What games or series do tutorials well (or poorly)?

[ZedClampet]

I'm beginning to feel about tutorials like @Brian Boru feels about opening cutscenes/intros. I'm not talking about basic games where you just learn to use WASD and jump. I'm talking about more involved games like strategy games, management, city builders, or even more complex FPS games like Cyberpunk 2077.

Total War usually does a nice job, and I thought the Prologue, which served as a tutorial, for TWW3 was excellent. I like that you were actually playing a meaningful experience while you learned (not that there was hardly anything for me to learn after playing all the other TW games).

I've played a lot of games with tutorials that, while they succeeded in teaching you the game, were just tedious as heck. Builder Simulator made me want to beat orphans. It was just very, very long and you didn't really get anything out of it except to find out that the game was more or less intuitive and they didn't need to force you into a tutorial.

Then there was one of the Anno games I tried to play that didn't have a tutorial at all and required either trial and error or watching videos to get up to speed (thanks Ubisoft).

I've had two indie games lately that just gave you an in game novella on instructions to read. If I remember correctly, Kerbal was mostly this way, too. I don't mind these so long as the text is legible to me.

But my favorite terrible tutorials are the ones that don't work, generally from little indie games.

 

[Pifanjr]

I think one of the worst, though functional, tutorials is from Black & White. Everything is explained by showing you a little narrated video of exactly which actions to perform in excruciating, slow detail, including every single thing you can do with the camera. Then when you get your creature, you have to go through like a dozen more tutorials, but you can't do them all in a row. After each one you have to wait a couple of minutes before the next tutorial shows up.

I tried to get my wife to play it and I don't think she made it past the camera tutorials.

Total War usually does a nice job, and I thought the Prologue, which served as a tutorial, for TWW3 was excellent. I like that you were actually playing a meaningful experience while you learned (not that there was hardly anything for me to learn after playing all the other TW games).

I think Total War: Warhammer has a decent enough tutorial to show you how to play, but there's such a huge amount of hidden or unexplained mechanics in that game. I frequently see posts on their subreddit from people who've played over a thousand hours who discover some new mechanic they've never heard of before.

I suppose that's not really a problem with the tutorial as much as just bad UI design though.

I've had two indie games lately that just gave you an in game novella on instructions to read. If I remember correctly, Kerbal was mostly this way, too. I don't mind these so long as the text is legible to me.

Kerbal has an in-game manual that shows you everything you need to know to play, but it also has a bunch of actual tutorials that show you how to do everything step by step.

 

[ZedClampet]

Total War: Warhammer

One thing about their tutorials is that each faction has its own mechanics which would be a nightmare to put into a tutorial, but there are also things in the UI that you just have to play with to figure out what they do; however, most of those things aren't actually necessary to playing and enjoying the game.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I think the Zelda games have done a great job at having tutorials that make you feel like you're immersed in the game, and not just doing a boring tutorial. Especially in Breath of the Wild. You start off in the Great Plateau, where you're confined to an area that teaches you how the game works as you're playing, but you're not in more danger than you can handle in the beginning phases. Plus, those training grounds are pretty big. It's an awesome way to train you to play the bigger part of the game. Just talking about this is making me stoked for the sequel to come out in May.

I also feel like the Batman Arkham games do a decent job of training you as you go. Really most games do decent these days.

 

[Pifanjr]

I also feel like the Batman Arkham games do a decent job of training you as you go. Really most games do decent these days.

My only complaint is that a lot of games still don't let you skip the early game stuff. If the tutorial is bad, it's a massive chore to get through it just to get to play the game. If the tutorial is good, I probably still don't want to have to redo it if I decide to replay the game.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I mostly prefer it when a tutorial is incorporated into the proper campaign, whatever the genre. I dont think it very often needs to be a whole dedicated section youre forced to play through every time, just a little pop up when something new is expected or possible. A menu tick box to turn on or off to avoid having to repeat if you've done them before.

Old World has some very slow tutorials that cut out all elements of gameplay except the one it was teaching. I went through 4 of those got bored and discovered you could actually just start a tutorial campaign. Those played just like a real campaign except it pops up with a tutorial window when you try and do something new. Much better.

Tool tips help a lot in 4x/Grand strategy, Old World has good ones. Crusader Kings 3 is a pretty complex game made easier to understand by the fact you get tooltips in nesting windows over everything. Not going to say it has a good tutorial though, I think they still expect the player to look up some basic tip guides for a lot of the mechanics. There are some I dont think are explained at all in the game. A lot of more complicated strategy games seem to lean on 3rd parties and wikis for advanced mechanic explanations. Or maybe I just never read the provided manuals anymore.

 

[Frindis]

Yeeeeeah, about the Crusader Kings 3 tutorial. I'm fairly new to strategy games like that and the first thing the tutorial told me is that this is going to be a complex game, so I had to follow very closely, very! I thought the tutorial was done well though, I understood the finer details or so I think. Unfortunately, I thought it would be a good idea to ditch the game for a month after just playing the tutorial and then coming back to finish up the first campaign. Big mistake, biiiiiiiiig! I'm not dead though, have a bunch of Irish Brians running around breeding, so it seems you can survive quite long without having no idea to play the game correctly.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

@Frindis Oh yea its very forgiving in that way, you only get game over if you don't have an heir I think, so as long as you can pop a few out you'll have something to get on with.

I seem to do that quite a bit, leave a game, come back and curse my terrible memory for not knowing whats going on but muddle through anyway. It mostly comes back after a bit, mostly.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Ok, for those of you who wish you didn't have to play through the tutorial every time you start a new game, I think Tomb Raider: Anniversary did it right. When you start the game, there is a Mansion segment that you can choose to play or not play, any time you want. You play through some segments in her mansion that teach you how to do various things. But you're not forced to do it; it's just an option in the menu. Maybe more games should do it similarly to that.

 

[Zloth]

The tutorial at the start of X3:Terran Conflict was serviceable. It taught you how to fly around (no travel drive, so not quite as complex as X4), how to dock, and how to blow things up with guns and with missiles. Unfortunately, if you did the Trader start, you don't have any missiles or missile launchers. So I guess it taught you a different thing: that Egosoft games often require that you leave a mission to go get stronger/richer for a few hours before coming back to finish it.

But you're not forced to do it; it's just an option in the menu. Maybe more games should do it similarly to that.

Lara's Mansion also pretty fun!

... you only get game over if you don't have an heir I think, so as long as you can pop a few out you'll have something to get on with.

Pop a few out!?!?

I seem to do that quite a bit...

DUDE!!

Oh... I guess I should have read the rest of the post.

 

[Brian Boru]

Irish Brians running around breeding, so it seems you can survive quite long without having no idea to play the game correctly

That's the Irish Brians superpower!

leave a game, come back and curse my terrible memory for not knowing whats going on

Oh yeah… looks like we have enough to form a little club—if one of us can remember to do that

just an option in the menu

Yep, that's the best way imo—I did Rise of Nations re-somethinged tut recently and that's how it was done. Good thing too, as forgotten already

In general:

It's gotta be difficult to pitch a tutorial at the 'right' level. Should you tell player which end of gun to point away, and what a trigger is? Or do you go 'Screw 'em they know what a shooter is, let's throw 'em in at the deep end'?

In a 3-person work project decades ago, one of the others had to compile the user manual for a large computer system we were introducing. We continually ran into the 'how much to explain, how much to assume' conundrum all the time.

 

[ZedClampet]

It's gotta be difficult to pitch a tutorial at the 'right' level. Should you tell player which end of gun to point away, and what a trigger is? Or do you go 'Screw 'em they know what a shooter is, let's throw 'em in at the deep end'?

I think it's funny how many games start off by teaching you to move with WASD and how to jump/climb, but then they fail to explain almost everything else. Or maybe that's just the games I play. Dunno. I don't play the games I don't play.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Lara's Mansion also pretty fun!

Yeah, it really is. I first played it on the Wii version, where they added some stuff for motion controls. I was surprised at how fun the Mansion was. It was like a whole mini-game in itself.

