Most sources say that "dissatisfactory" and "unsatisfactory" are interchangeable, however, wiki-diff says that "unsatisfactory" is inadequate, substandard or not satisfactory whereas "dissatisfactory" is causing dissatisfaction. If this is true then the two words aren't interchangeable with respect to meaning.
- The game was dissatisfactory/unsatisfactory (especially the plot), but I still enjoyed the level design and the atmosphere too.
I want to say that the gameplay didn't satisfy me in this game; it's not interesting and the plot is poor.
Best Answer
Dissatisfactory would be in regards to an opinion or emotional response.
Here, the soup itself may be delicious for one person but not another - implying the person found the soup dissatisfactory due to his/her taste but the chicken was to their liking.
On the other hand, unsatisfactory would be in regards to the object or item not meeting the standards expected. To use the same example:
I would interpret this as the soup was simply not to an expected standard (similar to your game example). I would say though, at the end of the day both of these examples (and your example) are opinion based so I would always write it as:
I hope this has helped highlight that in the first two examples, the words certainly are interchangeable, as shown; however, the meaning and underlying tone of the sentences has changed.
Now I have demonstrated the words are interchangeable by making the words linked to my opinion.