I'm curious how people experience adventure games. 
I'll break the question down in three forms of appreciation, but feel free to take any approach that works for you.

1. Adventures work on your senses and imagination. What is pleasing? Can a puzzle be pleasant? 

2. Role immersion. How does a game make you want to engage with its world - and how does it fullfill that desire? What makes you feel content playing a game?

3. Gratification. What makes you feel like your actions pay off? Is a good puzzle difficult - and what makes it so? Are all forms of difficulty equally gratifying? Does it matter how a puzzle is embedded in the game? And are there other gameplay elements in AGs that can give you this feeling of accomplishment and reward?

I want to enjoy a good story. A sense of achievement is also part of that, which is why the puzzles shouldn't be too difficult.

The next thing is difficult to explain, but a game has to have that certain something. My favorite, “The Lost Crown,” captivates with its unusual graphics and well-dosed horror. “The Drifter” had an exciting story that kept me wanting to know what would happen next. Or in the non-adventure game “Herdling,” I was able to relax and build a relationship with the animals.

I find standard games like “Broken Sword” boring; there's absolutely nothing special about it. Or when it gets too crazy, like in “Black Mirror III.” Mystlike games are the worst for me. That's why I don't like first-person games, among other things, because the world is so lifeless.

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The more slider puzzles the better!

When I think about my favorite games and what sets them apart from the other great games that I don't want to replay as often, the most obvious answer that is almost universal to all of them is sound.

For PQ2, the sound effect when you get points is straight dopamine rush.
LSL7, when you find a hidden you-know-what, there's a energetic "Yeah baby!" before the jingle.
Obra Dinn: when you nail 3 of the victims, the sound effect you're rewarded with reverberates throughout my body.
Portal: The crunches and wooshes of doors opening and closing
Judgment Rites: Every sound effect from TOS pulled off to perfection, not to mention listening to Majel Barrett as the computer say literally anything.

There's many more factors that play into it of course, but if you can hook me with a gratifying sound effect that is repeated dozens of times, you've got a lifelong fan.

I am both slothful and easily bored. I play adventure games because it’s like going to a whole new world while sitting on my butt, with puzzles. Solving puzzles makes me feel smart 

Slider puzzles are the best! If only there were an adventure game that was all slider puzzles…  And Towers of Hanoi, haha!

I like puzzle solving, but on my own timeline.  (That is, I don't want to be rushed with a timer that exists with other genres).

That being said, I'm more of a text-adventure person.  I know it's sacrilege here, but something got lost with the genre on the transition to point and click, especially as the genre became more streamlined to remove red herrings, dead ends, and death.

I love books. I love puzzles. It's natural.

1. Adventures work on your senses and imagination. What is pleasing? Can a puzzle be pleasant? 

The graphics are the most pleasing thing on initial impression. That usually convinces me to play an adventure game in the first place. However, a good quality soundtrack ends up staying with me longer, as I can listen to that without the other game components.

A rock solid story is paramount to both of those aspects I had already mentioned. The story is pleasing for entirely different reasons than the above examples. I value it more so for growth as a person with being able to understand the differing perspectives in life.

Story is also useful for getting a good laugh from humorous jokes, wordplay and characters. Double points if it's campy-style 'it's so bad it's good' adventures games (quite common in FMV for instance). Unintentional humour is the best kind of entertainment to share with friends or family.

Regarding if puzzles can be pleasant; I feel the most satisfaction when I know what I'm actually meant to be doing in an adventure game. I like having the stride and forward momentum of not having to check a walkthrough. I like familiar puzzle concepts like Tower of Hanoi or inventory-based puzzles. I dislike puzzles with too many randomly-generated variables and things like Sudoku.

2. Role immersion. How does a game make you want to engage with its world - and how does it fullfill that desire? What makes you feel content playing a game?

A sense of autonomy. Freedom to visit locations in a non-linear order, the inclusion of optional tasks not critical to the main story, collectable trinkets as a fun diversion, compelling mini-games made with noticeable effort, replay value from choosing different dialogue options, and preferably presented in a point & click format. Secondary flavour text and voice lines should be included to make the game feel more responsive and less repetitive.

Hiring professional voice actors will 100% guarantee immersion for me. I find it too difficult to ignore the wonderful production value of voice actors being involved in the game with shaping my perception of a character's persona.

Developers should ideally not break the fourth wall unless they plan to do that from the very beginning.

3. Gratification. What makes you feel like your actions pay off? Is a good puzzle difficult - and what makes it so? Are all forms of difficulty equally gratifying? Does it matter how a puzzle is embedded in the game? And are there other gameplay elements in AGs that can give you this feeling of accomplishment and reward?

Discovering Easter eggs and secrets is extremely gratifying. It's something I've been personally doing for a very long time, both within the adventure gameplay itself, as well as outside the game by exploring the files.

I also like simply just witnessing the game's ending, which can evoke a sense of gratification almost by default in the majority of circumstances.

Best case scenario, puzzles should be embedded within the game's logical structure and world-building setting. It shouldn't look tacked on in anyway. However, to be fair to developers that's not always easy to implement with puzzles.

There is one thing that I truly hate in adventure games that can automatically erase any sense of accomplishment. It's when the protagonist wakes up at the end of the game and finds out IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM! Several. Hours. Of. My. Real. Life. Gone. When you are emotionally invested in a game, you don't want your achievements to feel meaningless. This trope is the worst kind of ending because it doesn't respect the player's time.

I could not agree more about the dreams. I don’t like dream sequences in games or books or tv shows. It always seems like a copout, because the writers can make everything amorphous and nonsensical and vague rather than putting forth a logical story and sequence of events.

1- For me the most dopamine gets released when I get stucked in a puzzle for a long time and finally figure it out. 

2- Atmosphere. (pixel art is a must)

3- Story

in that order.

I don't like difficult puzzles, sliding puzzles, or mini-games. I want to experience the story.
Unfortunately, German translations are becoming increasingly rare. Only then I can really relax.