
Personally, I favor Chapter 1, Movie, Chapter 2, Secret Ending 1, Secret Ending 2, which is the order that is implied whenever I say “Paradox” on this guide. **There is some debate as to which order to play Paradox, as there are two chapters, two secret endings, and a movie. However, the developers have stated that you should play Seasons first, and Seasons is generally accepted as the first game in the series. Certain sources (such as the wiki) consider The Lake to be the first in the series. *There’s a bit of a snag when it comes to Seasons and The Lake in terms of “release order,” as they were released at roughly the same time. This remains the best way to play the games in my opinion, as the story expands naturally as the series evolves. Generally, if it's your first time, you should play them in release order. While each game stands on its own reasonably well and it doesn’t really matter what order you play them in, there are certain orders that work better. If you’re a new player, you may have a lot of trouble figuring out what’s going on and whether you’re playing the right games in the right order. The Rusty Lake series has a rather complex timeline, and it’s sometimes not very intuitive. It won’t disrupt your experience, but the premium games are still very fun experiences and are recommended wholeheartedly. Just remove the premium games from the order and play what's left.

If you don't have them or don’t want to pay for them, that's okay. This includes all the premium games (Rusty Lake Hotel, Rusty Lake Roots, Rusty Lake Hotel, Paradox Chapter 2, and The White Door). No spoilers for this first section, spoilers after it is indicated. Since we’ve had a couple of new games and a lot of new visitors to the subreddit, I wanted to update my guide as to what order to play the games.
