A long time ago, I would be able to play a single-player game by myself for hours at a time, and I could enjoy it again and again.
When it came to last gen, however, I switched to mainly playing multiplayer games, and then even more so when it came to this gen.
Recently I started getting properly back into SP games, but I found that they could no longer hold my attention unless they had a great story to rope me in. Otherwise I would get this feeling of "what's the point?".
The game that really convinced me of this was Bloodborne (when I got it last year based on the internet's hype for it). Without a story it felt like I was just trudging through the game with no purpose. I would get good at elements of it, but again, "what's the point?" No one will know of my achievements, and I don't get much satisfaction from them for myself.
I got no satisfaction from beating AI opponents that were designed to be beaten. Pretty much everyone who plays the game is supposed to beat it. Bloodborne is, of course, less of an offender when it comes to this. Other gameplay focused games are even more lenient and less satisfying. I imagine this is also why I can't get into most of Nintendo's games.
Now I may be sounding like I don't care about gameplay in video games, but it's actually the opposite. The issue is that MP games naturally make gameplay more compelling. When I beat opponents online I know it was because I was better than them - it's actual people, not intentionally fodder AI. Not everyone is supposed to get a victory royale, so it feels satisfying and earned when you get one. Not everyone can have pride of place at the top of the leaderboards at the end of a game, so it feels satisfying when you get to be that guy.
Not only does this "satisfaction" provide motivation to continue playing and improving, but other people can also see your achievements, see you at the top of the leaderboards, see your prowess, again making it feel less pointless.
This is not all to say that I'm ok with mediocre gameplay - any SP game I put much time into has to have both good story and good gameplay.
Who else has this feeling? And for those who can play SP games for gameplay alone, how do you motivate yourself to play them without feeling like "what's the point?".
tldr: can't play SP games for the sake of gameplay alone because gameplay in online/MP games is much more compelling.
EDIT: I want to make it clear again that I'm NOT talking about SP games with story, exploration, world-building etc.
When it came to last gen, however, I switched to mainly playing multiplayer games, and then even more so when it came to this gen.
Recently I started getting properly back into SP games, but I found that they could no longer hold my attention unless they had a great story to rope me in. Otherwise I would get this feeling of "what's the point?".
The game that really convinced me of this was Bloodborne (when I got it last year based on the internet's hype for it). Without a story it felt like I was just trudging through the game with no purpose. I would get good at elements of it, but again, "what's the point?" No one will know of my achievements, and I don't get much satisfaction from them for myself.
I got no satisfaction from beating AI opponents that were designed to be beaten. Pretty much everyone who plays the game is supposed to beat it. Bloodborne is, of course, less of an offender when it comes to this. Other gameplay focused games are even more lenient and less satisfying. I imagine this is also why I can't get into most of Nintendo's games.
Now I may be sounding like I don't care about gameplay in video games, but it's actually the opposite. The issue is that MP games naturally make gameplay more compelling. When I beat opponents online I know it was because I was better than them - it's actual people, not intentionally fodder AI. Not everyone is supposed to get a victory royale, so it feels satisfying and earned when you get one. Not everyone can have pride of place at the top of the leaderboards at the end of a game, so it feels satisfying when you get to be that guy.
Not only does this "satisfaction" provide motivation to continue playing and improving, but other people can also see your achievements, see you at the top of the leaderboards, see your prowess, again making it feel less pointless.
This is not all to say that I'm ok with mediocre gameplay - any SP game I put much time into has to have both good story and good gameplay.
Who else has this feeling? And for those who can play SP games for gameplay alone, how do you motivate yourself to play them without feeling like "what's the point?".
tldr: can't play SP games for the sake of gameplay alone because gameplay in online/MP games is much more compelling.
EDIT: I want to make it clear again that I'm NOT talking about SP games with story, exploration, world-building etc.
Last edited:
