One thing I don't look for is retro-pixel art. Yeah, it was cute when minecraft did it and a few others, but honestly, these days it's everywhere and instead of being interesting or original, it just feels like the developer is either too cheap or too lazy to hire a decent artist.

That's not to say it can't be simple. Limbo was pretty simple but it was beautiful.

One thing I don't look for is retro-pixel art. Yeah, it was cute when minecraft did it and a few others, but honestly, these days it's everywhere and instead of being interesting or original, it just feels like the developer is either too cheap or too lazy to hire a decent artist.

Yeah, seems a bit outdated. The new movement I have seen seems to be vector art HD 2D games. Pixel art at 640x480 isn't too bad either, but then we start getting to the point where it's no longer considered "pixel art".

I look for a good story (mysteries are good) with easy to use UI and something that can be played by my wife and I together. ie, no gore, must be fun, cartoon adventures are great.

One thing I don't look for is retro-pixel art. Yeah, it was cute when minecraft did it and a few others, but honestly, these days it's everywhere and instead of being interesting or original, it just feels like the developer is either too cheap or too lazy to hire a decent artist.

Yeah, seems a bit outdated. The new movement I have seen seems to be vector art HD 2D games. Pixel art at 640x480 isn't too bad either, but then we start getting to the point where it's no longer considered "pixel art".

I think they are for nostalgic reasons, and have nothing to do with the proficiency of the artists. I actually find games like Limbo or Journey not to my taste. Small avatar on a big screen with landscape view gives me headaches.

Reason I generally play/buy a game: interesting gameplay

Reason I generally play a game AGAIN: attention to detail (where sound/art/lore support gameplay wonderfully) and competitiveness (a balanced multiplayer game).

I generally only buy action games that I can play cooperatively online with friends which are specifically NOT MMOs (Borderlands 2, Titan Quest, Terraria for example). Outside of that set of games, I also buy a small handful games where exploration/adventure is a major theme (Elder Scrolls series, for example).

And whatever's on sale on Steam. I'm such a sucker.

Gameplay.

I mostly buy games from GOG mostly for this reason.