 

[DXCHASE]

Destiny 2 has an "onboarding" program called New Light. Its apart of the F2P portion of the game but Bungie does a terrible job explaining things and guiding new players in it. I saw it first hand when my son was first getting into Destiny with me and i was running some of the missions with him. Along with this, theres very little content available in the f2p section which gimps this new light mission for those starting off. You really dont get a sense of destiny with the f2p version at this point with all the content thats behind paywalls.

The resident PCG Destiny 2 player i believe wrote about this too.

Heres someones take that isnt too far off and if your interested in exact details about how bad it is, albeit a little hostile writing. Its a year old and i dont think its gotten any better.

[Mod edit: changed Reddit link to avoid horrible forum display.]

 

[McStabStab]

I agree that coming in as a new player for Destiny 2 (even with friends to help) it is a confusing and frustrating experience.

My admission for a great tutorial is Titanfall 2. They have you go through a shooting range / wall running course and it keeps track of how quickly you do it as well as any mistakes you may have made, then it suggests a game difficulty level based on your performance. Absolutely brilliant mechanic.

 

[Johnway]

Just like everyone says, tutorials that get implemented within the game proper are probably the best way of doing it. having a separate tutorial only goes so far. A better option is to teach the basics and gradually learn new stuff as and when they get introduced and only the second or even the final quarter do you cut loose with all the toys /features. Starcraft did it pretty well tbh. Start off with basic marines and every so often give you a spicy mission to have fun with your acquired units and test what you've learnt. From there it just builds on top of that.

i suppose a self contained prologue campaign isn't a bad idea, allows players to experience the campaign and just mess about and get them ready and proper for the main game.

That said I can probably think of more areas where tutorials are insufficient. A text dump and a video aren't as good as learning and doing it yourself. I'm also not so keen on sanitized separate bootcamp style tutorials. They work, but a bit boring and lacking sometimes.

Tutorials that teach you the basics but not the finer points is also a failing. Tutorials that don't even properly prepare you at all are criminal. chiv2 i'm looking at you. Too often i hear from certains users they had to play through the tutorial several times to develop the skills etc and get to grips with the game. Dark souls (or the souls series in general) does a pretty naff job of teaching the player the finer points of the complexities of the game.

 

[Pifanjr]

Just like everyone says, tutorials that get implemented within the game proper are probably the best way of doing it.

Wait, that's not what I said. That's not what I said at all. It's fine for games I don't intend to replay, but it sucks having to be forced to replay a tutorial or play with half the mechanics missing for the first couple of hours on a replay.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Stuff like Horizon: Zero Dawn is good, too, though. It's not really a boring tutorial, but more having your hand held and being taught what to do as part of the story in the beginning part of the game. Whether a game includes a tutorial or not, no game is going to start you off at the maximum level of hardness. Every game is going to start you off easier, and you gradually progress into more advanced stuff later. So why not have the easier part at the beginning also have it worked into the story to teach you how to do things? Really, a lot of games are doing it this way now. I know the Dishonored games did that, too. If I remember right, it might have been optional in Dishonored, though.

 

[Zloth]

Yeah, many games do it that way. I remember first encountering it with the original Final Fantasy 7 and being quite impressed. Pacing can work better with that method, too, as they can give you the basics, let you play with those, then keep drip feeding you new mechanics as you play. (Though, as @Pifanjr points out, that can be a bother for people re-playing.)

 

[Brian Boru]

it sucks having to be forced to replay a tutorial or play with half the mechanics missing for the first couple of hours on a replay

Yep, this.

I'm a replayer—if I like a game, it'll see me again. I haven't done it on my current first replay of Far Cry 6, but I usually look for mods to unlock the good stuff from the beginning. I didn't have much of a clue what was going on in my first playthru, so this is my first 'real' go at the game.

Separate menu item for tutorial is my preference.

 

[Pifanjr]

Whether a game includes a tutorial or not, no game is going to start you off at the maximum level of hardness. Every game is going to start you off easier, and you gradually progress into more advanced stuff later.

