How much do you want to know about a game before you buy/play it?

[ZedClampet]

For me, I want to just barely know enough about the game to know that I'll enjoy the gameplay, but that's about it. If I learn too much about a game, especially any spoilers for the mid or end game, then I won't buy it. For this reason, I'll even skip reading professional reviews if I've found a game that I want just to avoid spoilers.

Some people, on the other hand, prefer to know know everything there is to know about the game, including whether there's a cutscene at the end of the credits.

How much research do you do before you buy a game?

 

[Brian Boru]

Gee, I wonder what inspired this thread?

My answer of course is quite a lot. Not the answer to puzzles or similar of course, but I definitely want to know as much as possible about gameplay.

Even then, I may not discover enough, eg Far Cry 5's unwelcome surprise of the hated-by-many capture sequences, which made me quit until a blessed modder fixed it many months later. Or MGS 5 TPP's ridiculous intro.

If it's a franchise game, as many are, I want to know what the main differences are from the previous game—not location, characters etc, but gameplay aspects like UI and mechanics.

Here's the current list of what I want to avoid in a game—or at least know about—which might make the rationale clearer:
3rd Person Perspective
Boss Fight stupidity
DLC still dribbling thru
Good Single-Play absent
Intro long and/or difficult
Long Cut Scenes
Mods not possible
Off-genre play
Quick Time Events

 

[Colif]

I normally watch YouTube videos.

it depends on if game is new or old. if new, it can be hard to find much about it at all besides videos. I can't remember last time I read a review, I prefer to see what its like myself. I generally don't pre order games, I wait for release to know for sure it wasn't just hype.
If its old, well, since its only likely to be a arpg I probably find builds that work so I don't have to waste time taking skills that end up not being useful.

spoilers generally don't bother me.

 

[Zloth]

I want to know if I'll enjoy it or not. See? Simple!

Yeah, doing that is pretty complex. If it's a new X game, I know I'm going to enjoy it, I just want to know if there are enough bugs fixed yet. For something with new ideas, like that new Marvel game from Firaxis, I want to know a lot more. (Honestly, I want a demo for that one.)

I should factor price into that. Spending a couple of hours researching a game that only costs $3 is crazy. If it still looks interesting after 10 minutes, I should just buy the fool thing and try it out. But I don't. I think I enjoy researching games to figure out if I'll like them. It's a sort of meta-game.

Some people, on the other hand, prefer to know know everything there is to know about the game, including whether there's a cutscene at the end of the credits.

Nobody is that bonkers!

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

How much research do you do before you buy a game?

Dont really think about it that much tbh, If its on sale for less than €10 I only need to have heard something good about it and know its in a genre I have enjoyed in the past.

For a medium priced game of say 15-30, I might watch a bit of gameplay and scan some reviews/scores. But often a trailer and the games own influences or inspirations that I hear about on a podcast or article are enough for me to wishlist it for later.

AAA priced games, it'll be from a developer I know something about in a genre I love that has great reviews on release before I'll buy, even then I'll often wait until its on sale for less.

Generally I dont like to know much beyond basic mechanics/genre. I avoid major spoilers as much as possible

 

[Johnway]

If i can't get my hands on a a demo/trial of the game, i'll watch a twitch stream of a game. I can't trust preview hype and trailers for an honest answer. Most trailers these days barely have any content or cut together to look good which is to be expected.

After that reviews from youtubers and from sites that i trust. Hopefully with multiple sources i can get a better picture as to whats good and whats bad.

 

[mainer]

Some people, on the other hand, prefer to know know everything there is to know about the game, including whether there's a cutscene at the end of the credits.

Gee, I wonder what inspired this thread?

Ha! You guys can be funny! I just posted to your replies in my thread on watching game credits, so you probably know my feelings from that post. But in summary of that post, for me, too much forehand information about a game can ruin my experience. I'll read previews, maybe watch an actual gameplay video, but I keep it to a bare minimum so as not to spoil anything. I refuse to do any internet searches for information or to read actual reviews of a game before I purchase it.

