The Game Census
The Beginner's Guide cover art

The Beginner's Guide

Everything Unlimited Ltd. · 2015-10-01

Steam

AdventureIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Oct 01, 2015 (Linux), Oct 01, 2015 (Mac), Oct 01, 2015 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

The 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.

The Beginner's Guide is an Adventure and Indie game released in 2015, priced at $9.99, with an owner estimate of 500,000 .. 1,000,000 and a review sentiment of Very Positive (88% of 23489 reviews).

3
playing now
88%
positive of 24k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
75/100
critic score (6 outlets, IGDB)
81/100
IGDB user rating (257 ratings)
73/100
opencritic · fair · 75% recommend · from 27 critics
1.7h
to beat · rushed 1.2h · completionist 1.3h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$9.99
steam price (US)

3 players in-game as of 2026-10-15 03:00 UTC (census sample)

The Beginner's Guide is an interactive storytelling video game created by Davey Wreden under the studio name Everything Unlimited Ltd. It was released for Linux, macOS, and Windows on October 1, 2015. It is Wreden's follow-up to the critically praised The Stanley Parable, initially released in 2013.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 3 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 869 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~109/week).
  • · Review velocity up 18% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 28,914 Adventure games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 590k–1.4M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 23,596 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $2.49 at Steam (2018-06-21) · bundled 1×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 5 of 10 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
32232220182026Week of 2018-01-01: 151 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 174 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 147 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 137 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 170 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 80 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 113 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 121 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 118 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 51 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 121 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 189 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 74 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 98 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 128 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 88 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 76 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 112 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 95 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 69 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 123 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 109 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 289 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 36 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 322 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 203 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 161 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 280 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 111 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 93 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 81 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 105 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 202 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 144 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 130 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 64 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 76 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 81 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 73 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 104 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 135 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 69 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 99 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 139 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 129 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 176 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 17 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1502026-09-15 12:00 — 6 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 7 players2026-09-18 04:00 — 9 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 6 players2026-09-20 19:00 — 7 players2026-09-22 03:00 — 5 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 4 players2026-09-24 18:00 — 6 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 3 players2026-09-27 09:00 — 7 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 3 players2026-09-30 00:00 — 5 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 3 players2026-10-02 15:00 — 7 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 7 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 6 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 10 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 6 players2026-10-09 05:00 — 4 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 8 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 11 players2026-10-13 04:00 — 15 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 0 players2026-10-15 03:00 — 3 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
1864Oct 2015Aug 2026Oct 2015 — avg 186 · peak 913Feb 2016 — avg 24 · peak 99Jun 2016 — avg 19 · peak 152Oct 2016 — avg 14 · peak 36Feb 2017 — avg 16 · peak 42Jun 2017 — avg 20 · peak 97Oct 2017 — avg 10 · peak 46Feb 2018 — avg 9 · peak 26Jun 2018 — avg 14 · peak 62Oct 2018 — avg 7 · peak 35Feb 2019 — avg 10 · peak 34Jun 2019 — avg 9 · peak 29Oct 2019 — avg 5 · peak 16Feb 2020 — avg 6 · peak 25Jun 2020 — avg 9 · peak 43Oct 2020 — avg 6 · peak 26Feb 2021 — avg 7 · peak 29Jun 2021 — avg 7 · peak 24Oct 2021 — avg 6 · peak 28Feb 2022 — avg 6 · peak 19Jun 2022 — avg 7 · peak 25Oct 2022 — avg 4 · peak 13Feb 2023 — avg 4 · peak 13Jun 2023 — avg 4 · peak 19Oct 2023 — avg 4 · peak 15Feb 2024 — avg 9 · peak 25Jun 2024 — avg 11 · peak 40Oct 2024 — avg 6 · peak 17Feb 2025 — avg 6 · peak 21Jun 2025 — avg 6 · peak 24Oct 2025 — avg 7 · peak 18Feb 2026 — avg 5 · peak 14Jun 2026 — avg 10 · peak 26Aug 2026 — avg 15 · peak 92
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$9.99$2.492015-10-022026-08-242015-10-02 — best price $7.992015-12-23 — best price $7.992016-02-08 — best price $6.492016-05-20 — best price $5.992016-07-04 — best price $5.992016-11-07 — best price $9.992016-11-29 — best price $9.992017-05-11 — best price $3.992017-07-05 — best price $9.992017-11-01 — best price $9.992018-01-04 — best price $9.992018-05-10 — best price $3.992018-07-09 — best price $9.992018-11-15 — best price $2.492019-01-10 — best price $2.492019-03-17 — best price $9.992019-05-27 — best price $9.992019-11-21 — best price $4.992019-12-19 — best price $3.992020-01-23 — best price $3.992020-07-09 — best price $9.992020-11-25 — best price $4.992021-02-11 — best price $4.992021-07-09 — best price $9.992021-12-20 — best price $4.992022-02-03 — best price $9.992022-11-29 — best price $9.992023-03-23 — best price $9.992023-07-07 — best price $9.992024-01-04 — best price $9.992024-06-27 — best price $4.992025-01-02 — best price $9.992025-09-29 — best price $4.992026-01-30 — best price $9.992026-08-10 — best price $4.992026-08-24 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

322802026-05-28 — 113 pageviews2026-06-01 — 156 pageviews2026-06-05 — 108 pageviews2026-06-09 — 113 pageviews2026-06-13 — 128 pageviews2026-06-17 — 126 pageviews2026-06-21 — 175 pageviews2026-06-25 — 158 pageviews2026-06-29 — 159 pageviews2026-07-03 — 162 pageviews2026-07-07 — 283 pageviews2026-07-11 — 147 pageviews2026-07-15 — 105 pageviews2026-07-19 — 127 pageviews2026-07-23 — 84 pageviews2026-07-27 — 125 pageviews2026-07-31 — 116 pageviews2026-08-04 — 138 pageviews2026-08-08 — 115 pageviews2026-08-12 — 147 pageviews2026-08-16 — 129 pageviews2026-08-20 — 228 pageviews2026-08-24 — 162 pageviews2026-08-28 — 135 pageviews2026-09-01 — 137 pageviews2026-09-05 — 121 pageviews2026-09-09 — 120 pageviews2026-09-13 — 130 pageviews2026-09-17 — 123 pageviews2026-09-21 — 120 pageviews2026-09-25 — 95 pageviews2026-09-29 — 117 pageviews2026-10-03 — 159 pageviews2026-10-07 — 107 pageviews2026-10-11 — 109 pageviews2026-10-13 — 108 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerCaptions availablePartial Controller SupportRemote Play on TabletFamily Sharing

4 supported languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

IndieShortSurrealAbstractAdventureEmotionalNarrationStory RichAtmosphericExperimental

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Finding ParadiseTanziaMasochisiaPikunikuWeapon Shop FantasyEternity: The Last UnicornDude Simulator 2Don't Notice Me

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗Speedruns ↗