[mackatap]

I find it fascinating you could sonsider a game to be the greatest of all time when the gameplay itself isn't good. Is gameplay not the most important part of a game? It's like saying the greatest movie of all time, except for the plot. The greatest car, except for the driving. The greatest winter coat, except for staying warm.

[Jack000]

It's really not important. If I want to play a "fun" game I'd go for mario kart. Nier is not very accessible and it's better for it. Also, the gameplay is not bad, just generic.

[k__]

[this is what game journalists actually believe]

[AjaxGb]

I could easily imagine someone who considers a movie to be the greatest of all time but to have a weak plot. A movie that is such a tour-de-force visually that it blows the plot out of the water, or a movie that focuses carefully on a character study without telling much of a story, or an arthouse film that stirs the emotions while making no sense from a linear summary perspective. Like video games, movies can have many more components than just the story being told.

[ElfinTrousers]

They made that movie. It's called Tree Of Life and it sucks.

[thatguy0900]

It's also called avatar, which cared so little for the plot the mcguffin they were trying to get was called unobtanium.

[ElfinTrousers]

Haha! I'd never thought of that, but right you are.

[Dudeman112]

>Is gameplay not the most important part of a game?

It's an artist's medium. The most important part is what it does to who consumes it

[tsimionescu]

> It's like saying the greatest movie of all time, except for the plot.

2001 A Space Odyssey is probably a good example of this - it has very little plot, and it gets quickly resolved, but it is nevertheless an extraordinary movie that many love dearly, and for good reason I think.

[Arkhaine_kupo]

> Is gameplay not the most important part of a game?

Not really. Gameplay is a part of the game and it can have multiple effects. It can reinforce the themes, see for example a game where you are meant to be strong the gameplay can make you feel like a god. Or if you are a fast robot pilot like Titan Fall 2 then the gameplay can be fast and acrobatic.

Or it can be at odds with the story. Plenty of games about cooperation or pacifism etc randomly have fight mechanics because they sell well. See for example Last of Us telling a moving story about humanity and then having sections where you mow down humans like crazy.

And finally there are games where the gameplay serves the emotion behind it, Nier, like for example Shadow of the Colossus or Death Stranding, the gameplay is there to make you feel something or help you feel something. If the gameplay was insanely intricate like Devil May Cry then the themes would not resonate as much. Its not like Hideo Kojima doesn't know how to make a character walk properly, but the clunky walking makes feeling relieved when you find help in death stranding mean something.

[oneoff786]

Hideo Kojima makes interesting movies other half finished game layers

[xani_]

He said "weakest part", not bad.It was just decent. It wasn't up to level of say Bayonetta but it was a good combat system.

> It's like saying the greatest movie of all time, except for the plot.

There are many movies people hold in great regard with just okay plot. Execution matters a great thing

> The greatest car, except for the driving.

If you want luxury you don't care about driving feel

> The greatest winter coat, except for staying warm

If you care for fashion, not freezing in -10C is "good enough", don't need to survive Syberian winters

[pid-1]

Planescape: Torment is one of my favorite games and the gameplay is absolutely terrible!

[ceceron]

Ok, now I'm lost. What does the "gameplay" word mean for you? Planescape had IMHO am amazing gameplay.

Good example of a great RPG with terrible combat system was Arcanum but even there the gameplay was great (except the combat).

[pid-1]

I remember being quite annoyed by pretty much everything that wasn't the story: combat, inventory management, pathfinding...

[ceceron]

I had completely different experience. Pathfinding and inventory - honestly I don't remember, they didn't stay in the way. Not more than in any contemporary game. Combat wasn't in the center, but was fair and challenging enough to blend into the narrative. The gameplay was designed to facilitate the story-telling in a way to put the player as an agent in the epic tragedy.

I hate modern narrative-heavy games deciding to remove the gameplay to focus on the story/atmosphere. Movies/books are much better mediums for this kind of entertainment.