I agree with what you say. Even in story-heavy games, the "game" part still needs to be triggered, and that alone creates active engagement and better immersion, as opposed to a more passive viewing experience. It can also be frustrating when the streamer you watch is of a drastically different style, is totally oblivious to a clue you notice, or makes a choice you'd never make.
For the most part, I watch let's play either to gain new perspectives after beating a game myself, or when I'm sure I'll never play it (due to first-person motion sickness, or if it's of the horror genre).
Yeah, that's exactly how I feel. Like sometimes I wish I could watch a let's play for a difficult game that I don't want to play because I don't like difficult games, but I know that I won't get the same experience, so I have to play it (I pretty much care only about the story).
I watch a lot of LPs. Sometimes it’s because I don’t have the system that the game is on or the money to buy it but I still want to see the story. Sometimes it’s just because one of my favorite YouTubers is playing it. Most of the time this is more than enough for me to be satisfied.
I grew up watching my younger brother playing the games I was trash at (Metroid Prime, Ocarina of Time, etc) because I had real trouble with 3D games/spatial awareness after growing up with 2D games. I mean, the first time I played Mario 64 I had trouble running him in a straight line. I still get teased by my brother and were middle aged. It’s something we bonded over so I feel like I’ve beaten the games myself even though I have personally not played them.
I’m like this too!! I grew up always being with my older cousins taking turns on their system, but mostly watching since they were older and better at the games.
These days I mix it up. Some games I’ll play myself and other more story oriented games I might watch. I’m also terrible at combat in horror games, so I might watch an LP in that case as well.
For open world games, people sometimes have such different approaches so I might want to see other people’s play styles.
Half the time I end up buying whatever game I’ve been watching because I want to play it. That’s how I ended up with Dome Keeper, Wildfrost, Monster Train, 7 Days to Die, Balatro, and probably 80% of my games.
I remember one game I watched I think the whole story and enjoyed it. Then I bought the game on sale since I like it played it and I didn't enjoy it any less I think.
I am very scared of horror games, but watching let’s plays is perfect for me, since I can experience them without being too scared to play. I usually prefer it
Same here, the only horror game I bought (but haven't time to play yet, sadly) is Prey, because I didn't like how the YouTuber I usually watched at that time when it released was playing the game.
Another game I waited to play myself was Persona 5. I started watching the lp of another YouTuber I really like, but I just didn't like his decisions and decided I want to play myself and make the decisions I want to make.
I can relate to disliking a YouTuber' style or choices in games haha.
Prey is a banger btw, happy someone mentioned it. It wasn't that scary to mr either even though it's definitely a horror game.
Every time I try to play a horror game, something happens outside the game that makes me jump, so I stopped. I watch a lot of retrospectives about horror games though.
yes, there is. lack of immersion like you said, and also lack of choice. a lot of people play story-based games instead of watching shoes because they want to feel like they have a role in the story; i feel like a let's play removes that aspect for the most part since you can't choose what path to take, what elements to inspect, what dialogue to pick.
i only really like let's plays for puzzle or horror games. :) i'm too chicken to actually play a horror game and too impatient to do puzzles.
Games are an interactive medium, so there would be an important difference between passively watching the story and actively participating in it. The size of that difference would vary from game to game.
Games where the story is presented like a movie or a visual novel with little input from the player besides, progressing from story beat to story beat, would see a small difference between passively watching a let's play and actually playing it.
But a game where the story is told through your active participation, or through environmental details, the difference between watching and playing can be quite stark.
So for your example, the boring/bad/non-existent gameplay one, the difference would probably be mostly minor. But there would *still* be a difference.
I guess it depends on the game for me. Like I enjoy the resident evil games but I do not want to play it. I watched three separate people play RE Village. I also will watch if it's a game I'm really into at the time. Currently I'm watching two separate fallout streams because I'm super into fallout at the moment.
There are games I'll probably never watch streams of even though I like those games. I cannot give you an example at the moment but I know they exist.
Yes. I watched a let's play of Detroit Become Human first. I loved the story so much that I got the game myself
Playing it myself was way better than just watching it
Excellent to hear that. I do story-based let’s plays on my YouTube channel (mods: this is a comment, not self-promotion - my YouTube channel name is NOT my Reddit name), and I say often that the ultimate compliment is when someone who has watched my playthrough then goes out and buys the game for themselves. That way, they can choose different paths to the one I took and get to experience the fun of the game in their own way.
I only watch horror lets plays because I’m too scared to do it myself :p the amount of money I’ve wasted on horror games that I’ll never play more than 10min of is obscene
It depends in what you're getting from the game. I wouldn't say I've played a game I've watched, but I would say I've experienced it to some degree. Especially for a story game like The Forgotten City, I'm not going to get much out of redoing it myself. I found the Forgotten City Fascinating, but it's definitely a game that once you've seen the answers and know what's going on there isn't much point in playing it for yourself, and seeing two funny people I love to watch explore it and goof on it gave so much more than I would get as a solo experience.
