How to ruin video games for yourself... 

1. The discord giveaway is over! The song was サニーボーイ・ラプソディ (Sonny boy Rhapsody), congrats to the winner! 2. Blurred certain sections because I'm an idiot and spoiled them while saying you should play them without spoilers.

Gaming subreddits could be a great place to study mass hysteria

Remember when the Hollow Knight community all simultaneously agreed that sacrificing Mossbag was the only way to appease Team Cherry and make them release Silksong? Those were some funny times

Every time I look up something in a video game, I end up upset at myself for spoiling myself from figuring it out blind and I've ruined my experience. Every time I stick to it until I solve it on my own, I end up upset at myself for not caving and looking it up sooner, because the solution wasn't satisfying, and I feel like I've wasted my time and I've ruined my experience. Life sucks.

the irony of ushering people who haven't been spoiled on those select games to play them and THEN SPOILING ACT 2 OF DDLC SECONDS LATER is crazy

Going into a game completely blind is a very surreal experience. It's really hard to do these days, especially when gaming and the internet is a prominent thing, so those few moments where you know absolutely nothing is almost magical.

"And play them COMPLETLY blind," He says while spoiling DDLC with a image

I would say a counterpoint is, if you just don't have the time. If you're older and work and don't have the luxury of spending hours discovering all the secrets in a game, it's okay to spoil yourself a little. That was one way I held myself back. I wasn't enjoying games because I didn't allow myself to look up some of the secrets and easter eggs that sometimes make the whole game fun. And I get a terrible feeling of missing out. It's okay to look stuff up, play on easy mode, or get assistance if it means you enjoy the game more in the little time you have available to play it.

I really do not understand when people say they are not spoiling anything if the game is [insert age] years old.

I once looked up how to solve a Zelda puzzle and felt so stupid when the solution was just the one thing I hadn't tried

I love when a community answers without spoilers though- if you were stuck in outer wilds, everyone would be very careful not to tell you where to go - they’d probably just hint at a clue the game gave you already, so you still get to figure it out - without giving up completely

As someone who needs to look things up sometimes, I usually give myself a limit of “have I checked every available/logical area twice” and a time limit based on how difficult the puzzle or whatever seems to be intended to be. And also the ability to realize that sometimes I’m just a dumbass who gets stuck in a normal ass room because I decided the exit point couldn’t possibly be right because it was slightly high and my character could possibly jump up there (I could in fact jump up there)

The only time I’ve ever looked something up in a Zelda game: -playing ocarina of time on N64 -just got slingshot in first dungeon -couldn’t find my way out of the room because the door was on an elevated area -got stuck in that stupid room for 69420 years, tried everything -pulled out my paper tutorial booklet and found the page on this area -“Ohhhh I need to use the slingshot I just got to knock the ladder off of the ceiling so I can climb to the door! Now I can continue the dungeon!” -hit the ladder and the “you did something right” sound effect plays But seriously, why was the ladder on the fucking ceiling???

"I spoiled the monkey boss to myself by watching a youtube video" Me, not having played the game yet, watching him immediately spoil the boss for me with the background footage:

"Do yourself a favour and play them completely blind" proceeds to immediately put up a visual spoiler for DDLC

Counterpoint: There are tons of things that I would've never found in Hollow Knight if I had never searched it up. For instance, the Hive entrance is really well hidden and would take hours of searching to actually find unless you got lucky. Some people don't want to do that and actually want to make progress :)

“By the way, if you haven’t been spoiled for these games, half of which I just spoiled for you by showing various snippets of late game sequences, play them!” Gotta love video game RU-vidrs.

Wow an informative video that doesnt run around in circles for 30 minutes. Straight to the point, provided examples and humor. Amazing video!

Sadly I usually don't expect to get a game so I just watch videos on it without thinking I would actually play it, then later I get the game from like a gift or something and I had it spoiled for myself by myself, truly one of the experiences ever

I feel completely different to you. Most of the time when I play a game, I like looking things up so I know where to go. When I get stuck on a puzzle long enough, I just look it up, and I (almost) always think, "ohhhhhh! That's how you do it! Clever." ...I really suck at puzzles. But it's an interesting look into the difference in psychology between us. Ofc I don't spoil games for others, cause their experience is important to me.

Actually some puzzles are so frustrating that after finally finding the solution my reaction is "welp, this was dumb".

