The Beginner's Guide

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 335 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 225 out of 335
  2. Mixed: 55 out of 335
  3. Negative: 55 out of 335

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  1. torax
    Oct 16, 2015
    1
    je suis désolé, mais ce n'est pas un jeu, il n'y a rien d'amusant. même pour une expérience vidéo ludique, je me suis emmerdé comme un rat mort ! je ne conseil vraiment pas de tester cette chose.
  2. Indrigis
    Oct 31, 2015
    2
    This game is REALLY important.

    The entire selling point of all the raving reviews is that "it's very hard to describe without spoiling so, believe me, you must buy it and experience it for yourself". And, after a merciful 1.5 hours (I'm sure Davey Dearest could have filled 10 hours if he was inclined to) I can safely say that $8 was not that high a price to be reminded that, yes,    This game is REALLY important.

    The entire selling point of all the raving reviews is that "it's very hard to describe without spoiling so, believe me, you must buy it and experience it for yourself".

    And, after a merciful 1.5 hours (I'm sure Davey Dearest could have filled 10 hours if he was inclined to) I can safely say that $8 was not that high a price to be reminded that, yes, #2deep4u is a thing, games will be praised solely for being "indie" as if "indie" was a redeeming quality in its own right and people will use any kind of argument to avoid admitting that they bought into the hype.

    The game itself is **** but, again, it's also an important reminder that wrapping and publicity can make you buy **** if you aren't mindful of the fine print. Or it's a solid argument for game piracy.    … Expand
  3. Grannik
    Dec 12, 2015
    2
    Yet another pretentious, less than 2 hours long, walking simulator with some "deep" story.

    I could mildly recommend it for those who are really into that thing, but anyone else that might be looking for what made The Stanley Parable a fun experience will definitely not find it here. Unless you want to feel good paying for the author's psychiatric self-therapy, don't even begin to    Yet another pretentious, less than 2 hours long, walking simulator with some "deep" story.

    I could mildly recommend it for those who are really into that thing, but anyone else that might be looking for what made The Stanley Parable a fun experience will definitely not find it here.

    Unless you want to feel good paying for the author's psychiatric self-therapy, don't even begin to bother with this video "game".    … Expand
  4. kitano123
    Oct 2, 2015
    0
    If you like utterly pretentious, overbearing interpretations of mundane game elements you'll like The Beginners Guide. Charging money for this tripe should be a crime.
  5. BlyatCyka
    Oct 2, 2015
    0
    Because this game is quite obscure, people will fly the *this game is art/misunderstood" banner. This game is pretentious, simple as that. "oh mah gawd retard, you just don't get it" < the fans boys will cry.

    This game could be labelled as an self pitying emo walking simulator. It would tell you everything about the game. It reflects the entitled culture that is currently dawning (see    Because this game is quite obscure, people will fly the *this game is art/misunderstood" banner. This game is pretentious, simple as that. "oh mah gawd retard, you just don't get it" < the fans boys will cry.

    This game could be labelled as an self pitying emo walking simulator. It would tell you everything about the game. It reflects the entitled culture that is currently dawning (see Tumblr, also "special snowflake syndrome") . People have to feel bad for you, because you're sad.

    I tried to enjoy the game. I did. I went in open minded. Please save your money guys.    … Expand
  6. sassskeleteonaa
    Oct 3, 2015
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A complete waste of time.

    The "walking simulator" that this type of "game" belongs to is essentially an audiovisual gallery. Interactivity is minimal, gameplay mechanics simply don't exist. Look around, move around, press buttons in the game. Maybe open a door. That's the extent of the interactivity.

    That's fine. There are games, such as the Daveys "The Stanley Parable", which are essentially the same thing. The Stanley Parable was well received, and I enjoyed it myself. I feel like this is a cash-in on the reputation gained from that game.

    Spoilers will follow, because the excuse of it being "misunderstood" falls if I show that, yes, I do understand it, and no, it is not a good story.

