In a genre where spoilers are devastating, how do we talk about puzzle games?

Summary

It’s a wonder that any of us find good, new puzzle games and start playing knowing nothing about them. I’ve been persuaded by a propulsive atmosphere, an intriguing premise, and snappy controls when deciding what to play, all the while remaining completely unaware of what the game is actually about. Fans have good reason to be cagey around the details of an experience largely driven by the excitement of the unknown. We live in a time where innocently surfing the web can result in seeing a single screenshot and completely ruining a game, so with that in mind, how much can be said about a game without spoiling the fun? Where do you turn when you need hints but not solutions? How, exactly, should we talk about puzzle games?Outer Wilds represents my biggest blind spot in the canon of great mystery games. I’ve had to remain very careful in conversations with other enthusiasts of the genre, who are on the whole happy to accommodate my ignorance. Ignorance, after all, is the primary currency of the so-called information game, defined by Tactical Breach Wizards developer Tom Francis as a game in which you progress by uncovering and deploying information. It’s literally impossible to participate in an information game if you already know the information. They aren’t fighting games, where thousands of similarly shaped matches are given texture by moment-to-moment chaos; they are machines finely tuned to produce specific insights in a satisfying sequence. Roller coasters, not merry-go-rounds.When I picked up Outer Wilds, I knew I’d have the best experience if I went in blind. But that’s exactly the problem, right? It’s vanishingly rare, if not impossible, to go into a game blind. Outer Wilds’ Steam page advertises that its mystery centers on a “solar system trapped in an endless time loop,” already revealing the game’s first surprise. I’m told of something at the heart of Dark Bramble, alien ruins on the Moon, and an underground city about to be buried by sand, all before I’ve...