I usually have a rule that I don’t look anything up until I’ve tried for like 20-30 minutes to figure out what to do. I find this works pretty well for me because that way I end up figuring out most things completely by myself, but don’t have to spend an entire day stuck on 1 part of a game where I have no idea what to do. This is only if I’m completely stumped. As much as I miss the feeling of finally figuring out where to go or what to do from my childhood, now that I’m an adult I just can’t justify spending that level of time making zero progress any more. Don’t have unlimited time to play video games these days

The best way to play story driven games like this are as the developer intended, not looking up how to play it on reddit.

"These people spoil the games for themselves! Anyway, here's me spoiling the game for you :3 "

I am currently playing Hollow Knight and though I have spoiled myself quite some lore because I am hungry for lore and I watched someone guide me through Fungal Wastes, because I had absolutely no clue how to navigate that terrain. I did however venture off and explore some other place in Fungal Wastes while the person in the video was explaining some other area in Fungal Wastes. I still feel like my Hollow Knight experience is uniquely my own and nobody can spoil how exactly I'm playing it. Besides, the community has managed to fool me with some things (Grubfather) and I am hoping that I wasn’t lied to about a way to save a certain someone with a flower. I think why my playthrough experience in HK feels isolated from everyone else's is just how the map is and I have often ventured out of map bounds and lost my ways and had to refind them or die. I wouldn't look up someone explaining how to beat Hornet in Greenpath or No Eyes, but I think I will definitely look for guidance it I ever face Radiance because I am scared and I would also do so if I had no clue who Radiance was and accidentally stumbled into the fight. My fingers would immediately fly over to google after dying a couple of times without progress or not because I am getting too obsessed with beating Radiance so I would keep at it until my hands would be in literal pain after doing all the moves xD

"play these games blind if you haven't!" proceeds to spoil the exact moments he said he doesnt want spoiled for himself. good job

I love going on the hollow knight subreddit once every couple of months and seeing what batshit psycho nonsense they're up to. It's never boring, they're always framing a bug for arson or agreeing to sacrifice a youtube personality to get team cherry to release silksong or gaslighting themselves into believing the game is already out. One of my favorite corners of the internet.

Every time I look up a secret in a video game I'm so excited because I get to move on and not waste three more hours figuring it out.

I've always seen hollow knight as a game of trial, error, exploring and unexpected bossfights and because I don't usually have internet so I don't have the choice of searching a minor inconvenience so I have to go around finding secrets, lore and cool new characters sharing their experiences also I love how the game tell a story of an underdog who gives of a strong sense of power

Hollow knight players: *missed a jump* These people: now this is an avengers level threat

So here's a question, does the point of "It ruins the excitement and fun of figuring it out" still stand when the game stops being fun because you can't figure anything out?

I'm so glad that I started my hollow knight journey with almost no knowledge about it. I just picked up the game cause I had extra money left and it was on a steam sale. I had no idea it was this much of a masterpiece.

To be fair, it's completely fine to ask while playing metroidvania if you just suck at platforming or if this place is supposed to be visited later. And in that example, I would just say "Go somewhere else, come back later" Same thing with boss fights, it's fine to ask of you're not skilled enough, you can't see the pattern or if you're too early. But asking about every single thing can be obnoxious. And it can spoil your fun. But that ladder part is heavily dependant on answers you'll get. And when it comes to mass hysteria subreddits, it's fun to pretend sometimes that world you live in is just a tiny bit a little bit less cruel

The magic of playing through your first playthrough of any game is the not knowing and finding out things for yourself is indeed one of the best feelings ever. I quickly found out that playing a game where you already know everything that happens gets really boring really fast...

I definitely prefer to avoid looking up things like puzzle solutions. I adore the feeling of satisfaction that comes with working through a difficult challenge. Being legally blind though, about half the time I struggle with something, it literally comes down to me not seeing something. For that reason I give it the ol’ college try, then look it up after half an hour to an hour. The feeling of satisfaction that comes with solving a puzzle isn’t great enough for me to persevere when, more than likely, I just can’t see a switch or something.

Never expected to ever hear the link click soundtrack on a youtube video about games. One of my fav anime and it makes it eaven fuunnier when you mentioned people complimenting your music choice at the end of the vid

So many games are just a blast to play blind and so many people just encounter one small problem and immediately turn to the internet instead of trying to figure it out themselves which can really ruin the charm of a puzzle or boss

Love this but when 90% of games have/had hidden shit that you could only try for one time on a specific level you tend to dwell on that ledge wondering "if I leave can I come back?"

I think it just comes down to people having never played a game that dosen't hand everything to them on a silver platter, also known as a game that dosen't baby its players.

