The Beginner's Guide

[Hipolito]

I just finished this game that's by the maker of The Stanley Parable. In it, the developer tells you about the weird, half-finished games that his friend made, and you get to walk through those games as he describes them. The developer really draws you in with the story of his friendship and the impression that the games had on him. It's a story that will remain in my memory for a long time, certainly longer than the countless jokes and gimmicks of Stanley Parable.

As I was walking through the game's many hallways, it occurred to me that most other games would have filled those hallways with bad guys to shoot. It seems that from the time of Wolfenstein 3D's release in 1992, the only thing we did in 3D environments was commit acts of violence. It wasn't until Dear Esther came out in 2008 that we realized we didn't have to shoot the place up; we could simply listen to a story and think about what it means.

While listening to the narration, I wondered; is this a true story? From some web searching, I see I'm not the only one who's wondered this. But honestly, I don't think it's that important a question, and I'm happier not knowing the answer. What's more important is what the game says about human nature.

If you don't mind paying $10 for a 90-minute experience (or waiting for a sale), I'd say play this game. It certainly doesn't have the production values of Stanley Parable, and it's slow enough to be sleep-inducing. But I think it made me a wiser person.

[gbasden]

That's awesome. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm off to grab it now.

[Lordnine]

I also enjoyed this one.

[Blackhawk]

I can't get it now, but I added it to my Steam wishlist for later (or for a sale.)

[Dan256]

Yeah, tossed it on my wishlist. Thanks for the heads up!

[Isgrimnur]

Finished it up a couple days ago. It's certainly a thing.

Spoiler:

The untrustworthy narrator (lampposts) certainly shifted thinking a bit.

And I was expecting a darker end to Coda's story.