Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil

Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil

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Complete Walkthrough for Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil (includes all achievements)
By stranger1982
A full walkthrough and achievement guide to help you if you're stuck and/or if you want to 100% the game.

Includes how to get all endings and when to create backup saves to get em as easily and quickly as possible.
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Intro and controls
Hello and welcome to my guide for Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil.

Here you'll find a full wakthrough that'll let also you 100% the game with only a couple backup saves a few minutes before the end.

All achievements are included, if you're looking for one in particular search the guide for "(achievement name) achievement" to find it.

Controls are very simple and as follows:

Left click: interact

Right click: brings up inventory, right click again on items in your inventory to look examine them

F: toggles flashlight
Arrival and exterior
After the intro you'll be dropped off near the house.
Turn right then go forward towards the big tree with a sign, here you can go either left (towards the house) or right which'll let you explore a little more.

IF you choose to go right you'll pass some graves and then end up in the playground; doing this will unlock the "Shangri-La" audio on your tablet. If you wish you can also use some of the stuff here to follow your inner child.


With this done head back to the tree and head left this time, keep going until you reach the house, this'll net you the ARRIVAL ACHIEVEMENT.





You'll hear chatter on a walkie talkie, turn around and get the note on the van's front window first.

Now get the walkie talkie from the cases left of the van to get an introduction, then gather the Camera and EMF to get a little more info. Back out of this screen and you'll get some more chatter.

Once you're free to move go forward and Steve'll give you your assignment for the night, he'll also tell you to use the fire escape so go towards it.


Once in front of the fire escape you'll get the "Fire Escape" audio, you'll also find a "Harvood House" one that unlocked when you first reached the house. You can now climb up and move forward once to find the attic door on your right, get in.


Attic intro
Once you're in Steve'll contact you again with instructions, you'll also unlock the "Attic" audio on your tablet.

Go towards the laptop and gather the Ghost Box and Dictaphone, Steve'll ask you to login so use the computer to do it ("guest" is fine). You'll see an icon on the top right of the screen, click it to get two apps downloaded on your tablet, some more chatter and the GHOST HUNTER ACHIEVEMENT.



The new apps are:
-the light blue one with a ghost is a chat thingie you can use to interact with the team, it also shows you your tasks for the night in the lower right corner (click on the icons for more info).

-the recorder deep blue icon is an EVP app you can use to analyze recordings. It doesn't record though, for that you'll need to use the Dictaphone you just picked up.


Now enter the attic, there's some assorted stuff you can look at which'll help you when the team asks you questions, you'll find the answers in the next section, along with all tasks you need to do.

Attic, tasks and correct answers
Let's start with our tasks, do note that you'll constantly be pestered by the team either interacting with you or asking questions for info you need to give them (correct answers at the bottom of this section).

ESP Test

You'll find this in the room just right of the laptop, just match cards and you'll be done with this one, easy as pie. Do note though you'll need to repeat this until Jen is happy and the task is checked (I did it three times).


CCTV on laptop

You'll be asked to monitor the cameras. A blue dot means there's potential paranormal activity for you to check out. Click on said camera and match the type of phenomenon with the list on the lower left.
Eventually you'll be asked to find 7 differences in the camera pointing to the first room, it can be tricky but there's no time limit or penalties so take your time.
Also, once you hear the sound of a door opening on the camera looking at the sealed attic room this means said room is now open. This is needed to progress.



Baseline Test/ EFM

Take out your EFM, when it's in your hand it'll respond to whatever you have your cursor on.
Be aware that you need to look at said objects as close as possible, so if you see the lens icon click on it and point at the object from up close or it won't count.

Here's a full list of what you need to find and scan:


Attic entrance: Radio, Trigger object sheet, Laptop with cameras.

Attic room: Camera near pictures on the right wall, Plug to the right of the kettle, Button to the left of the 1982 poster, Thing to the right of the ESP test.

Sealed attic room: Camera to the right of the door, Clock, Oujia board.



Oujia board

You can ask about it in the group chat and even ask a few questions using it, but right now we can't do anything important with it.


Capturing EVPs

Pull out your Dictaphone and use it on the objects listed below, then play the EVP on your tablet and select the correct words in the dropdown menus.

- Attic room: Thomas Harding poster EVP says "Thomas remains here with us"

- Sealed room, Ouija board EVP says "Ask me about lady Isabella"

- Sealed room, clock EVP says "Why did she pick me" NOTE: you can't take this EVP if you get close to the clock, get it from the previous screen.

- Playground, optional EVP, see the "OPTIONAL: Time event at the playground" section below.

Ghost box at the playground

For this one you'll have to go back outside and to the playground, basically down the fire escape, back to the big tree with the sign, go right of it and keep going till you're there.

Once there pull out the Ghost Box and give it a try while moving around/ using the rides. You'll hear a few things and the task'll be completed.

OPTIONAL: Time event at the playground

While you're here you can also get an EVP by using the Dictaphone while riding the rusty rundabout. Once you jump out open your tablet to analyze it, it says "one, two, three, four, five" with playground sounds.
This is a clue to what you need to do, so use the playground rides in this order:

Swing - Slide - Yellow Rocker - Roundabout - Slide again

This'll cause a time event, changing your surroundings. Turn around and click on the weird door.
You'll be back to normal and get the WATCHERS ACHIEVEMENT.




