Poor puzzle instructions in games

[StaceyPowers]

Has anyone noticed a tendency for puzzles in video games which do not revolve around puzzles to be really poorly explained in terms of in-game instructions?

Like take those Fallout hack puzzles. I got the basic idea reading the in-game instructions, but it was completely lost on me that it wasn’t just showing me the characters I had right, but the characters I had right in their correct placements. It’s been so long I can’t say for sure if the directions were at fault, but I remember I had to look online to figure out why I wasn’t succeeding.

I’m playing Bioshock 1 for the first time right now, and those hack puzzles included really sparse instructions too. I couldn’t for the life of me understand them until I looked online and found out that the little square in the lower left was a “storage” area for the shape I clicked on last.

Is figuring out the basic rules of puzzles supposed to be part of their appeal in games, or are the directions just really badly written? I’d understand in a puzzle game, but when they’re just little mini-games in a shooter or RPG, it seems ridiculous to expect me to puzzle out what the puzzle actually is when all I want is to get through a door and get back to shooting.

Edited March 5, 2019 by StaceyPowers

[skyfire]

I have mostly played the 2D Games which were into the puzzle and the mystery category. Some of the games were definitely too much challenging with less clues. And also they had lateral thinking ending in them. Which makes you assume a lot. And it definitely makes you wonder why you often noticed those things in the clues or the gaming. I can tell you that not all puzzles are worth it if you are into serious puzzle or mystery solving games. 

[Bravosi]

I dislike puzzles that are too hard in a game and force me to look for a solution. They should be mediocre, like in D&D.