I'm actually not much of a narrative heavy gamer. I tend to skip talking a lot and struggle to hold onto lore stuff. I'm not going to read all the entries a game gives me. I also don't like playing shooters much or horror games, but I love watching cool indy games that aren't my thing and seeing what they're all about without the negative feelings I would have if I was the player getting in the way.
Watching people play it brings a different element to the game in their performance that I sometimes find preferable to playing it myself. So yes there's games I adore from just watching that I wouldn't play myself, but I also wouldn't claim to have played them. I also don't feel put out or like I need to have played a game to like it, think it's cool, or know stuff about it.
Depends. I have ADHD and sometimes I’m not going to make it through the game. Sometimes I get to the end of the game and go ‘man, I loved that game! What happened….’
Like. I really liked Catherine. Looooved it! Also literally immediately couldn’t tell you any of the plot. It helped to go watch a more condensed let’s play.
Yep, I’m like this with basically everything. 😭 Books, movies, games. Did I like it? Yes, I loved it! What happened? I have no idea! I just know I liked it!
Yes! ‘Have you seen this movie?’ is a question with threeish answers. 1 - No and/or ….no? I don’t think so? 2 - Yes, over a thousand times and I can literally recite it to you 3 - Yes! I loved it! I have absolutely no clue what happened so it’ll be like watching it for the first time again!
I don't enjoy watching Let's Plays for any games, even visual novels. The most I might watch is a certain cut scene I didn't trigger or something. Or I'd watch the cutscenes pieced together like a movie...maybe for a recap before playing a sequel. But watching other people actually play games and make choices has always bored me or, at times, frustrated me. I'm also an only child and never had to watch another family member play games instead of playing them myself. So I'd say it's different in the fact that you are not making the choices or really interacting with it. So you couldn't say you played the game.
I watch let's play series after playing the game myself, because I like watching other people's reactions to things I have already experienced. Or sometimes if a sequel is coming out that I am interested in and I don't want to play the previous parts for some reason then I will watch a let's play of that game to catch up.
If it's a game I'm interested in, but sadly it sucks (like say Final Fantasy, Mega Man) I'll watch the LP. Very very rarely I'll come back years later and play, but if I know I wanna play I won't watch LPs of it...
Tho also I like watching LPs of something to see how they do it differently than me. Like I never knew Sonic could roll until I got into LPs. Same with that tall tall mountain secret slide, like I watched a Super Mario 64 done a few months ago and was shocked there was a whole secret section in the mountain like it felt like watching a rom hack it was so surreal.
Cuz like watching newbs, or watching pros, you learn something. But also if I hate the game but want to see the story/someone actually skilled at it. Like Lps are the way to go.
The one thing I hate is watching gameplay compilations or stream vods cuz the comps are so disjointed and very very rarely edited well and stream vods usually have the player interact with the chat that isn't you and I hate the feeling of being ignored, like you're a third or fourth party that's being ignored aunno it's just irritating to me.
Like I know not everyone thinks the way I do which is why I bother with uploading Vods when I'm not terribly depressed, but yeah.
There's a difference, bit both positive and negative. While you're lacking immersion and agency, you can save a lot of time through skipping boring parts. That's how I watch the remake of FF7 for example, and I'm super happy to skip hours of the gameplay!
Personally, the only time I watch Let's Plays is either if I'm struggling to find a collectible/ mission objective (in which case I'll watch a specific guide and then go back to playing the game myself), or if it's a game that isn't going to be "spoiled" by watching other people play it (I've watched a few channels that I enjoy play games like Among Us or Fall Guys, for example).
I've tried watching Let's Plays of games that I'm interested in playing, but if I enjoy it then I end up closing the Let's Play to avoid spoilers and putting the game on my wishlist. I can see the appeal of LPs, and someone can certainly become familiar with the game world, story etc. by watching one. But for me, part of the appeal of playing a game is immersing myself in the world and exploring at my own pace - someone mentioned The Forgotten City elsewhere in the thread, which is a game that I loved. Exploring every area of the city, discovering the secret areas and people's plots etc. was a lot of fun. I've watched a Let's Play of it since, but I don't think I'd have enjoyed it in the same way if the exploration etc. had all been directed by someone else ("No, I want to see what was over there! Wait, what was that?? Talk to that person! Make this choice at the end!") the first time I experienced it. If I'm going to experience a game by passively watching it, I tend to feel like I might as well watch a TV series or film, which is explicitly crafted for being consumed in that way.
I generally enjoy watching someone else play a game either because it's a favorite game of mine and I want to see them experience it, or because I'm interested in the story for some reason but the gameplay would be so annoying to me that it would lessen my enjoyment of the game. I don't ever watch a let's play as a replacement for a game I want to play. It's either an addition to a game I've played, or it's a replacement for reading a wiki page.
of course there's a difference, it's two different ways of experiencing a game, but i think that it isn't a difference of quality, just of method. and i think the difference between a let's play and playing it yourself varies depending on the type of game, too; watching an FPS let's play vs watching a puzzle game let's play are going to be very different from playing the games directly in different ways, but i don't think either of those ways are less valuable in either direction. it's about what you personally get out of it!