Answers for the questions the team keeps pestering you with

You'll be interrupted by questions, you need to answer several of them correctly to progress.
You can find the info on posters/ objects around the attic but here's the answers if you're stuck:

Anything about a local town: Oxford

A name: Thomas Harding

What's in the camera frame: Two ancient philosophers

Era of the house: Classical

Most recent date found in the attic: 1984

Who occupied the rooms in the attic: A teacher, marking text books

Where did they come from: Hedington

School subjects: Science

What was the house used for: A children's home



Finishing up


Once you've done everything you'll get a call on your walkie talkie the next time you're in the attic, you'll be directed to the Science Room so let's head there.









To the Science Room
Exit the attic, before going down the fire escape you can catch an extra EVP on the roof.
If you want it go forward, turn left then forward again to reach the deck chair and use your Dictaphone on it.

- Roof deck chair EVP, says "Must grow her the rose"

Now go back to the fire escape, go down and look at the doors to the right of it (the click area is a bit small, it's on the left side of the doors), enter the code 2583 and enter.

Feel free to look around and read some stuff, there's also a medical card in this room, be sure to pick it up.
What you want to do eventually is go on the right side of the room where you'll be asked to look at the pinboard.


Do so and you'll be tasked with finding a ghost in each photo. This one's really easy but here's a solution if needed.


With this done you'll be given access to a new piece of equipment so head outside and pick up the Thermal Camera from the case near the van, it's the same case where you got the Walkie Talkie from at the beginning of the game.

Your new task is to use it in the attic and look for anything weird so head up the fire escape and into the attic door again.


Thermal Camera in the attic
Once you're in start looking around while keeping an eye on the thermal screen.
You''ll need to find a few handprints, there's tons but here's what I've used:

- on the right wall right as you enter

- on the socket to the right of the kettle, first room

- to the right of the camera when looking from afar, first room

- to the right of the ESP test when looking at it closely, first room

- on the wardrobe in the sealed room

- on the clock in the sealed room

- to the right of the camera in the sealed room (camera is to the right of the clock, in case you forgot)



Once you've found 7 you'll be asked to investigate a noise and what "has changed" in the first room so head there.
Look at the desk with the empty notebook using the Thermal Camera and you'll see a key, click to make it appear and grab it.


Being the library key we're asked to investigate so exit the attic, before you do you'll be interrupted and you'll get the THE EVENT ACHIEVEMENT.



Once done go back and down the fire escape.
The Library
Once outside the library is to the left of the van, also left of the equipment case.


Use the key on the door and enter, you'll be asked to use your gadgets to investigate.

Pull out your Dictaphone and use it on the desk on the right side of the room, the area is small-ish so point at the teacup to make it work.

- Library desk EVP, says "Names, books, numbers and dates"

Now get close to the desk (you can read the diary and look at photos, there's also another photo and sheet on the right side) and pull out your Thermal Camera, point it at the small drawer on top, then open it and get Harding's ID.


Before you leave make sure you've interacted with the library services sheet so it appears in your inventory! It's needed for a later puzzle and it'll save you time.


You can do a sweep with the Ghost Box and EMF if you wish but there's nothing substantial here, exit when you're done.

Attic, Trigger Object Sheet
Now that we got Harding's ID we can use it for the Trigger Object Sheet experiment, so head back to the attic.

The Sheet is to the left as you enter, click on it then use the ID and see what happens.


Head outside to investigate then go back in.

Use the radio, use the right tuner to set the right frequency from the Library photo (89.3). You can now try the Oujia board again to get a little more out of it.

Now go back down, enter the Science Class and head to the left side of it to find a red door you can open with the code 4395 to find yourself in a corridor.
Main Hall
You'll overhear an interesting conversation, once free to move you can go to the right side and enter the door marked Laundry & Washroom to get the "Laundry/ Bathroom" audio clip, go back outside.

Now go through the double doors on the right side to access the main hall and get the "Main Hall" audio clip.

There's lots to see here so feel free to browse through everything to get more info about the house and what your team is doing, here's what needs to be done at a minimum.

Trigger Object
Look at the info boards, one of them has a pen in a bag, grab it as we'll need it in the attic.


Laptop with cameras

Click on it and you'll be tasked with logging activity just like before.
Kind of, you'll also have a VERY annoying "filter the sound" minigame.


And again you'll have to spot differences in one of the classrooms. Yay?

Do quite a few tasks, until FINALLY you'll automatically exit the screen, the team is happy and tell you can now go upstairs. This also unlocks the TRUSTED NEWBIE ACHIEVEMENT.



Song on the piano

You'll see a camcorder near the piano, if you interact with it you'll hear it playing a song by itself.
This is a puzzle and it requires you to play the song again, you can try it by ear or see the image below.



Once done you'll hear singing and a noise, a white globe will appear over the piano and interacting with it'll record a sound.
This is not an EVP but it's needed for a puzzle much later in the Science Room.

EVP hunting

You can get several EVPs in this area, here's a list:

- Main hall piano (look closely, mouse over the right side of the piano keys) says "Tune only the lady knows)

- Main hall Shangri-la astronomy club poster (look closely, it's inside a wooden locker to the left of the stairs going up) says "Many young came to stay"

Go upstairs, unlocking the "Main stairs" audio clip. Keep going until you're on the top floor and witness an audio event. Now go around the balcony until you come to a double door that's ajar, enter it to find yourself in the gallery.

- Gallery painting of young Edgar (on the left as you enter) says "He's not one of us"

- Gallery painting of an older man (on the right as you enter) says "Trick lord with straw child"

With this done we're taking a small detour back to the attic so we can use the pen we just pilfered. Go back to the corridor near the info boards, use the red door to go back to the Science Room then back outside and up the fire escape.





