"Help" by ChodHound is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
This is a Bonus Post that breaks from my One Cool Thing premise. Let me know what you think in the comments!
As a child playing games on the NES or my Compaq Presario PC, I often reached one of three destinations:
I would hit a level that was too hard. As a result, I would start over, and play until I reached the level once again. I would replay the first [N] levels of some games for years.
I would wait until the Talented Relative of Myth was able to bypass a difficult sequence for us. My friend’s dad was the only one who could land the plane in Top Gun. If he wasn’t around, we literally couldn’t finish the first mission.
We would obtain a Nintendo Power, or wait until someone who had a Nintendo Power would pass the information along. Basically, history’s saddest oral tradition.
Even as a young adult, I would regularly fail to finish games. I never finished Grand Theft Auto III, despite dozens upon dozens of hours played. I replayed the first areas in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty over and over until I finally figured out how to bypass a point of confusion. But, it took more dedication than I think the game deserved.
You could purchase a Prima Guide, sure, but I already paid $60 for the game. I did not have another $20 for a book that helps me play the game.
For a very expensive hobby, this looming blocker is a lousy way to go about things. Imagine if every third movie you saw at the cinema ended with an usher going “I dunno, man, the projector is stuck” about sixty minutes in. He shrugs and leaves you standing there, mouth agape.
In 2022, websites like Polygon and IGN have dedicated Guide sections. YouTube is filled with short videos detailing not only how to address a leak in the exact appliance you own, but also how to execute a challenging platforming move in a game.
I’m sure for some, the notion of looking up a guide is blasphemous. Perhaps the word “cheating” enters the dialog. For me? It has been a massive game changer. I tend to use a guide for almost every game I play, even when I don’t need help. It is not unlike realizing how to properly season your food when learning to cook. It just enhances things.
I want to share my love of guides with you, but I also want to encourage you to use them . You may not realize all the ways they can make every game better.
Firstly, there is the obvious response to a gamer SOS.
I am approaching 40 and I have a toddler, so my time is precious. I’m also only so good at games (though I did platinum Elden Ring). Guides have absolutely helped me out of tough spots when I just cannot figure out a puzzle, or need a recommendation for how to defeat a particularly challenging boss.
It isn’t like the guide can take the controller and win the fight on my behalf, so the thrill of victory is still mine. We don’t diminish a championship basketball team for having a coach, and this is a similar situation.
I’ve also used guides to point me in the right direction. While I was still getting my bearings in Hollow Knight, I became a bit lost and wasn’t exactly sure where to go in order to proceed. I pulled up the guide, checked the start of the chapter that was approximately my current location, read a single key word, and closed the guide. I needed a breadcrumb and the guide had the crusty loaf.
I just needed a signal flare. I had already found the location, I did all the work, I just lost my keys momentarily.
In both of the above cases, using the guide eliminates practically all frustration. I do not have to waste time getting mad at the game. I do not need to affix blame to poor design or complicated choices. Mistakes are made and gamers are not always as savvy as developers might hope. I just want to play. I cannot tell you how many times a sixty second span of using Google and scanning a Guide have saved a game I was ready to otherwise uninstall.
Guides also teach me things when I am unable to learn it through normal gameplay. While playing Ender Lilies, I assumed my ground stomp was the only way to enter secret areas in the floor. In a few cases I was semi-convinced I had located a secret area, but the ground stomp didn’t grant access. Perhaps I was wrong?
Then, the guide informed me that there was a second maneuver to use to enter secret floor areas. Ah ha! I used that knowledge, unguided, throughout the experience from that point onward. This knowledge added value to my play, unlocked more things to do, and heightened my satisfaction. Imagine that! What I thought was a bug, or poor feedback, was just a a minor tutorial issue.
Guides can teach you to fish, as they say. Or, have the fish served up ready to eat. There is flexibility in the service that I appreciate immensely.
Another thing I love about guides is when they reveal additional depth and complexity. I absolutely adored Hollow Knight. I especially enjoyed experimenting with Charms, which are items you find that grant passive abilities. The charms you equip is a subtle way to create character classes, not unlike those you’d find in a typical roleplaying game. Each charm had a simple functional description, which was easy to see in game. However, upon looking at the guide, I discovered that some charms, when used in combination, would gain new, bonus powers. There was a hidden synergy system of sorts. I would have never figured this out on my own, which meant the guide exposed me to an utterly delightful secret layer of complexity crafted by the developers.
Eureka!
Finally, I regularly find myself reading reviews while I am playing a game, or even once I finish a game. There have been times when I’ve re-read reviews in those circumstances. Similarly, reading a guide helps me engage with a game when I am unable to play it. Some nights I’m too tired to play, or do not have time to boot up. The guide lets me return to the world, dig into the lore, learn about possible secrets and things to explore. The guide is an NPC with stories to tell and sometimes I’m only able to rest by the campfire.
When I was younger, the pool of available games was far narrower. We were all playing Mortal Kombat or A Link to the Past or Starcraft. There was a good chance if I needed help, I could ask any of my friends and they would know. The hobby was more akin to a monoculture.
Earlier this year, along with the rest of the internet, I was absolutely enthralled by Elden Ring. It was one of the most profound gaming experiences of my life for the 120+ hours I played it. I adored it. But, one of the reasons it was so delightful was the constant discussion with almost every single friend I have. We were constantly telling stories, sharing secrets, providing advice, recommending builds, and creating community around Elden Ring.
We were a living, breathing guide network. Now, From Software fashions such a thing due to their incredibly immersive, detailed, and absurdly opaque games. Honestly, I thank them for it. But, not every game is able to follow suit. But, that is okay. Almost every game has secrets, challenges, complex systems, and nuance. Every game deserves a guide, which means every game can create a community. Even if it’s just for you.
There are occasional moments of communal joy, like Elden Ring, when everyone is playing the same thing. But, that isn’t common. Guides are a proxy for community, a simultaneously modern and nostalgic initiative, and it is one way for us to all play alone, together.
I love guides. They’ve increased my love of video games even more. Sometimes I need the help, but other times? I just want to dig into these worlds a little more.
Thank you for reading! If you liked what you read, please subscribe and share, but also, let me know what you think.
Edited by Joshua Buergel