Playtesting is a crucial part of game development, offering insights that help shape the final product. However, the success of a playtest depends on setting clear, focused objectives. Broad goals can dilute feedback and make it difficult to extract useful insights. 

We see it all the time, one of the most common mistakes in playtesting is attempting to test too many aspects at once. While it might seem efficient, testing multiple areas in a single session often results in scattered feedback, making it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions. Experienced developers know that the key is to focus on one or two primary objectives per test to gather clearer and more actionable insights.

For instance, if your goal is to evaluate how fun a specific level is, keep the focus strictly on that. Trying to simultaneously assess whether players understand all the controls or if the difficulty curve is well-balanced can introduce too much "noise," muddling the valuable feedback you're seeking. By simplifying the playtest, you ensure that the results are more focused and meaningful.

That said, if other issues arise during the session, don’t ignore them. Make a note of any unexpected findings, but stay on course with your main objective. Later, those observations may inspire another dedicated playtest focused on those new aspects.

Our Top 5 Feedback

Game studios frequently ask us, "What type of playtesting feedback is most critical for our game’s development?" To answer this, we’ve compiled a list of the five most common and important areas to focus on during playtesting. These areas will help you test and evaluate key aspects of your game to ensure its success.

Player Experience Feedback

One of the first areas to evaluate is player experience, which includes how well players grasp the core mechanics and interact with the user interface (UI). Are players retaining important mechanics after the tutorial, or are they struggling? Is the UI intuitive, or do players feel overwhelmed?

Playtests focused on player experience help identify where players get stuck, whether due to unclear instructions, poorly designed UI, or unresponsive controls. For instance, a player may show in the playtest that they struggle with a boss fight because the game didn’t prepare them adequately. By seeking player feedback on the overall experience allows you to Identify these issues early allows for adjustments, such as refining tutorials or clarifying mechanics. A/B testing is helpful here, as it lets you compare different versions of mechanics or interfaces to determine what works best.

Fun and Engagement Feedback

Assessing how fun and engaging your game is can be more subjective to be honest. But however, there are key indicators to watch for in your playtest. Are players enjoying the core mechanics? Do they experiment with different strategies or explore beyond intended objectives? Positive reactions during the playtest, such as excitement during a thrilling combat moment or satisfaction from solving a puzzle, is feedback that suggests the game is engaging.

Post-playtest surveys can help you gather detailed feedback about what players enjoyed and where they felt frustrated or disengaged.

Difficulty Settings and Balance

Difficulty balance is crucial in game design, and playtesting helps fine-tune this aspect. If certain characters, abilities, or weapons are significantly stronger or weaker than others, it can lead to an unbalanced experience. For instance, think about the popular game Super Mario Smash Bros, if some characters in that game are noticeably stronger than others leading to a majority of players to gravitate towards just a handful of characters, this reduces the variety in gameplay.

Additionally, it’s important that the difficulty progression is fair. A sudden increase in difficulty can frustrate players, while a game that’s too easy may cause them to lose interest. Playtests focused on difficulty can reveal whether challenges and rewards are appropriately balanced. Multi-session playtests are especially useful for assessing how players adapt to new mechanics over time.

Technical Performance Feedback

Technical performance is another critical area to focus on during playtesting. While Lysto isn’t specifically a bug-detection platform, we understand that even the most enjoyable game can be plagued by technical issues like bugs, crashes, or performance drops, which severely impact player experience. Playtesting is key to identifying recurring technical problems, such as frame rate dips, long load times, or hardware-specific glitches.

It’s especially important to test across different platforms and devices, particularly if the game is designed for multiple systems or has been ported from one platform to another. You should be asking questions in your playtesting planning like: How does the game perform on older mobile devices? How well does it handle online multiplayer modes?

Conducting single-session playtests might give you the chance to help catch these issues early, ensuring a smoother, more polished experience before the game’s release.

Retention Feedback

Retention is key to the long-term success of many games, especially those that rely on continued player engagement. Playtesting for retention helps determine whether players are motivated to return to the game after multiple sessions or lose interest after a few hours. Testing for retention provides insight into whether the game’s progression system is rewarding enough to keep players engaged.

Multi-session and longitudinal playtests are ideal for observing how player engagement evolves over time. These tests can reveal whether the game’s progression system holds up, or if adjustments are needed to keep players interested.

Some fun facts; also, data doesn’t lie:

80% of players won’t return to a game after a poor first session – A strong initial impression is key to retention. Playtests help you fine-tune onboarding and tutorial mechanics to keep players coming back (Source: Newzoo's Player Retention Report, 2021)

Only 40% of developers regularly conduct playtests – This gap means that studios leveraging robust playtesting, like those at Lysto, have a clear competitive edge in refining their games for success. (Source: Devtodev Survey, 2021)

Top-performing mobile games conduct 5x more playtests than lower-performing ones, iterating on everything from mechanics to UX to ensure a flawless experience. (Source: Sensor Tower Playtesting Insights, 2022)

Conclusion

Effective playtesting is essential for creating a polished and engaging game. The key to getting actionable feedback lies in setting clear, focused objectives for each playtest. Whether you’re testing player experience, engagement, difficulty, technical performance, accessibility, or retention, limiting the scope of each session ensures meaningful insights. By focusing on one area at a time, you can identify and address issues quickly, helping to create the best possible experience for your players.