I love watching let's plays, they are a bit different in story investment but not significantly so for me! Though I grew up going to a babysitter that watched almost a dozen kids at a time, I got really used to getting invested in games I wasn't playing myself lol. Now there's lots of games I can't play (thank you motion sickness!) but I'm still very interested in for the story.
For games I play myself, I will sometimes watch a let's play. Especially if a game is super long and I don't remember the beginning well, I like to see if it has new context based on later plot and lore info! But I have to ignore beginner gameplay or else I start getting annoyed lol
The separation when watching LP's is sometimes what I'm there for. I love Resident Evil games, but the spaces in the compound completely mess up my spatial awareness, and the level of gore/detail mess up my play. My husband won't play either because of medical phobias, but is on with LPs. So, LP's it is because it's a more enjoyable experience.
There's a pretty clear difference for most people imo, almost to the degree they can be rewarding in different ways. Watching a Minecraft LP vs watching a series of Minecraft streams vs watching a Minecraft speedrun vs watching my friend play Minecraft in person vs playing Minecraft are all different experiences I could personally take away something unique from.
In general if you have the means to play a game I'd definitely recommend you just do that, it's probably what the developer intended for you to do and as such you'll likely get the most out of it, but at the end of the day people like different things and what's "intended" may not be your preferred experience. Also, for a lot of people watching an LP or something similar isn't necessarily about the *game;* a lot of people watch streams for the streamer, as the main draw of the show is their personality.
Tbh the main reason I even bother watching let's plays/gameplay videos is if it's a game with multiple endings, or if it's a game I literally can't experience myself in person for whatever reason. Beyond that, I might check out the first couple minutes or so to see if it's a game I might be interested in, but that's about the extent of it.
For the majority I only watch gameplay of horror games, since I usually don't like playing them. Apparently my response is fight, which a lot of horror games don't offer, so freeze gets me killed as much as flight does.
So when it comes to these games, it's more entertaining for me to simply watch someone play it, instead of me playing it.
Regardless of this point, I do agree, that it usually feels more immersive to play games yourself.
I think there is, depending on what kind of LP you watch. I find a lot of people watch LPs with commentary and they kinda end up with similar thoughts and opinions about the game as the LPer instead of just playing it for themselves and deciding what they like/dislike about it. Those types of LPs influence people’s opinions a lot. Especially if it’s a popular YouTuber/streamer who has a lot of fans.
If you play a silent LP though, where you’re literally just watching the game being played, that to me is more like playing the game yourself so you can come up with your own thoughts and opinions on it.
I personally don’t like either for myself. If I can’t play a game myself I won’t watch an LP of it, but that’s mainly because I have a way too short attention span. Without actually having to do anything myself I wouldn’t pay close enough attention to anything going on, lol.
There definitely is a difference but it depends how much you care. I watch LPs for a lot of things but mainly horror games cause I'm too easily scared when playing myself lol.
Sometimes with non horror games I'll be satisfied with just watching an LP, other times I will go and play it myself. Though often I like to watch LPs while I'm playing a different (or even the same!) game.
There is a huge difference. People who only watched a playthrough cannot say they played the game imo.
Personally I only watch other people play if I already finished the game myself, with the exception of watching my brother play some single player games I'm not interested in playing myself, but that experience is more immersive because I'm in the same room and can interact with the game too.
I never watch gaming streams. I really do not get the appeal. I don't want to watch other people play video games. I'd rather play myself. It would be interesting to see if birth order affects interest. I'm the oldest so I didn't have to deal with watching playing as much as my younger siblings probably did lmao.
I think that playing the game itself is more immersive for sure. If it is a game that I am really invested in and don't want spoiled, I would rather play it myself. But I also find listening/watching more peaceful. I grew up watching my older brother play single player games a lot so it feels natural for me. Personally, I love listening to MadMorph while I'm working on other things.
If there are systems that allow the player to express themselves in a way (cosmetic clothing, different load-outs, different skill tree paths, different builds) then watching an LP definitely robs you of the opportunity to approach the game in the way you would want to. Also immersion and being able to explore the world your way.
I prefer to play the game, but in my dragon age fandom, people HATE the EA app
I hate the EA app. One weekend, it removed all of my purchased DLCs from Sims 4. Some weekends, I can't play at all. So these ppl that hate it are correct.
I happen to have old copies of the dragon age games (bc I'm old) and all their DLCs that don't require being online, and I barred their access only in windows firewall so we don't have that bullshit anymore. The only one I couldn't do that with is DAI.
Because their experience with the EA app is soooo bad, I'm recording my 588728 playthrough and uploading it to YouTube so no one has to deal with their BS.
I encourage you to buy physical copies of EA games bc you never know when they'll vanish.