Fun in the attic
Set everything up

Make sure the radio is set to the correct frequency 89,3 then put the pen on the Trigger Sheet, the ID should already be there if you're following this walkthrough, if not drop that too!
You'll hear noises from the sealed room so enter and use the Oujia board.
If you've done everything right you'll have a new batch of questions, exhaust them all to be able to ask a new one, pick it and see what happens.

Not your usual room


So you're basically in Thomas' body now and experiencing the past, you can look around and read stuff if you're curious. There's an interesting diary on the window close to the bed (interaction point is slightly over the pair of shoes).
Whatever you do pick up a yellow rose from the bed, we'll need this later.
Once you're done turn around and click the door with a rune to exit the vision, this nets you the TIME CHANGE ACHIEVEMENT.



Also notice a rune has appeared over the window in the sealed room, this lets you return to the vision when needed.

We're done here, head back to the Main Hall.

Main Hall map and exploration
We'll be exploring several rooms around this area, but before we begin here's the map from the info board, use it as a reference whenever needed.

Green door
Head up the stairs but stop at the second landing, you'll see a green door on your right, enter to find yourself in this area.


Go forward, then turn left and close in on the doll with the pink dress, pick it up.


The spirits don't seem too happy but that's easy to solve.You'll have to find and click seven small dark orbs like this one.


Locations:

- one is on the wall left of where the doll was

- turn around from where you got the doll, one is on the lower left, one on the top right

- another one is near a toy plane, left side if you're coming back from the doll location

- face the exit door and turn left to find another one near two notebooks

- again face the exit door and turn right, one orb is over a trash bag, the other one is over a painted face on the wall


Once you've found them all the damn yelling will stop and you can try exiting through the door.

You'll be stopped by an apparition, but it'll let you pass if you say you're a parent. Use the door and go back to the Main Hall.
Day Room
From the Main Hall use the double doors leading to the Day Room, they're left of the stairs.

You'll see a couple paintings on the walls, and there's more of them if you climb over the pile of stuff; once you're done admiring them use the doors to the left of the pile of stuff to enter the Day Room proper.

You'll get the "Day room" audio clip on your tablet as soon as you enter.


If you go right from the entrance you'll find the painting of the Burning Boy. You might remember this if you've picked up the Oxford Ghost book previously, if not you can find a copy (with added notes) in the equipment case near the fireplace here.


You'll want to pick this book regardless as it'll unlock the STEVE'S SECRET ACHIEVEMENT.



Now face the fireplace, you'll see a metal knob in it, pick it up.

While we're here we might as well pick up two more EVPs:

- Burning boy painting EVP says "Play me or get burnt" charming...

- The board game setup EVP (left of the fireplace) says "Join me for a game"

There's a curtained glass door opposite of where you've entered, use it to exit and unlock this door for future use.

We're done here for now, so head back to the Main Hall.



Girls' Dormitory
Go upstairs and keep going until you see the very cospicuous door for the girls' dormitory, enter, you'll get an audio clip once you do.


Feel free to look around, there's a few board games and notes from the girls.

Once you're done exploring go towards the right side at the of the room, you'll find a marked door and some levers.


Get close to the levers with your Dictaphone out and get an EVP.

- Lever Panel EVP says "Rank games fave to least"

Now get back to the levers and put your knob in the slot that's missing one.
You're ready for the puzzle, either figure it out yourself using the clues in the room or do this:



The door will unlock and you better enter quickly :D

There's lots of interesting stuff to see and read in this "safe room" so take your time exploring. Be sure to read the "Operation Dark Fall" notebook and pick up the game pieces near the domino tiles.

Once ready exit the room and give the game pieces to the boy so that it leaves you alone.

After all the excitement, go back to the Main Hall.




Day Room board game
Go back to the Day Room, now that the Burning Boy has the game pieces we can play a game of Snakes & Ladders, yes it's as boring as it sounds.


Not sure if it's random but I won the first two matches and the Boy set fire to the room, just exit quickly and everything'll be back to normal once you enter again.
Once the Boy finally wins the tv'll turn on, click on it and on the frequency dial then back out and Bear'll contact with news about the drone.


Terrace and drone
Exit the Day Room using the outer door, then use the right path to reach the terrace.


Move towards the lit table and Bear'll contact you again, use the drone.

The one thing you absolutely need to get is a frequency from this area of the roof.


Get in close and you'll find a plaque like this one.


It seems this code is RANDOM so MAKE A NOTE or take a screenshot or you'll have to do this again once you need to use the TV!

If you want to explore more the Site Office is on the right side of the house, you can fly inside.


You'll find a note stuck to the door detailing where the last key is. You can find a note about this Teppanyaki on the house model found on the left side as you enter.


Feel free to look around some more, then return to the Day Room so we can use the code we just found.





Day Room TV
Go to the TV in the Day Room, open the panel and enter the code you got from the drone.
If done correctly the TV will find a channel.
MAKE A NOTE OF THE COLOURS AND NUMBERS as this seems to be random too.


Now go back to the Boy's painting on the other side of the room and move it aside, you'll find four buttons, press them in the order appearing on the TV screen, if done correctly the painting'll lock into place and you'll see a passage with stairs on its left, go up to the Boys' dorm.

Boys' Dormitory
The secret staircase leads to the Boys' Dormitory, you'll unlock an audio clip describing it once you enter.

