History Main / HintSystem

** ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple2'' takes a very different approach compared to the original game - there are digital "Prometheus Sparks" scattered around the various zones that allow you to bypass puzzles entirely (though they don't show you the solution), and they are ''much'' easier to find and acquire than the three Messengers in the original game, instead requiring either exploration and/or a bit of platforming. However, there's still only a limited supply of them, and while you can get back used sparks, the only way to actually do so is by actually solving the puzzle properly, encouraging the player to go back and try to solve previous puzzles they've bypassed if they run out of sparks.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Pokémon Centers have Nurse Joy-s that give destinations to go to if you aren't sure where to go. The issue people have with the system is that she simply points out the nearest story destination with no regard as to the actual difficulty of it, making it quite possible for her to suggest you take on a boss that has much higher levels than you currently have, especially since quite a few areas have abrupt level jumps compared to the neighboring locales. It's also possible for her to suggest areas you can't access yet without flat-out ignoring her advice[[note]] Such as facing the False Dragon Titan before you have access to the cover legend's swimming ability[[/note]].

* In the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 installment of the ''VideoGame/{{Onechanbara}}'' series, death is met with a few tips which are apparently randomly generated, often having little to do with how you died or which stage you were playing.

* In ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale'', you can call home at phone booths in order to get some advice on what to do next from Pizza's mom. If that's not enough, you can then have her pass the phone to Pizza's dad, who shares step-by-step instructions. For instance, Mom might say "you need to go to this city", while Dad will say "you need to go two screens to the right, and this is how you do the puzzle that you find on that screen".

* ''VideoGame/{{Machinarium}}'' grants you puzzle-solving hints after playing a mini-game.
* The SpecialEdition of ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'' has a built in hint system.
* ''VideoGame/ZackAndWiki'' has a Hint on payment system, where the player buys hint coupons to be redeemed later.
* Telltale Games' ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games use the "hint on delay" variant. The hints aren't exactly straightforward, though. Dawdling can be fun.
-->"There's gotta be a way to get a baby to sleep. Without the use of alcohol, that is."\\
"It's very impolite of that jerk to bust in while we're ransacking his compartment. He could at least wait outside 'til we're through."

* ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'' has a setting to change the frequency of hints. One of the episodes even requires you to have the hints set on "high" at one point for HundredPercentCompletion. Also, some of the Drive-Thru Whale's bizarre ramblings are actually cryptic hints. In "Strong Badia the Free", "Immolate your brother, please" indicates you need to [[spoiler: burn the flag, constitution, and bill of rights of Strong Sad's country Bleak House in order to conquer it.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria}}'' lets you click on the Hintkeeper whenever you want, although he warns you that too many will spoil the game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Myst}} IV'' has a hint system which gives different levels of hints in case the player doesn't want to be completely spoiled. Level 1 usually gives you just the most basic idea of what the puzzle is about, level 2 gets more involved and can tell you where to find the clues you need, while level 3 is just a walkthrough of the puzzle. Notably, this actually effects the game to a minor degree. At some point you have to earn the blessing of a spirit guide to enter the DreamLand; the guide you get will be either water, air or fire, depending on how many hints you've used.
* The Sierra hint line (see below) was mocked in ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge''. On the jungle of Dinky Island, if Guybrush gets completely lost he will eventually find a pay phone hooked up to a tree, which he can call and ask for advice. The operator will sarcastically answer any inane questions and insult his inability to figure out the solution. If pressed, he will tell you how to get back where you started (just walk offscreen), but not how to solve the puzzle.
* The series ''{{Videogame/Drawn}}'' has a system where if you get stuck you can click on the portrait of Franklin and he will give you hints. In the first game once you click for one hint you have to wait quite a while before you can click again; this waiting period is done away with in the sequel.
* The ''VideoGame/TexMurphy'' games series has a hint guide built into the game itself. Each incremental hint cost a certain number of points (gained by solving puzzles) and the system was structured so that it was impossible to "look ahead". Meanwhile, ''Martian Memorandum'' has a "Help" option, which, when clicked, allows you to choose any object in the room (including ones [[InterfaceSpoiler you haven't found yet]]) and tells you exactly what you're supposed to do with it.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Yesterday}}'' you can ask for a hint if you are stuck.
* In ''VideoGame/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' on NES, to get a hint on where to find a piece of Acme's will, you can give Jessica Rabbit a rose, or you can give Dolores a heart. Furthermore, you can find a 1-900 phone number on a table in the Ink & Paint Club; when the game was new, you could call the number and hear a recording of Jessica with various tips on how to progress in the game. [[IntimateTelecommunications Just don't call it now.]]
* ''VideoGame/EscapeSimulator'':
** Each room has a button that gives you a picture of an important location or item when pressed. There's a timer before you can get the next hint.
** The "Item Hints" option is enabled by default, and marks which items are actually useful, and which ones are just decorations.
* ''VideoGame/CragneManor'':
** Very early in the game, you can find an item almost mandatory to get your bearings: a [[spoiler: coffee cup with clouds within that can divine whether the puzzle in any given room is currently solvable.]]
** On a smaller scale, the room with Christabell lets you get hints. They're encrypted with a letter-shift cypher, but the game tells you what it is and gives it a way to solve it.

* Nintendo's "Super Guide" feature, used in several games including ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'', allows a player who has failed a level enough times to allow the game to run through the level- you can either let the game finish the whole thing or jump in in the middle to try from a later point. In either case HundredPercentCompletion still requires you to do the whole thing with no help at some point. That said, Miyamoto himself has stated that while he loves using the feature in games, [[DontYouDarePityMe he has the same reaction]] many gamers have to seeing that box/screen pop up.

Compare StrategyGuide.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' usually has a supporting character do it on failure of after reaching a certain part of a stage. In the ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' series there are hint monitors on the treasure hunting stages. Up to three hints can be used on a single emerald shard and they get more obvious with each hint.

* The various real-world "escape room" games will usually allow a player to ask for a hint by simply asking, upon which an employee monitoring the room will respond via loudspeaker with a clue related to your current progress. Limitations on the system vary by the specific venue; some establishments may place a limit on how many hints you can get in a single session (such as 3), others may penalize you by reducing your time limit, and others still may do both. More generous venues may allow players to ask for unlimited hints without penalty (although doing so repeatedly would likely not be fun for anyone involved).

* In ''{{Videogame/Yesterday}}'' you can ask for a hint if you are stuck.

* ''VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero'': The bathhouse attendants serve as hint-givers, as noted in the first conversation with one to acquire the Sales Slip, at the end of which she notes that she gives [[gold:FREE HINT]]s. And after beating the Tinkerslug, she starts really working:
--> Would you like a hint? [Yes] [No]\\\

* ''[[VideoGame/Supernova1987]'' costs 25 points per clue, and it's a static text specific to that room (which doesn't guarantee an actual hint.)

** The [[DownloadableContent weekly download puzzles]] aren't connected to the hint coins, so they use a hint on request system instead. ''Miracle Mask'''s daily puzzles, however, offer no hints at all, and neither do the OldSaveBonus puzzles.