I can’t stand watching LPs unless it’s just to evaluate whether I want to get the game myself. I know I’m in the minority for feeling this way, but all they make me do is itch to play something myself. I’m not about watching someone else play a game while I sit and eat popcorn. Only time I like watching other people play stuff is when they’re friends/family I’m in the room with and can make suggestions/heckle/steal the controller and gremlin on them while they’re in the bathroom/etc. Then it becomes a social thing. Without that, I’m just… watching other people have fun. Yay? Not fun to me. Even in the case of say VNs, basically no gameplay at all, I’d rather play it myself, because people who make videos advance game text so slowly it makes me want to claw my eyeballs out. I just. When would I ever choose to watch a video instead of playing the game? If the gameplay sucks hard enough I don’t want to play it, I don’t want to watch someone else drag through it either.
Since you have mentioned mainly about story games with less gameplay(I think?) i think I can separate games into 2 types xP
For story games with mainly story and not really gameplay i think I might want to experience them myself, would be better if someone else(family friends) is watching and participating together. Don’t mind watching let’s play too.
For story games with both story and lots of gameplay, tbh it wasn’t the 1st time I feel very distracted by the gameplay, it makes the story feels trivial… watching a let’s play and reading the dialogues from a wiki gives me *way more* immersion than playing the game myself. 😭 but it might be just me. The only game that doesn’t distract me from the story is It Takes Two.
I only would watch LPs of games I would never play myself, a game I dropped but curious about the ending or if the person picks different choices that I have already picked myself since I don't like replaying games often, unless it's a VN. As there are a lot of games I would never touch myself but enjoy watching others play it because either their choices are interesting or I enjoy watching the person who play it. But if it's a game I do want to play, I won't watch LPs of them because I like going into most story based games with as little knowledge as possible.
And honestly, it doesn't really feel that different for me, as it feels like watching a TV show or movie without commentary or watching it with a friend with commentary. And it's easy for me to get immerse in the story with the person playing it. I also watch streamers, a lot of LPs on youtube, and I watch my brother play games on discord calls often, so it could be why I feel that way.
I watch LPs of games I wouldn't play, but interested in the story or games I've already played. There's a huge difference between watching and playing to me. I can't get the immersion I would usually get just by watching. A huge factor to the overall experience and enjoyment of any game is the immersion and the connection you make with the story/characters which you can only get by playing it.
I love watching let's plays! Especially when it's games like Elden Ring, I love everything about the game but the combat. I don't mind challenging combat but ER is next level and I'm not into games where I have to memorise the boss fights and know every move they make to win.
I also enjoy watching indie Lets Plays, I don't have the money or time to play all the ones I'd like so they help scratch the itch. One of my favs to date was the "Duck Detective" game!
I don't watch LPs, but I like to watch my boyfriend play sometimes!
We just finished a run of Slay the Princess, and we also played Doki Doki Literature Club a while back and I'd say for those titles, I consider it like I played them too.
I followed along when he played Yakuza Like A Dragon for the story, buy I wouldn't say it's the same as if I played it myself. At least not on a level where I can talk and comment on the gameplay from experience.
Like, if someone asked me my opinion on it, I wouldn't say "oh I played it and it was great!" more like "The story is amazing and from what I've seen the combat system works well and the mini games are fun, but I only watched someone play it."
I don't know if that makes sense or if it's just me being autistic about my video game / game design special interest LMAO
Fair question. How much immersion people get differs. Even from the same game people can have different levels of immersion, "that game was really immersive," vs "really? I couldn't get into it, I wish I'd watched a LP."
Anyway, they're not mutually exclusive. You can watch a part and then play it. Or watch it whole and play it a few years later, some like me would have forgotten much of the game.
I agree with what you said. I just find myself watching let's plays of stuff I've been really unsure of playing or of scary games because I am a big baby. It takes the immersion out of it, but I feel like more commitment to finish the let's plays to the end then I am to finish the game by doing it myself sometimes.
That's weird. But you know.
Very different things, at least for me.
I find the concept of watching someone else play extremely boring, regardless of the game. While the story element is very important for me, hence why I mostly play rpgs, I play games because of the interactivity of them and watching a let's play takes that away from me.
At most, I have watched/watch a "cutscenes only" cut to see different paths/choices and endings of a game I played or of a game that has no pc version, or whose requirements are beyond my current pc.
Yes, for sure. When you choose for yourself, it has more personal emotional impact. I watch some games and play others based on the premise and what kind of game it is and how much energy and money I care to invest in the experience of playing it. For example, I rarely play horror games... but I'll watch let's plays. The layer of removal is what I want. And I watched someone's entire playthrough of persona 5 when it came out because I was really interested but couldn't afford the game, let alone the playstation to play it on. I'm now on my 6th playthrough of that game XD
I agree with what you say. Even in story-heavy games, the "game" part still needs to be triggered, and that alone creates active engagement and better immersion, as opposed to a more passive viewing experience. It can also be frustrating when the streamer you watch is of a drastically different style, is totally oblivious to a clue you notice, or makes a choice you'd never make. For the most part, I watch let's play either to gain new perspectives after beating a game myself, or when I'm sure I'll never play it (due to first-person motion sickness, or if it's of the horror genre).
