I just watched a video where it was argued that the focus on blind playthroughs being the “real” way to play a game does not hold up well for older games, like Diablo 1 or 2. Both games have a lot of obscure mechanics that are not explained well or in detail - same goes for many older titles or titles that are less handholdy, so I immediately thought of soulslikes.
In the video the person argues that the way you used to “look up” guides was to talk to friends and family about the games you play. You did not look up optimal builds or specific guides, but you’d just find information on the games you play through word of mouth or by learning from other’s playthroughs. Additionally, manuals and instruction booklets were meant to be perused in tandem with your playthrough as they’d complement your run with additional information that was not explicitly mentioned in the game.
Now through the advent of the internet, guides have become very ubiquitous and the norm for most people to use. Having a go at DS1, for example, without a guide or some semblance of help, however, sounds like a miserable experience unless you have a vague idea of what you’re looking for, where to look for it etc.
What do you think? Are you advocates for blind playthroughs or do you like having some help (in whatever form that may be) in your games?
Not specifically tied to soulslikes but games in general: I’m an advocate of blending what’s best for the individual player. Some get the most enjoyment out of full blinds, and they should absolutely do that and not feel pressured to be “perfect” at a game in either direction.
If someone gets the most satisfaction out of min maxing then guides all the way.
Some story elements imo are probably best enjoyed untainted by prior knowledge, but there’s no shame in seeking out information to get un-stuck in an age where most folks don’t play the same games AND classic paper companion manuals are exceedingly difficult to come by.
I love gaming mostly blind since I end up pressuring myself to “maximize fun” if I have too much data, but seeking out how to smooth a rough patch isn’t something I hesitate to do for things I know will be grindy or too painful. Games are meant to be enjoyed, and everyone is different :)
100% agree with your sentiment. It’s the same discussion for using summons or builds that help you get through the game in a soulslike. Artificial gatekeeping is so annoying, and I’m happy that the community here is more chill about this
I love to “figure it out as I go” the first time through. After that, I want to know where every darned thing I can collect is hidden. But this is me. There is no wrong way to go about it unless you are not having fun, not having fun means you are playing it wrong for you, or it is not your style of game. I even did this back with FF7 on PS1, played through, missed a lot of stuff but had fun, 2nd run we got the walk-thru book and got everything, killed all the weapons, gathered all the materia, etc. Both runs I did were a lot of fun but from different perspectives
Soulslike in particular often should explain more of their mechanics. Things like upgrade paths in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, power stance in DS2, things that a player can lock themselves out of or likely would never discover on their own.
💯% agree. These are the kinda mechanics I was referring to at the beginning of my post. Luckily, the soulslike community is willing to figure these obscure details out and share them happily, most of the time. Kind of a community effort
100% go in blind. A lot of the fun in the games are the interesting traps that can even catch a seasoned player off-guard. Having a guide tell you exactly what to do ruins the fun of seeing it naturally. Especially if you still manage to avoid the nastier ones that exploit how a player might get through it to deliver a surprise.
The point of dark souls is accepting failure as part of the process of success (to me at least) so this kind of defeats that imo
Fuck up your character and experiment but tbh if u don’t have enough free time to make it worth it totally understandable
Just my 2 cents
I always try to do a blind playthrough first, then look stuff up for round 2. Going through the struggle myself, trying to figure out the cryptic clues, etc. is so rewarding.
I love figuring stuff out for myself. But, the iframe mechanic in DS2? Come on…
(Disclaimer: I am part of the people that actually loves DS2)
I would say it depends both on the player and the game. Some games may rely on the fact that there is an online community. And some players might enjoy figuring stuff out themselves, while others just want to get past a tedious section so they can go back to the bits they actually enjoy.
I remember there was a character in Vampire Survivors that could only be unlocked by looking up a code online.
It really depends on the genre and individual taste.
There’s a game called the incredible machine which I greatly enjoyed as a kid. You were given an objective like bring the mouse to the cheese or vice versa and you had to build a rube goldberg machine to do it. A guide or walkthrough would ruin the game because then you’d just be going through the motions. However a hint system would go a long way to alleviate frustration.
On the other hand, as a dad gamer I am more conscious of my time spent gaming so I would utilise a 100% guide on games like the Persona series to see everything, as it’s really the story beats, character designs and music that are attractive to me. The gameplay really isn’t special (just a turn based creature collector/battler really)
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If there’s nothing missable or I already know I’m going to replay it, I tend to go in blind and look up info as I need it.
Souls games don’t fall into that category, though, so I like to use those progress checklists, which I prefer to the full walkthroughs. There’s just enough info that I don’t miss quests or go to harder areas than I’m ready for, but not so much that I feel like I’m being told how to play. Elden ring has a really good spreadsheet for that, and the other souls games have decent pages on their wikis.
The one thing I use guides heavily for, though, is builds. I’ll usually look up weapon locations and stat reqs in order to plan out a build that leaves me room to experiment with different types of combat through the early/midgame and then specialize when I decide what I want to use long-term
If possible I like to let the game e plain itself to me and guide me. But especially with souslikes (and similar games that really don’t hold the players hand) it can be difficult to know what to do and where to go. Like in my recent DS2 playthrough I was trying to figure out how power standing works. I couldn’t find anything in game and had to go to the wiki.
Idk sometimes I want a game that is just a fun experience and sometimes I wanna explore and discover for myself. And based on how I’m feeling maybe I’ll lean on a wiki or just switch to a game that doesn’t need a wiki.
I tend to lean “blind”, the sense of immersion, adventure, and discovery is a big part of what makes games fun for me.
With that being said, in the end it’s all about having fun. I don’t have as much time for games as I used to so at a certain point I need the game to respect the time that I do have. Where frustration sets in, I’m likely to do a lookup to ease the friction and keep having fun.
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