Games which, for you, define 'replay value'

[Doom972]

My definition of replay value is a game that makes you want to replay it again and again. A variety of choices, approaches, playable characters, or just a very compelling story can give a game more replay value.

My 5 most replayed games:

Deus Ex
Little Big Adventure 2
Fallout
Grim Fandango
Diablo

 

[meowchef]

Good games... all good games have replay value... because they're good...

Half Life 2
Rome Total War
Company of Heroes
Knights of the Old Republic
Rise of Nations
Forza Motorsport 4
Portal

All that is required for there to be a lot of replayability is that the game is good...

 

[kommando367]

Games that have fun gameplay and give you many different ways to play them and or paths to take

The borderlands series and mass effect 1&3 (especially the MP on ME3) because of their class variety and customization.

Fallout: New Vegas for weapon class variety and 4 story paths.

 

[Eddie the head]

Ratchet and Clank, Dead Space, games with the whole "new game +" feature that has been excluded from games lately.
I like starting the first level over again with all my stuff and kicking the ass of that boss who gave me trouble before, or letting me try out new tactics on older enemies and see how they react, maybe secret areas that can only be accessed with endgame items, ect.
I've played through each of the ratchet and clank games at last 5-6 times over.

Well any game I enjoyed the first time but I do enjoy a good New Game + mode like in the Ratchet and Clank games. I also played though them about 6 times.

 

[Phuctifyno]

Elder Scrolls are probably the king, although the term "replayability" only loosely applies. I never really finished or restarted Skyrim, but I keep my characters going after finishing questlines, sometimes adding new ones to the roster, and exploring the game in different ways.

Spider-Man 2 for Xbox/PS2 was also great. Just aimlessly swinging around Manhatten for a few hours is always a hoot.

And Super Mario Bros. 3. Never gets old.

[edit] Oh yeah! Deus Ex. I'm the poor bastard who has to reinstall it every time it gets mentioned.

 

[thejackyl]

Any good rogue-like
God Hand (though it's difficulty is a bit too punishing for my tastes)
Devil May Cry
God of War (If it wasn't for the unskippable cutscenes, I would probably play through 3 again)
Resident Evil 2 probably has the highest number of replays of any game I have.
Resident Evil 4 was good for challenge runs (Play on Professional without using the merchant AT ALL, for more challenge, you aren't allowed to pick up enemy drops) I have probably 25 playthroughs on it.
Tales of Symphonia - 22 hours for a non-speed run, fun combat system probably beat it 10-12 times.
Dark Souls - I played through 5 times so far, with differing builds and each time felt completely different.

 

[janjotat]

Replayability means on the second playthrough it has to be different enough for me to want to go through again. Wether there are story choices that I missed, or gameplay mechanics I haven't tried yet. Or it just has to be a dam great game.

 

[go-10]

I'll get a lot of hate for this but

the entire Legend of Zelda series, ever since 1999 I've picked up 4 titles at random from the Zelda library and I play through it again. Its only a couple days into 2013 and I've already beaten Minish Cap and I'm at the 2nd dungeon in Twilight Princess going straight into Skyward Sword after this one and I'll probably finish the year with both Oracle games, and I already know I'll start 2014 by replaying Zelda 2

so yeah, that's a series that for me just, never gets old

 

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

I read that forum title and can think of but one game. The Binding of Isaac.

 

[bossfight1]

I played through Ratchet and Clank 2 like 7 times... great game.

I also played the shit out of Super Meat Boy, I have like hundreds of hours of playtime on it.

 

[Hexadeximal]

FTL: Faster Than Light. I've played the game over 50 times, and I've only beaten it twice. If THAT isn't replay value, I don't know what is. xD

 

[NoOne852]

Katawa Shoujo (shut up, it counts!)
Mass Effect series
Halo: Reach
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Team Fortress 2 (debatable if this qualifies)
Fallout: New Vegas

A pretty good list. I could name a few more, but I think that should be sufficent for the point.

That aside, most games I own I will replay. Unless I hate it. Then it is the red-headed step child that no one loves and contemplates kidnapping the other games in hopes of being noticed again.

EDIT:
I FORGOT! MINECRAFT!
Now that is replay value.

 

[AD-Stu]

Most of the time if I like a game I'll replay it.

I must've played through Mass Effect 1 at least half a dozen times now. I exhausted pretty much all the choice and onversation options long ago so it's not for the sake of seeing new content (or for the sake of taking screenshots and making snarky comments for my ever-so-drawn-out Let's Play of the game, but that's another issue...) that I'm replaying it - rather I'm replaying it for the same reason that I rewatch my favourite movies from time to time. I like the story and the imagery and everything and I want to experience it again.

Most of the games I replay are for the same reason.

 

[The Hero Killer]

Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Origins for me, I cant say ME1 because I didnt like it as much before the streamlined changes and I havent played ME3 enough times yet to compare with the 12 times I've went through ME2.