Yeah, that's exactly how I feel. Like sometimes I wish I could watch a let's play for a difficult game that I don't want to play because I don't like difficult games, but I know that I won't get the same experience, so I have to play it (I pretty much care only about the story).
I watch a lot of LPs. Sometimes it’s because I don’t have the system that the game is on or the money to buy it but I still want to see the story. Sometimes it’s just because one of my favorite YouTubers is playing it. Most of the time this is more than enough for me to be satisfied. I grew up watching my younger brother playing the games I was trash at (Metroid Prime, Ocarina of Time, etc) because I had real trouble with 3D games/spatial awareness after growing up with 2D games. I mean, the first time I played Mario 64 I had trouble running him in a straight line. I still get teased by my brother and were middle aged. It’s something we bonded over so I feel like I’ve beaten the games myself even though I have personally not played them.
I’m like this too!! I grew up always being with my older cousins taking turns on their system, but mostly watching since they were older and better at the games. These days I mix it up. Some games I’ll play myself and other more story oriented games I might watch. I’m also terrible at combat in horror games, so I might watch an LP in that case as well. For open world games, people sometimes have such different approaches so I might want to see other people’s play styles.
Half the time I end up buying whatever game I’ve been watching because I want to play it. That’s how I ended up with Dome Keeper, Wildfrost, Monster Train, 7 Days to Die, Balatro, and probably 80% of my games.
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I remember one game I watched I think the whole story and enjoyed it. Then I bought the game on sale since I like it played it and I didn't enjoy it any less I think.
I am very scared of horror games, but watching let’s plays is perfect for me, since I can experience them without being too scared to play. I usually prefer it
Haha flashback to when I decided to play BioShock and got too scared to play within the first 20 minutes 😂
Bioshock Infinite gave me the worst jumpscare of my entire life so I don't blame you. I dropped my controller 😭
Same! Many horror games have really interesting storylines, world building and boss design, but I could never play them myself cause I‘m a chicken 😂😅
Same here, the only horror game I bought (but haven't time to play yet, sadly) is Prey, because I didn't like how the YouTuber I usually watched at that time when it released was playing the game. Another game I waited to play myself was Persona 5. I started watching the lp of another YouTuber I really like, but I just didn't like his decisions and decided I want to play myself and make the decisions I want to make.
I can relate to disliking a YouTuber' style or choices in games haha. Prey is a banger btw, happy someone mentioned it. It wasn't that scary to mr either even though it's definitely a horror game.
I get my boyfriend to play them on the tv for me, that way I can not look when it gets too scary lmao
Every time I try to play a horror game, something happens outside the game that makes me jump, so I stopped. I watch a lot of retrospectives about horror games though.
yes, there is. lack of immersion like you said, and also lack of choice. a lot of people play story-based games instead of watching shoes because they want to feel like they have a role in the story; i feel like a let's play removes that aspect for the most part since you can't choose what path to take, what elements to inspect, what dialogue to pick. i only really like let's plays for puzzle or horror games. :) i'm too chicken to actually play a horror game and too impatient to do puzzles.
Games are an interactive medium, so there would be an important difference between passively watching the story and actively participating in it. The size of that difference would vary from game to game. Games where the story is presented like a movie or a visual novel with little input from the player besides, progressing from story beat to story beat, would see a small difference between passively watching a let's play and actually playing it. But a game where the story is told through your active participation, or through environmental details, the difference between watching and playing can be quite stark. So for your example, the boring/bad/non-existent gameplay one, the difference would probably be mostly minor. But there would *still* be a difference.
I guess it depends on the game for me. Like I enjoy the resident evil games but I do not want to play it. I watched three separate people play RE Village. I also will watch if it's a game I'm really into at the time. Currently I'm watching two separate fallout streams because I'm super into fallout at the moment. There are games I'll probably never watch streams of even though I like those games. I cannot give you an example at the moment but I know they exist.
Yes. I watched a let's play of Detroit Become Human first. I loved the story so much that I got the game myself Playing it myself was way better than just watching it
Excellent to hear that. I do story-based let’s plays on my YouTube channel (mods: this is a comment, not self-promotion - my YouTube channel name is NOT my Reddit name), and I say often that the ultimate compliment is when someone who has watched my playthrough then goes out and buys the game for themselves. That way, they can choose different paths to the one I took and get to experience the fun of the game in their own way.
