I mean obviously ‘should’ and ‘must’ only apply when talking about the best way to make as widely appealing a product as you can. Beyond that, you can do anything.
But yeah, either or. For example, we made Robotron, which pretty much has no story because it doesn’t really need it. While Killing Machine Movement is hugely about story - to the point where we’re parodying how important story is.
Personally, I’ll skim or even skip most notes or journals on a first playthrough. If I like the game enough to play it again. Perhaps the third time, I’ll actually read the notes with conviction. This was the case for me with Deus ex. When I did get around to reading everything in Deus ex, I did enjoy it. Extra character and lore and aha moments and those Chesterton exerpts were great. So dramatic. Funnily enough we also take the piss with this in KMM by putting in 400 page books for the player to find and giant 50 page lore dumps/fan fictions.
Dialgoue on the other hand is a different thing. I love dialogue. If there’s no voice acting though I may get impatient with it if it isn’t great.
If story is part of the game, I always have time for it.
I think environmental storytelling is brilliant and generally preferable to texts for sure. But I’m not one to shun dialogue or cutscenes. I don’t always necessarily agree with less is more or show don’t tell. Stylistically, the opposite can have its place and be pretty refreshing. But environmental storytelling is indeed admirable and something that should be pursued whenever attainable. Look for opportunities to do it. But don’t take for granted, this indoctrination to saying more with less is a result of industries trying to get their products to as wide an audience as possible. And if the largest audience possible must accommodate people with low patience and low tolerance, then you must tailor your product accordingly. That’s not to mention products are sold wider internationally. If you can connect with people’s emotions without words and thus circumvent the barrier of language, that’s more accessible and cheaper.
Are there games where the narrative really elevated the experience for you? Yes.
(btw multiple people use this account. I’m just one of them. Kador isn’t just one wanker)