For players who are fastidious about character modules, they don't want to have a shot at the game with rough graphics and ugly characters, even though the gameplay is really wonderful. In this sense, it is the most important to capture players' hearts at their first sight of the game.
Are you kidding me? Aesthetics including graphics and character design is only an added plus, which is definitely not the most important thing in a good game. They may seem nice at first, but that doesn't really affect the fun of the game. Even more, many games with good aesthetics are just Apple of Sodom, such as Crysis, Mass Effect, and Far Cry 2. In addition, sometimes excellent graphics are a double sided sword, coz players have to get a high hardware to run it.
Gameplay obviously comes first! It is the core structure of the game as a whole. If the main concept of the game doesn't work or isn't fun, it will totally ruin the game. Aesthetic will only get you so far if the gameplay is absolute shit. I won’t play any boring games even I like the way they look. And I used to have a lot of fun with some games with nice gameplay and bad graphics, such as Minecraft and Runescape.
In short, gameplay is far more important than Aesthetics. If the gameplay is good, then who the hell cares about the aesthetics.
Furthmore, below's my top 4 things that I look for in a good game.
1. Gameplay (According to what I have said above).
2. Storyline (A lot of games are very popular due to their great storyline, which makes me wanna play through the game again).
3. Aesthetics (Great graphics and art style will make a game better, but which is not the main point).
4. Sound (Without doubt, it is the least important).
What do you think is most important in a good game?