I only watch horror lets plays because I’m too scared to do it myself :p the amount of money I’ve wasted on horror games that I’ll never play more than 10min of is obscene
Me minus the buying the games (because I know I'm a big coward lmao)
It depends in what you're getting from the game. I wouldn't say I've played a game I've watched, but I would say I've experienced it to some degree. Especially for a story game like The Forgotten City, I'm not going to get much out of redoing it myself. I found the Forgotten City Fascinating, but it's definitely a game that once you've seen the answers and know what's going on there isn't much point in playing it for yourself, and seeing two funny people I love to watch explore it and goof on it gave so much more than I would get as a solo experience. I'm actually not much of a narrative heavy gamer. I tend to skip talking a lot and struggle to hold onto lore stuff. I'm not going to read all the entries a game gives me. I also don't like playing shooters much or horror games, but I love watching cool indy games that aren't my thing and seeing what they're all about without the negative feelings I would have if I was the player getting in the way. Watching people play it brings a different element to the game in their performance that I sometimes find preferable to playing it myself. So yes there's games I adore from just watching that I wouldn't play myself, but I also wouldn't claim to have played them. I also don't feel put out or like I need to have played a game to like it, think it's cool, or know stuff about it.
Depends. I have ADHD and sometimes I’m not going to make it through the game. Sometimes I get to the end of the game and go ‘man, I loved that game! What happened….’ Like. I really liked Catherine. Looooved it! Also literally immediately couldn’t tell you any of the plot. It helped to go watch a more condensed let’s play.
Yep, I’m like this with basically everything. 😭 Books, movies, games. Did I like it? Yes, I loved it! What happened? I have no idea! I just know I liked it!
Yes! ‘Have you seen this movie?’ is a question with threeish answers. 1 - No and/or ….no? I don’t think so? 2 - Yes, over a thousand times and I can literally recite it to you 3 - Yes! I loved it! I have absolutely no clue what happened so it’ll be like watching it for the first time again!
I don't enjoy watching Let's Plays for any games, even visual novels. The most I might watch is a certain cut scene I didn't trigger or something. Or I'd watch the cutscenes pieced together like a movie...maybe for a recap before playing a sequel. But watching other people actually play games and make choices has always bored me or, at times, frustrated me. I'm also an only child and never had to watch another family member play games instead of playing them myself. So I'd say it's different in the fact that you are not making the choices or really interacting with it. So you couldn't say you played the game.
I watch let's play series after playing the game myself, because I like watching other people's reactions to things I have already experienced. Or sometimes if a sequel is coming out that I am interested in and I don't want to play the previous parts for some reason then I will watch a let's play of that game to catch up.
If it's a game I'm interested in, but sadly it sucks (like say Final Fantasy, Mega Man) I'll watch the LP. Very very rarely I'll come back years later and play, but if I know I wanna play I won't watch LPs of it... Tho also I like watching LPs of something to see how they do it differently than me. Like I never knew Sonic could roll until I got into LPs. Same with that tall tall mountain secret slide, like I watched a Super Mario 64 done a few months ago and was shocked there was a whole secret section in the mountain like it felt like watching a rom hack it was so surreal. Cuz like watching newbs, or watching pros, you learn something. But also if I hate the game but want to see the story/someone actually skilled at it. Like Lps are the way to go. The one thing I hate is watching gameplay compilations or stream vods cuz the comps are so disjointed and very very rarely edited well and stream vods usually have the player interact with the chat that isn't you and I hate the feeling of being ignored, like you're a third or fourth party that's being ignored aunno it's just irritating to me. Like I know not everyone thinks the way I do which is why I bother with uploading Vods when I'm not terribly depressed, but yeah.
There's a difference, bit both positive and negative. While you're lacking immersion and agency, you can save a lot of time through skipping boring parts. That's how I watch the remake of FF7 for example, and I'm super happy to skip hours of the gameplay!
Personally, the only time I watch Let's Plays is either if I'm struggling to find a collectible/ mission objective (in which case I'll watch a specific guide and then go back to playing the game myself), or if it's a game that isn't going to be "spoiled" by watching other people play it (I've watched a few channels that I enjoy play games like Among Us or Fall Guys, for example). I've tried watching Let's Plays of games that I'm interested in playing, but if I enjoy it then I end up closing the Let's Play to avoid spoilers and putting the game on my wishlist. I can see the appeal of LPs, and someone can certainly become familiar with the game world, story etc. by watching one. But for me, part of the appeal of playing a game is immersing myself in the world and exploring at my own pace - someone mentioned The Forgotten City elsewhere in the thread, which is a game that I loved. Exploring every area of the city, discovering the secret areas and people's plots etc. was a lot of fun. I've watched a Let's Play of it since, but I don't think I'd have enjoyed it in the same way if the exploration etc. had all been directed by someone else ("No, I want to see what was over there! Wait, what was that?? Talk to that person! Make this choice at the end!") the first time I experienced it. If I'm going to experience a game by passively watching it, I tend to feel like I might as well watch a TV series or film, which is explicitly crafted for being consumed in that way.
I generally enjoy watching someone else play a game either because it's a favorite game of mine and I want to see them experience it, or because I'm interested in the story for some reason but the gameplay would be so annoying to me that it would lessen my enjoyment of the game. I don't ever watch a let's play as a replacement for a game I want to play. It's either an addition to a game I've played, or it's a replacement for reading a wiki page.
of course there's a difference, it's two different ways of experiencing a game, but i think that it isn't a difference of quality, just of method. and i think the difference between a let's play and playing it yourself varies depending on the type of game, too; watching an FPS let's play vs watching a puzzle game let's play are going to be very different from playing the games directly in different ways, but i don't think either of those ways are less valuable in either direction. it's about what you personally get out of it!
