What videogames are you playing in 2026?

[Parmandur]

Whether it is true to puzzle games isnt relevant to the statement thst it is true of RPGs. You are again expanding my statement beyond its scope. If you agree thst it is true of RPGs, then you agree with my statement, regardless of absolutely any possible question regarding other types of games.

Every role playing game with a weak story would be better as a game if the story were improved.

Before anyone tries to um actually at me, improved does not mean "increased in amount of game time dedicated to it" or anything else like that.

The best dungeon crawler would still be better if it's minimal story were somehow executed better, built a world more effectively, implied motivation more convincingly, etc.

The fact that a RPG can be good in spite of a weak story doesnt make story orthagonal to RPG quality, it just means that games are more complex than one overriding factor of quality.

They can also be good in spite of weak gameplay mechanics. Ive never seen anyone claim that mechanics are orthagonal to the quality of an RPG.

All novels would be improved in some way by having cool cover art...but a great novel can have minimalistic or even terrible cover art. Because cover art is orthagonal to the quality of a novel as such.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

All novels would be improved in some way by having cool cover art...but a great novel can have minimalistic or even terrible cover art. Because cover art is orthagonal to the quality of a novel as such.

No. Cool cover art has no effect on the quality of the novel. My fancy limited edition The Hobbit doesnt tell the tale better than the beat up paperback i owned as a kid.

Improved story adds to the game.

 

[Parmandur]

No. Cool cover art has no effect on the quality of the novel. My fancy limited edition The Hobbit doesnt tell the tale better than the beat up paperback i owned as a kid.

Improved story adds to the game.

Cool cover art or binding certainly only adds something to the experience, both on the visual and tactile level.

Cool maps can add something to the experience of a novel. But are also not necessary.

 

[Fifinjir]

Currently playing the Unity version of Daggerfall. Modded for more enemies, more flair for villages and cities, random encounters in towns a wilderness (using a form of fast travel where you fast forward to the location rather than teleport there), expanded use for the language skills which gives multiple chances to pacify an enemy, and more armor variety. Doing a quasi-pacifist run were I avoid killing humans and orcs (and elves and beastfolk if they ever appeared as enemies), but can fight undead and daedra just fine, with animals and nature spirits in a grey area.

I am once against telling myself that I’ll eventually play through the Skyrim mod VIGILANT again, but I’m not looking forward to the process of downloading all the mods I don’t care about to be able to run the ones I do care about.

I’m also rearing up for a playthrough of all the Kingdom Hearts series that’s up on Steam. As someone who played the original and some of Chain of Memories over a decade and a half ago, it feels like I’m finally coming back to something I left on the back burner for a long, long time.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

But I can think of a number of RPG video games without any story...?

Can you give some examples? I mainly limit myself to the cRPG genre, and can think of very few with no story at all.

Currently playing the Unity version of Daggerfall. Modded for more enemies…

Masochist! Childhood trauma from Daggerfall is what put me off the Elder Scrolls games forever.

 

[Parmandur]

Can you give some examples? I mainly limit myself to the cRPG genre, and can think of very few with no story at all.

Ever played an 80s dungeon crawler without a manual? I did, still had fun despite there being no story.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

Ever played an 80s dungeon crawler without a manual? I did, still had fun despite there being no story.

We’re getting dangerously close to “what is an RPG?”, which never goes anywhere productive. I used to play Angband a lot: it has levels and classes and dragons, more magic items than you can shake a stick at; you could probably call it a dungeon-crawler with a fair degree of accuracy. And yet I wouldn’t call it an RPG - I’d call it a roguelike.