What's up with everyone just saying that people like exotic races for powergaming reasons?
It's based on my own observations and experience. Again, not very scientific, and certainly full of bias based on the kind of players I associate with.
But I've never seen anyone in my games really play out the implications of a non-human race in a human-centric world.
I've seen plenty of drow being happy to have +2 DEX and 120' darkvision (while seeming to always live in a cloudy overworld where they never suffer penalty from sunlight), and throwing a few lines here and there about being away from the Underdark or fearing Lolth, but it never amounts to anything more than that.
I make the deduction that they enjoy the powergaming aspect since that is what they mention at the table (like proudly showing off their +5 DEX modifier).
And it may not be just those player's fault or choice; a lot of it is also DM-dependant. If the DM only cares about the "main quest" and doesn't develop his setting or the story to support players investing in those aspects of their characters, you can't blame the players for using their race as a halloween costume that grants some bonuses.
In my current group, we have one human (non-variant), one drow, 2 aasimar, and one halfling. The halfling is mostly used for comedy due to his size, and the aasimar have had little impact yet (although both seem to have elaborate backstories, which I hope we get to explore more of in the future). We just had a few discussions about age recently (what with the drow being old enough to remember what it was like to live through the spellplague), which is not something I've gotten a chance to explore that often in the game; even then, I think the player himself was sorta taken aback by this angle and has been trying to build up his own knowledge to factor that notion into his interpretation and presentation of the character later on.
And even when I think of online games I've been watching on streams, it isn't developed all that much. I often see it more as an excuse for players to wear disguises and such; but rarely do I see race play a foundational role in how characters are played.
I welcome all the positive examples people are providing; it's expanding my perspective. But it's hard to make abstraction of what I've experienced and seen in the various groups I've played with.