WARNING Before we begin, there's a book called Samphire and Steed on one of the beds. DO NOT solve the map inside until I tell you to much later in this walkthrough or you might miss an achievement related to the endings.

There's a medical card somewhere in this room, look around and be sure to pick it up.

There's a tape player between two beds, it lets you listen to any tape you might find, like the "Horror of Harwood House" besides it.

Find the "code sheet" on the top bed you see here, take it and examine it by right clicking on it in your inventory.


Find the locker on the left rear side of the room, you can put the code sheet on top of the keypad to see what buttons it highlights.


Problem is, this seems to be another random puzzle so I can't give you a direct solution.
You can either try working it out or see a more "cheaty" image below.

Here's what to do:

- use the library sheet in your inventory (if you missed it refer to that section!)

-match the six books (Noondial, Nanny, Lenny's Egg, Scipods, Samphire & Stead, Flesh Eaters) scattered around with the name of the kid who checked it out, you'll use their initials as seen at the top of the "code sheet" in your inventory

- match the initials of the kid with their duvet colors

- press the buttons following the code seen at the top of the "code sheet"

Here's an image with the correct initials/duvet, just click them according to the order in YOUR code sheet.



The locker'll open and you'll find a blue basket with a tape, a "top secret" notebook and some coins inside a stuffed animal for you to grab.

Go back to the tape player and insert "noises by the door" tape, labeled 3 in your inventory, let it play and a white orb will appear nearby, click on it to record this sound just like we did with the piano in the main hall.

Once you have them go to the bed you got the "code sheet from" to find a "Nightmare Man sightings" chart on the wall.


You'll have to use the stickers on the left side and work out where the order of the sightings.
Here's the solution: 1 Kitchen 2 Sci. Lab 3 Bathroom 4 Main Hall 5 Day Room 6 Our Dorm

Once done the team'll contact you, you can now go back to the Day Room.
Here you'll get more chatter from your team, now go back to the corridor and then go back to the main hall.
Get close to the hub with the computer and you'll get more comms, this time you'll be tasked with checking the greenhouse out.
Go back to the Day Room and go outside using the curtained glass door.



Greenhouse
To reach the greenhouse after exiting from the Day Room simply go to the right once (same route you used to reach the drone) and then turn right.


Open it with the code 7942 and enter, you'll get the "Garden Room" audio clip.

Go forward then left to find Bear's gear, examine the photos on the tablet and click on the tape to listen to it.

You'll hear a voice and thus get a new puzzle. Get close to the blackboard, it's smudged but using the night vision from your handheld camera will reveal your tasks.


Before you back out use your Dictaphone to get another EVP.

- Greenhouse blackboard EVP says "Finish the task they failed"

Look to the chair on the left of the blackboard, pick up the Horticulture Class notebook and test tubes.

Now go around the greenhouse and use the test tubes on the planters marked with numbers 1 to 6.


Once you got all six go back to the Science Room to run the test.

Science Room, PH Test
In case you forgot the Science Room is to the right of the fire escape, you'll get a worrying comm on your walkie talkie while going there. Feel free to go to the entrance and try to walk away to get one more interesting conversation.

Head into the Science Room when ready.

You'll need to pick up a Litmus test from the cupboard in front as you enter.


Also grab the PH test solution from the desk on the right.


Now go to the desk left of where you got the Litmus test, get in close and place the test tubes.

Click on the PH test solution (it's on the lower right) six times and use the dropper on each tube, be careful not too click too low or you'll back out!

Now click on the Litmus test on the upper right and test each tube. Reference the colour of each test to get the correct answer and put it in the book on the left.

The correct answers are 1 low acidity 2 neutral 3 low alkaline 4 low acidity 5 high acidity 6 high alkaline.

You can now go back to the Greenhouse

Greenhouse, Seed Puzzle
Put the Horticulture notebook back on the chair you got it from, if you answered correctly the voice'll be pleased and your surroundings will change.


The next puzzle asks you to you identify seeds using a magnifying glass so you can plant them in the right soil by following the notes from the previous puzzle.

Here's the anwsers for the seeds. Be sure to take said seeds once you've named them correctly.



Now cross-reference each planter to their acidity and plant the correct seed, here's the solution:

1 Wood Heather 2 Onion 3 Turnip 4 Carrot 5 Peath Heather 6 Basil

If done correctly you'll hear the voice speak, your surrounding'll change and you'll get the GREEN FINGERS ACHIEVEMENT.

Greenhouse, Poetry Puzzle
Go forward then right, you'll find a poem (read it) and a record player (check all five tracks).


From here look to your left and examine the fountain, gather the scissors from the water.

Now go back and face the entrance door, turn left and look on the bench to your left, you'll find a ring on it, there's also a few scattered pages for you to check.

You can now leave this timeline using the nearby glowing rune on the right, this'll lead to the "seed test" timeline. Here use the left rune to go back to the present.

Now we need to know what track to play on the record player so get back to Bear's stuff, listen to the tape again and try to memorize the music you're hearing. Once you're confident you can recognize it get back to the "poetry puzzle" timeline and choose the correct track.

Once the right music is playing we can now start solving the poetry puzzle itself.
Again you can either gather clues by checking the various sheets of paper around here or check the solution below.

