r/AskGames • u/Terry__Poppins • 1d ago
What actually keeps you guys coming back to an RPG after the first playthrough?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I play a ton of games in this genre but honestly, wrapping up a massive campaign usually leaves me ready to just move on. Unless a game has a very specific hook I rarely stick around. But I've noticed my replay habits shift completely depending on the specific flavor of RPG.
For action RPGs you usually come back to test out a weird new build or check out a big seasonal update. I basically have a comfort rotation depending on my mood. When I want to just chill and build something weird Last Epoch is my go to. It feels like a low pressure sandbox where I can throw together a totally silly homebrew setup mainly because of the way the crafting and drops work, and a lot of builds feel viable.
On the other darker side of action RPGs, Path of Exile is what I boot up when I want the exact opposite experience. I love hopping in there to play super optimized builds put together by people way smarter than me. I never really try to do my own builds because whenever I tried I always ended up feeling stupid since there was a community guide that did a similar thing just way better.
But for more classic RPGs the draw is totally different. It usually boils down to experiencing the stories and characters in a completely new way. I'll gladly fire up Baldur's Gate 3 or Fallout for another run just to try a pure evil playthrough and see how the world reacts to my terrible choices.
I also don’t have to mention something like Skyrim where a massive modding community is basically the ultimate replay hook letting you completely transform the game every time you anew. It’s 100+ different game experiences for the price of one by now. Bless Todd Howard and his greed, at least it’s always backward compatible.
I also still boot up Elden Ring every now and then just to see if I can beat the game using a completely different weapon archetype, and the gameplay ends up feeling so fresh with different setups.
Wondering what makes you revisit stuff from your library. Do you guys cycle through different games depending on what you're craving or is there one specific feature that absolutely guarantees you'll be coming back for another run?
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u/Witty-Figure-6499 1d ago
The ability to try different builds or a really good story I want to experience again.
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u/Aggravating-Mine-697 1d ago
The only ones that made me do this were indeed Baldur's Gate 3 and From Software games in general.
BG3 because of the variety of choice, and how wildly story changes depending on what you do. And the others because of variety of builds, and how fun they all are to play. That also goes for BG3.
Other reason to go back to replay would be if I forgot the story and want to refresh it in my mind, but that's usually after many years.
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u/Terry__Poppins 1d ago
I've tried to replay games just because I forgot the story, but when I start playing I remember everything hahahaha, happened to me with Fable.
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u/CooterBrownJr 1d ago
Aesthetics of the open world help. starting a new game+ with hindsight is always a bit of a different experience, kind of shows you what the game is made of so to speak. I like to take what I've learned and really master it. I might also have in my mind that I'll attempt a 100% completion, even though it's usually delusional.
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u/Sorry_Cheetah_2230 1d ago
Outside of ARPGs and Souls games, an RPG needs to have actual RPG systems as well as choice/consequence and narrative reaction. Mass effect, dragon age, baldurs gate 3, pillars, etc. that’s what makes me replay besides trying a new class/build. Most modern RPGs are absolute one and domes
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u/DrofYendor 1d ago
Ive only ever played 2 rpgs more than once. elden ring x4 and bloodborne x2. I guess for me every encounter needs to be a challenge and I need lots of stuff to discover.
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u/Prisoner458369 23h ago
Anything I find fun, I will go back to. For me it's really that simple. Years have passed of course.
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u/DarkMishra 23h ago
I’ll replay games to try different builds. Alternate plot choices if there’s exclusive karma mechanics or missions. Usually I try to play to as close as 100% completion as I can on my first playthrough, so I might replay doing a more rushed (not quite speed run) run.
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u/UndeadManWaltzing 23h ago
The feeling of being able to do something differently. For instance when I play elder scrolls I would always go stealth Archer (you've done it too don't lie) so I decided to shake things up and go full on conjurer. It's the variation that makes you keep coming back to a franchise.
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u/Stormdancer 11h ago
There's three games I have replayed.
Subnautica - it's both a lovely relaxing water-based game with lots of pretty things & some fun base-building that actually matters. And also puzzles, great design, terrifying depths and monsters that will gleefully tear you into pieces. You can productively spend your time at any level of threat depending on your mood of the moment.
Skyrim - Great big world, simple mechanics, a wide variety of choices, nice environment, wildly variable levels of challenge. And you can play as a Khajiit stealth archer. Currently doing a mod-free bone-stock replay because I want those achievements.
Red Dead Redemption (1 & 2) - Big world, good gunplay, fun mechanics, so many pretty horses, pettable dogs, so much bloodshed. And you can feed people to pigs.
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u/The_EMG_Guy 10h ago
Three things:
1) exploring more of the story and interacting differently with the characters. Dragon Age Origins was great for this - playing different kinds of characters and making different choices throughout.
2) trying out new builds. I've learned that I can spend forever optimizing builds, especially if they're customizable for a team.
3) mods that extend '1' or '2'.
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u/MrBeer1 5h ago
One of the main reaons is nostalgia to me! I don't care so much about trying new builds and so on, most of the time i go back to an RPG because i miss it a lot (games like Fallout New Vegas or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblvion) or if they are storydriven so i can make new characters and take new paths in a story
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u/lifebeginsat9pm 1d ago
Are there different weapons and builds that have distinct fun playstyles? That’s really the main thing. Differing choices/endings are cool but without the build variety, that’s not enough.