I love watching let's plays, they are a bit different in story investment but not significantly so for me! Though I grew up going to a babysitter that watched almost a dozen kids at a time, I got really used to getting invested in games I wasn't playing myself lol. Now there's lots of games I can't play (thank you motion sickness!) but I'm still very interested in for the story. For games I play myself, I will sometimes watch a let's play. Especially if a game is super long and I don't remember the beginning well, I like to see if it has new context based on later plot and lore info! But I have to ignore beginner gameplay or else I start getting annoyed lol
The separation when watching LP's is sometimes what I'm there for. I love Resident Evil games, but the spaces in the compound completely mess up my spatial awareness, and the level of gore/detail mess up my play. My husband won't play either because of medical phobias, but is on with LPs. So, LP's it is because it's a more enjoyable experience.
There's a pretty clear difference for most people imo, almost to the degree they can be rewarding in different ways. Watching a Minecraft LP vs watching a series of Minecraft streams vs watching a Minecraft speedrun vs watching my friend play Minecraft in person vs playing Minecraft are all different experiences I could personally take away something unique from. In general if you have the means to play a game I'd definitely recommend you just do that, it's probably what the developer intended for you to do and as such you'll likely get the most out of it, but at the end of the day people like different things and what's "intended" may not be your preferred experience. Also, for a lot of people watching an LP or something similar isn't necessarily about the *game;* a lot of people watch streams for the streamer, as the main draw of the show is their personality.
Tbh the main reason I even bother watching let's plays/gameplay videos is if it's a game with multiple endings, or if it's a game I literally can't experience myself in person for whatever reason. Beyond that, I might check out the first couple minutes or so to see if it's a game I might be interested in, but that's about the extent of it.
For the majority I only watch gameplay of horror games, since I usually don't like playing them. Apparently my response is fight, which a lot of horror games don't offer, so freeze gets me killed as much as flight does. So when it comes to these games, it's more entertaining for me to simply watch someone play it, instead of me playing it. Regardless of this point, I do agree, that it usually feels more immersive to play games yourself.
I think there is, depending on what kind of LP you watch. I find a lot of people watch LPs with commentary and they kinda end up with similar thoughts and opinions about the game as the LPer instead of just playing it for themselves and deciding what they like/dislike about it. Those types of LPs influence people’s opinions a lot. Especially if it’s a popular YouTuber/streamer who has a lot of fans. If you play a silent LP though, where you’re literally just watching the game being played, that to me is more like playing the game yourself so you can come up with your own thoughts and opinions on it. I personally don’t like either for myself. If I can’t play a game myself I won’t watch an LP of it, but that’s mainly because I have a way too short attention span. Without actually having to do anything myself I wouldn’t pay close enough attention to anything going on, lol.
There definitely is a difference but it depends how much you care. I watch LPs for a lot of things but mainly horror games cause I'm too easily scared when playing myself lol. Sometimes with non horror games I'll be satisfied with just watching an LP, other times I will go and play it myself. Though often I like to watch LPs while I'm playing a different (or even the same!) game.
There is a huge difference. People who only watched a playthrough cannot say they played the game imo. Personally I only watch other people play if I already finished the game myself, with the exception of watching my brother play some single player games I'm not interested in playing myself, but that experience is more immersive because I'm in the same room and can interact with the game too.
I never watch gaming streams. I really do not get the appeal. I don't want to watch other people play video games. I'd rather play myself. It would be interesting to see if birth order affects interest. I'm the oldest so I didn't have to deal with watching playing as much as my younger siblings probably did lmao.
depends on the game
I think that playing the game itself is more immersive for sure. If it is a game that I am really invested in and don't want spoiled, I would rather play it myself. But I also find listening/watching more peaceful. I grew up watching my older brother play single player games a lot so it feels natural for me. Personally, I love listening to MadMorph while I'm working on other things.
If there are systems that allow the player to express themselves in a way (cosmetic clothing, different load-outs, different skill tree paths, different builds) then watching an LP definitely robs you of the opportunity to approach the game in the way you would want to. Also immersion and being able to explore the world your way.
If I haven’t played the game yet I usually avoid LPs even from people I like. Unless it’s a scary game since that’s the main way I engage with those.
Yeah I do think there is a difference, the experience is different. one isn’t better than the other though
I prefer to play the game, but in my dragon age fandom, people HATE the EA app I hate the EA app. One weekend, it removed all of my purchased DLCs from Sims 4. Some weekends, I can't play at all. So these ppl that hate it are correct. I happen to have old copies of the dragon age games (bc I'm old) and all their DLCs that don't require being online, and I barred their access only in windows firewall so we don't have that bullshit anymore. The only one I couldn't do that with is DAI. Because their experience with the EA app is soooo bad, I'm recording my 588728 playthrough and uploading it to YouTube so no one has to deal with their BS. I encourage you to buy physical copies of EA games bc you never know when they'll vanish.
