brings you back to a time when you experienced that moment for the first time.

There are, of course, some games that are designed with replayability in mind (Rogue-likes, for example), but I'm mostly referring to games where that's not necessarily the case, where you've gone back to the game at a later time specifically because you wish to re-experience something that has had a unique impact on you.

And this applies to more than just games, it could be a favourite film or music, looking at old photos or videos etc.
 
For me the replayability of a game depends on the variety of choices and outcomes. Quest trees that are only available thorough certain character or story paths.
I'm terrible at rewatching or rereading, I just can't concentrate and get bored. There are some exceptions but there tend to be long periods between, as someone else said nostalgia plays a part, for example I'm rewatching Cowboy BeeBop at the moment, but I last watched it about twenty years ago, I reread Dune about every ten years or so.
 
For me maybe it is chasing that first impression, be it a story, or any other sort of happening when playing it the first time. Of course it is never attained, really.
Nostalgia. It can be because of sounds or sights or a feeling - something intangible that brings you back to a time when you experienced that moment for the first time.
Now if only we could have this...
 
I'm pretty much the same as @Didacgomez, games with only one path I don't typically replay. If I replay them it's usually because it's a game I enjoyed tremendously and it's been so long I don't remember most of it. Even then, I usually don't finish that play through as the memory come back as I play and I end up stopping.
 
It honestly always surprises me how it is possible to re-watch, re-read something over and over again with all the plethora of new things waiting to be experienced (ok, except maybe certain movies you tend to re-watch every year, because ..vibes?). With games, slightly different as long as there are enough variations, but even then I tend to sort of fall into my playstyle eventually.

For me maybe it is chasing that first impression, be it a story, or any other sort of happening when playing it the first time. Of course it is never attained, really.

When it comes to multiplayer games, e.g. - it's mainly engagement with few elements of gameplay, because the rest is painfully repetitive, no wonder it is literally a sport. :D(but it can be addictive)
Well, nowadays there is plenty of everything: books, movies, games, music, but for me it is like 90% rubbish quality, so after trying new stuff and getting disappointed I just go back to something I have enjoyed :) .
 
Well, nowadays there is plenty of everything: books, movies, games, music, but for me it is like 90% rubbish quality, so after trying new stuff and getting disappointed I just go back to something I have enjoyed :) .
This is very true sadly. Especially for movies/series for me... I really dont wanna be the old dude going " when i was young" but yea it was better before ;)
 
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