    The narrator claims early on that the game is a compilation of real "games" his supposedly real "friend" named Coda made. Which, really, are just maps in a game engine. None of them contain novel gameplay. The "games" are terribly broken, and utterly terrible. The narrator claims to gleam insights into the mental state of his friend from these games.

    His friend was apparently reclusive, and seemed to entertain themselves by making these games. The narrator claims Coda was "depressed". Coda later on dismisses this, in the final level. How someone could think that a person with depression would be able to go through the menial task of mapping menial levels is beyond me, and that's where the idea that this game is actually a compilation of real games begins to fall.

    The idea is that Coda is frustrated by the narrator compromising his artistic integrity by modifying the often impossible-to-solve puzzles to be solvable or skipable. Coda at one point creates a game about how people would persecute him if he stops making games- something that he apparently was doing for his own enjoyment. There's no reason for him to stop enjoying making games for himself. Additionally, there is no reason for Coda to keep supplying his "friend" with games, either. So, the idea of the game being "a real story" has fallen completely.

    What's left? Having to listen to the narrator feign an emotional breakdown due to guilt over having made things worse for Coda by sucking the fun out of making games. I can relate to the idea of trying to fix people, but messing things up. I truly can. But an emotional appeal from a stupid character in a scenario that seems unrealistic prevents any true emotional attachment to them.

    Save your money, and more importantly, save your time. This game has a very slow pace, and considering the nonexistent payoff, it makes a dentists appointment seem more rewarding.    … Expand
  7. Dunge
    Oct 3, 2015
    3
    First of all, I have to say I absolutely LOVED The Stanley Parable. It had good humor, good level design, multiple path leading to interesting scenes and things for the player to find out.

    Now The Beginner's Guide is nothing of that. It's essentially about someone presenting you the "games" that his friend made. They aren't actually games, they are levels, well, part of levels,.. well a    First of all, I have to say I absolutely LOVED The Stanley Parable. It had good humor, good level design, multiple path leading to interesting scenes and things for the player to find out.

    Now The Beginner's Guide is nothing of that. It's essentially about someone presenting you the "games" that his friend made. They aren't actually games, they are levels, well, part of levels,.. well a bunch of assets thew together and not being polished at all. That's the point of the game, saying that his friend have social anxiety and depression and that it reflected on his work making ugly inconsistent levels. Thing is, it never lead anywhere other than that, it does not try to convey a message or something. You just slowly advance through bad levels until you reach the end and the credit starts. It's absolutely boring and pointless.    … Expand
  8. Kickingkong
    Oct 17, 2015
    1
    if you like games simple games made by others about nothing at all But want a to have a DEEP Meaning (but don't) . and Sold by someone else THIS IS YOUR GAME
  9. bowsers2
    Oct 5, 2015
    1
    This game was practically released with zero previews!!! That is an admission that the developer knew that he couldn't charge as much as he could usually, for a game that he knew a lot of people wouldn't like. We were denied a chance to preview and make a choice for ourselves, shows contempt and distrust in gamers.

    That is some AAA publisher **** right there. Mundane pretentiousness    This game was practically released with zero previews!!! That is an admission that the developer knew that he couldn't charge as much as he could usually, for a game that he knew a lot of people wouldn't like. We were denied a chance to preview and make a choice for ourselves, shows contempt and distrust in gamers.

    That is some AAA publisher **** right there.

    Mundane pretentiousness - The movie - The game ? - The Cash in.    … Expand
  10. ZorotheGallade
    Nov 30, 2015
    0
    This..."game" tries to be two things and fails at both. It falls flat on its face on the "interactivity" side, forcing the player to only move at the pace of the narration and never making anything they do matter at all. Some games do that, such as Presentable Liberty, but in that case they do at least make the player involved by telling them a story, making identifiable characters andThis..."game" tries to be two things and fails at both. It falls flat on its face on the "interactivity" side, forcing the player to only move at the pace of the narration and never making anything they do matter at all. Some games do that, such as Presentable Liberty, but in that case they do at least make the player involved by telling them a story, making identifiable characters and making the player care for them. The Beginner's Guide fails at that as well, making the narrator-author the only reference point for everything, giving the "player" absolutely no way of getting the gist of the plot. Which is fair because there is none, it's just a 90-minute rant from the author trying to get the audience to care about what is essentially a self-centered hipster rant. The "experience" would still be good since it can appeal to some people, but...it's being SOLD. And for a way higher price than many more entertaining games with way more longevity. It's like a social experiment trying to see how effective it is to use a bandwagon effect and have people gush about the game whether it can actually be called a game or not.… Expand
  11. sweet
    Oct 8, 2015
    0
    The Beginner's Guide is an anti-game.

