Summary
Most video game enthusiast dislikes having their hands held, which is why tutorial sections aren’t exactly popular in games. It’s much more fun to jump in and start the action, not have every game mechanic over-explained. Most games aren’t rocket science, after all.
Unfortunately, while there are somegames that don’t hold the player’s hand, most games still include some kind of tutorial. Thankfully though, some games do get it right. They’re fairly rare, but there are examples of tutorials that are fun as well as informative. Some of these have even gone on to become nothing short of iconic. We’ve listed some of the most iconic tutorials in video games.These aren’t necessarily the best tutorials but some of the most famous and fondly remembered.
The Elder Scrollshas a long-held tradition of making the player start the game as a prisoner. It then uses their escape/release to teach them the basics of the game, like combat, sneaking, and lock-picking.Skyrimis no different, although everything is a bit more cinematic. The tutorial starts with the Dragonborn in shackles, about to get their head chopped off and things only go downhill from there.
After Alduin shows up and starts barbecuing Imperials Skyrim’s tutorial kicks off by introducing the basics of movement, jumping, and sprinting and the player is forced to run from theElder Scroll’soldest dragon. Once the player is safely inside the inventory, lock-picking, combat and sneaking are all introduced.Skyrimis a massive, sandbox-style RPG, but this tutorial does a great job of introducing the basics without drowning the player in information. Unfortunately, while iconic (no one who playsSkyrimforgets it), this tutorial isn’t that fondly remembered these days. It’s on the lengthy side and not much fun to replay, and many players will install mods to skip it completely when replaying the game.The fact so many people wish they could skip it means Skyrim’s tutorial comes in at the bottom.
Making a good tutorial for a game likeBreath Of The Wildisn’t easy. It’s a massive sandbox game with lots of interconnected systems that need to be introduced clearly to stop some players from getting overwhelmed. At the same time, the Zelda series has been around for a long time and many fans will want to jump straight in without having their hands held.
Breath of the Wild’s solution is to plop Link in a fairly large area where the player can hone their skills before the player starts their journey properly. As soon as the player grabs the materials needed for Link’s glider, they can leave. Some players will manage it in a few minutes, others might spend hours scouring the tutorial area for everything it’s worth.Breath of the Wildis one ofthe best Zelda games for explorationandits tutorial has become the go-to for how massive open-world games should start. The only reason it gets a lower ranking isBreath of the Wildisn’t all that old, limiting how “iconic” it can be.
Grand Theft Auto 5’stutorial is a perfect example of how a story section can be used to teach the player how to play the game. During the game’s prologue, set during the failed North Yankton heist, the player is taught the basics of combat, driving, and theGTA 5-exclusive character-switching mechanic.GTA 5is one ofthe Grand Theft Auto games with the best gameplayand its tutorial highlights everything that makes the game stand out.
It does this in an organic way in an exciting, fast-paced scenario that doesn’t make it feel like the player’s hand is being overly held. It also doesn’t feel tacked on, since the section is vitally important to the game’s story.GTA 5is the kind of game people replay a lot and the Yankton section never really gets boring, however many times one plays it. At over 205 million copies sold, enough people have played this tutorial to make it iconic.
It’s easy to forget how revolutionaryCall of Duty 4was when it was released back in 2007. It basically created the blueprint for most modern military FPS games and popularized mechanics like ADS and crouching/ going prone to improve weapon accuracy. These days, such mechanics do not need explaining, but in 2007, even seasoned FPS gamers weren’t used to them.
The game taught them through its training day mission, which tasks Soap with running through the kind of training gauntlet real militaries use. This training gauntlet is against the clock, and it’s a lot of fun running through it repeatedly trying to get a high score.The originalModern Warfare 2did something similar and other modern shooters, likeTitanfall 2, include similar training scenarios.
Lots of action RPGs start by giving the player a fully-powered version of their protagonist to teach them the basics before stripping most of those powers away. That way, the tutorial is never too difficult, the player gets a taste of things to come, and who doesn’t like being OP? However, it’s also a bit sad to have all that power ripped away and have to go back to basics.The Force Unleashed’stutorial is a little different.