Words to use from top to bottom: summer's - nature - bloom -Golden - reflects - beauty - amber - darkness - closer - silent

If correct you'll get the complete poem, but what's it about? Well it's a clue to the next part of the puzzle as in what roses to use on the fountain

So off we go to gather what we need, use your scissors to pick each flower!
Here's a list of where each rose is:

-Blue rose - left of the fountain in the "poetry puzzle" timeline

-Orange rose - left of the entrance door in the "seed puzzle" timeline

- Yellow rose - we need to grow this one, you get the sapling from the memory in the attic (see "fun in the attic" section if you missed this) . You can grab a spade and plant it in the planter far to the left of the one with the number 1 sign while you're in the "seed puzzle" timeline.
Then you need to go back to the present to get some ash from the Day Room or it won't grow, Go there, use the spade on the ash in the fireplace, go back to the greenhouse and use the filled spade with the planter while in the "seed puzzle" timeline. Once you're back in the "poetry puzzle" one it'll be grown and you can harvest it..


- Red rose - return to the present to find it to the right of the entrance door

Once you have everything go to the fountain and use the four colours in the correct order

Yellow - Blue - Orange - Red

If done correctly you'll get some singing, see petals falling around and hear the words "she appears!", if so use the camera to the right of the record player, click on the white orb to record a sound from it.

IF NOTHING HAPPENS you either haven't solved the poem or have chosen the wrong track. See above for the poem, if it's the track just keep changing it until you get the "she appears!" speech.

We're done here, so go back to the present and leave this place.


Class Room, Astronomy Puzzle
Once you're outside you'll get another call. After that head to the Main Hall via Day Room to get more comms. You'll be tasked with checking out the Class Room.

Head upstairs, navigate the upper floor until you find the entrance just past the Girls' Dormitory, you'll get an audio clip as you enter.


Once you enter if you move forward twice then turn left you'll spot Jen's stuff on the floor, you can get a folder to read a bit and snag a printed sheet with a tape.

To the right of this you'll find a workbench with an "Astronomy Class" notebook you can grab, we'll need this for the next puzzle.

To the opposite side from this desk you'll find a blackboard detailing the assignment and, to the right of it, a telescope. Snatch this too.

You'll also have to get three lenses from one of the smaller desks, here's a screen.


Finally (as loot goes) you get back to the entrance and look to the left of it you'll see a desk in the corner with a page you can read and a medical card you must pick up.

You can also get two EPVs here:

- Blackboard EVP (the one with summer astronomy and planets) says "Tinted eyes see star colours"

- Workbench EVP (right of Jen's stuff, where you got the Astronomy notebook) says "It started among the roses"

As for the astronomy puzzle you must exit this room and go forward a bit until you see this door.


Use it to find yourself outside, set up the telescope and use it to find the correct positions by looking around, zooming and changing filters. You need to find the star patterns that match the planets by cross referencing them to the planets and stars you see on the Class Room walls.

Here's the solutions:

Mercury 10.5h 5d - Venus 5.7h 29d - Mars 8.2h 16,5d - Jupiter 16.1h 20d - Saturn 17.9h 25d - Uranus 3.6h 12.5d

If correct a scene'll start once you put the notebook back in the Class Room, then you'll have to dispel seven more dark orbs (ugh). They're pretty easy, just be sure to check the walls and the desk you got the lenses from.

Once done you'll have a conversation, when that's over get close to the desk and click on the white orb to record from it.

We're done here, exit the room.





Drone, again
You'll get another call on the walkie talkie, looks like the team needs our help.
Go back to the terrace to pilot the drone again, a new area will have opened for us to fly in.
It's on the left side if you face the house, you'll get an audio clip as you enter.


Keep going until you get a longer speech detailing the room you're in, after that feel free to explore said room and be sure to examine the display board for clues. You'll also have unlocked another audio clip on your tablet.

Once done quit controlling the drone and head to the Main Hall.





Office
Reach the Office by going through the archway and white door marked "office", you'll get yet another audio clip as you enter.


Just to your left as you enter is a box with another card for you to grab.


Go forward and turn right to find another.


Enter the door marked "bathroom" to get an audio clip and find yet another box with a card.


And one more on the right.


While in the bathroom grab the brush from the sink then do a 180 and activate your night vision camera to see a drawing of a padlock with numbers, take note of said numbers.


Now exit the bathroom and move to the left and forward, towards the office.

You'll get a speech by an apparition, once it's done turn left and grab, you guessed it, a card from this box.


To the right of the office door is a TV you can turn on to get an ad for Shangri-la.

Enter the office and answer the phone on the left so it stops its damn ringing, on your right is a big board and the final card in a box just beneath it.


Interact with the board and you'll automatically fill it with all the cards you've gathered. If you have them all it'll look like this and the phone'll start ringing again.


If you're missing any there's only three to get outside this room, they're in the Class Room, in the Science Room and in the Boys' Dormitory.

Pick up and get a clue for the next puzzle saying "A decade of suffering, shattered bones and all alone", go back to the board and pick the right options based on the message.

Solution: 10-16, Injury, Condition, Orphaned

If correct you'll turn around and have a chat with an apparition, ask all questions to make it go away then click the white orb and pick up Ollie's photo on the chair.

You're done here, leave and return to the Main Hall.









Site Office
Go back to the Day Room and exit the house using the curtained glass door.

Turn right once then click near the wall with the eyes.


Move the big rock to find the Site Office spare key. Once done you'll have to deal with a few figures by clicking on them, nothing fancy.

Once you're free to move go to the Site Office (it's left of the Library), unlock the door with the key we found and enter.

Explore if you wish, but be sure to move this board on the right side so you can grab a device, a gas mask and a floppy disk.


Back out, turn left and use the floppy disk on the computer before turning it on. Again feel free to check emails etc, but make sure to go to My Computer then Floppy to read its contents. Print the garbled file on the floppy disk to get a map then go out.



Dump Site
As soon as you're outside turn left and you'll see a gate you can climb over.


From here follow the path on the right until you're in this area.


Turn right to find an entrance.


You're now at the Dump Site, look at the pile of rubbish so you can move the tires then examine the remains to find a golden tooth you can take.

We're done here so head to the Main Hall.


Nursery
From the Main Hall head upstairs and go around until you find the Nursery door at the very end.


Enter to get an audio clip, use the gas mask on the gear icon in the middle of the area to wear it and be protected from the harmful gas.

You can now check the cot in the middle of the room to grab an ID card.

We'll be back here shortly, for now head back downstairs.

Laundry & Washroom
From the Main Hall head to the corridor leading to the Science Room and find the Laundry & Washroom door at the end of it, on the left.

Once you're in head forward twice then turn right to find some nails inside the left shower, eew!


Now do a 180 to find a smashed mirror, look closely and record an EVP from it.

- Broken Mirror EVP says "My eyes saw too much"

Pull out your thermal camera and examine this mirror, you'll see a shard glowing hot, get close again and grab it.


Now go back towards the door to find a camera and a bit of gear, it's on the right if you're coming from the mirror.


Go through the middle of the screen above to find another Trigger Sheet sitting on a toilet, place the glass shard and ID card on it.

We're hunting for dark globes again, click all five around the area; once done click the white orb near the smashed mirror to record a sound from it.

Go back to the Nursery upstairs.


Nursery, setting the effigy
Once you're back in (remember to use the gas mask) go the cot and place the nails, pink doll, and brush inside.


You'll find yourself in a new location.
Study
You'll find yourself in a study, feel free to look around, there's lots to read including a diary, book, invite and various notes.

DO NOTE you're on a timer here, albeit a generous one, people'll eventually gain entrance to this room and you'll be forced out of the vision once they do. If this happens you'll have to gather the objects here again so my advice is to read/ check everything then click the rune to exit and click the rune on the cot to restart the scene thus ensuring you're not in a hurry.

On your right you'll find a desk with a bird and a glass tube, grab em both. You might also want to take a look at the moon phases depicted just above them, to the left of the portrait.


On the opposite side of the room you'll find a machine, put the bird on the pole on the right and the glass tube on the space left of the A marker. Use the lever on the right to charge the electricity until you see sparks.

Now enter the correct settings based on the notes found in this room.

Solution: Left dial on purple - Right dial on dark green

And use the central lever to pull the energy from the globe to the bird and then back to the globe, lastly use the switch to the far left to transfer the energy in the glass tube and pick it up.

You can now use the rune and exit the vision.





Nursery, finishing up
Back to the Nursery just use the glass tube on the doll inside the cot then pick the completed effigy up.

We're done here so head downstairs then to the Day Room then outside using the curtained glass door.
Pantry
As soon as you exit from the Day Room turn left to spot a padlocked grate.


Open it using the code you found in the office bathroom wall: 15, 30, 5, 35, 20 in case you forgot.

Enter to get the GOING UNDERGROUND ACHIEVEMENT.



You'll also unlock another audio clip on your tablet.

Try the door to find it locked and get a broken key in your inventory.

Find the interactive area surrounded by red candles, place Ollie's Photo and the broken key in it.


You'll have to hunt black orbs again (sigh), there's seven this time. Also enjoy the sounds.

Once done click on the white orb as usual to get a recording from it.

The door is also open now, so head through it.





Kitchen and Canteen
Feel free to look around the Kitchen, you'll find info to help you with the cooking puzzle in this room.
Here's what you have to get around here.

Paprika.


Kidney Beans


Pot


Stewed Beef


Once you have everything climb through these windows to find yourself in the Canteen and get an audio clip.


As soon as you enter you'll find a bag of herbs on the right.


On your left you'll find an hungry apparition, you can get an EVP from it using your Dictaphone.

- Canteen EVP says "want food from my country"

Next up, we cook for a ghost.







Canteen, Food Puzzle
Basically, we have to find what country the apparition is from, cook the correct dish and present the result.
This puzzle seems to be random so I'll give you directions in case you're stuck.

Here's the steps:

- find what flag: Head back outside, enter the Day Room then go to its corridor, as soon as you're in it you'll see a landscape with a flag

- what country the flag represents: From the corridor, go back to the Day Room, turn left and look around the lower central part of the screen., You'll see an interactive area that has a sticker album with flags.

- finding the correct recipe Head back to the Kitchen and look for the "Tastes of Europe" book to see what ingredients are needed. You can see it in the screenshot for kidney beans in the previous section of this guide

- I'm missing carrots, basil or onions A note in the area points you to the Greenhouse. Head there, use the runes to travel to the "poem puzzle" timeline and find the carrots, basil or onions we planted previously

- I need mushrooms For these you have to head back to the gravestones near the playground and find an interactive spot. Basically from the big tree with the "visitors/ deliveries" sign, the one we saw at the start of the game,go forward 3 times then turn right. You'll find the interactive spot in the middle of your screen

Once you're done gathering what you need head back to the Kitchen but if you want another achievement BE SURE to have the ingredients for another dish.


Maybe make a save here just in case you mess up the missable achievement detailed below.

