Do clearer tutorials make games less interesting?

talk
1

A lot of modern games are much better at teaching you what to do, and I get why that matters. But sometimes it feels like the best discoveries happen when a game is a bit opaque and lets you fumble around for a while.

I’m wondering whether better onboarding is improving player experience overall, or whether it’s sanding off the weirdness that makes some games stick in your memory. What’s your take from games you’ve actually finished?

2

Dark Souls (especially 2 and 3, never played 1) pretty much threw you in the deep end from the beginning. I didn’t NOT like it! :slight_smile:

3

Okay so I don’t think a “clear tutorial” is the problem; it’s when the tutorial steals the first hour of your agency.

4

Yeah, it’s the pacing and the handholding, not the existence of instruction. A good tutorial feels like a couple subtle guardrails while you’re already playing, not a 60‑minute escort mission where the game won’t let you touch anything.

5

Yeah, it’s the difference between “here’s the controls, go be dangerous” and “walk to the glowing dot for 45 minutes. ” The best ones feel like you’re already playing and just happen to learn stuff on the way, not getting stuck in an unskippable onboarding cutscene.

6

That “glowing dot for 45 minutes” thing is less about tutorials and more about games being terrified you’ll miss content.

7

Look — the “glowing dot for 45 minutes” tutorials don’t make games clearer, they make them safer. You can teach controls without killing curiosity, but once the game starts micromanaging every step, you’re not exploring anymore, you’re complying.

8

“Clarity” isn’t the issue for me either — it’s the game hovering. Teach one verb right when it matters, then back off and let me try it in a space with a little risk.

What makes me bristle is the repeat prompting after I’ve already done it once. That stops feeling like teaching and starts feeling like the game doesn’t trust my hands.

9

Most folks seem to agree that clarity itself isn’t what makes games less interesting; it’s tutorials that front-load control away from you. The good versions teach a verb right when you need it, in a real play space with a bit of risk, then get out of the way so discovery can happen. When onboarding turns into glowing-dot compliance, repeated prompts, or an unskippable first-hour lane, it feels “safe” rather than engaging.

The unresolved bit is that some games genuinely need heavier onboarding because their systems are dense, and not everyone has the patience for Souls-style ambiguity, so there’s always a tradeoff between accessibility and mystery. Practical takeaway: give players optional depth and early freedom—teach the minimum to start, let prompts fade quickly, and keep the rest as skippable tips or a reference so curiosity survives.