> Rather than using tutorials or walkthroughs, Yang documents everything by hand, writing down map layouts, puzzle solutions, and key details in a notebook.

This is how it was done years ago. My friend kept a notebook for FFVI back in the 90s.

This also reminds me how I half ruined a game for myself without realizing it. I picked up Kenshi, a real time action RPG. The game has a lot of lore built around its unmatched faction system in a ruined post apocalyptic world. Unwittingly, while first playing the game I felt overwhelmed so I popped into the games unofficial wiki and looked up a few things. Before I knew it I fell down a wiki hole and read a lot of game lore - out of game thus spoiling knowledge seeking side quests. It's still a fun game but all the in game aspects of discovering the lore was lost to the internet. If Kenshi 2 ever comes out the only thing I'm going to consult are my notes.