Tell GR is a weekly Game Revolution community feature in which we ask you a question, and you answer it in the comments section below. Read the GR editorial team’s opinions before sharing your own responses!
The Last of Us 2 spoilers are out in the wild thanks to a series of huge leaks, with Naughty Dog’s upcoming PS4 exclusive having a number of key plot points revealed online. While the Game Revolution team won’t be publishing any of these spoilers for obvious reasons, it did strike up a discussion about whether or not we care about spoilers in the first place.
We had our say below, so now we want to read your thoughts. Do you care about spoilers, or do you avoid them at all costs? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll feature our favorite response in next week’s Tell GR.
Our opinions…
“I am intensely spoilerphobic”
Michael Leri, lead writer: I am intensely spoilerphobic for most of the media I consume. I avoid trailers and demos of big games at almost all costs because I like to experience moments for myself. Yes, I am the guy that looks down during trailers at the theater (remember those?) and stares at the ground during (most) E3 stage demos. I know that the journey is important, but there’s also merit in seeing something with totally fresh eyes even if it isn’t something big.
That feeling, to me, is a big part of why I love games and film. Playing games like God of War or Control or seeing movies like Avengers: Endgame or Parasite without knowing the premise or what is coming next is a constantly new and surprising, which is significantly more immersive. And that immersion is key.
I thought attending previews for GR would go against my approach to spoilers, but it didn’t since playing those games myself in some unbroken form was enough context for me. Trailers, on the other hand, always put me on edge because publishers are quite careless with spoilers. From revealing the Doom Slayer’s awesome sword to just straight up showing late-game story material from Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and Death Stranding, publishers have little regard for letting potential players have these moments themselves. It’s this recklessness that hardens my beliefs and why I lightly encourage others to try such an “untainted” lifestyle.
“It depends on the game”
Jason Faulkner, senior editor: For me, it really depends on the game. There’s plenty of bigger games I don’t really have any interest in, and working as a games writer, you sometimes just have to spoil things for yourself. I do like it to be my choice whether something is spoiled or not, though. That’s why I rarely go on Twitter anymore. People love spoiling things on there, and there’s not a foolproof way to avoid it.
Working at GR is cool because we all are willing to take the bullet on spoilers if someone is really interested in a game and doesn’t want it ruined. We’re all respectful when it comes to spoilers, and we’ll usually wait until everyone has got a chance to play something before we discuss it in detail.
“I try to let spoilers give me a new angle of appreciation”
Mack Ashworth, lead editor: If it’s a story that I really care about, then I do everything I can to avoid spoilers. From Star Wars to Avengers, recent years have been the worst for dodging spoilers.
Like Jason mentioned, however, writing about games sometimes means diving into spoiler territory. I have my own way of dealing with this, though it will sound very pretentious when I write it out.
When I have a key plot point spoiled, like a character’s death, I’ll then treat the movie/game like a Shakespearean tragedy, where the audience is told the events ahead of time. You know that Romeo and Juliet aren’t going to live happily ever after, nor are Macbeth or Hamlet going to survive until the end. Knowing a character’s fate ahead of time, or where the story ultimately ends up, allows a new angle of appreciation, as you are aware of foreshadowing or dramatic irony.
I guess I just try to take those spoilers and allow them to shape a new way to appreciate what I’m watching or playing, rather than getting super annoyed.
“Some people want to watch the world burn”
Paul Tamburro, executive editor: If I’ve been looking forward to a game, film, book, TV series, or whatever, why would I want to find out the ending to it in a random comment or tweet? Unfortunately, as some people want to watch the world burn, working in a career that requires me to spend so much time on the internet means it’s sometimes unavoidable.
I had almost the entire plot of Avengers: Endgame spoiled for me in the Game Revolution Twitch chat, and before that, a random Reddit comment informed me that Han Solo died in The Force Awakens. It’s a tough old world if you want to enjoy a piece of entertainment without a dickhead going out of his way to ruin it for you.
Last week’s best reply…
How many consoles have you owned?
bigtruckseriesreview:
- NES
- SNES
- Gameboy
- GBC
- GBA SP
- JAGUAR
- Wii
- Tiger GAME.Com
- Turbografx 16
- Virtual Boy
- Super Game Boy
- Genesis
- Game Gear
- Playstation
- Playstation 2
- Playstation 3
- Xbox
- Xbox 360
- XBOX ONE
- NES classic
- SNES classic
- Genesis classic
- TG16 classic
- Playstation Classic
All those consoles and the only one I ever sold was the Jaguar…A move which I regret to this day. I had my dad buy it at launch and sold it to a kid at school for $50.
