Your Thoughts on Game Walkthroughs

[RinDes]

Walkthroughs can be quite useful at times, be it for when stuck in a specific spot, going for a trophy run or if you have limited time to play the game.

(Remember the good old days of rentals? Needing to beat a game over the weekend, or within a week to avoid late fees, or needing to rent it again. I still have printed walkthroughs from way back, when GameFaqs still had those neat ASCII title artwork. Helpful little thing for Gameshark codes!)

A walkthrough offer all sorts of info, whether as an in-depth guide, a special moves guide or showcasing cheat codes and unlockables. Some hardcover walkthroughs also offers beautiful illustrations, detailed maps and concept art or behind the scene goodies.

But one thing's for sure, I will try my very best to complete as much of a game as possible, on my own, before looking up a guide. My hubby, and I still follow the occasional walkthrough for missable or secret content, in some games such as COD, LEGO or Mass Effect. But many walkthroughs contain spoilers, especially when in video form (obviously), so we try not to rely or those too much.

 

[Jet]

I find walkthroughs amazing. And I'm more than happy to follow it all the way through.
You should really cherish what you've got. I mean, back in the 90s, all we had ever had were some game guide books. Never on par with these videos of walkthroughs. Alas, many games were never finished due to this :(

 

[dummycake]

I find walkthroughs amazing. And I'm more than happy to follow it all the way through.
You should really cherish what you've got. I mean, back in the 90s, all we had ever had were some game guide books. Never on par with these videos of walkthroughs. Alas, many games were never finished due to this :(

In those days, you had a magazine or a big brother, or you're fucked.

 

[georgelee5786]

They're fine, i just wish the person doing it wouldnt talk

 

[laccoff_mawning]

The downside of walkthroughs is that you can only experience something for the first time once. Watching a walkthough can really dampen that feel of discovery.

 

[zephyrzane]

I watch a lot of game walkthroughs because my hands are so bad I can't hold a controller anymore, so I can't actually play a lot of the games. But I enjoy the games, especially if the person playing it is amusing.

I CAN play games if they are keyboard based, just not controller-based ones. Something about the hand position is right out.

 

[Gryphon]

Depends on the game on how many playthroughs I've gone through. Like after my first playthrough of Elden Ring, I'm looking up a walkthrough for everything playthrough afterword.

 

[Woolen_Monkey]

I don't think I've ever used a walkthrough. I kind of just brute force my way through puzzles and bosses.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Maybe it's just my gamer's pride talking, but I'd rather try everything I can before relying on a walkthrough because otherwise, I'd feel like I was cheating somehow. Also, I feel like if you rely on them too much(which I've done before), it sucks all the fun out of the game, but that's just me. What do you think?

It's one of my hobbies back when I was still active in gaming (around the 2000s). I enjoy reading strategies, and I do love it when the writer puts out his thought processes and adds some extra strategies and tips. I think those text walkthroughs helped foster the love for reading articles and opinion columns/reviews that I still have today.

I also love getting spoiled on the future bosses or major decisions I have to take so I don't accidentally make a choice that puts me on a point of no return (like investing resources on Aerith, for a classic and likely popular example)

I find walkthroughs amazing. And I'm more than happy to follow it all the way through.
You should really cherish what you've got. I mean, back in the 90s, all we had ever had were some game guide books. Never on par with these videos of walkthroughs. Alas, many games were never finished due to this :(

On another note, I prefer reading way more than listening or watching when it comes to guides and walkthroughs, so being born in the early 90s is a plus for me in that regard. I frequented Gamefaqs so much when I was in elementary.

I used to also have those thick 300-page guide books and such on a Pokemon game, for example.

 

[Kureous]

It's one of my hobbies back when I was still active in gaming (around the 2000s). I enjoy reading strategies, and I do love it when the writer puts out his thought processes and adds some extra strategies and tips. I think those text walkthroughs helped foster the love for reading articles and opinion columns/reviews that I still have today.