    It's a meaningless collection of incoherent junk, with no real gameplay, into which the player is duped into projecting significance that doesn't exist through a bogus story. It's literally a joke on pretentiousness, and as such it's very clever and worth 11/10. However, I'm giving it a 0 because it's a joke, not a game. Now go read all the    The Beginner's Guide is an anti-game.

    It's a meaningless collection of incoherent junk, with no real gameplay, into which the player is duped into projecting significance that doesn't exist through a bogus story.

    It's literally a joke on pretentiousness, and as such it's very clever and worth 11/10. However, I'm giving it a 0 because it's a joke, not a game.

    Now go read all the "deep and meaningful" reviews and have a laugh.    … Expand
  12. Auri-El
    Oct 19, 2015
    2
    The fact that this game is "unique" and "different" does not magically make it good. This is an extremely boring experience which I recommend to no one.
  13. nightshark
    Dec 21, 2015
    2
    From beginning to end of the game, you will be spoken to by a narrator who will guide you through 'games' that his estranged friend 'Coda' has made. These are not really so much games, as level/map designs with very limited interactivity. During this, you will find out about the developer 'Coda', his perceived struggles with game development, depression, and his relationship with theFrom beginning to end of the game, you will be spoken to by a narrator who will guide you through 'games' that his estranged friend 'Coda' has made. These are not really so much games, as level/map designs with very limited interactivity. During this, you will find out about the developer 'Coda', his perceived struggles with game development, depression, and his relationship with the narrator.

    It all falls very short. The game is very slow paced, with no part of the game or narration being particularly interesting. Given the slow pace, combined with the short game length, you are left wondering what you spent your money on, and an entirely forgettable experience. If you are reading reviews to figure out whether or not the $8 is worth it, I'd advise you to skip this one.    … Expand
  14. LAcioffi
    Oct 8, 2015
    1
    It's Artsy, It's fartsy, and it's overpriced!

    No seriously, if you wanna try this out, go to kat and save yourself some bucks, because this game lasts 1 hours and has no replayability. As soon as i saw this was made by the same guy who made Stanley Parable, i tought "Whoa! Here's a game with interesting morals and innovative mechanics! I bet i can replay it over and over!". Nope.    It's Artsy, It's fartsy, and it's overpriced!

    No seriously, if you wanna try this out, go to kat and save yourself some bucks, because this game lasts 1 hours and has no replayability.

    As soon as i saw this was made by the same guy who made Stanley Parable, i tought "Whoa! Here's a game with interesting morals and innovative mechanics! I bet i can replay it over and over!". Nope. It's just a guy talking for one long, long hour about the unfinished games his "friend" made.

    He goes on to overanalyzing everything and "deducing" his friend was depressed, anxious, and many other things. We later learn that he was just an artsy fartsy dick, as his friend made a game for him basically telling him "Dude i'm not depressed go **** yourself", and "Stop showing my games to people", which is not something he followed since this game actually exists. He then has an emotional breakdown and asks his friends for forgiveness (NOT A GOOD IDEA, SINCE, YOU KNOW, THIS GAME EXISTS), and the game ends. That's it fellas!

    Also, HE added the lampposts to the games and overanalyzed them, saying it was coda who put them there. Makes me wonder what else he changed to make the games more artsy.

