Examples of Great In-Game Tutorials

I am facing a common dilemma with my game… players don’t read my tutorials, then they don’t know how to play my game. There seems to be a fine line between providing enough info to tutor the new player, and overwhelming the player with info so that he just skips through the tutorial without reading.

So, I’m looking for examples in which the game devs got it right. Please share if you know of any :smile:

the best gaming tutorial is not plain text that gives information, it’s about interactivity, preferably the first level to be a tutorial level that instructs you as you move along

Warning. Lot’s of naughty language…

Plants vs Zombies does it very well, gradually introducing new elements as the game progresses and explaining them in a fun way. Nobody wants to read documentation.

Ive always liked how the zelda games do it, rather than having a tutorial level they just have the side-character explain things to you the first time you come across something new.