What constitutes a spoiler?

Sharing isn’t always caring

It’s easy to understand what qualifies as a “spoiler” with games in most cases, but recent releases like Breath of the Wild and  Super Mario Odyssey have started to raise some questions among the Destructoid community about what’s appropriate to discuss freely. With these two games, the story is something of a moot point. It’s all about the experience of discovering gameplay mechanics, characters, and settings first-hand. That personally-built narrative which players create while coming across things of their own volition is what makes these games so compelling.

Does a randomly-encountered NPC count as something too taboo to share? A newly discovered world/level? How about unlockable costumes and accessories? Where do we draw the line?

It varies from person to person, and that’s led to some interesting viewpoints on the matter. It’s easy to dismiss most of this as over-sensitive fanboy bitching, but that’s a rather lazy train of thought. As the definition of what a “video game” can be broadens with time, so do the elements that make the experience relevant in the first place. 

It’s become increasingly popular to simply “log off” when a hotly-anticipated new game releases, but, in a perfect world, how would you personally like to see these situations handled? How important are costumes in a game like Super Mario Odyssey? What elements outside of the story do you consider off-limits? 

I’m genuinely curious. As a moderator for the site, these types of questions haunt my fucking dreams. Personally, I’m really torn on the issue. There’s a whole lot of gray area to work through here. I’d love to hear where others stand.