    So yeah, not much here.    … Expand
  15. lopez123456
    Oct 2, 2015
    1
    This pseudo-game is a 2deep4you journey into the deranged mind of a fraud who's been making broken games in a not-so-better game engine. Some devs have managed to create succesful games on Source besides Valve but Wreden isn't one of them. The worst part is that this man is making the consumers pay 9 (nine) US dollars to access these collection of poorly designed attempts that hisThis pseudo-game is a 2deep4you journey into the deranged mind of a fraud who's been making broken games in a not-so-better game engine. Some devs have managed to create succesful games on Source besides Valve but Wreden isn't one of them. The worst part is that this man is making the consumers pay 9 (nine) US dollars to access these collection of poorly designed attempts that his schizophrenic alter-ego called "Coda" made 7 years ago.
    A more subtle albeit still effective way to get food on your plate would have been a free-to-play game in which you incite your die-hard fans to donate money to you, through appeal to emotions and armchair philosophy, a subject you seem to master. Even though this would have reduced drastically your income for this great work, you would have kept face at least.

    I award you 1 point out of 10 to fulfill the validation you so desperately seek and congratulate you on the great financial scam you've been exploiting since "The Stanley Parable". Keep up the good work and try treating the autism.    … Expand
  16. reavor
    Oct 9, 2015
    2
    Stanley parable was a pretty funny experience, with some well thought out quips on narrative and game structure. However, I don't think you can really call these kind of interactive 3D audiovisual experiences "games" though. In a game you have to be able to win or lose. It's particularly vexing to hear him call modified CS maps "games". This product covered some different aspects to theStanley parable was a pretty funny experience, with some well thought out quips on narrative and game structure. However, I don't think you can really call these kind of interactive 3D audiovisual experiences "games" though. In a game you have to be able to win or lose. It's particularly vexing to hear him call modified CS maps "games". This product covered some different aspects to the Stanley Parable, but felt quite less developed and lackluster.… Expand
  17. TitaniumDragon
    Aug 28, 2016
    0
    This is not a video game. It is, as it is frequently called, a walking simulator. There is no actual gameplay here – it is just a story, mostly told via voice-over, accompanied by (often not very good) graphics as you walk through it.

    And unfortunately, it isn’t a very well-written or interesting story. It is just a thing which happened between two people. It commits the cardinal sin    This is not a video game. It is, as it is frequently called, a walking simulator. There is no actual gameplay here – it is just a story, mostly told via voice-over, accompanied by (often not very good) graphics as you walk through it.

    And unfortunately, it isn’t a very well-written or interesting story. It is just a thing which happened between two people.

    It commits the cardinal sin of being boring, and at an hour and a half long, it is nowhere near as interesting or consequential as a movie of the same length would be.

    There’s nothing of value here. It is nothing like The Stanley Parable. It is just an empty, boring experience which will steal your time and never give it back.    … Expand
  18. Bortx
    Oct 3, 2015
    0
    Having played the "The Stanley Parable" (great game), I gave this a try. This game literally put me to sleep. I dozed of twice. It is that boring. I should have stopped playing after the first level but my curiosity and high hopes that it would get better kept me grinding through it. It never got any better. Took me almost two hours to complete and that was too long for this crap.

    So    Having played the "The Stanley Parable" (great game), I gave this a try. This game literally put me to sleep. I dozed of twice. It is that boring. I should have stopped playing after the first level but my curiosity and high hopes that it would get better kept me grinding through it. It never got any better. Took me almost two hours to complete and that was too long for this crap.

    So what's the game about. It's a narrated first person tour through a set of bad Half Life 2 levels. You know the kind that 12 year old newbs in the HL2 mod scene use to make as their first level a decade or more ago. The narration attempts to be smart and deep but ends up being pretentious and laking in story or humor. There are no game play mechanics nor game play to speak of. I would argue this is not even a game. This is no "Stanley Parable". Not even close.    … Expand
  19. Trypsinogen
    Oct 1, 2015
    3
    What a waste of $8 (and this is the on-sale price!) and time out of my life. The game is worse than the trash games within the game.

