I'm perfectly happy with something as simple as the old Sonic games, like, 'Robotnik is back and kidnapping animals again, go fuck up his shit'. As long as there's at least a nugget of a story that explains why I'm there, what I should do, and what my motivation is.

Honestly, I most likely wouldn't play a game if there was no story whatsoever. I mostly play games to experience the story. Gameplay is just what I have to deal with to get through the story.