On the 1st of April, Content Warning was released on Steam completely out of nowhere. This game takes Lethal Company’s formula and cranks up the goofiness to ridiculously high levels, and players are still trying to figure out how the game works. In this guide, we will be giving you a few tips to successfully get you and your friends some SpookTube clout!
Complete Beginner’s Guide
The basic premise of Content Warning is that you and a group of up to three other people are trying to get famous on the fictional platform called SpookTube by filming horror content in eerie locations in the “old world”.
Just like Lethal Company, you have to repeatedly meet some kind of quota in order to proceed to the next, slightly harder goal. This time, though, all you’re trying to get is a whole lot of views for your in-game recordings!
As simple as all this sounds, getting a hit video in the game can actually be pretty hard, especially if you plan on surviving to see the fruits of your labor! With that said, let’s give you a few pointers to start out.
Starting Your First Run
When you first spawn into the game, you will be inside the bedroom of your house. Here, you can customize your face through the wall panel or invite friends over using the machine nearby.
If you are unsure of how to get your group together, we have a guide on how to play with friends and host a coop session on Content Warning that will help you with that.
Upon going downstairs, you will see a whiteboard that outlines the basic gameplay loop of Content Warning. You’ll also find a large TV where you will be watching your hilarious clips later on.
For now, there is nothing much to do here as you haven’t really gone on your first deep dive just yet. To actually start with the real meat of the game, go outside the house.
Leaving The Safety of Your Home
The first thing you need to do upon walking out of the front door is to grab a flashlight and the camera, which are on opposite ends of the porch that you’re standing on.
Now, to the left, you will find a kiosk where you can buy all sorts of equipment and other miscellaneous items, such as new emotes and music.
You’re going to be coming back to this a lot throughout your in-game career, though be mindful that you only have three days to reach your current quota. Be careful not to buy something you won’t be using at all!
To the right is the video extraction machine. Whenever you successfully finish a run in the old world, you can go over here and extract your footage to turn it into a disk.
This is another machine you will be coming back to a lot throughout your runs. To use it, all you have to do is simply put down the camera in the slot and watch it transfer the footage to a physical storage device.
There is also a couple of charging stations around, which are tall structures with light blue accents. To use these, all you need to do is stand next to them while holding your rechargeable item.
Diving Straight Into Danger
Now that you are ready with your flashlights and camera, enter the Dive Bell straight ahead from the house. Once your entire group is inside, pull the lever and get ready to survive the horrors below.
The screen inside the Dive Bell will notify you if there are players who aren’t inside yet, so you don’t need to worry about accidentally leaving anybody behind.
The next few sections below this will be a few tips that will prove useful once you descend into the old world.
Tip #1 – Always Stick Together!
When you first reach the world down below, the one thing you must always remember is to stay with your group. In this game, there is no reason to be splitting up, especially when you’re just starting out.
This is because you only have one camera, and if you spread out, your group will potentially be missing out on a lot of good footage.
Also, do not start filming when there is nothing interesting happening. Your camera has a limited storage space. You can see how much film you have left by looking at the upper right corner of the screen while holding the camera.
Tip #2 – Find Unique Objects and Monsters!
In order to maximize how many views your videos will get, you must find all sorts of “scary” machinery and various types of monsters.
Each unique monster supposedly only gives a certain number of views once per recording, and capturing more footage of the same thing will not benefit you. With that said, there are tons of spooky objects and traps that you can engage with for more views.
This includes stuff like bones and lasers that you encounter throughout the level. Even something as simple as falling from a high spot can give you some reactions from the community.
Bones (including skulls and rib cages) in particular seem to be very attractive to viewers right now, as they find these incredibly spooky for some reason. So, if you find any, don’t forget to include them in your recordings or even take them with you!
Tip #3 – Drop the Camera When in Trouble!
Whoever the cameraman is will not always be guaranteed their safety throughout the run. Because of this, get used to pressing the Q button to drop the camera whenever you’re in a sticky situation.
Although you can get some scary (hilarious) footage while you’re being attacked, it’s best to eventually hand it over to one of your teammates before you get dragged off into the unknown.
NOTE: If you hold down Q, you can throw the camera even further. This works with other items as well and is a good little tip to remember in general.
Of course, if you like to live dangerously, you can always purposefully get yourself chased and record in selfie mode. Just make sure not to lose the camera, or else all your effort will be wasted!
Whenever your squad gets wiped, the camera you used will be lost in the old world. You can still recover the footage if you find it, but you can no longer use the camera itself to record new videos!
Tip #4 – Use the Dive Bell Monitor!
During your run, the Dive Bell can actually be a pretty useful information gathering tool whenever you are ready to extract. This is because it shows you information about each player in the session.
The monitor will show you how far a player is and how much oxygen they have left. The downside to this contraption is that it won’t tell you whether somebody is dead or alive.
If your team isn’t sticking together and you notice that somebody’s distance isn’t changing, this probably means that they’re already a goner.
Tip #5 – Use the Built-In Voice Chat!
Finally, if you are going to be playing this game, avoid using Discord or other VoIP programs. Instead, use the proximity chat that is provided to you by the game.
Not only does this add to the funny moments you will inevitably capture in the game, it will also potentially affect the views you gain and reactions from SpookTube users.
You will occasionally see this in action as your videos get comments such as “is that [player name]” or “[player name] is too loud!”
This is further encouraged by the fact that you can purchase gadgets such as the boom mic, which will definitely help you up your influencer game!
Closing Tips
Having said all of that, keep in mind that dying is a part of this game, and you shouldn’t knock yourself for getting wrecked by a random monster that you aren’t familiar with yet.
Use potential deaths (or certain ones) for more footage. Funnily enough, filming somebody’s death actually does generate some views, so don’t be afraid to risk your life for the sake of content!
Also, new stuff is being added by the developers over time. As I’m writing this, a recent patch added various new items such as a reporter mic and a sound player, allowing for even more silly moments.
And those are all of the tips and tricks we can give you at the moment, as players are still figuring out exactly how this brand new hit indie game works! While you’re here, we also have a guide on all of the monsters currently in Content Warning that will help with your survival!
