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Is it ever acceptable not to have a "skip" button in a cutscene?

jaysius

Banned
There should always be a skip option. ALWAYS.

Me when a cutscene pops up:

morse code GIF


Many times I've found myself on the end of a cutscene gameplay transition and realized I missed important story stuff because my natural reaction is to tune out lol.. What happened? Why am I here? Who cares? I can play again.

With certain games I'm really interested in I do tend to make the effort to pay attention. But that's mostly because it's simply interesting and entertaining. Games like MGS (yeah I know), Zelda, Resident Evil etc.
This has been happening to me alot since I started playing a ton of gamepass games.

Doom Eternal's cutscenes are the worse because the story is such drivel.
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
I find unskippable cutscenes incredibly annoying but never to a point where I would flat out refuse to play it or anything. It's just one of those dumb things that I could never wrap my head around as to why would any developer do that.

And if they put an unskippable cutscene right before a tough boss fight and it's inevitable that you're gonna have to retry a couple of times, well that's just being petty.
 
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Merkades

Member
I usually don't skip cutscenes, even when I have played games multiple times...But, I definitely support having the option. I would even use it occasionally. I just finished my PC playthrough of Trails of Cold Steel II, and man, one of the end bosses triple hit my Ashen Knight dealing a bit over half his HP and I had to watch a bunch of cutscenes to get back there, which was annoying even with turbo mode on. Additionally, there are like a dozen characters you can select as your BFF/love interest and it sucks doing it for all of them to see what happens (because of cutscenes before and after said event).

Still, played TLOU 5-6 times, still would not skip cutscenes if that is even an option.
 
It's a mark of a immature game developer.
Full bladders also means that your game cut scene should be pausable too. Have you ever played a DVD or Blueray that was unpausable?
 
Dear devs, you're not filmmakers. You think your story is the hottest shit ever. It is not.
Also, having QTEs during a cutscene does not make it "gameplay". Forcing the player to endure minutes-long slow walk sequences where the player does nothing but hold forward while characters talk isn't gameplay either.

Gameplay is king. Story should always be optional.
 

Silvawuff

Member
Yeah, cutscenes should be skippable, but I feel even better game design will work the active narrative into the gameplay and not take the player "out of it" to push the story. You can enjoy it on the go.
 

nkarafo

Member
Having unskippable cutscenes is bad enough, i don't mind because i watch them anyway because of my OCD and the fear of skipping something interesting (that never happens).

But having unskippable cutscenes even when the game has a completed save so you have to go through them more than once is inexcusable.
 

xrnzaaas

Gold Member
If the game is heavy on the story I don't mind enforcing cut-scenes on the first playthrough. In the last few years I've accidentally skipped a few of them and ended up reloading the checkpoint. Later playthroughs should have a skip button though.
 
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DapperSloth

Member
This is fucking infuriating in Max Payne 3, when you go through the game multiple times on different difficulties to get all achievements and you have to sit there and watch the same god damn cutscenes for the 20th time, it is mind boggling stupid of the developer.
 

Yumi

Member
Hold button to skip for every cutscene in a perfect world.

though I find it acceptable to have to watch anything the first time, but miserably unacceptable to not be able to skip the second time.
 

kunonabi

Member
If the cutscene has specific information for a puzzle or game play sequence than it shouldn't be skippable for the first time. A lot of the so-called "pixel hunts" in Other M are super obvious as long as you're paying attention to the clues and situations preceeding them in the cutscenes.
 

Corgi1985

Banned
It should always be there. Look at skyward bored, all nintendo did was add a skip button and the defense force at era are calling it the best game ever.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
They should be skipabble, just from a functionality point of view, even. The hardest bosses of old school gaming were often accompanied by five minute long unskippable scenes beforehand. Special mention goes to Evrae from FFX, and Riku and Ansem from Kingdom Hearts.
 

Knightime_X

Member
Skip button is great when you want to play the game and not watch the cutscene for the 1,000th time.
I can't care any less if someone skips a cutscene to a game they never played before.
That's their loss.

If it's masking a loading screen then point that out.

Skip cutscene?
Game is loading new content, continue?

If they say yes then let them stare at a black loading screen.
fuck'em, they literally asked for it. lol
 
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ReBurn

Gold Member
I can live without a skip button. Most of the time I want to see the story. Cutscenes you can't pause are the worst.
 
Skipping cutscenes should always be an option, not having it is the game designer sucking his own dick, and a work environment where employees are to scared to tell the boss something is dumb and should change.

Multiple skippable cutscenes strung together are another thing i detest. BoTW does this alot. If i skip a cut scene i dont want the game to start another that i again have to skip. Just fucking skip me ahead back to actually playing the damn game
 
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yurinka

Member
When they are longer than maybe 2 or 5 seconds they should be mandatory.

In the past many of them couldn't be skippable because they were using them to mask loading. But even in this case, I'd allow to skip it and show a loading screen instead to highlight it's the case and not just a dumb design decision.
 
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ReBurn

Gold Member
“Developers can do whatever they want in their game.” ?

No they can’t and it is ridiculous to suggest that.
Sure they can. They can express their creative vision however they want to. That's how art works.

As long as they don't break the law to create their art they can make whatever they want to make.
 
You just need to know what u playing.
Some games has wonderful story and poor gameplay, so if u count only gameplay you'll be disonest. (Silent Hill 2 is one of the best games ever made in game industry imo, but its gameplay is mediocre, but the story and all the rest is a masterpiece)

Some games like Sor4 if u Skip the cutscenes, will not affect your enjoyment, because gameplay is what shines.

The skip option should be there, but its up to you to know what kind of game you are playing. So i recommend never skip cutscenes on your first playthrough.
 
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