    Here's what the game is: Davey Wreden, creator of The Stanley Parable, makes you walk through a bunch of garbage, throw-away games one of his friends supposedly made with the Source engine while he pretentiously overanalyzes everything in them. His friend    What a waste of $8 (and this is the on-sale price!) and time out of my life. The game is worse than the trash games within the game.

    Here's what the game is: Davey Wreden, creator of The Stanley Parable, makes you walk through a bunch of garbage, throw-away games one of his friends supposedly made with the Source engine while he pretentiously overanalyzes everything in them. His friend never published these games because they are, in fact, trash, throw-away "games" he made using the Source engine.

    No Davey, there aren't boxes in the sky of your friend's garbage Couter-Strike map because they are supposed to represent the fragmentation of his metaphysical superego. They're there because he was just messing around with the editor and randomly put ridiculous objects all over the place.

    And no Davey, the games aren't unfinishable because they represent the inconquerability of life. They're unfinishable because they're garbage, throw-away works he didn't care to finish or never got around to finishing.

    Makes me question if The Stanley Parable was even as good of a game as I thought it was.    … Expand
  20. Calamity_Jones
    Jan 18, 2021
    0
    Boring overhyped garbage. The game might be original and creative, but that does not automatically make it good.
  21. Xzenor
    Mar 4, 2020
    3
    I loved "The Stanley Parable" so I was pretty anxious to try this game.
    Wow, big mistake.. It's an odd story, and I'm all for odd stories but this story just isn't my thing.. I could have seen it in the trailer. It's just like the trailer shows. You're walking through a load of weird gaming levels with hardly a puzzle to solve.. The narrator tells some deep story but it's not fun at all    I loved "The Stanley Parable" so I was pretty anxious to try this game.
    Wow, big mistake.. It's an odd story, and I'm all for odd stories but this story just isn't my thing.. I could have seen it in the trailer. It's just like the trailer shows. You're walking through a load of weird gaming levels with hardly a puzzle to solve.. The narrator tells some deep story but it's not fun at all and it doesn't pull you in or make it believable. The games aren't fun at all since you can hardly call them games.. Then at the end there's some lesson to be learned and that's it. Not worth a replay, not worth keeping, not worth sharing..

    Others may love this, (it has a pretty high rating for a reason) but I didn't. Not at all.. It was a boring experience and I only finished it hoping there was some 'wow' at the ending.

    If you like the trailer, go ahead and buy it. It's a cheap game and maybe this is something for you..
    If you didn't like the trailer, don't buy it. It's really not worth your time. It's not getting better and the fact that it's from the writer of "The Stanley Parable" means nothing. I think they just say that because the game wouldn't sell otherwise..    … Expand
  22. tufekciero
    Mar 12, 2021
    4
    KIRIK zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
  23. Parik
    Aug 7, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've just spent 90 minutes of my life for nothing. This game is a story about some guy (alter ego of the creator) who makes games. And we will see part of his life through his games. Maybe this story is not the worst and someone will love it, but as for me, if you want to open your inner world to your audience you don't ask them to pay fot this.… Expand
  24. hileger
    Dec 9, 2022
    4
    херь собачья херь собачья херь собачья херь собачья херь собачья херь собачья

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
3
#3 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 35
  3. Negative: 4 out of 35
  1. The Escapist
    Feb 10, 2016
    90
    The Beginner's Guide is an incredible art piece of a game that gets you thinking your relationship with the games you play.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Feb 4, 2016
    30
    Instead of engaging interactions, great animations or wonderfully crafted characters The Beginner’s Guide offers empty, amateurish, uninteresting environments and a story about two immature game developers. [01/2016, p.54]
  3. Power Unlimited
    Dec 10, 2015
    88
    The Beginner’s Guide is as fascinating as The Stanley Parable is hilarious. One of the most intriguing ‘games’ that we’ve played in recent history and an easy recommendation for everyone who likes weird game experiments. [dec. 2015 / page 062]
See all critic reviews »