Generally I dont like to know much beyond basic mechanics/genre. I avoid major spoilers as much as possible

That's my basic philosophy about games, also; I don't want advance knowledge of a game I'm interested in, as can take the joy out of a new game. No spoilers for me, and no demos either.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I don't want story or puzzle spoilers, but I do want to know a thing or two about the game.

Things I want to know: What genre is the game? What are the graphics and art style like? What is the game play like?

I'll usually hear about a game from people on a forum. If it piques my interest, then I'll delve farther. I figure watching announcement trailers isn't going to spoil too much, because they're usually made to tease you without spoiling the game. The problem with those trailers is that they're usually either CGI or cut scenes, and they usually don't show much gameplay at all. So if I'm still interested, I'll look up gameplay videos. But I don't just watch them straight through. I'll watch a few seconds at a time and then skip around in the video. That helps prevent spoilers. I don't read too many professional reviews.

 

[ZedClampet]

Gee, I wonder what inspired this thread?

You're bonkers. It's why I like you.

Even then, I may not discover enough, eg Far Cry 5's unwelcome surprise of the hated-by-many capture sequences, which made me quit until a blessed modder fixed it many months later. Or MGS 5 TPP's ridiculous intro.

For me, the best place to find out stuff like this is from user reviews. They're the ones who will focus all their energy on annoying things. They say things like "I really loved the game, but I can't recommend it because..." and then they state their complaints, which a lot of other people may not care about, but sometimes I'm one of the ones who does care.

 

[Brian Boru]

Spending a couple of hours researching a game that only costs $3 is crazy

For me, Time is the deciding factor in that. If it's a 1-hour game, check Steam rating & one good review—then decide. If it's a 10-hour game, I can spend 20-30 minutes figuring out if I want to invest that much time.

best place to find out stuff like this is from user reviews

Yep, I read a lot of those. But as you astutely observe, I'm bonkers—ergo others' commentary often won't touch on what bothers me. Eg a lot of Far Cry players are sun n stun or stay n flay—or whatever those non-bonkerites are—so there was never a mention of that FC5 stuff.

I just posted to your replies in my thread on watching game credits

As did I—so here it is:

Question - When you finish a game, do you watch all the closing credits scroll?

Of course, the prerequisite to that question is that you have to actually finish the game. I try to finish every game I start, but it doesn't always work out that way, though I really try to, and hate it when I give up on a game. It can happen for a variety of reasons, and I think we've all...

forums.pcgamer.com

 

[Colif]

Things I want to know: What genre is the game? What are the graphics and art style like? What is the game play like?

Unless you are rich, I think most of us expected those criteria
No one has time to play every game.

The problem with those trailers is that they're usually either CGI or cut scenes, and they usually don't show much gameplay at all.

If at all.

That is why i don't look at any videos before release. Cut scenes don't represent gameplay, but they sure look pretty. You can dazzle people with graphics to point no one actually knows what game is until its out... that leads you to No Man Sky. Or what it actually looks like. Warcraft Resurrected. (more like raised from dead and it was buried in a pet semetary). People being sold dreams based on graphics.... Earth2.

My one question before I buy anything is: Is it any good. So looking is only way to know. Next is: How broken is it?

 

[Zloth]

Cut scenes don't represent gameplay, but they sure look pretty. You can dazzle people with graphics to point no one actually knows what game is until its out... that leads you to No Man Sky.

Sweet! I loved that game, even early on!

But really, cut scenes are still handy for some things. You'll get the tone of the game's story, the quality of the voice acting, a small sample of the writing, and a sense of the production values. Here's an extreme example:

View: https://youtu.be/rGbgcmNxFh4

That's not like the gameplay. Not at ALL like the gameplay. It isn't even a cut scene from the game, it's entirely made up based on one of the mid-game quests! But what can you tell?

• Blood. Lots of blood. (Which came out looking really dumb in the game.)
• Voice acting is good.
• Music is well done.
• Religion is going to play some sort of role.
• Women are happy to show you some skin, even if in danger of hypothermia. (Well, Morrigan grumbles, but she still does it.) Sex is bound to be a thing in this game.
• Shapeshifting will likely be a thing.
• Production values are way high.

It's not enough to buy the game, but it sure gets the hype rolling. Or failing, if any of those things are no-go items for you. Come to think of it, these sorts of trailers might be better for getting games OFF radar rather than on to them.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Unless you are rich, I think most of us expected those criteria
No one has time to play every game.

Lol. I'm not saying those are criteria. I'm saying I want to know the answers to those things to judge whether I'll like the game or not.

 

[Pifanjr]

I can't remember the last time I actually did any research on a game before buying it. I think the last game I bought was one of the Assassin's Creed games and since I enjoyed all the previous ones I was reasonably sure I was going to like this one (though I have not gotten around to playing it).

Let's open Steam's purchase history...

So before that was another sequel (Conquest of Elysium 4) and before that was Stardew Valley, which I bought because my wife requested it. More Assassin's Creed, another sequel (Magicka 2), an old game I already knew I liked (Majesty 2)... Ah, there we go.

So the last game I purchased for myself that I didn't already know I would like was ARK: Survival Evolved, which I have not actually played it because it would not run on my computer at the time... and I have since understood that it takes far too much time to get stuff done in that game and is mostly enjoyable when played together with friends. Meaning I'll probably never get around to playing it. Obviously I should have done better research.

By coincidence, it will have been exactly 7 years tomorrow since I bought ARK.

 

[Brian Boru]

mostly enjoyable when played together with friends

They can all get it free on Steam for the next few days, so there you go!

 

[Pifanjr]

They can all get it free on Steam for the next few days, so there you go!

The problem nowadays isn't that my friends don't own the game, it's that I don't have the time available to commit to playing with them regularly.

 

[Raven1221]

I do not have a lot of cash. A game is 3 restaurant for me. So I need to choose wisely; I need to be sure the game is all fine. I need to know enough about the game.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I do not have a lot of cash. A game is 3 restaurant for me. So I need to choose wisely; I need to be sure the game is all fine. I need to know enough about the game.

Absolutely! I don't have enough money to justify buying games that I might end up not liking.

 

[Zloth]

Absolutely! I don't have enough money to justify buying games that I might end up not liking.

??? Every game is a game you might not end up liking.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

??? Every game is a game you might not end up liking.

That's true, but if I put some effort into researching a game, I can get a much better idea of whether or not it will be the type of game I like.

 

[Frindis]

Ok, I'm going to try and use an example from my experiences with renting old VHS movies, and hopefully, I'll make this explanation work somewhat:

Back in the good old days when you could visit kiosks for renting VHS movies, I did not really know much about movies. There were little to no trailers, not much talk about them in the newspapers, and definitely not on the internet because there weren't any, well, at least not for the public anyways. So how did I find out if the movie was good or not? Either I had buddies telling me how good it was and that would be a hit and miss. I also think we had some movie catalogs back then, you know the smaller thick ones, kind of similar to the telephone book? and also some info through text-TV. So you could read a little about movies from those. But, for the most, I would either read on the back of the VHS cover or I would just look at the front of the VHS cassette and see if I liked the picture. If the picture looked like it was waaaaay cheesy, like two dudes half-naked with swords in their hands grinning to the camera, I would have not rented it.

Soo, juuuust as with those old VHS cassettes, I will take a look at game magazines and forums now or hear what my friends say. The one big thing difference is that instead of looking at the movie picture or reading the info back on a VHS cover, I now watch snippets of gameplay to see if it's any interesting. Just as with the VHS pictures, I will most of the time be able to differentiate between what is good and shait for me. Phew, this was a handful! 😅 😅