The Benefits of Using Walkthroughs to Level Up

If you’ve tied yourself in knots trying to figure out the riddle in Diablo IV’s Secret of the Spring side quest or have tried completing Destiny 2’s Salvation’s Edge numerous times to no avail, you know the feeling—the feeling of rage-quitting and giving up. 

Before the days of the internet, that’s pretty much what you had to do. You’d have to take a breath, get off the computer or console for a bit, and return later with some newfound perspective. It’s this all-too-familiar gamer experience that gave rise to walkthroughs in the first place. It’s a way for you to finally move on to the next level or part of the game you’ve been missing out on because you can’t complete that one task. Games are meant to be fun, so when you’re starting to feel like frustration overshadows entertainment, it might be time to seek out a little guidance.

What Are Walkthroughs?

Walkthroughs are exactly what they imply—they’re a guide to walk you through how to complete a challenge, quest, task, level, or some other aspect of a game you’re struggling with. It’s similar to how a reliable review of the Galaxy Macau casino acts as a detailed resource to help you experience the casino from start to finish. These walkthroughs can take the form of a web page guide, a YouTube video, or even a more interactive format with checkboxes, GIFs, and other features to keep you on track and boost your understanding.

Most gamers don’t like to admit they need help, but game developers love including a near-impossible challenge in their titles, so this admission is sometimes inevitable. While a lot of people also might see it as “cheating” because of its step-by-step nature, walkthroughs actually serve many purposes beyond getting from point A to point B. Especially if you’ve exhausted all your resources and energy and have been trying to get through that same task for weeks, walkthroughs avoid the desperation of the past—when abandoning the game or getting your older sibling to help were the only options.

How Walkthroughs Enhance the Gaming Experience

As mentioned, there can be some ego involved when it comes to gaming, but walkthroughs can do a lot for the gaming experience that you might not necessarily expect. Using a walkthrough doesn’t mean you need to follow the guide from start to finish. It can simply mean learning how to navigate to a certain location or interact with a specific character. In essence, it helps you get over a small hump that has been preventing you from advancing to the problem-solving aspect itself. Maybe you’ve scoured the open world looking for that one collectible that could transform the entire game for you, or perhaps you’re genuinely just stuck. A proper walkthrough will provide a lot of value past the instructional bit.

These guides often come with some sneakily good insights into game strategies, mechanics, and optimization techniques that teach you how to become better at the game itself. These skills could then be applied in future scenarios where you’d otherwise need to use a walkthrough again. You might discover that you’ve been using an outdated level-up technique or neglecting an important skill—something no one wants.

Some games, particularly in the fantasy, adventure, and role-playing genres, are packed full of secrets and optional content that you might never find without a walkthrough. In this case, using one certainly doesn’t hurt. For those who crave that 100% completion rate and aren’t ready to commit another few hundred hours to searching for the most elusive secrets, walkthroughs are a great alternative.

Are There Downsides to Using Walkthroughs?

The major downside to using a walkthrough is that you don’t get the full satisfaction of overcoming the obstacle, finding the item, or locating an NPC yourself. There’s something inherently rewarding about tackling a challenge all on your own, and depending on how heavily you use a walkthrough, that feeling could be stripped away from you.

That said, it all depends on the type of game you’re playing and what your gaming goals are. Story games are a good example of this contingency—maybe you’re more interested in how the story is going to pan out rather than scouting out every useful item on your own accord. On the other hand, walkthroughs will provide direct, no-straying-off-the-path routes that lead you to miss out on discovering certain details organically, even though open-world games often encourage free exploration.

Choosing the Right Walkthrough

Part of choosing a walkthrough is choosing the right one. There are countless fan-made guides out there that might not be the greatest but also official walkthroughs from video game media websites like IGN and Polygon. Just because they’re more “official,” however, doesn’t mean that they’re going to be totally right for you. 

The best way to select the most effective walkthrough is by doing a quick search and seeing what’s out there. There might be a YouTube video that’s more visually helpful than a step-by-step checklist for the specific task you’re tackling; in other cases, videos may be unnecessary, and you might just need a quick reference from a written guide. Some written guides even have the option to keep each spoiler hidden and reveal them only if you really need to—that way, you can just look at the hints you need and still challenge yourself to complete the rest of the quest, search, or battle.