I also love getting spoiled on the future bosses or major decisions I have to take so I don't accidentally make a choice that puts me on a point of no return (like investing resources on Aerith, for a classic and likely popular example)

On another note, I prefer reading way more than listening or watching when it comes to guides and walkthroughs, so being born in the early 90s is a plus for me in that regard. I frequented Gamefaqs so much when I was in elementary.

I used to also have those thick 300-page guide books and such on a Pokemon game, for example.

Me too. I'd rather read an article or look for a map(when I do use a walkthrough), but as for strategies on how to beat enemies, I only turn to them when I'm really stuck.

 

[WeissBlatt]

Only if there is missable content. Otherwise I don't bother.
Although I do have fond memories of being a kid and looking up game guides, even for ones I didn't intend to play.

 

[BearlyAlive]

I loved those full walkthrough books you could buy at the stores that died out near the end of the Ps2 era. Still have some I never looked into and just bought because I liked the game and thought it a cool idea. Another cool thing live service gaming killed...

Current games are mostly too easy to even need to look things up, tho and if you can't plan your way through something you can grind it away since nowadays everything is open world and "needs" RPG elements to be cool...

 

[EternalSunset0]

Although I do have fond memories of being a kid and looking up game guides, even for ones I didn't intend to play.

I just love those video game magazines they print at the local news stands back then. I remember reading up and imagining the entire first Metal Gear Solid and Dino Crisis without playing the games because the content was so detailed. Complete with screenshots and other bonus unlockables.

 

[Viator]

I look at it simply... However you have the most fun, do that. Games are meant to be fun, so you shouldn't let anything stop you get the most out of your experience. No one should judge anyone else for how they like to play as long as no one else is negatively affected by by the way you play. Cheating in a multiplayer setting is obviously not good. Otherwise go nuts.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I used to look at the occasional walkthrough when I got stuck, but I don't have time for any of that these days.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I play games to have fun, so I enjoy having a walkthrough as a crutch in case I fucked it up.

 

[Chrono157]

Personally, I really like having the option of just checking a walkthrough. I play games for enjoyment, and for me, it isn't really enjoyable if I get stuck at a certain part and just wander around for hours just trying to figure out where to go or what to do next.

 

[needleman]

Maybe it's just my gamer's pride talking, but I'd rather try everything I can before relying on a walkthrough because otherwise, I'd feel like I was cheating somehow. Also, I feel like if you rely on them too much(which I've done before), it sucks all the fun out of the game, but that's just me. What do you think?

I can simply say that I feel empty when I play games, whatever they are. I may be a non-professional player, but I am a person who likes to take his time with learning. This is why I love Souls and Strategy games. However, I do not deny its importance in games for people who do not have the time. It is true that they will lose the fun, but they will not get cancer. in their brain

 

[Cipiteca396]

Sometimes I get through a playthrough and think, "Dang, I could have got something if I'd been paying more attention, but now I'd have to replay the whole game just to get a sparkly..." I don't have enough time to play most games once, so twice is...

If I'm going to spend hours looking around the map for random items I'll never use, I may as well get it out of the way as efficiently as possible. So walkthroughs are invaluable.

 

[AliceShiki]

If a game has exploration, I'm always using a text walkthrough that tells me exactly where to go.

I just don't like exploring things and trying to figure out where I should go next or where to find a given item. I just use a walkthrough to tell me where all the chests are and where I need to go to move forward in the story.

I never use walkthroughs for puzzles or boss strategy or anything like it though. Walkthroughs I use just to make the open experience become linear.

Oh, and of course, I'll gladly use walkthroughs to find secrets or to get completion for achievements and whatnot.

As for video walkthroughs, I avoid them like plague unless I really need a visual aid for something... Like, when playing Nioh 2, the game was fairly linear, so I just played blindly.

But when I wanted to get all Kodamas, a text guide wouldn't be as efficient as a video one, so I used video guides to help me specifically with obtaining Kodamas.

Then I went back to playing the game on my own~

... And I'm now reminded that I should go back to working on my walkthrough of Romancing SaGa 2... I really want to finish that one.

I should also get back to working on the Super Robot Wars Wiki... There is more stuff I want to add to it.

Adding content to game guides and wikis is fun~