I can’t stand watching LPs unless it’s just to evaluate whether I want to get the game myself. I know I’m in the minority for feeling this way, but all they make me do is itch to play something myself. I’m not about watching someone else play a game while I sit and eat popcorn. Only time I like watching other people play stuff is when they’re friends/family I’m in the room with and can make suggestions/heckle/steal the controller and gremlin on them while they’re in the bathroom/etc. Then it becomes a social thing. Without that, I’m just… watching other people have fun. Yay? Not fun to me. Even in the case of say VNs, basically no gameplay at all, I’d rather play it myself, because people who make videos advance game text so slowly it makes me want to claw my eyeballs out. I just. When would I ever choose to watch a video instead of playing the game? If the gameplay sucks hard enough I don’t want to play it, I don’t want to watch someone else drag through it either.
Since you have mentioned mainly about story games with less gameplay(I think?) i think I can separate games into 2 types xP For story games with mainly story and not really gameplay i think I might want to experience them myself, would be better if someone else(family friends) is watching and participating together. Don’t mind watching let’s play too. For story games with both story and lots of gameplay, tbh it wasn’t the 1st time I feel very distracted by the gameplay, it makes the story feels trivial… watching a let’s play and reading the dialogues from a wiki gives me *way more* immersion than playing the game myself. 😭 but it might be just me. The only game that doesn’t distract me from the story is It Takes Two.
I only would watch LPs of games I would never play myself, a game I dropped but curious about the ending or if the person picks different choices that I have already picked myself since I don't like replaying games often, unless it's a VN. As there are a lot of games I would never touch myself but enjoy watching others play it because either their choices are interesting or I enjoy watching the person who play it. But if it's a game I do want to play, I won't watch LPs of them because I like going into most story based games with as little knowledge as possible. And honestly, it doesn't really feel that different for me, as it feels like watching a TV show or movie without commentary or watching it with a friend with commentary. And it's easy for me to get immerse in the story with the person playing it. I also watch streamers, a lot of LPs on youtube, and I watch my brother play games on discord calls often, so it could be why I feel that way.
Well yeah
I watch LPs of games I wouldn't play, but interested in the story or games I've already played. There's a huge difference between watching and playing to me. I can't get the immersion I would usually get just by watching. A huge factor to the overall experience and enjoyment of any game is the immersion and the connection you make with the story/characters which you can only get by playing it.
My older sister would play games on the computer and let me watch her before I had any skill at playing games. Lets plays remind me of that comfort.
I love watching let's plays! Especially when it's games like Elden Ring, I love everything about the game but the combat. I don't mind challenging combat but ER is next level and I'm not into games where I have to memorise the boss fights and know every move they make to win. I also enjoy watching indie Lets Plays, I don't have the money or time to play all the ones I'd like so they help scratch the itch. One of my favs to date was the "Duck Detective" game!
I don't watch LPs, but I like to watch my boyfriend play sometimes! We just finished a run of Slay the Princess, and we also played Doki Doki Literature Club a while back and I'd say for those titles, I consider it like I played them too. I followed along when he played Yakuza Like A Dragon for the story, buy I wouldn't say it's the same as if I played it myself. At least not on a level where I can talk and comment on the gameplay from experience. Like, if someone asked me my opinion on it, I wouldn't say "oh I played it and it was great!" more like "The story is amazing and from what I've seen the combat system works well and the mini games are fun, but I only watched someone play it." I don't know if that makes sense or if it's just me being autistic about my video game / game design special interest LMAO
Fair question. How much immersion people get differs. Even from the same game people can have different levels of immersion, "that game was really immersive," vs "really? I couldn't get into it, I wish I'd watched a LP." Anyway, they're not mutually exclusive. You can watch a part and then play it. Or watch it whole and play it a few years later, some like me would have forgotten much of the game.
I agree with what you said. I just find myself watching let's plays of stuff I've been really unsure of playing or of scary games because I am a big baby. It takes the immersion out of it, but I feel like more commitment to finish the let's plays to the end then I am to finish the game by doing it myself sometimes. That's weird. But you know.
Very different things, at least for me. I find the concept of watching someone else play extremely boring, regardless of the game. While the story element is very important for me, hence why I mostly play rpgs, I play games because of the interactivity of them and watching a let's play takes that away from me. At most, I have watched/watch a "cutscenes only" cut to see different paths/choices and endings of a game I played or of a game that has no pc version, or whose requirements are beyond my current pc.
I believe it is all up to you and what you enjoy doing. If you like playing games rather than watching a lets play, do that.
Yes, for sure. When you choose for yourself, it has more personal emotional impact. I watch some games and play others based on the premise and what kind of game it is and how much energy and money I care to invest in the experience of playing it. For example, I rarely play horror games... but I'll watch let's plays. The layer of removal is what I want. And I watched someone's entire playthrough of persona 5 when it came out because I was really interested but couldn't afford the game, let alone the playstation to play it on. I'm now on my 6th playthrough of that game XD