Summary
- Avoid save-scumming in RPGs like Fallout: New Vegas to enjoy consequences and immersive experiences.
- Don't limit yourself to one gaming genre; explore different games for varied experiences.
- Appreciate game stories and cutscenes instead of rushing through them; skipping ruins immersion.
Gaming is a strange hobby. Most entertainment, like movies, books, or podcasts, allows its audience to settle in and relax as they do all the work. Video games demand work out of their users, meaning that players get only as much out as they put in. Even more strangely, some video games can evoke very negative responses from their players, and not always because they were designed to do so.
8 Best Open-World Games With Unrealistic Mechanics, Ranked
These open-world titles prioritize fun over realism, resulting in enjoyable games that don't take themselves too seriously.
While there is no "wrong" way to play a game, there are a few ways in which players ruin all the fun they might have by their own hand, whether they realize it or not.
7 Not Accepting Consequences - Fallout: New Vegas
Save-Scumming, Major Decision Reloads, And Looking Behind The Veil
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- Gamebryo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
RPGs and story-rich games like Fallout: New Vegas use gaming’s interactive potential to tell stories that books and movies couldn’t. But using save files to go back and peek behind the veil at what could have been ruins the magic, as does creating a new character over and over again to explore all possible options at the start of the game instead of enjoying the natural pacing that the game’s designers painstakingly laid out.
Reloading is inevitable if a game doesn’t have interesting ways to deal with death or failure states. However, most players will avoid experiencing the consequences of their actions even if it means slight inconvenience, which takes away from what could be a formative (and fun!) Experience. Some games, like Outward or Darkest Dungeon, have an innovative save mechanic that forces a player’s decisions with an autosave, but not all gamers enjoy hearing that there is only one save file as backup, especially those who have been traumatized by save file corruption.
6 Staying Inside A Genre Comfort Zone - UnderRail
There's A World Of Games Out There
UnderRail
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100
- Released
- December 18, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Stygian Software
- Publisher(s)
- Stygian Software
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The enjoyment of games is far more subjective than any other medium. A prospective gamer should never struggle through something they don’t like because other people rate it highly. Gamers should remember that it’s okay to abandon games that don’t vibe with them. Conversely, those who stay strictly to their own preferred genres or flavors of games may equally be spoiling their own fun in the hobby.
Great Games Where Your Decisions Truly Matter
The following games stand out for forcing players to make tough decisions that can drastically change the story.
Passing on a game with universal praise because the box art doesn’t seem appealing can be a huge wasted opportunity to have a perspective-altering experience. This is especially true for those who pass up indie games in favor of big-budget games on the assumption that more money guarantees a higher quality product. There are so many underrated indie games like UnderRail with less-than-stellar graphics but incredible gameplay that get passed up for the latest confusingly numbered big-budget shooter.
5 Skipping The Story Or Cutscenes - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
One Minute They Were Talking, The Next They Start Shooting
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
- Released
- November 17, 2004
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
- Prequel(s)
- Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
WHERE TO PLAY
Blame it on the incongruity of having a story in a persistent online game, but many players feel the need to turn finishing the game as fast as possible into their own personal mission, and that includes skipping all the context or information about why the player’s character is doing what they’re doing.
Having to sit through an overly long cutscene can be irritating, but blasting through every single one to get through the action destroys any tension about a fight and turns every game into wack-a-mole. Worst of all are players who skip story moments in single-player games like Metal Gear Solid 3 on their first playthrough, which is the equivalent of only reading every other four pages of a novel.
4 Spending More Time Tinkering With Mods Than Playing - Skyrim
Perfect Is The Enemy Of Fun
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
They say that perfect is the enemy of the good, and no more is this evident than with those players who spend more time installing (and fixing) mods in games than actually playing them. This applies to some very specific games (Skyrim) and is made all the worse when the modding community is as active and talented as they are.
8 Open-World Games Where You Can Ruin People's Lives
In these games, players can choose to make decisions that ruin the lives of other characters around them.
The potential for perfection is tempting, but at a certain point, it crosses over a line and becomes work (unpaid work, at that). At some point, players need to rein themselves back in and actually enjoy their game or risk messing with load orders and finding broken texture files all day and night.
3 Suffering The Sunk Cost Fallacy - Destiny 2
Sunken Cost Is Not Proof Of Quality (Or Enjoyment)
Competition in online games doesn’t just take place in PvP. Showing off rare skins, exclusive weapons, or seasonal titles is a core part of the experience. Players can’t help but compare themselves to their peers. Working toward a cool cosmetic or loadout can be motivating, but playing (or worse, paying real cash) just to keep up with Xx_The_Joneses_6969_Xx, like a Destiny 2 player chasing the newest ornament might, may compel someone to keep grinding, not because they’re having fun, but because they feel like they have to.
Gamers often mistake time or money invested as proof of a game’s worth. In doing so, they turn what should be entertainment into a second job, or a social scene they pressure themselves to keep up with. Players who’ve sunk real money into cosmetics or season passes are more likely to stay, even when recent updates haven’t been fun, and better games are sitting idle in their library.
2 Taking Things Too Seriously - League Of Legends
From Tryharding To Toxicity
League of Legends
- Released
- October 27, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Genre(s)
- MOBA
Few games represent the intensity of competitive gaming better than League of Legends. But when competition crosses into obsession, every match becomes a pressure cooker. Losing becomes personal. Teammates become enemies. Every misplay is dissected, every moment judged.
8 Best Games That Are All About Gameplay, Ranked
For gamers looking to dive straight into the action, here's a look at some of the best titles that prioritize gameplay over everything else.
That high-stakes mentality, while thrilling for some, often leads to frustration, anger, or burnout. Games designed for fun (even challenging fun) stop being relaxing and become emotional labor when dealing with a toxic attitude to play, which doesn't just hurt everyone else, but also the one throwing the flames.
1 Optimizing The Fun Out Of The Experience - World Of Warcraft
From Broken Builds To Blasting A Library Backlog
World of Warcraft
- Released
- November 23, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
From copying and pasting a broken, meta (most optimal tactic available) build in World of Warcraft to trying to finish a game as quickly as possible to clear their Steam backlog, gamers will "optimize the fun out of a game," as Soren Johnson, one of the developers behind Civilization, once said. Some players might see the main objective of the game as victory, but if they’re sacrificing their own enjoyment to maximize their own power with painful grinding and, in turn, minimize a game’s difficulty, is it really winning?
Players should stop and smell the roses and enjoy the moment once in a while, especially because video games have (potentially) proportionately longer runtimes than movies or books. Treating everything like a checklist is hardly conducive to a mindful state of mind, and worse, players concerned only with completionism will fail to absorb the beauty and fun before them.
10 Gaming Playstyles That Need More Love
From RPGs to FPS games, there are plenty of interesting playstyles that go underused.