Besides games that do let you start with everything unlocked, like Prototype, that then take it away, there's also entire genres that don't have campaigns and let you jump into the game immediately.

And a lot of games with a slow start, like 4X and RTS games, usually have an option to begin the game with a head start, so you don't have to start from the very beginning on replays.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Yep, this.

I usually look for mods to unlock the good stuff from the beginning.

Isnt that how New Game + works? Lots of games seem to have an option to start a new game with weapons, upgrades and abilities unlocked now.

Dead Space lets you start again with all suit upgrades and your upgraded weapons are apparently in the locker the first store you come too. They throw in a few exra OP enemies to keep things interesting. Elden Ring just lets you straight up start again with everything, enemies have improved damage and HP pools but are otherwise the same. Feels good to just roll over everything from the start that was kicking your arse for hours before you got a handle on things. I think it keeps scaling up to New Game + 9.

Besides games that do let you start with everything unlocked, like Prototype, that then take it away,

I heard that called an 'Abilitease' at some point, seemed a pretty good term for it.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I'm a replayer—if I like a game, it'll see me again. I haven't done it on my current first replay of Far Cry 6, but I usually look for mods to unlock the good stuff from the beginning. I didn't have much of a clue what was going on in my first playthru, so this is my first 'real' go at the game.

I think in passing, I saw somewhere that Far Cry 6 is free right now. If it still is, I may have to snag it.

Edit: It's just a free weekend by Ubisoft. You don't get to keep the game for free. Bummer.

Besides games that do let you start with everything unlocked, like Prototype, that then take it away..

An early 360 game, called Kameo: Elements of Power, was like that. It was crazy. The game starts you off in the middle of a bunch of action, and you have a lot of your elemental powers right off the bat. You climb to the top and end up in a boss fight that feels like you're fighting the final boss fight. Then immediately following that, you're back in your own, peaceful homeland with no elemental powers. When I first played it, I was thinking this game was too hard for me. But it ended up just being an introductory training level, and then the real game starts off at a much slower pace.

 

[Johnway]

Wait, that's not what I said. That's not what I said at all. It's fine for games I don't intend to replay, but it sucks having to be forced to replay a tutorial or play with half the mechanics missing for the first couple of hours on a replay.

perfectly understandable. I get that feeling when playing RTS games. Start with your MCV and rebuild your base, do all the research all whilst being harrassed by ever increasingly harder enemies.

I think its a tricky balance between narrative and tutorial sometimes. In a linear narrative i think you could get away constant training. Certainly in RTS games where each mission introduces another toy to play with. FPS/RPG games you start with little gear and as you build up your aresnal and gear as you progress facing harder adversaries. I think the advancement of this is those that are subconsciously teaching and never truly telegraphs it. Like the first level of super mario or Maybe in an FPS you have to make your way out of a cave doing various things but there are no game hints and you can just blast through it quickly.

That said, if i've done it already and playing it again i don't want to hit road blocks learning something i already know. It might require 2 different starting points / change in story. One for first play/ beginners and another for those who skip training or prologue.

The whole thing becomes problematic when it comes to more open / world or complex games like 4x games. tuts become ever more necessary as separate items or you need to have a guide by your side. I remember games in the 90s teaching you how to play: Read this manual and don't expect this current play through to be the proper one! Xcom apocalpse i'm looking at you. On one hand, its the nature of the beast, on the other its just poor execution.

yeah i must admit, get giving all the toys for training and then removing it is just not fun. Like being taught to use Siege weapons to break a base BUT not getting them until later on. So banzai charges are called for.

 

[Brian Boru]

Isnt that how New Game + works?

I believe so, but I think you need to beat the game to get that? I don't finish games often, especially on a first playthru—unless the devs don't screw up the ending of course, but that's rare.

just a free weekend

They had one before, playing that was what confirmed it as a buy later for me—I've certainly got my $15 value out of it already. If you haven't played a FC before, I recommend FC5 on sale rather than this one—altho FC6 might suit RPG players more since it has some really annoying bits