How do you Playthrough Each New Video Game?

What I mean from the title is, let's say that you've just purchased a brand new video game that you have never played before.

Would you prefer that new game blindly, or, at some point, would you rely on a guide for some help on a part that you might get stuck on? On that note, do you consider using guides in games "cheating", or just a way of assistance? Or does it simply depend on the game itself? If you have other thoughts you'd like to share, feel free to!

If it's my first time playing, I like doing it Blind. That way when everything unfolds it's a surprise to me, and keeps me playing.

In later playthroughs, I'd do some fun stuff though, like in Persona 4 Golden doing an Only Izanagi run.

Blind. Just me and the video game. If I get stuck in a game for a while and I want to keep playing, I might look at a guide. Relying on guides or walkthrough make the playthrough much less entertaining for me.

I will start blind and continue this way unless I get really stuck and need a a hint in the right direction.
I also use guides to help me remember where I am in the game after taking a long break from play, this is pretty much exclusive to RPGs for me, otherwise I would rather replay the game than continue having forgotten what has happened previously.

After the first playthrough I will use a guide to help collect all the optional/collectible things that I missed the first time around.

Blind the first time, but after that I reserve the right to use any guide I want because I'm not wasting a ton of time trying to figure out where collectibles are. That's how I play through visual novels. The first time I just see which ending I get naturally, but after that I skip all read text and use guides to get 100%.

Blind first time, higher difficulty the second. Just to make things fun.

I've always gone through games blind the first time around, just since I feel that using a guide lessens the satisfaction of completing a game. After I've completed the main story or am playing through again, I ocassionally will look up hints/guides, especially if I'm trying to get a bunch of trophies/achievements.

Unless I'm really stuck at a particular point, I'll do blind runs first. If I really like the game, I'll go back and play it again with a guide in order to get 100%. I play a lot of JRPGs and they're notorious for having tons of easily missed items or sidequests as you progress. Especially the Tales games, you need a guide open at all times if you intend to get anywhere near completion.

If I'm not worried about spoilers and I'm enjoying the game and want a fuller experience, I'll loosely play with a guide on my first time. It's usually for games where I want to do some extra stuff but I know I won't have the time/drive to play again for completion. And if I'm really not enjoying a game but still want to finish it, I'll play with a guide to get through it ASAP.

I would always go through the game first time blind except if I needed help at a tricky part of the game. If I get stuck I'll go to Gamefaqs for a guide of that game. After the first playthrough I'll add some challages of my own to make the game fun again.

As for myself, I'd preferably play each new video game I buy blind, and I'd prefer to solve each puzzle I see, no matter how hard it is. A few exceptions on me using guides is when I'd usually get stumped, like in a few legend of Zelda games, like, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where I have absolutely no idea on where to go sometimes, and sometimes, things can get a little cryptic, like, knowing when to activate the Harp of Currents, etc.

Very first time playing it? Just... play it.

If it's something that I can't just return to after the credits to complete, and I know that before hand, then I'll turn to the Internet for a checklist. I did this with the Mass Effects. Just to know when a side-quest is available to me. Not how to do it or how to get it. That way I don't miss it and have to replay the entire game for it.

If I can return to the overworld or whatever after the credits and explore, then I don't care. Just have plain old blind run-through for the first time.