What makes a game replayble and stand the test of time?

Hero Siege/Star bound are games that comes to mind for me when I think of replay ability.

For me games that have some of the following help alot:

1. Building: You are only limited by your own imagination

2. Lots of playable classes to choose from with different abilities

3. Pick up and play friendly

4. Devs update game frequently (Hero Siege is a king at that)

5. Art style over tech. Art style ages better than tech. (just look at Ps1 games/Sega Saturn Games if you want to see ugly on the eyes), then play Link to the past/Secret of Mana you will know what I mean.

6. Open Worlds (in Starbound you can go anywhere this is a big plus for replay.)

That is what helps me with replay.

Unlockables plain and simple.

Zelda: BotW, TW3, MGS 1-3, Doom and RE4 are highly replayable, so whatever that makes those games good must be the thing that makes games.... replayable. :P :P :P

Games I can revisit and do what I want without the need for an objective or being forced upon a path. There also needs to be a ready supply of bad guys for me to shoot at when it suits me.

Everybody here probably knows the two games I always refer to. But, it's well-deserved. My continued interest in them has slowed down the need to upgrade my PC and saved me some cash in new game purchases.

The list is pretty much endless to pin it down to a single reason. get the obviose, amount of content and variation, be it skill tree's, combos and what not, but there aspects around that.

Something like a flight-sim if you're thick (me) can take weeks and months to learn very basic things. The learning curve is part of the appeal. Once you've mastered, or at least became semi-competent that in itself is a reward.

Contrary to that, games like Painkiller can get very repetitive in the short term, best played in bursts, but that simplicity is what makes it easy to come back to.

Nostalgia can also play a factor, your memory embellishes good and bad, rather than a crystal clear image, it's elongated and distorted, tailored.

Ultimately Gaming is largely a waste of time though, better off reading a book or going outside.

It's simple, it needs to be somewhat unique so it can stimulate the mind. Games that "age" like shit are usually the ones that are designed on current trends that sell, rather than designed on a passionate idea.

Waiting ?

One of them must be FC4 :P

You might be in the honeymoon phase for that one tho :P

Yeah, Art Style can make a game survive for ages in graphics department.

I try to not limit my hobbies to Gaming, but I can argue that the amount of "fun" that it offers is way more than other mediums, yeah you might not learn life lessons from it but without a doubt it's the most fun of the hobbies and can help you escape reality for atleast a few hours, that's quite an accomplishment.

Well-put!

I got nuthin.

@mjorh: Dunno, I've finished it twice already with 80 hours played.

I'd say that mostly depends on how that game made me feel the first time I play it.

Some of that is nostalgia, but if a game made me feel awe, tension (in a good way), joy, accomplishment, inspired, etc. then I will want to play it again.

For example, I've played all the Naughty Dog PS3 games for the first time since the beginning of the new year- Uncharted 1, 2, and 3, and am going through the Last of Us now.

I can confidently say I may never get the urge to play Uncharted again, but the Last of Us will likely get a playthrough again in the next few years. I really enjoy the different combat scenarios they give you with all the different weapons, and all the positives and negatives that come with each option. I also love the tension of sneaking around and trying to take everyone out silently.

Dayum!

Yeah Zelda BotW seems to end up as a timeless game.

Mine is Bayonetta as well, I could play that any day because the mechanics are satisfying. Mass Effect 2 and 3 have the world I want to enjoy again and again.

Yes and at least you don't stab people.

Gameplay by far. Everything gets outdated but what never becomes old is good gameplay.

honestly fun. If a game was fun to me I can go back to it regardless of how dated it looked.

MCC will be considered the epitome of timeless me thinks.

Yup. I'm sure you can guess the other one. ;)

I've posted videos and screenshots of what I do in those games. They never get repetitive although I'm not sure why. Simple tastes, I guess.

There's something that appeals to me about the game not telling me to do this or that and not having to follow a pre-made path. Just drop into the world and let me deal with bad guys wherever and whenever.

It varies on the game for me.

Tried so hard but couldn't remember it :D Lemme take a guess, a Flight Simulator game?

Actually, it's Far Cry 3. I can drive for hours on the second island in Far Cry 3 while being pursued by mercs in jeeps. I set a few rules for myself such as no fast travel and no enemy tagging.

In Far Cry 4, I can fly with the Buzzer for hours, hitting outposts/forts and targets of opportunity.