Now put the pot on the cooker, open the lid, add the ingredients and get the pot with the finished recipe back. For the SCHOOL DINNERS ACHIEVEMENT just make the wrong dish first.
DO THIS FIRST if you want the achievement, the apparition'll disappear once given the correct food. The finished recipe must be placed on the empty plate behind the apparition.



When the right dish is served you'll get the keys to the Girls' Loo, pick em up, do a 180 and go through the dilapidated double doors to find yourself in the Utility Corridor.








Utility Corridor
Find the pink door on the right, get close to it and snatch an EVP.

- Pink Door EVP says "Louise has the only key"'

Now use the key on the lock to open the door and go through.

On the far side of this room you'll find a stone doorway of sorts along with a note and a mould to pick up.

You'd have all the ingredients, as follows:

-coins from the Boys' Dormitory

-golden tooth from the Dump Site

-silver ring from the "poem puzzle" timeline in the Greenhouse


Now head to the Science Room.
Science Room, Sigil
Find the crucible in the cupboard, in case you missed it in your previous explorations.


Now find the burner here.


Place the mould on the right, then light a fire using the matches.


Put the crucible on top and fill it with the golden tooth, coins and ring. Click to pour it into the mould and pick up the completed thing. This'll unlock the DARK FALL ACHIEVEMENT.






Great Detective achievement
First, let's get one more missable achievement out of the way.
Exit the Science Room and enter the double doors to the Main Hall, turn right and enter the collapsed area here.


Do a 180 turn to find Steve's stash on the left. Open the folder, read it and then back out.


This unlocks the GREAT DETECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT. (I had to try opening the folder twice to make it pop, maybe it's just slow to unlock).





Tunnels
Go back to the Girls' Loo and use the sigil you created on the wooden door to open it.

Enter the tunnels.

The next section isn't big but can be dark and confusing, I'm putting a map here to help you navigate and show you, roughly, where everything is:



Be sure to find all the stuff mentioned below.

-six braziers like this one


-five round stones similar to this one


- this rod


Read everything in the room marked as "Ancient Archives" to get a feel for the upcoming puzzles.







Tunnels, Spheres Puzzle
Go to the room marked as "small lake, three urns" on the map, once there slot the rod in the pedestal to be able to reach the other side.


You'll find five pedestals, you've got five spheres.

How to find out where each sphere goes: use your night vision camera to make symbols appear

What goes where: here's the correct positions

Once you're done go back to where you've put the rod, click on the sphere here and you'll hear a melody of sorts, try to remember it as this seems to be random.

Go back to the five spheres and click on them in the correct order to recreate the melody you've just heard. When done correctly you'll get a brief scene showing one symbol being removed from the barrier in front of the Dark Fall chamber.
Tunnels, Standing Stones Puzzle
Go to the room marked with "standing stones, light, ancient tools".

Go in the middle and click one of the stones to have an orb light them all.

If you look closely you'll see each stone is now showing a moon phase, this is your next puzzle.
You've seen moon phases back in the Study when you were using a strange machinery to get energy for the effigy.

Here's the order from left to right:



If done correctly a big orb will descend, click on it to put it in your inventory and remove another symbol from the barrier.
Tunnels, Ancient Archives Braziers Puzzle
Walk to the ancient archives and put a brazier in each alcove. Use the white orb you've picked up during the previous puzzle to light them all.

Once they're lit you can get close to each flame and interact with it to make it show a shape, this is a clue to the order you need to follow while clicking on them.

A bigger clue count the lines used to make each shape, click them in order

Solution click on purple - red - orange - green - blue - yellow

If done correctly the last symbol from the barrier will disappear, allowing you to enter the chamber.

Dark Fall Chamber
Enter to find echoes of the team, how quaint!

Move towards the pit and read the diary on the right, then look into the pit and drop the doll.

Meet the presence, the diary says we need to "speak the lyrics". We've gathered them from white orbs but we havn't refined them yet, so leave this place and go back to the Science Room.

Science Room, Rune Divination
In the Science Room approach the Rune Divination experiment.


If you're following this walkthrough you'll have all seven runes, if not you've missed puzzles/ trigger sheets in the following locations Main Hall, Boys' Dormitory, Class Room, Office, Washroom and Pantry

Use the laptop, clicking on a name will make the correct rune vibrate strongly while runes that share part of its name will vibrate slightly. Write down what each rune is called.

MAKE SURE you've clicked on each rune at least once, or they won't count as identified and will be missing once you need to use them in the final chamber.

Runes: Position and Order
Now that you have all the runes it's time to find out their position and order.

Position: you might have noticed a few while flying around the house with the drone, but some are missing.

Either scour the whole house again or see the image below.



Order: the clues for this require you to scour the house while using your night vision camera.
Those clues might not appear right away sometimes, if so you'll have to mouse around.

Again, either finecomb yourself or see below.

Rune 2 and 5 on a painting of the house in the corridor between the Science Room and Main Hall

Rune 3 and 6 on a poster titled "Shangri-la holiday's for lively kids" in the Kitchen

Rune 1 and 7 on a poster ot top of the house model at the Site Office

Rune 4 close in on the top left of the house model at the Site Office

So these clues give you an order of: So Fen - Fen Tok - Ohn Da - Ma Fen - Ma Tok - Da Fen - Ohn Sev

Armed with this knowledge we're now prepared to get all endings, read on to prepare accordingly and create a backup save.

Preparing for the ending(s), backup save
If you want all the achievements you'll have to create a backup save right now, that's cause the Saxton and Bad endings are mutually exclusive.

