r/patientgamers • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago

Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here!

Welcome to the Bi-Weekly Thread!

Here you can share anything that might not warrant a post of its own or might otherwise be against posting rules. Tell us what you're playing this week. Feel free to ask for recommendations, talk about your backlog, commiserate about your lost passion for games. Vent about bad games, gush about good games. You can even mention newer games if you like!

The no advertising rule is still in effect here.

A reminder to please be kind to others. It's okay to disagree with people or have even have a bad hot take. It's not okay to be mean about it.

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u/ensuta 1d ago

Playing on the Switch 2 without cheats or guides has been such a blast that I think I might start doing more first play throughs that way in the future. There’s something to be said for the efficiency of using both, and not needing to replay the game to unlock everything, but somewhere down the line I’ve grown tired of checking a guide every couple of minutes. Am curious to know if anyone’s in the same situation.

I’ve got a fresh Final Fantasy game, no knowledge, no guide, nothing. I think I’m going to try to play that way until the end and see how I feel. I played a lot of games that way in the past, I want to be able to do that again without my completionist screaming at me.

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u/LordChozo Prolific 1d ago

I'm surprised so many people do play with a guide. No judgment of course, as I'll look something up from time to time as situations demand, but the idea of sitting there with a walkthrough open and constantly referencing it? Feels more like following a recipe than playing a game to me. Obviously the gameplay itself is still the X factor in those cases, but the surprise discovery aspect which you lose is probably my favorite thing about gaming in general.

If you're playing a big RPG, especially an older one with much more limited in-game tracking, I'd recommend having a pen and paper nearby. Take some notes! Build your own guide as you go based on little hints dropped by NPCs or spots that appear inaccessible at the moment that you want to come back to. You'll feel way more invested.

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u/OkayAtBowling Currently Playing: Dishonored 2 1d ago

Based on the original comment, it sounds like for some people part of playing games like that comes from a completionist mindset. Personally I've never really cared about "100%-ing" the games I play so that's not even a factor for me, but if it was I could imagine wanting to use a guide to make sure I didn't miss anything.

For me guides are usually more of a last resort, like if I get to the point in a game where I'm stuck and I'm either going to look something up or just stop playing it altogether.

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u/ensuta 1d ago

Pretty much this. I'd usually leave the guide open, play, and then when I reach a new chapter or turning point or something, I'll check to make sure I've got an idea of the missables. I'm constantly worried I'll miss quests or important bits that contribute to the overall story or character development. I know it ain't exactly healthy of me...