To be fair there are far too many games that do come out in such a broken state that in SOME cases it is perfectly reasonable to look up if it's a bug or a feature.

I remember reading once that the zelda creator would specifically make super hidden secrets in the game so that people would talk about it you shouldn't look every little thing up at first sight but some things are made to be talked about

Here’s the thing. I completely 100% agree with you. But, the thing is, people have fun in different ways. When my dad was younger and playing the first Legend of Zelda game, he and his friends would meet up and tell each other about all the new things they’d found and all the dungeons they’d managed to solve. They actually wrote all of their findings in a journal and even had maps of the game world. My point is, whenever one of them got stuck, they would go ask the other person for help, and they went back and forth like this until, eventually, they beat the game. I think that would enhance the experience. My dad even said he felt like he would’ve had less fun with the game had someone not been there to help him through it. I’m not saying everyone has to play like this, I’m just saying that for some people, it’s more fun to ask for help.

as someone who watches so much youtube its so fucking hard not to get spoilers like when i heard cuphead dlc is gonna come out soon i literally covered my eyes during the boss fight they showed i still clicked some random vid that showed that scene instantly

4:07 "If you survived without being spoiled..." right as he shows, relatively light but still, spoilers in the footage

This reminds me of that part from MMBN5, where you need an eight password to get past a door, and the only hint comes with one man with a side eye smirk. Glad to know the number never changes when playing through multiple time.

The way I notice I ruin game experiences is by wanting to do everything as efficient as possible. I spend more time looking things up than actually playing the game and learning it that way

Honestly, I love video games, and I agree that 90% of people should play this way on their own. However, I am a busy father of 5, and I love video games myself. Sometimes I like to enjoy the game on my own without spoilers, but then there are other times where I'm like, "there's no way I want to spend this much time on this game or ill forget about my family," so I look shit up. Don't feel ashamed for looking for all the best stuff and secrets. There are multiple ways to enjoy a game. Have some variety and enjoy the experience in any way you like.

Dude your music is really good. I literally listen to the lofi-beats video from where the end audio originates.

I've been playing all of my childhood games lately and I'm having a blast. It really made gaming fun for me again.

To be fair, it's incredibly difficult to avoid spoilers from games unless you never type its name into your browser a single time. Often I just wanted to look up a nice soundtrack on RU-vid after hearing it in a game and immediately my feed gets swardmed with spoiler thumbnails everywhere, it's truly obnoxious. And even in the music video I always have to force myself not to read any comments because there will always be a spoiler.

I think there's a balance to be had. I'll try my damnedest to go into a game blind and explore the world and solve puzzles with fresh eyes, especially if there's a heavy narrative focus I don't want to spoil, but with the limited amount of time for games I sometimes find myself with, there are instances where I'm just going to swallow my pride if it means that looking up a quick answer means I save myself the effort of backtracking through the entire game world combing every nook and cranny for the one hidden key item I somehow missed thirty hours back. Solving things on your own is obviously the ideal, but there are always going to be games with the occasional bullshit solution.

It's kinda sad that a lot of modern game designers want to rid any possibility of "getting stuck" in their games, the indie scene still understands that that's one of the key things that makes gaming wonderful but a lot of AAA producers just want to make interactive movies it seems.

I only luck up answers to puzzles when I reach the point where the frustration I'm feeling outweighs the satisfaction I'd get from solving it myself

Honestly, the reason why a lot of times I look up how to do certain things in games is my fear of missing out. I’m so afraid of everyone else enjoying an experience that I completely missed out on because I decided to skip something or take a different path. FOMO controls my life

I played hollow knight at the same time as a coworker, and we would talk about our experiences together at work. It was the closest experience I had to pre-internet 90s gaming since...well the 90s. Highly recommend.

thats why my brother and i have a deal where if one of us gets stuck in a video game, and really cannot see a way out, the other looks up the solution and gives hints, starting at really small hints, on how to continue

People can play games however they want, even in ways you don't like.

Story time: I used to think the Ori games were the absolute pinnacle of story-driven gaming. Nothing could top them. I actually experienced a sense of withdrawal after completing Will of the Wisps because I thought it was the most beautiful thing to ever experience. (and it still is a very beautiful game). But then I played Hollow Knight, and after achieving the True Ending, I feel SO grown up now! The game does not hold your hand at all once you go down that well. And I had to dig and discover the story that was in there. Very cool. Food tends to taste better after you put in some work for it.