From here, to make things easy, I'd say you can choose two routes:

- the standard route leads to the bad and good endings and nets you the proper achievements.

- the Saxton route will net you an achievement for solving a side puzzle and another for its "special" bad ending. You can still get the good ending using this route.

I'll add an extra step for those wanting the Saxton ending, completing that puzzle will give you the proper scene and achievement by going for the bad ending during the final choice. The rest is the same.

PREPARE YOUR BACKUP SAVE NOW



EXTRA PART ONLY FOR SAXTON ENDING: map puzzle
If you're going for the Saxton ending go back to the Boys' Dormitory using the stairs in the Day Room.

Here find the some paper strips between the beds near the locked locker puzzle.
I got em already in my previous exploration (and you might have, too) but they'd be around here:


Now click on this bed:


And then twice on the "Samphire and Steed" book to find a map you can use the stickers on.

Here's the solution:



If done correctly you'll hear a sound and unlock the CROWN FAN ACHIEVEMENT.

Endings
Go back to the Tunnels and then to the Dark Fall chamber.

MAKE AN EXTRA BACKUP SAVE here so that you can get two endings right away.

For the Death/ Saxton ending (depending on whether you solved the extra puzzle) use the "standard order" So Fen - Fen Tok - Ohn Da - Ma Fen - Ma Tok - Da Fen - Ohn Sev

This'll net you either the DEATH ACHIEVEMENT or the SAXTON BOUND ACHIEVEMENT. For the one you're missing simply reload the first backup save and either solve or skip the map puzzle then go for the bad ending again.



Reload the extra backup save.

For the best ending you'll have to do things differently.

A small clue [spoilers]apparitions around the house have told you to "not do what it wants", some might have mentioned how to do this differently[/spoiler]

Solution say them backwards! So: Ohn Sev - Da Fen - Ma Tok - Ma Fen - Ohn Da - Fen Tok - So Fen

This nets you the RUN YOU FOOL ACHIEVEMENT and will 100% the game if you've followed this guide!



Thank you and a request
I hope this was helpful, it was lots of fun to put together too!

If you spot any mistakes or unclear directions please lemme know, same if you got the exact position for the cards in the Boys' Dorm and Science Room, as I had picked them up way before I realized they were used for a puzzle and thus have no screen/ description of their exact position.

Also, if you found this useful please give it an upvote to ensure it stays visible for others (ok right now it's the only guide here but who knows).
15 Comments
stranger1982  [author] 23 Feb @ 12:43am 
@Etakeh Glad it helped mate! :torch:
Etakeh 22 Feb @ 10:48pm 
Wonderful, thank you.
stranger1982  [author] 19 Aug, 2023 @ 12:18am 
@PoisonSix Yeah it's a bit old-school in presentation and gameplay but the atmosphere was great and the story was captivating enough. Glad the guide helped you!
PoisonSix 19 Aug, 2023 @ 12:02am 
I love the Darkling Rooms games. I find this game charming (in an old fashioned adventure game - way) and really enjoyed it. Albeit the puzzles weren't hard per se, my derpy brain got confused in a few places. This guide helped a lot, thank you! :1heart:
stranger1982  [author] 15 Jan, 2023 @ 12:57am 
@futuresummer

1- I never managed to find it, but glad they've given a way to skip that silly game.

2- Hah, good to know!

3- That's quite weird, wonder if they changed/ randomized something in a patch after I've played it or what.

Either way I'm happy the guide helped you, I feel this game is a bit of an hiddn gem and it's always nice to see new players! :steamthumbsup:
futuresummer 14 Jan, 2023 @ 11:14pm 
Many thanks for the walkthrough! Three things to add:
1. No idea at this point where I found it, but if you find a lucky rabbit's foot, you can use it to bypass the godawful Snakes and Ladders game -- when you click on the board to play, the rabbit's foot appears in the upper right corner and you can just click it and choose who wins.
2. The Louisa puzzle: I made the Spanish dish several times before I figured out that I actually had Austria, and "yellow" bar in my Spanish shield was actually just a very dingy white. Heads up for others thinking they've hit a bug.
3. I didn't have a marker for Ohn Sev -- had to deduce it as the one missing piece of info. I found Da-Fen on the post it note in the site office where this guide says this rune was supposed to be.
stranger1982  [author] 11 Jul, 2022 @ 8:05pm 
@ssteele559 There's a solution! If you hover on the black square right after "What goes where" you'll get a picture of the completed puzzle! Glad you made it through regardless. :BlackStar:
ssteele559 11 Jul, 2022 @ 3:37pm 
Absolutely wonderful walk through,except you didn't give a solution to the sphere puzzle took me forever.....ugggh
Psyringe 6 Apr, 2022 @ 1:52am 
Thanks for the recommendation - I actually bought Firework fairly recently, but haven't played beyond the first few minutes. I will probably look into other genres for now, but I'll mark it down for the next time I'm in the mood for a point&click adventure, which will certainly come. :)
stranger1982  [author] 6 Apr, 2022 @ 1:39am 
@Psyringe Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate them!
I try to make all my guides this way so that they can be useful for everyone no matter whether they want a full solution or just hints.

And thanks a ton for pointing out the typo, I always read everything a couple times but a few pesky mistakes escape anyway and end up haunting the guide, The one you pointed out has been busted and properly disposed of. :diverghost:

If you're in the market for more ghostly stuff check out Firework, it's more story than gameplay and the story is quite cryptic overall but it's a good game with a fresh setting. I also made a guide for it since I felt it was worth it.