Will you watch a "silent" Let's Play?

[takeKopter]

Hi there. I'm not always in this section, so it basically means I'm new here :)

So, the title says it all, will you enjoy a silent let's play? Basically a let's play, but with no commentary at all. Personally I feel that will be kinda dull, because the charm of let's play is sometimes we found hilarious commentary, but being funny is relative, and I don't think it's totally pointless because we can see how skillfull people are at playing games (or how bad they are), from Minecraft to Minesweeper (yes, there are Minesweeper let's play)

So, what's your opinion?

 

[Tewi]

It kind of depends in why i'm watching it. I preffer watching silent gameplays when i'm stuck in a game and try to see how they pass it. But when i'm just watching without a reason i end up dropping it because it turns really boring, especially if it is a long game, like Pokémon or Final Fantasy.

 

[Log]

I think I've watched a silent let's play before (or maybe it was just a subbed let's pay). Personally, I think it would get a bit boring without any commentary of some kind, but I really favor let's plays where the LPer doesn't talk over voiced-dialogue.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

I wouldn't watch any Let's Play because I don't see the appeal of wasting time looking at the game when I can spend it playing.

But if I were to choose, I would probably go for silent one. I don't need irrelevant 'funny' commentary.



(Another thing is that there are no weeb games Let's Plays, but let's ignore that)

 

[LauriJ]

It's rather astounding how hard it could be find silent walkthroughs for some titles...Yeah, let's plays can be fine as long as they are not german...

 

[Horobi-kun]

If its for tutorial reasons then silent(except if you have to add soemthing important by yourself).If its for entertaiment purpose then a bit of commentary would be nice but dont overdo it

 

[GanguEevee]

I do silent LPs, but I have been trying to make them semi-silent, with the option of having subtitles be my commentary. But that's just because I really hate my voice when recording. And to be honest, I only have 2 videos with subtitles. So, non-silent.

 

[machomuu]

I generally watch LPs for the personalities, usually because the people I watch generally aren't LPers- so at the same time, I should say that I rarely watch LPs, but I watch Game Grumps almost daily so...

With that out of the way, yeah, basically what Eevee said. When I play Japanese games with no guides/walkthroughs and there happen to be LPs available, they make for wonderful guides. Same with any game, really, foreign or otherwise. It's practical application of things getting done, and that's helpful, so I usually want it silent (though commentary can help). In the case of LPs I'm watching for entertainment, it's commentary's probably what I'm there for.

 

[Altairis]

Yes, I do this sometimes. I only really do this when it's a game I'd rather play myself but don't have the time or system to do; so probably not multiplayer or whatever games. For example, I specifically chose a silent Dangan Ronpa Let's Play because I wanted to get a feel for the game, not the player playing it.

 

[Eden]

Let's Play with no commentary? You mean a Longplay?

I go for longplays nowadays. I just wanna watch someone play the game (which is generally when I'm interested in a game but on the fence of playing it.) So yeah, I'd say go for it. They seem to be getting more popular too.

 

[PeePi Coming S.]

This is more of what Martinez O does for much of his content. Basically just full on playthroughs of Doom mods and other game mods (like Mental Omega) with lengthy descriptions on what's going on.

Another form of this silent let's play is simply using either annotations or other forms of text to make some comments or remarks on something.

To be fair, some games are better off experienced by the viewers being played with no voice-over coming from the player.

 

[Legobricks]

Only if it's an expedient walkthrough by someone highly skilled at the game.

KingGeddi's playthroughts of Dark Messiah are a classic for me, though these days the age of the videos shows in low resolution. I also have a collection of three commentaryless Metroid II speedruns that I'm fond of for some reason; one glitchless, one TA glitchless, and one TA glitched. The glitch run exploits a 'glitch world' type area, similar to the one found in Pokemon games of the same era, to teleport around the proper world map. It's hard to make sense of and doesn't look faster, but the video is shorter so who am I to say.

 

[Cherrim]

I don't do this personally, but I have a lot of friends who either can't afford games or are just too cheap to buy them and just watch them instead. Since the genre most of my friends are into (JRPG) is really story-based, I think everyone generally prefers to just watch a silent playthrough because they're there for the game, not to hear someone talk over the characters or anything.

Like others have said, I appreciate these kinds of playthroughs when I'm stuck in a game and I'm quickly trying to find the solution to a puzzle or the way through a confusing map. When I'm actually watching an LP for the LP, though, I only do it if I like the personality of the player and their commentary. Otherwise I'd definitely just get bored.

 

[Hands]

It depends, if its a dialogue heavy game then yeah, same if it's an online shooter or something. I don't really watch many lets plays tho

 

[Desert Stream~]

I will watch any LP really, as long as it's a game I like :)

 

[Starry Windy]

Personally, I enjoy non-commentary LP series a bit more because I can see how people play and get the feeling as if I'm the one involved with the game, and besides of that, depending on the game (I'm not counting M-rated games in particular), it can be a bit more safer for everyone to watch as well.

 

[GiovanniViridian]

I actually prefer non-commentary ones just to get a complete feel of how the game plays along with music in the background.

 

[Ky0greK1ng]

I don't often watch "Let's Plays," but during the rare occasions in which I do, I go for one without commentary... Either that, or I mute the commentary and put on some Avenged Sevenfold. :P

Now, if you're not trying to just be funny and you're throwing in helpful tips here and there, then that would be commentary I'd listen to!