I personally hate being stuck in video games. I don't mind at all struggling on puzzles, I'm a big fan of Zelda, portal,etc. But I hate those moments where you're stuck bc you don't know what you have to do next and your goal becomes just looking arround randomly. This is where I usually go on internet. One other thing that is fun. Try playing a challenging game with your friends at the same time. Helping each other is so fun. Even though you're given so much answers it's fun to cooperate in an un direct way.

I was happily surprised to hear toe playing in a youtube video, it's actually the only time I've heard toe on a (unrelated) piece of media.

Its kind of a tough situation where if I watch videos I would spoil it for myself, but if I don't I wouldn't have wanted to play it in the first place

no joke, this is what made me not spoil the entirety of Hollow knight for myself. Its the first game that I've ever played without spoiling the entire plot for myself, and I am loving it. still playing it, in fact. its so surprising just how much stuff there is in this game!

The way people have been reacting about tears of the kingdom is insane too. Literally hours after the title drop, people were making and releasing videos about tips and tricks, lore, and everything else they could with tears of the kingdom in the title like the game itself was released and I never felt more fury for a community I was a part of

Despite agreeing with this argument, I will add one defense: Sometimes looking things up after spending a lot of time on your own is very beneficial. When I'm tired of looking for that collectible even though I searched every corner three times, it helps to watch a video to save time and move on. Also guides can be helpful if you use them the right way. Often times, I'm stuck because I can't creatively connect two techniques together. But after watching someone do it, it opens up a whole new way to play for me because I now know I can use this combo for future situations.

If the merit of experience is determined by surprise, it's not worth very much. It is like jump scares in horror games - they are cheap. Likewise, people may complain: "why are you googling jump scares in a horror game? You're ruining the experience for yourself." No. I'm looking for atmospheric horror, not jump scares, and you don't get to tell me what ruins the experience for me. True masterpiece is something you appreciate MORE after you understand it, not less. Think about it.

The only time I’ll ever look up a guide is when I am truly utterly and completely stuck

love how most replayed bit is the part where he lists all the good games you should play

recently played through celeste and i really appreciated the celeste music you had in the background, that stuff is some of the best game music i've ever heard

Play the game however you want. I looked up areas here and there and probably would have been bored otherwise. I went into the game looking for boss fights after S tiering cuphead. That's what I got and I particularly enjoyed it, except pantheon of hallownest.

Personally, I agree with this for myself and pride myself on doing things myself in games from puzzles to combat. However, I do not hold others to this same standard. Additionally, after I’ve finished a run through of the game, savoring the experience, I typically further immerse myself then after by looking stuff up. I know at that point, I’m immune to spoilers, so it’s a fun thing to do

hollow knight is the kinda game you cant ruin for yourself because of how much there is outside of important bits you see alot like godhome or the dreamnail, theres still the entire waterways and the fog canyon that go unmentioned

Definitely agree, I'm in my 40's and when I first started playing video games you either figured stuff out for yourself or if you were lucky you had a friend who might be able to help you out. It was quite a while ago now but when I played Dark Souls I fell into the trap of constantly looking up stuff online, late last year I started Sekiro and made a point of figuring out things for myself, I beat every single boss on my own, I only watched boss guides after I'd beaten them to see what tactics other people used. I did spoil bits and pieces because I was so into the game I couldn't help myself but to check out youtube or online content here or there, but I kept it to a bare minimum.

I think that to each their own. There are instances when spoilers doesn't matter that much or even more: When you know before hand that something is going to happen it will be all about how that exact thing is going to happen, what leads to that certain point, and so on. But in some cases when all the fun is in finding out stuff like in Zelda: TOTK, Outer Wilds, Twelwe Minutes, and some other games like that, it is all about finding out yourself, the fun CAN be ruined. Then again, some parts of an older Zelda games is so hard to figure out it becomes just frustrating and can simply make you waste hours trying to figure out stuff and never make it.

I so wish I could play hollow knight through blind so I could experience the *final boss* without having it been spoiled for myself

The buildup to Nosk I will never forget, I remember how oblivious I was thinking "ah this couldnt be a threat in any way, shape or form" but the sheer FEAR I felt as soon as he started to break and twitch his body transforming I will never forget. I just feel bad for people that spoil the game for themselves, especially Nosk.

Great video my dude, you got my self-guidlines for how much I see before plating a game down to a tee. That being said, it blows my mind you made this video without mentioning Outer Wilds though, every single person I've gotten to play it agrees it's the best game ever, hope you enjoy! Also, it was cool to see someone with a similar style to my favorite videos of mine but you did it in an easier to produce size. Anywho, thx, God bless❤️

First video I’ve ever seen from you. This was awesome and hilarious 😂.

