Realized I was using game guides wrong for years

I used to follow walkthroughs step by step for every Zelda game, never exploring on my own. Last month I got stuck on a shrine in Tears of the Kingdom and just wandered around for 20 minutes instead of checking a guide. Found a hidden cave with a bunch of treasure and it felt way more fun. Has anyone else had that moment where they just stopped looking stuff up and enjoyed the game more?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_johnson226d ago

Guides ruined my gaming for years too. I remember looking up how to beat every boss in Dark Souls before even walking into the room. Felt like I was just going through the motions instead of actually playing. Then one day I walked into a boss fight totally blind and got wrecked for two hours, but the panic and scrambling was way more fun than following a checklist. Now I only check a guide if I've been running in circles for like 45 minutes and my patience is gone. Getting lost is half the fun once you let yourself be okay with it.

taylorcarr5d ago

Spencer_johnson22 nailed it with that Dark Souls comparison. I once spent three hours stuck in a Zelda dungeon because I refused to look anything up, only to realize I'd walked past the obvious switch about forty times. Guides have their place when you're truly stuck, but there's something special about the stupid grin you get when you finally figure it out yourself.