[Context and motivation] When complex systems are difficult to understand and interact with, explanations have proven effective in supporting users and enhancing user experience (UX). Explainability research has extensively examined UX factors critical to productivity software, such as trust and learnability. [Question/problem] However, it has largely overlooked key UX factors of entertainment software, including immersion, enjoyment, and emotional engagement. Video games provide a compelling context for investigating this research gap, as they combine complex interactive systems with rich emotional and immersive experiences. Since there is no general understanding of players as the stakeholders of software explanations, two central questions remain: (1) what types of explanations do players need, and (2) how do explanations influence players’ user experience? [Principal ideas/results] In this work, we report on two complementary studies: a survey and a controlled experiment. The survey assessed participants’ general need for explanations in digital games. The experiment involved participants playing a video game, Ori and the Blind Forest, either with or without explanations, and evaluating their user experience. [Contribution] Our findings provide two key contributions: (1) we identify explanation needs that are unique to video games and distinct from other software domains, and (2) we offer empirical evidence that explanations may enhance players’ user experience, improving immersion and enjoyment.