Guides work is a really unusual beast, and one which we do not discuss as usually as we perhaps ought to. By its nature, we right here in guidestown can really feel a bit remoted from the remainder of RPS. Our guides aren’t very seen to our common readers. Nobody hops onto a web site like this and says to themselves, “Properly now! I’m wondering what guides have been written at the moment that I can spend my time studying by way of!”. The overwhelming majority of people that learn our guides come straight from a Google search into one thing particular like “Can I romance Yennefer and Triss on the identical time?” (spoiler alert: you may, however it might not finish nicely for you).
As a result of we function a lot behind the scenes, it is simple to overlook among the wonderful stuff that the workforce did in guidestown this 12 months. It ain’t simple, writing a walkthrough or how-to that is helpful for the reader whereas concurrently appeasing these nebulous and mercurial search engine marketing gods. However 2022 has been a stonkingly good 12 months for guides, and I would like to take a bit of little bit of time to shine a light-weight on among the issues we’re most happy with having achieved this 12 months – and to toast what is going to hopefully be one other smashing 12 months for guides in 2023!
Beginning with the hulking demonic poleaxe-wielding elephant within the room: Elden Ring was completely large for guides this 12 months. With all arms on deck and over 80 guides written to an exceptionally excessive customary by everybody concerned, it is onerous to select only one that I am notably happy with. So I’ve picked out two as an alternative.
In all probability my best private achievement this 12 months was our Elden Ring boss areas information, over which I crooned like Gollum over the One Ring for a lot of the early a part of the 12 months. Containing 9 detailed maps and virtually 20,000 phrases detailing the areas and natures of 238 bosses, this information was completely my greatest private endeavor in 4 years of RPS guides work. And it was value it. Need a enjoyable truth? That one boss areas information accounted for over 1 / 4 of RPS’s complete guides site visitors in March.
One other wonderful achievement of this 12 months is Hayden’s Elden Ring walkthrough. This walkthrough does the virtually not possible job of displaying gamers at any stage of FromSoft’s sprawling masterpiece what to do subsequent, whereas additionally conserving the entire information amazingly clear, succinct, and digestible. It is positively one of the important guides we ended up writing for the largest sport of 2022.
Elden Ring’s monumental success initially of the 12 months was echoed on the finish of the 12 months with the daunting double-release of Name of Obligation: Fashionable Warfare 2 and Warzone 2. 140 guides, people. 140. That is a complete lot of phrases, and a colossal achievement in itself. I am fairly happy particularly with our Warzone 2 weapon stats tables, which concerned most likely a dozen or so hours of me repeatedly taking pictures somebody in numerous elements of the physique with completely different weapons. It was value it although, as a result of we ended up being the primary website on the web that gave gamers a full stats breakdown of each major weapon in each Warzone 2 and MW2.
FIFA 23 was one other huge success for us in 2022. This was the primary 12 months that we lined a FIFA sport, and Hayden spearheaded the venture with all his traditional enthusiasm and a spotlight to element. It is onerous to select only one information to be happy with right here as they every tick all of the containers for readability and element, so I am going to direct you in the direction of his information on the perfect Prolonged gamers in FIFA 23, each as a result of it does an awesome job of explaining every little thing a reader might hope to know in regards to the matter, and since the identify of the information makes me giggle.
These had been the largest video games of 2022 for us, however definitely not the one issues that we’re happy with doing this 12 months. Again in June, Rebecca revealed a splendidly insightful and detailed look into how a lot it truly prices to play Diablo Immortal. On this information she skillfully lays naked each facet of Diablo Immortal’s infamously predatory monetisation mannequin. It is a really nice learn. Complete, savvy, and an ideal instance of what Rebecca does when she’s given the time to actually delve into a subject.
However why cease with only one instance? Simply over a month later Rebecca wrote up a information on the gender customisation choices in The Sims 4, and I simply have to offer it a shout out right here. It is a difficult and delicate matter, and her information goes the additional mile in explaining the total penalties of every customisation selection in ways in which solely an ardent lifelong fan of the franchise might hope to put in writing.
Predating all of this – on the very starting of the 12 months, Hayden revealed a cracking information on the perfect character builds in Venture Zomboid, a spectacularly dense survival sport which I definitely did not fancy the duty of deciphering. But that is precisely what Hayden did, patiently explaining how occupations, expertise, and traits all work in Venture Zomboid, after which illustrating two in-depth character builds that can give new gamers that greatest likelihood of surviving and having fun with the sport.
Construct guides are one thing of a speciality of ours right here in guidestown. I feel all of us relish the chance to dive very deeply right into a sport and use every little thing at our disposal to create the absolute best construct, whether or not it is for a gun, a mech, or a hero. One of the vital complete guides we revealed this 12 months was Rebecca’s Genshin Affect Traveler construct information. It is one of many first examples of a multi-page information on RPS, and Rebecca completely packed every web page with important info on learn how to profit from Genshin Affect’s versatile beginning character.
I would additionally like to offer a giant shoutout to Charlie, who spent over a 12 months producing top quality guides for us on a contract foundation. He principally labored on Warzone and ARPGs like Path Of Exile, Misplaced Ark, and Diablo Immortal, however particularly I would prefer to level readers in the direction of his two wonderful Escape From Tarkov guides: the primary on ammo varieties, and the second on the perfect helmets and armour to make use of. Each these guides make extremely complicated subjects way more approachable for brand new EFT gamers, and will solely have been written by somebody with an enormous quantity of expertise in one of the abstruse shooters round.
Oh go on, yet one more. That is one among my very own, and at the least 50% of the rationale for together with it right here is to induce extra individuals to play The Cycle: Frontier. Generally writing guides could be a chore, for certain. Simply ask Rebecca about her work writing limitless Roblox codes guides, or any of us about writing our each day Wordle guides. However different occasions, it may be an absolute pleasure to introduce gamers to one among your favorite video games of the 12 months. The keenness shines by way of, I feel, in our newbie’s information to The Cycle: Frontier. I hope 2023 offers us lots extra alternatives like this to put in writing some true labours of affection for video games we merely adore taking part in.
Subsequent 12 months is already wanting very thrilling to us. We have got Starfield, in fact, as the large new sport on the horizon. Subsequent 12 months’s Elden Ring, you may say. However there’s additionally Forspoken, Redfall, Nightingale, Ark II, and different smaller however nonetheless intriguing alternatives for guides with video games like Hades II, Planet Of Lana, and Kerbal Area Program 2. It’s going to be numerous work, however the guides workforce has by no means been stronger. We’ll get it accomplished, and we’ll greater than possible have numerous enjoyable doing it.
