The Beginner's Guide
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Top Critic Average
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Critic Reviews for The Beginner's Guide
A peculiar experience that's personal, sincere, and full of questions to unpack, though it asks them far too bluntly.
The second game from the creator of The Stanley Parable is an intensely personal character study and one of the most daring games in years.
The Beginner's Guide poses a number of academic questions around the nature of choice, interactivity, and creativity. While it offers no firm answers, it's one of the most thought-provoking and ultimately disarming interactive experiences I've had all year, and one I won't easily shake off.
Filling your head with questions that have no easy answers, The Beginner's Guide is confusing, thought-provoking, and unlike anything you've ever played.
The Beginner's Guide is a fascinating journey into the thoughts and processes involved in the creation of a video game, and the people that make them.
The Beginner's Guide offers a personal and sometimes eerie perspective on amateur game development.
With The Beginner's Guide, creator Davey Wreden starts with a brilliant premise, only to waste it with his insistence on telling rather than showing within his barely interactive worlds. Games don't necessarily need to be fun to work, but they should at least be engaging—something The Beginner's Guide can't maintain during its 90-minute running time.
[If you're a fan of Davey Wreden's work or simply wish to see [insecurity and mental health] themes tackled in a video game, then I'd recommend giving it a shot. At the very least, The Beginner's Guide will provide you with an experience unlike anything else in the medium.
