Today, 31st January, is National Backwards Day in North America (no, we didn’t know it was a thing either). It’s a day for doing things with a 180° twist, a quick Google told us, whether that’s wearing a shirt the wrong way round like the kids do — maybe? — or moonwalking over to the kettle instead of looking where you are going.
All of the day’s festive cheer has got us thinking about playing games in a different direction. We’re not talking about those skilled individuals out there who can literally play a game backwards (we see you and your Z-Targeting leaps, Ocarina of Time speedrunners), but rather those who start the narrative at the end. The spoiler searchers.
There are a lot of really good games out there and a lot of them have really good endings. Time and time again, we hear something along the lines of, “This 50-hour RPG has the best ending I have seen in years”. Wonderful, we think, as we silently compartmentalise the game in the bulging backlog folder, safe in the knowledge that we will likely never get around to playing it let alone seeing it through to the end.
But through it all, the desire to know what this stand-out ending is gnaws at us. We lose our appetites, we stop sleeping and then, eventually, we Google it. It feels slightly dirty, a bit like reading the final chapter in a book before even hitting the contents page, but at least now we know.
The problems start when we realise that our friend is right. That ending does sound really good and now we want to play the game. Is the experience ruined because we know where it’s all heading or is there still joy to be found?
It’s different for everyone. In the holy year of 2024, the word ‘spoiler’ has come to mean anything from an officially released trailer to a leaked ROM of a game six months ahead of its launch. Some people want to go into a game completely blind and that is perfectly acceptable, but for others, the surprise isn’t the be-all and end-all of the play experience.
Yes, nobody likes an unexpected spoiler. There is nothing worse than having your Twitter locked down with muted words, only for Barry from Luton to slip through the net with, “I can’t believe Bruce Willis was a ghost all along! #Shocked”. Thanks a lot, Barry. But wanted spoilers are a different kettle of fish altogether.
Instead of having a surprise that you have intentionally avoided for months shoved in your face, intentionally reading about a game’s ending before heading in can offer a completely different perspective on the narrative. Sure, ‘he was dead all along’ might pack a punch in the moment, but if you knew that it was coming then you’re privy to know just how earned the finale actually was.
A lot of this will depend on the game itself. We can’t imagine that something like Outer Wilds would have been nearly as wonderful if we knew what the final act would have in store, but checking out Super Mario Odyssey‘s climactic boss is probably not as big of a deal (unless, of course, it is for you).
Today, 31st January, is National Backwards Day in North America (no, we didn’t know it was a thing either). It’s a day for doing things with a 180° twist, a quick Google told us, whether that’s wearing a shirt the wrong way round like the kids do — maybe? — or moonwalking over to the kettle instead of looking where you are going.
All of the day’s festive cheer has got us thinking about playing games in a different direction. We’re not talking about those skilled individuals out there who can literally play a game backwards (we see you and your Z-Targeting leaps, Ocarina of Time speedrunners), but rather those who start the narrative at the end. The spoiler searchers.
There are a lot of really good games out there and a lot of them have really good endings. Time and time again, we hear something along the lines of, “This 50-hour RPG has the best ending I have seen in years”. Wonderful, we think, as we silently compartmentalise the game in the bulging backlog folder, safe in the knowledge that we will likely never get around to playing it let alone seeing it through to the end.
But through it all, the desire to know what this stand-out ending is gnaws at us. We lose our appetites, we stop sleeping and then, eventually, we Google it. It feels slightly dirty, a bit like reading the final chapter in a book before even hitting the contents page, but at least now we know.
The problems start when we realise that our friend is right. That ending does sound really good and now we want to play the game. Is the experience ruined because we know where it’s all heading or is there still joy to be found?
It’s different for everyone. In the holy year of 2024, the word ‘spoiler’ has come to mean anything from an officially released trailer to a leaked ROM of a game six months ahead of its launch. Some people want to go into a game completely blind and that is perfectly acceptable, but for others, the surprise isn’t the be-all and end-all of the play experience.
Yes, nobody likes an unexpected spoiler. There is nothing worse than having your Twitter locked down with muted words, only for Barry from Luton to slip through the net with, “I can’t believe Bruce Willis was a ghost all along! #Shocked”. Thanks a lot, Barry. But wanted spoilers are a different kettle of fish altogether.
Instead of having a surprise that you have intentionally avoided for months shoved in your face, intentionally reading about a game’s ending before heading in can offer a completely different perspective on the narrative. Sure, ‘he was dead all along’ might pack a punch in the moment, but if you knew that it was coming then you’re privy to know just how earned the finale actually was.
A lot of this will depend on the game itself. We can’t imagine that something like Outer Wilds would have been nearly as wonderful if we knew what the final act would have in store, but checking out Super Mario Odyssey‘s climactic boss is probably not as big of a deal (unless, of course, it is for you).
