You’re playing Life is Strange and you’ve been walking in circles through the junkyard for the past hour. You need to find the last glass bottle to progress to the next chapter. It’s 2am and you’ve got a 9am lecture. The clock is ticking. You should probably sleep, but you don’t want to abandon your progress. Luckily you don’t have to “rage quit. You don’t have to throw your controller across the room. Instead, you’re going to do what many gamers would consider to be the unthinkable: you’re going to get help from a gaming guide.

Maybe you’re trying to achieve 100% completion and collect all the trophies. Maybe you’re simply trying to complete the level you’ve been stuck on for hours. Gaming guides contain all the information you could possibly need for a video game – from walkthroughs, codes, locations, collectibles, tips and tricks. Consoles have definitely made guides more popular, features such as the Xbox Gamerscore leaderboard has made the art of achieving 100% more desirable to users.

It is important to acknowledge that not everyone in the gaming community accepts the use of guides. Many gamers would consider it ‘cheating’. In a study conducted at Ohio University by Mia Consalvo, one participant states “using information from a site, purchased guide or telephone hotline in order to get round a problem, kill an enemy, solve a riddle, gain a skill or something like that—without having at least tried to solve the issue yourself—is cheating”. I would disagree with this statement. When I think of cheating in video games the first thing that comes to my mind is hacking. Are you really cheating if you’re not affecting other players of the game?  In my opinion, using a guide to find out whether the art Redd sold you on Animal Crossing: New Horizons is real or fake, is in no way comparable to a Call of Duty player using ‘aimbots’ and ‘wall hacks’. 

Personally, I don’t think getting help from a guide is cheating, but rather enhancing your personal gaming experience. If we want to make games accessible for everyone, we’ve got to consider people’s different circumstances. Growing up many of us had to share consoles and devices with our siblings. I know my sister and I were fighting over whose turn it was on the family computer. When you’re only allocated an hour to play, you may not have enough time to complete a level by yourself – especially when you can hear your sister shouting that you only have 10 minutes left. Not every video game player is going to have their own £2000 setup, so we shouldn’t be judging people for making the best out of their situation. 

We also need to remember one thing: gaming is supposed to be a fun experience. Video games shouldn’t be stressful – well until you’re stuck in the storm trying to reboot your entire team on Fortnite – but the main purpose is to provide enjoyment and entertainment. I think we should be encouraging more people to get into gaming, rather than discouraging people because you don’t agree with how they play. I only rediscovered my love for gaming during the 2020 lockdown, during a clean out of my room I came across my old Nintendo Wii along with a copy of Super Mario Galaxy 2. As I hadn’t touched a video game in years, I lacked certain knowledge that more experienced gamers had. When I began my first boss fight, I found myself stuck, I could barely figure out what buttons to press. So, I gave in, I went online and gave myself a basic overview of the game. I’m grateful for that. I’m the kind of person who usually gives up if I can’t do something, so giving myself that foundation of the game encouraged me to play on. 

Sometimes you feel like your only option is to use a gaming guide. One of my favourite games to play is Crash Bandicoot Sane N. Sane Trilogy, however without using outsider knowledge, it is considered extremely difficult to fully complete. To 100% certain levels, you need to collect coloured gems from other levels in the game, the developers provide no in-game information on this. I believe certain games simply lack intuitive design decisions. I play a lot of platformer games, as I enjoy the fast-paced nature, so I don’t particularly want to spend hours figuring out how to complete a level. When a game is already challenging, I don’t particularly need another obstacle in front of it. 

However, there are some instances where the use of gaming guides needs to be avoided at all costs: trivia games. Imagine you were at a pub quiz and the team next to you were looking up the answers on their phone? You would be angry, right? This is the case for Trivial Pursuit Live! 2, all it takes is a quick google search and you can find a compilation of all the answers. Not only are you ignoring the purpose of the game, but you are also ruining it for the other players. 

Granted, using online guides may not be the best option for you. On one or more occasions I’ve used the internet to receive guidance and ended up spoiling a major plot twist for myself. Social media has given us access to many different communities that can provide support with all our gaming related queries – whether that’s through a streamer, a YouTube video, a TikTok or a discord server. It takes a village. Platforms such as TikTok have made it easy to find like-minded gamers; all it takes is a quick hashtag search and you can find an array of users who play your favourite game. There are so many options, and you don’t have to struggle alone. Gaming guides are something I will continue to use to this day. I’ve never been someone who plays by the rules. I will happily type “motherlode” into the cheat box on Sims 4. I will happily “time travel” on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There are many ways to play video games, and everyone is going to have a different opinion on them. As long as you’re not affecting other players, or doing anything illegal, are you really doing anything wrong?

Read more gaming retrospectives here:

Undertale: World Pacifism At Christmas

LEGO x Gaming: Constructing Collaborations

Super Mario Galaxy: In Space No-One Can Hear You Mamma Mia