Wow, we disagree almost completely on what makes a game good! For me:
The perfect game is complete. It doesn’t have or need updates. It doesn’t have or need fan content. It doesn’t need online walkthroughs or strategy guides. It doesn’t need internet access and it doesn’t need other players. It is perfect the way it is, with no extras, just me and my computer with the game on my computer.
The perfect game has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And when I reach the end, I feel satisfied. I can put the game aside and start playing another game. I should treasure the time I spent playing the game, but I shouldn’t feel compelled to return to it.
The perfect game doesn’t block my way to the end. The game can require skill, but it can never require more skill than I can give it. If I get stuck, it’s the responsibility of the game to get me unstuck before I give up on the game.
The perfect game is a story where I play the main character. Which means both having a story in the first place and giving me the choices to do what I think the main character would do. It doesn’t mean giving me the freedom to deliberately sabotage the story, but it does mean that the game should never force the idiot ball on me.
The perfect game is a story in which I am emotionally invested. Just having a story is not enough. It must be a story that I actually care about.
The perfect game doesn’t judge. It’s OK for actions in the game to have natural consequences, but I don’t want my performance to be rated.
The perfect game is fun. Which is a really vague criterion because there are many types of fun. It’s also only one criterion among many.
The perfect game is beautiful. Another really vague criterion, but one that rules out the far-too-many games that think “ugly” is a valid aesthetic choice.