Instead of giving the player a fully leveled Galen Marek, it starts with Darth Vader landing on a rebel planet and going to work. Vader is an absolute powerhouse and the tutorial teaches the basics of movement, combat, and force abilities.Vader is pretty much unstoppable and the game’s opening minutes are certainly iconic.When players finally gain control of Galen it isn’t disappointing, it’s exhilarating because they know it’s their job to try and match Vader’s strength by the end. It’s a shame otherStar Warsgames haven’t tried something similar.
Assassin’s Creed 2was a pretty big upgrade from the original game and had lots of new mechanics to teach players. It did so by introducing them to Ezio Auditore, a young nobleman from Renaissance Italy who wasn’t even an assassin yet. Instead, he’s a rebellious young rich kid who spends his days getting into trouble. It’s with this in mind that the developers introduce the game’s basics.
The upgraded traversal and parkour mechanics are taught when Ezio and his brother, Federico, race to the top of a church. The basic three-hit combo, countering, and the concept of fighting multiple foes at once are taught in a fistfight against rival Pazzi family members. Synchronization points, stealth basics, and even looting bodies are all also covered. Most importantly, the tutorial is a lot of fun and goes a long way toward making Ezio one of the franchise’s most likable protagonists.
Lots of games have tutorials that treat gamers like they’re a baby, butFallout 3takes it a step further. The game starts with the player being born and uses the various stages of growing to introduce the player to the basics, from walking to talking and gunplay.
As a baby, the player is taught how to toddle around as they follow their daddy, Liam Neeson. Then, at their birthday party, the player learns how to talk to others and handle the game’s dialog system. Finally, a little later, players get their first weapon, a BB gun, and learn how to take out radroaches. On top of this, the whole opening section acts as a tutorial on how the game’s decision mechanics work. By the time it ends with the player being kicked out into one ofthe best post-apocalyptic games ever made, they’re ready for whatever the Wasteland might bring.While many fans preferFallout New Vegas,overall,Fallout 3arguably has the best tutorial in the series.
TheDark Soulsfranchise is known for being brutally difficult, but it’s rarely unfair to the player. When the player dies it’s on them to get better and that’s something the original game did a great job of teaching. The tutorial area starts off fairly easily with handy messages popping up occasionally that tell us how to do things like attack, perform certain moves, and recover HP. The normal enemies in the opening area still hit hard, but there’s nothing too challenging.
That is until the player enters a large room and is hit with the “Get Away!” warning. Next thing the player knows, the terrifying Asylum Demon drops on them. The Asylum Demon is tough and can easily kill in one or two hits. While notthe hardest boss inDark Souls, it has a mountain of health and can take an age to kill. At first, it feels totally unfair. But, of course, players are not really meant to fight it yet.The Asylum Demon is there to impart one ofDark Souls’most important lessons - sometimes it’s OK to run away and come back later. The most skilled players might be able to take on this monster the first time around, but everyone else will come back later.
Iconic doesn’t necessarily mean good. The originalDriver’stutorial is iconic but for all the wrong reasons. A tutorial is meant to teach us how to play the game, preferably in an organic way.Driverpresents its fledgling player with a checklist of maneuvers to perform and then adds a strict time limit and painful insta-fail punishments if they make the smallest of mistakes.
It is brutally difficult. So difficult, in fact, that without using cheats or recruiting a skilled friend, many 90s gamers never got pastDriver’sopening level.A tutorial so difficult that it mentally scarred a whole generation of gamers is nothing short of iconic and gets second place in ranking.
A DLC having a tutorial is pretty redundant. Surely, if players have already experienced the base game, a tutorial shouldn’t be needed. ButBlood Dragon, the excellent DLC toFar Cry 3(already one ofthe best-ever open-world games), has one of the best and most iconic tutorials ever made. Why? Because it knows how much seasoned gamers hate having their handheld.
From the very beginning, the game’s tutorial treats the player like an idiot, with each popup being more sarcastic than the last.These messages are accompanied by feedback from the protagonist, General Rex, who remarks how much he wants to get to the killing and how much he hates tutorials.Blood Dragonlampoons just about every aspect of the traditional tutorial while still actually teaching newcomers the basics ofBlood Dragon’sgameplay. It’s absolutely iconic, and no other game has beaten its tutorial yet.
