90
The Beginner's Guide is an incredible art piece of a game that gets you thinking your relationship with the games you play.
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]
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]
10
Brilliant. Watch the trailer. Read the store description. Don't look at ANYTHING ELSE. In fact, STOP READING REVIEWS AND GO PLAY IT! Anything else you read might possibly spoil the experience for you. I think the beauty of this game is that everyone takes their own message from it. I played it at just the right time in my life, when I needed it the most. I've spent long nights laying in bed, pondering the questions it raised in my mind... it might not hit everyone the same way, but it's DEFINITELY worth the experience.
3
Cuando buscas una foto de Davey Wreden te haces una idea del tipo de contenido que crea. Aquí todo ese snobismo se vuelve insufrible y abrumador en el peor de los sentidos. The Stanley Parable huele a tufo hipster y es aceptable porque, al menos, permite algún tipo de interacción con el medio. Esto… bueno, mejor dejo que lo experimentéis por vosotros mismos, si tenéis la paciencia. Creo —quizá me equivoque— que no todo el mundo es tan inteligente como cree que es y que, a veces, es mejor callarse que evidenciar lo idiota que uno puede llegar a ser.
10
maybe not everything has to have a meaning. or a story. or be cohesive. or be anything, really. maybe it's just allowed to exist. like we are.
The Beginner's Guide
Released On:
Oct 1, 2015
Metascore
Generally Favorable
76
User score
Generally Favorable
7.6
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
76
69% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
20% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
11% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Oct 8, 2015
100
Few game developers have ever ventured such an open-hearted project about human frailty – and knocked it out of orbit.
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]
User score
Generally Favorable
7.6
68% Positive
260 Ratings
260 Ratings
17% Mixed
64 Ratings
64 Ratings
15% Negative
57 Ratings
57 Ratings
Mar 23, 2026
10
Brilliant. Watch the trailer. Read the store description. Don't look at ANYTHING ELSE. In fact, STOP READING REVIEWS AND GO PLAY IT! Anything else you read might possibly spoil the experience for you. I think the beauty of this game is that everyone takes their own message from it. I played it at just the right time in my life, when I needed it the most. I've spent long nights laying in bed, pondering the questions it raised in my mind... it might not hit everyone the same way, but it's DEFINITELY worth the experience.
Dec 19, 2025
10
maybe not everything has to have a meaning. or a story. or be cohesive. or be anything, really. maybe it's just allowed to exist. like we are.
Oct 6, 2015
85
Whatever The Beginner's Guide is supposed to be: it's well done and everything we could say about it would be a spoiler.
Oct 11, 2015
80
It’s easy to have mixed thoughts about The Beginner’s Guide, but as a game that aims to make you think, it does accomplish this goal.
Oct 1, 2015
80
The Beginner’s Guide is an absorbing journey into the thoughts and processes involved during the creation of a video game. It succeeds in helping you understand and sympathize with game developers as artists and people. It equips you with important tools to perceive and think about both video games and other mediums in intelligent ways. It’s a game that lives up to its namesake--it’s the beginner’s guide to the meaning of video games.
Dec 1, 2015
63
It's a smart idea with fascinating concepts, executed in a way that never lets them breathe. [Dec 2015, p.82]
Oct 4, 2015
20
It sensationalizes the concepts of the misunderstood creator and the misguided audience and begs pity from the latter.
Aug 1, 2025
10
This game has touched my soul in a way very few games do. The environments really nail the look of prototype projects while still maintaining a tense and zanny atmosphere. Davey wreden is a genius of storytelling in games. 4th favourite game of all time.
May 14, 2024
7
Touching, but I don't think it was intended for me. I think it was only intended for the developer himself.
Jun 9, 2023
7
A short indue game with an interesting premise. It's very unique and worth experiencing just for the moral that it offers and the way that it gets there. Gameplay wise there's almost nothing to speak of but the unconventional story is strong enough to be worth it on its own.
Jan 17, 2026
3
Cuando buscas una foto de Davey Wreden te haces una idea del tipo de contenido que crea. Aquí todo ese snobismo se vuelve insufrible y abrumador en el peor de los sentidos. The Stanley Parable huele a tufo hipster y es aceptable porque, al menos, permite algún tipo de interacción con el medio. Esto… bueno, mejor dejo que lo experimentéis por vosotros mismos, si tenéis la paciencia. Creo —quizá me equivoque— que no todo el mundo es tan inteligente como cree que es y que, a veces, es mejor callarse que evidenciar lo idiota que uno puede llegar a ser.
SummaryThe Beginner's Guide is a narrative video game from Davey Wreden, the creator of The Stanley Parable. It lasts about an hour and a half and has no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand.