Pro-tip for _all_ video game obstacles (as well as real life, really): if what you’re doing is not producing the results you’re looking for, try something else. Chances are you’ll find yourself getting closer to the answer, or, at the very least, you won’t feel like you’re stuck standing there until you can think up the solution by sheer chance. That will help alleviate the sensation that the game is “wasting your time”, as people like to describe it.

alresdy at the first minute understood what its about. I tend to do that too but when I got my hands on neon white I said to myself "this time you will NOT be using the internet" and oh my god figuring out how to get to the presents or how to most efficiently end the level was ths most satisfying thing I felt in a long time

I personally really try to not use a guide too. If there is one which I have no idea of solving then I search up the area and look for a walkthrough so I don’t know how many parts are still left, but in my opinion a not spoiled game makes the best experience you could have. I went in portal 2 blind and it was amazing discovering the puzzles by myself and the story.

I actually really like the outer wilds community for that. I only looked up stuff on it after having completed the game but most of the answers to questions were along the lines of « it’s ok if you can’t solve that puzzle right now, maybe you’re missing a piece. » and then offering pointers of directions the player could try exploring deeper.

Breath of the Wild was the game that taught me just how much looking stuff up can ruin a gaming experience. I went into the game completely blind and I only bought it because it was one of like 3 games on Switch at launch. Figuring out the puzzles and simply exploring the world all on my own made it feel like *I* was presonally discovering all of this stuff. If I couldn't figure something out, I'd go exploring in the area or talk to nearby NPCs to see if they could clue me in. It felt super immersive to try and figure things out using only the tools presented to me within the game world itself. It was so cool the first time I realized I could equip the flame sword to keep myself warm in the cold regions instead of eating the peppers. I never looked anything up for that game and ended up having one of my greatest gaming experiences of all time as a result. All of my friends played the game by looking everything up the second something became difficult, and while I'm sure they enjoyed the game very much, I feel like they really soured their own experience as a result.

This reminds me of how I accidentally spoilt who the murderer in Cemetery Mary was because I was looking at the wikis of my favourite characters and saw it in the alias section. Luckily, that only part of the game’s mystery.

I do have to agree, especially recently. I got rainworld because a couple years back I heard it had fun movement. So after na hour of playing I decided to look up some tech "It's just some tech, it makes everything more fun to zoom around!" I told myself. And while I was on the wiki I saw some minor spoilers, nothing big. Later I was stuck in Outskirts for a while can't remember why exactly, but I decided to look for a map on the wiki. And then I started reading the trivia section while scrolling down to the map section. And it continued on and on. I read more and more. I go to a new area and decide to just look up for a youtube video to watch in the background because I play on switch handheld. so since I am so happy about this game and have fun, I check the first part or two of an let's play. and eventually I get spoiled more and more about me just wanting to consume as much as quickly as possible. I had an overall great time with the game, got the dlc (spoiled a lot too) and was finished with most content after 2 weeks. I could have had more fun for months probably if I just stayed away from the wiki and from youtube, I don't know why I do this to me.

A recent incident of this exact thing that irritated me to NO end was right after Elden Ring was released, and still probably to this day people leave the opening area and just get brain damage, because they don't understand the concept of just seeing something and deciding to check it out. Like, twitter, reddit, forums were filled with people not only confused, but saying the game was straight up bad because it didn't immediately tell you what to do with a bright shining beacon

I wanted to fight every hollow knight boss in my first playthrough so i looked up their locations. I dont really care about spoilers in games like these, i just wanted to fight every boss. Still my favorite game of all time though. I honestly think without the internet i would have stopped playing this amazing game because i am probably the worst person on earth with directions.

I mentally weigh the amount of frustration I am currently facing at a puzzle/obstacle vs the lack of accomplishment I will feel by looking an answer up, and look for an answer online once the frustration exceeds the latter. Just stepping away from the game and coming back later with a cleared head is a better solution, but I have a hard time leaving something like that unsolved, even if just temporarily. I’m sure that’s a common feeling.

My first reaction to not knowing something in a game is to spam every button possible and try everything I can think of. I will never understand how people will get very slightly held back and just go "Welp, time to look it up!" I only look something up if I legitimately cannot figure it out and have tried (what I think is) everything I can. There have been so many times where I was playing an online game and saw people spam in the chat saying "How do you play? How does this work? What do I do?" Not even understanding the most basic of basic things, THINGS THAT THE GAME ITSELF TEACHES THEM THROUGH A TUTORIAL THEY ARE PROBABLY CURRENTLY IN.

