Role-playing games face the "blursed" task of catering to vastly different types of players. You have the lore enthusiasts who will read every single book, journal entry, and notice pinned to a wooden board. Then there are the battle-brained gamers who live for skill trees, leveling systems, and combat flexibility. Some players fall in love with the music or the specific characters that populate the setting, but it turns out most of you just want a massive, immersive world to explore.
Last week, I asked what the most important element of an RPG is to you. As someone who can accidentally spend an entire day walking, galloping, or flying through a map (while picking up every item like a total loot goblin), I wasn't shocked by the results.
The importance of world-building and exploration
In our recent community poll, 43% of respondents chose the game world as their top priority, absolutely sweeping every other option. It seems that having a map plush with things to see and do is the ultimate draw for the RPG community.
While the world took the top spot, several other categories followed closely behind:
- Strong storytelling
- Meaningful player choices that impact game outcomes
- Character development and cast attachment
- Combat mechanics
While I personally don't mind if a game lacks deep choice-making, I’ll certainly never turn down the option to shape the narrative.
What players value most in an RPG
It is clear that characters play a massive role in player satisfaction. Many of us have become incredibly attached to the cast in titles like Baldur's Gate 3, which remains one of my favorite aspects of that specific experience. However, not every element was a hit with the voters.
Surprisingly, an abundance of side quests was a bit of a dud. While side quests can often feel like padding or repetitive fetch quests, I expected more people to value them as essential "things to do." It seems players are more interested in the quality of the core experience than the quantity of secondary tasks.
The role of music and atmosphere
As a self-proclaimed videogame soundtrack sicko, I had to include music in the poll. Unsurprisingly, it was only the most important factor for a measly 12 people. Still, I can use this as definitive proof that there are at least a dozen of us out there! Perhaps my weekly ramblings about game scores have finally started to pay off.
If you voted in the poll, head to the comments and defend your stance. If you missed the initial vote, share your thoughts below—maybe there is a secret eighth ingredient for a perfect RPG that I missed entirely.