Dragon Age got so much game due to the different races and origins plus I had it on PC so the mods made it that much more fun.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

A few, for different reasons.

The Disgaea series, as it allows you to acquire new areas to explore/do battle in via The Dark Assembly, diving into various levels of the Item World, as well as creating new units and replaying certain levels in order to complete the level using various tactics.

Any Pokemon game, so long as the player is happy with the roster found in that version, and if they are willing to start the game from scratch (but not before moving all valuable and unobtainable Pokemon to another version).

Almost every Sonic title, as it allows you to take various paths to reach the same goal, discover secrets, and either completing the game/levels as fast as you can or obtaining a Super transformation as soon as possible.

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

Skyrim. Not only is there already hours upon hours of content to experience in one playthrough alone, the mods add so much depth and variety that there is literally something new to experience. That, and I love to roleplay in these kinds of games, so even if I had seen everything I would still be creating new characters to see where life takes them.

 

[Broderick]

The binding of Isaac and dungeons of dredmor are paradigm examples of games with replay value. Both are roguelikes that are hard as well, but have randomized dungeons each play through.

Fallout:new vegas; while it has it's pimples, it is a great game to replay thanks to it having a large amount of ways to play. For a game that is about shooting people, it certainly has a lot of ways to do it.

Dark Souls is also a good game to mention. There are several different ways to play, as well as many different stat builds people can make. Even though there are the regular dex,str, faith, int builds, there are also many hybrids. These different builds can play very differently, and experiencing the game with different builds is quite interesting. Also there are challenges you can make for yourself, such as "naked runs", or "level 1" runs. Heck, the game has quite a thriving pvp community too(even if it can be hard as hell to actually get players to fight in some areas).

Every couple of years I hook up my n64 and play some Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time. God I love that game a lot. Even though it is the same thing every play through , I cannot help but go back and play it. I suppose there is a reason why almost every zelda game after it, used it as a template(that and link to the past).

Devil may cry 3. Love that one too. It is probably one of the best hack and slashes I have ever played. Great music(if a bit repetitive), fluid combat, and very interesting locations. It was pretty damn hard the first time I played it too. Still haven't beaten it on all the difficulties, but I will one day!

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. I think just mentioning it is enough, but I shall elaborate. It has a huge world, VERY original location and architecture, and probably the best story out of all the elder scrolls games(an opinion yes). Even through the game is clunky as hell, and the combat is pretty terribly reliant on luck earlier on, I still love it.

 

[Nightwolf214]

For me I prefer games with either a strong story in the one title, or entries that make up an entire series with a great plot.

So for me, Bioshock 1 and 2 (the plot and world are so fantastic it drags you back), Borderlands 1 and 2 (I just love the wackiness and insanity paired with the challenging difficulty), the Devil May Cry series (you can't hate on Dante no matter how hard you try), Dragon Age: Origins (and 2, to an extent) because of the amazing plot and great world, some Final Fantasy titles (X was my favorite), the Gears of War trilogy (because despite everyone's constant mocking, it actually had a solid plot behind all the gore-tastic gameplay), the Halo series of course (except for Reach. Worst entry ever), the Jak and Daxter series (the world is outlandish, as are the weapons and enemies), the Kingdom Hearts series (my personal favorite, I've played/beaten them all multiple times), the Mass Effect series (I can replay them endlessly, 3's ending really didn't bug me), Persona 3, 4, and Arena (they're incredibly solid JRPGs that balance out light and dark elements to weave a fantastic tale), the Ratchet and Clank series (my other personal favorite, the variety of guns mixed with the fantastic combat just makes it endlessly addicting), Star Wars: Republic Commando and the two Force Unleashed games (because they're brilliant story entries) (I'm not posting KoTOR or KoTOR2 because I haven't beaten them yet), and two Tales of games, Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia (they're both equally brilliant)

Yes, long post, lots of titles, bit I have a lot of games to choose from.

 

[likalaruku]

Hardcore single player RPG: If I play a game twice, will it be EXACTLY the same as it was last time, or do I have options? Would I actually WANT to play it differently with the choices I'm given?

Casual games: Does it have minigames, like micromanagement, collecting, crossbreeding?

MMOs: If I create an alt after I max out my character, will there be new low-level content?


Yes replay value: RTS builders, sims, games with choices & multiple endings, story-heavy games I like the story to, interactive cartoons, games that appeal to my nature to collect things but have too many things to collect, games that add new DLC or expansions annually, solitaire.

No replay value: Hidden Object games, Match 3 games, stagnant MMOs with low level caps, generic Chinese & Korean MMOs that have no plot & differ only in looks, linear games with uninteresting stories, repetitive Facebook games with energy restrictions.

 

[mysecondlife]

Uncharted 2, Uncharted 3 gives me the thrill of adventure. Lush green forest, snowy mountains in Himalaya, war torn city in Nepal, London underground, scorching desert, etc.. I feel like I've seen it all.

That being said, I don't think I'll want Uncharted 4. Any additional scene that comes with would feel redundant.