I remember when I was playing Hollow Knight, I did get a few things (specifically bosses) spoiled for me. But when my friend was playing Hollow Knight at my house, I was guiding him through the game, but also spoiling nothing, and he never looked anything up for himself. He said that having someone guide him through the game while having nothing spoiled was probly the best experience he could've had.

I agree with you fundamentally that games are best enjoyed without assistance, and that seeking assistance should really be reserved for when you're very frustrated. However, on the other hand... I can't help but feel like everyone has a right to enjoy a video game however they want. If someone wants to play a game from start to finish with a walkthrough, who am I to tell them that that's wrong?

If I’m stuck on something where I literally cannot progress for like 15 mins, I look it up. But I only read until I see what the next immediate thing to do is, and then close the article and keep playing. I don’t remember ever getting spoilers from doing it like this, and it helps avoid the frustration of not being able to complete a puzzle I’ve been stuck on for 15-20 mins.

But I don't wanna experience the game... I wanna watch someone else experience it and then vicariously experience it through them because I don't like having to experience all the boring parts in-between the cool parts in a game, I just want the cool parts. And watching a video lets me skip the boring parts. You may think I'm making a joke, and I kinda am, but I actually do this. I don't know why, but I don't really like playing video games, I just like watching all the cool parts. I know everything there is about Undertale, but I've never played it myself. I do this with some tv shows too, like the owl house. I know a lot of owl house lore, and I've seen all the main story-line episodes, but I haven't actually sat down and watched the whole show. I don't know why I do this, it's just how I enjoy media. With some certain shows or games, I somehow "ruined" them for myself by trying to experience it the normal way, which was too boring for me, even though I overall liked the story, I end up not caring because the experience of the game itself bored me too much. Yeah, I'm weird, feel free to think that, but this is just how I am. I can't play a game if the story is all I care about, I'd rather just watch a summary because the game can ruin the story for me. Inscryption is the one exception because on top of having an amazing story, the gameplay loop itself was super fun, so I got a fun game sometimes interrupted by cool story, but for some reason, most of the time... I just don't find story based games all that fun... Which usually leaves me only playing games that have next to no story because the game's only selling point is the game play, even though I care more about games that DO have a good story. Games with stories are the only one's that leave a lasting impression on me, but games without them are the only ones I enjoy playing. Quite the contradiction I live. Also, if you read this whole thing... Why? This is just me rambling about my extremely weird experience playing games, I don't actually expect people to read it.

As someone who grew up in the early 90s playing cryptic video games, I wasn't aware that there were a lot of modern gamers who happen to give up so easily when the game is made to have you go figure things out, knowing that's how it was designed.

3:18 THIS THIS FREAKING TWILIGHT PRINCESS PUZZLE. Years of my life as a child spent trying to figure it out and spending what felt like hours being frusstrated. When I was lucky I would get my older brother to do it for me, but then he moved out. It was one of my most rewarding experinces finally putting those two goddamn statues in the right spot and whenever I find myself replaying this game, I enjoy figuring it out. I love moments like that.

i learned the hard way if i dont spoil the game for myself, i'll eventually give up trying to figure it out let me spoil the game for myself if i want to 🙏

I totally agree, somehow i had never come across any spoilers for the portals games and recently playing through both of them completely blind without looking anything up was super fun, i would recommend.

As someone who worked out of this habit, I agree 100%. I've ruined so many games for myself because I got too anxious and just asked for help. I'm slowly working out of that habit and just playing a game on my own to get the full experience. I only look it up if it's required for the story to progress and I'm stumped

I agree looking up answers is usually bad, but sometimes being able to get *hints* is good. Especially for some of your examples, where just knowing “not a glitch” would be good. Because glitches *happen.* My first playthrough of the original Portal, my graphics settings were messed up somehow, and all the glass looked opaque. It’s surprisingly easy to play a lot of the game that way, not realize it’s not supposed to have frosted glass, and miss important parts of the experience.

We said cry about it and bro really cried about it

For me the culprit is that many games hide stuff that are not available except at some specific point of the game, and they don't tell the player when. So, sometimes, you just want to know if you need to wait for later or if you should try to figure something out. This a problem of poor level design that is sometimes supposed to be compensated by playing the game a second time, which, for me, is out of question. This is just a huge time loss.