What constitutes a game for "replayability?"

[Stalkerkain]

Polished and balanced game mechanics aren't a necessity either, as one could enjoy being overpowered (again, not saying you're wrong, but to each their own).

Can you call it replayability, if it never ended in the first place? I think we're going somewhere different when we talk about multiplayer and MMORPGs. The "replayable" part of my definition (some may argue otherwise, but that's entirely fine) is playing a designated amount of content for another time. From what I've hearing here is that "multiplayer" counts as replayability, despite each match being different. You're not exactly replaying the same matches, in the same manner, in the same structure.procedure. Sure, you're using the same mechanics, but the outcome is different every time.

You may be thinking to yourself at this point: "-But wait Kain, you're full of shit! Not all games have one outcome/play out the same!"

Well, maybe.

But that's another question to be raised! Where do we draw the line? Perhaps it lies within the journey to the end, as many of you have pointed out. Multiplayer can be seen as a journey to the end as well, just in smaller narratives (five summoners fight to destroy the nexus, two teams fight until only one is left). In MMORPGS, do you go back to the very beginning, and start from level 1? (many do, some think one maxed character is enough). It could be replayable in that you're fighting the same boss/monsters because they're fun. Story games may not have the same outcome, because maybe the opponents encountered, or a specific battle played out differently.

And here we are! The place of no definitive answer.

(And I don't think anyone mentioned nostalgia, just merely for the sake of playing some familiar and doesn't require too much thinking because you know it all. Or maybe it was just obvious).

Edited August 14, 2016 by Stalkerkain

[Luxary]

The storyline is the only thing needed really for replayability though I remember as a kid replaying through harvest moon 24/7 on ps2 though it didnt have a storyline

[Pietvergiet]

For me if the game is all about the story itself then I probably won't ever play it again for a long time. But if it has extra difficulty or branched paths that actually make ~60% of the story different then I will probably replay it at some point (given that I liked it a lot). Also I'm a sucker for achievements, especially if this will unlock some cool gear or extra story. So if I either like the game a whole lot or if getting all of the achievements seems doable under 10 hours then the chances are that I will go for 100% completion.

Rpg elements and actually having a solid post game also play a big role for me. This is the reason that I enjoy Borderlands so much while I dislike almost every other story driven fps.

But that accounts mainly for games with an actual ending or story.

Games that are focused on multiplayer usually need to be mainly skill based, have good gameplay mechanics and be fast paced for them to be re-playable.

Also a big factor with most multiplayer games is if you have friends playing it as well, because I can enjoy playing an online game with my friends even if I think the game itself sucks(to a certain degree of course).

And finally, as Stalkerkain already mentioned, if I played a game 6-10 years ago and I really liked it but never replayed it I will play it again to see if the game was actually good or it was pure nostalgia (in my case a lot of times it actually is).

[Merengues]

I think you need to throw some nice epic story that makes you stay immersed (if you can play it six hours without getting bored we're off to a good start.) and also duration, although doing a quick rerun of short games is good, having at least 10 hours of play is preferrable... Throw in some nice, funny and sympathetic characters with good dialogues, good lipsynch during cinematics and smooth moves and that's it.

Check the last 15 years of Bioware. That's all you need to see for replay worthy games