Playable without guides?

[Siilk]

Heard a lot of good stuff about AW but also heard some reviewers mentioning that it is more of a "reading wiki/forum threads is mandatory to get the proper ending" kind of game. Is this true or are they exaggerating? For reference, I played a fair bit of metroidvanias and puzzlevanias(i.e Fez, Tunic etc) before, completed a lot of those those mostly spoiler-free but I certainly wouldn't call myself a galaxy brain dude.

[Janni]

You can definitely finish the main game's normal ending without guides.

If you're including achievements like getting all the eggs you could also find them alone but ill be realistic and say you're probably gonna use a guide for that because they can be insanely hard to find.

For secrets beyond the achievements ? Guide or GTFO basically.

[Siilk]

Thanks for the info, guess I'll have to pass this one then.

[Zelakon]

Originally posted by Siilk:

Thanks for the info, guess I'll have to pass this one then.

If you've played FEZ and Tunic and enjoyed them, then chances are you'd enjoy this too!

(Granted it's not nearly as good as either of those, but in the same vein nonetheless.)

[joem5815]

Originally posted by Zelakon:

Originally posted by Siilk:

Thanks for the info, guess I'll have to pass this one then.

If you've played FEZ and Tunic and enjoyed them, then chances are you'd enjoy this too!

(Granted it's not nearly as good as either of those, but in the same vein nonetheless.)

To each his own. I tried both Fez and Tunic and bored out of both within a couple hours, but I just rolled credits on this one after just a few sessions, between which I was thinking about this game. Maybe I need to give Fez and Tunic another chance (played Fez long before I got into metroidvanias) but, in tone alone, all three are very different from each other.

[Rae]

if you want the true ending and achievements you're probably going to end up pretty dependent on guides, unfortunately. the nonlinear labyrinthine nature of the game combined with the lack of in-game dialogue, area names etc. can also make it hard to figure out where/when you are and look up what you need to do next. i found the game very frustrating for this reason.

shoutout to the king or queen who made the interactive egg map and single-handedly saved my mental health lol.

[nephalim]

Unless you are a genius or have a LOT of time on your hands there is no way you will come close to 100% this game without a guide. But you can definitely reach a satisfying point without one.

[JesusTheSunGod]

I wouldn't say they were exaggerating, so much as eggaggerating.

[Zelakon]

Originally posted by joem5815:

To each his own. I tried both Fez and Tunic and bored out of both within a couple hours, but I just rolled credits on this one after just a few sessions, between which I was thinking about this game. Maybe I need to give Fez and Tunic another chance (played Fez long before I got into metroidvanias) but, in tone alone, all three are very different from each other.

That's interesting; you're the first person I've come across who's tried all three and has that opinion.

Yes I would suggest you give them both another try, and if you still find them dull, work out what specifically it was about animal well that you found more engaging than in fez or tunic; i'd be really interested to know!

Also give Knytt Underground a go too, and lmk what you think of it :)

[Clail]

Playing without guides myself and am having a good time.

I'm sure theirs secrets i'm missing and I have no idea what most items do, but figuring that stuff out is a big part of the fun you loose out on using someone elses guide and work.

[Gabe!!]

The vast majority of the game's content is solvable without any hints or guides, but there are one or two secrets very late game that are designed to be solved by searching for answers outside of the game.

[Engineer]

Started playing a week ago, I completed the game at 8 hours mark, but still had collectibles to find and secrets to discover.
I have played for 18 more hours before I started to read guides. Whoever is reading this before finishing the game - I can give you an advice so you don't waste your time like I did.

The moment you get the second ending and steam achievement for it, the game is practically 100%-ed. You might stick around to solve what puzzles have left, but keep in mind, that some of them are literally impossible to solve by yourself. They were designed for community and were solved by community effort. The map cannot be discovered in it's entirety without cheats either.

Read after finishing the game for the first time:
Unlocking the second ending involves finding all the eggs. There is a chance that you will get the second ending before the first one. If you have not found all the eggs and finished the game without using fireworks, that's all you have to do left.
If you really want it, you can try to do cuckoo clock, or the chest behind skulls, but it just gives you in-game trophies, that's all.

So my advice - get both endings and google everything else. There are spoiler-free hints somewhere in the guides section if you are stuck, but really want to solve as much as possible by yourself.

[Mars]

Originally posted by Engineer:

Started playing a week ago, I completed the game at 8 hours mark, but still had collectibles to find and secrets to discover.

I'm 15 hours in and am struggling quite a bit. Had my doubts when buying it, reading about a lot of backtracking and having to do very precise jumps and such. Figured I'd give it the benefit of the doubt. And in the beginning I found it quite forgiving, and sure I figured I'd get more difficult (which it did), but I'm now at the point where it's getting a bit ridiculous imo.

I know that's probably also a -me- thing as I'm not huge into platformers. Tho I absolutely loved Fez, and find Tunic enjoyable enough (still have to finish it). As where the former imo was quite easy when it comes to platform skills. I enjoyed the puzzling and hidden knowledge aspect.

I think I have a LOT of the map by now, missing 1 item from my inventory, finished the 9 candles, know how to teleport to the hub with the flute got close to 40 eggs collected, got 2/4 flames. I'm just trying to find hidden spots, which means I'm just running around the map A LOT and it starts to feel like I'm really wasting time. I only have like 2 or 3 leads to go on. Including how to get to the bunny, which is incredibly frustrating. The bubble jumping is just too much and seriously starting to hurt my hands..

[zero hope >:(]

I just say the secrets are extremely satisfying to discover without guides and you can just poke it here and there a lot along your way before you get down to use guides. Like, I am still on my first playthrough, and so far I have discovered 56 eggs on my own and I still didn't give up on finding the others. Every new egg you obtain just by effing around feels soo good. Indeed, the puzzles are creative and expect a lot from you, the more cunning it makes you feel. Just don't use guide right at once. If it looks like it is a secret up there - probably it is.

[Grumble X2]

I haven't used any guides yet. I beat the normal ending and have gotten at least 40 out of the 64 hidden eggs so far. I'm still having fun and don't feel like I flatlined yet. Some tips:

- On the map, just look for empty spaces or open passages you left unexplored. If you can't get there yet, move on, you might find something that will help later. Rinse and repeat.

- You will gradually find more tools that improve quality-of-life (including after the normal ending!), making travel around the world faster/easier and not having to "re-solve"/"re-do" things. Including warp travel and something that will help fill in those "too dark to see map" areas.

- Try every item you have around every animal to see if/how it reacts.

- Just be very observant of details in the background/walls of all areas.

[zero hope >:(]

The game is the definition of "the more you fu­ck around - the more you find out". A times you try some crazy stuff just to see if it works, and surprisingly it turns out you were expected to do it.

Kinda reminds me of Knytt series / Within a Deep Forest. As much atmospheric, as much in the way of what you have to do in the game.

So, I managed to casually collect 39 eggs before I stumbled upon the boss. I made it 52 before I overtook him and I reached 62 post-boss before my spirit started to fail. The last two things I found were a hub warp song and UV-light. It means I was at 62 already when I finally could read hints and this means I had to run around alot.

I discovered a few spectral bunnies as well, i can sense some chests hidden in the walls, and i have two places unvisited since i couldn't figure out how to travel upwards there, so i assume you are expected to fall down from there. At this moment I have not much ideas on what to do next, so i either use a guide or quit at this point. I think I did good job on going guideless already nonetheless, it was a delight.

No way i am playing this game again from the start to collect all this stuff once more though lol.