Auto-pilot option?

[Dark-Zarupia]

This would have come in handy with The last of Us Part 2.

[Queen of Hamsters]

If I didn't want to actually play the game, I wouldn't buy it.

There are silent playthroughs and cinematic compilations on Youtube if one only wants the story. Or the game's Wikipedia page...

[Zogarth]

I think you should just stick to games without proper gameplay if you dont like to play games. Walking simulators, visual novels etc. Or, you know, watch a let's play or a movie instead.

[NightZero88]

Should games include an auto-pilot function?

For example, with the Witcher 3. I love the artwork, music, ambience, dialogue, voice acting, story, cinematics of the game; but I dislike actually playing it and find combat tedious. Bought the game last December and haven't played more than 5 hours.

Currently considering on just watching somebody play through the game in Youtube, but it would be cool if games also offered a built-in "cinematic only" mode. You would see the game being played and just enjoy it like a visual experience and then be able to disable it to join at a certain moment that you want to play on your own.

What are your thoughts?

Fair bit of games have a "story mode" option. Latest one I've seen is Horizon Zero Dawn. I do think this should be in every game, there's no reason for it not to exist. But it really only works in games that have a combat mechanic and a story mode. It wouldn't work in like a puzzle game or something of the like. But any game like Assassin's Creed, Witcher, etc. should have it, it works great in those games.

[Dakara]

Then you do not like the game.

Video games entirely exist to facilitate gameplay; the mechanism of play. There is not even a secondary or tertiary consideration. Gameplay is the singular goal of a video game. They can not exist, be made or played without gameplay.

If playing the game in any capacity is not enjoyable to you, then you do not enjoy the game. No harm, no foul. Just play another game or read a synopsis to get the gist of what went down.

There are actually quite a lot of games where you can automate combat if you so choose.
Other games (Heavy Rain comes to mind) are more of an interactive movie... really enjoyed it actually.

The Witcher is probably not an ideal candidate for auto-combat but they certainly do exist for those who prefer to play for story and/or RP/Strategy elements.

[RCA]

So many people already answered this but if people want a video game to be experienced as a movie (maybe so far as a playwright, since it’s mostly scenes) only then what a insult to the video game itself. This is really foreign to me, especially since if I didn’t like the gameplay I know I wouldn’t be watching the cutscenes of that game to fulfill its worth.

[SniperCT]

Some games have a sort of cinematic mode. It's really something that should be included with most games. Sometimes I want it to be hard (most shooters,some platformers/action games), but some games I just want to cruise through it (most RPGs, some platformers/action games).

For people arguing about lets plays, for one thing I hate watching other people play games, especially if they're talking, and for another a lot of games have choices you have to make and I like to make those choices myself.

And for other people it's about accessibility, if there's an option for someone to play a game without being super twitchy because their hands are disabled, it should be available.

[Fencers]

There are actually quite a lot of games where you can automate combat if you so choose.

Of course. Though automated combat is still a gameplay function in a video game. Even auto-playing games such as Progress Quest are driven by a mechanism of gameplay.

This can not be done in The Witcher 3. If one dislikes that gameplay, then one does not like this game.