The Killing Antidote

The Killing Antidote

65 ratings
Gameplay Strategy Guide - Tips and Tricks
By Toybox
A guide to the fundamentals of game mechanics with slight spoilers for enemy types
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The Core Systems
Game Version: 0.5.2

In this guide, I'll be going over some of the underutilized and most commonly misunderstood or unknown mechanics and systems in the game. Everything in this guide is written from the perspective of the game being played on normal difficulty. I will not be covering locations of hidden items, trophies or other secrets, this is purely a guide to understand the core mechanics of the game.

Stamina & Carry Weight
The inventory/weight system in the game is not intuitive in it's functionality at first glance. You'll notice in your inventory screen that there is a number at the bottom indicating max carry weight. In most games, this would suggest that once this number is maxed, you would not be able to carry any more items. In TKA, that's not quite how it works. Carry weight is directly tied to stamina drain. This means that the more items you have, the quicker your stamina will deplete from things like running, climbing and dodging. Stamina drain is also affected by your current health. The lower your health is, the faster your stamina will drain. Your movement speed is completely unaffected by carry weight, though you move slightly faster when your weapon is put away. Having the flashlight out has no impact on movement speed.

Fall Damage
There is a brief explanation of fall damage in the game, though some people seem to still be confused exactly how it works. In simple terms, fall damage is tied directly to your current health. The lower your health is, the shorter distance you are allowed to fall without taking more damage from it.

Briefcase Codes
Briefcase codes are randomized and can be figured out using a decoder, which can be found or bought. The decoder has a set amount of charges before it stops working. The decoder works by giving you an indication of how close you are to the right combination based on how full the green bar at the bottom is. If you change a number and this bar drops, it means the number you're looking for is in the other direction. So if you change a number from 6 to 5 and the bar goes down, you want to try 7 instead of 4. When a number is correct it will turn green. You only need to decode 3 of the numbers. Once that is done you can just cycle through the last digit until the briefcase opens, you do NOT need to use the decoder to check if the last number is correct, it will automatically unlock once you put it on the right number. DO NOT waste your charges checking the accuracy of your code of you only have one number left, just cycle it until it opens.

Disarming Mines
The easiest way to disarm mines once you get the mine tool is to crouch and nudge your way towards the mine until you can see a yellow highlight on it. Mines have much shorter detonation range if you're crouching vs. standing.

Reload Canceling
Often times, mainly using a weapon like the shotgun, if you completely deplete the ammo, you will have to manually load each individual round into the gun, and Jodie will CONTINUE to reload the gun until it is full. During this time you cannot sprint, which can be a huge problem if a zombie is charging towards you while you are reloading. The solution to this is reload cancelling. Performing a dodge while reloading a weapon will instantly stop the reloading animation, allowing you to load 2 or 3 rounds into the shotgun and then quickly moving out of the way instead of waiting for the full animation cycle. This can be super important when dealing with things like Weepers.

Drop Canceling
Drop Canceling is an advanced technique that will require a lot of practice. Essentially drop canceling can cancel the recovery animation when falling from longer distances. If you are sprinting off an edge and fall, you can hit the dodge key the moment you touch the ground and it will immediately go into a dodge, completely canceling the recovery animation from the drop. The timing on this is incredibly precise and may require a lot of practice to do consistently.

Advanced Melee
One of the most useful features this game has to offer is the ability to throw melee weapons at enemies. This includes both the knives and axes in the game. One thing the game doesn't tell you is that thrown weapons do WAY more damage than if you swing them. A thrown axe will 1-shot any normal zombie if you hit it in the head, instead of the 3 or so melee swings it would take to regularly take it down. This can be incredibly useful if you need to drop a zombie quickly and all you have is an axe. Melee weapons can be removed from zombies once they are thrown and stick into them. One of the more interesting aspects of this is that you can remove melee weapons from zombies before they are dead, meaning that if you're quick enough, you can land a dagger or axe into a tougher zombie type, rush up while it's stunned, pull the weapon out and throw it again for another burst of damage. This is sometimes way faster than trying to melee it to death manually. It's also handy for retrieving knives from the next section...

Executions
You can pull off execution moves on staggered zombies by striking at them with a heavy attack using either the dagger or the axe. This will play a special animation that will finish off an enemy, or just deal a lot of damage. You can do an execution either after staggering a zombie by shooting a zombie in the face, hitting it with a melee power attack (right click), or while it's attempting to stand up after being knocked down.

Knife Counters
Some people will instinctively try to box the knives you pick up in the beginning of the game once you pick up the Axe, because the Axe has better range and damage output, and is just a better melee weapon, so the knife seems redundant. Do not do this. You ALWAYS want to have about 2 or 3 knives in your inventory at all times. This will allow Jodie to counter being grabbed or pounced by a zombie, and can save you a lot of trouble in dire situations. Keep in mind as mentioned previously, knives can be pulled out of enemies before they are dead which can allow you to chain multiple counters together by simply pulling the knife out of the zombie you countered before killing it, protecting you from any other ambushes that may happen while you finish it off. This is an incredibly useful technique to learn.
Weapons - Melee
This section will cover the melee weapons available in the game:

Wrench
Damage: ■□□□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■□□□□□□□□
Execution:
The Wrench is by far the weakest melee weapon in the game, and is mostly useful in a pinch if you need to throw something at an enemy. Primarily these can be collected and sold at a vending machine for extra money but as far as it's use as a weapon, it's probably the worst option available. It does not have an execution move.

Dagger
Damage: ■■□□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■□□□□□□□□
Execution:
The Dagger is probably the first weapon you will pick up, and is effective for dealing damage in close quarters. It's most effective at finishing off single enemies due to being able to pull of an execution move on a staggered zombie. It struggles to deal with large groups effectively due to lack of range and the fact that it requires stamina to use. It can be thrown to do extra damage, and has the unique ability of being used to counter grabs and pounces provided one is in your inventory. It does not need to be held to trigger this.

Fire Axe
Damage: ■■□□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■□□□□□□□□
Execution:
The Fire Axe is useful for dealing with single enemies, or very small groups due to its heavy attack being a wide swing, which can hit multiple targets. It can also pull off an execution move on staggered enemies. It can be thrown, and is a good all around melee weapon as it does slightly more damage than the Dagger.

Machete
Damage: ■■□□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■□□□□□□□□
Execution:
Practically a reskin of the Fire Axe, the machete has about the same stopping power as the Fire Axe, though it's downwards swing is an overhand strike, not a sweeping strike like the axe, making it less suitable for dealing with groups. It's the only new weapon that features the ability to perform an execution.

Hammer
Damage: ■■■□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■□□□□□□□□
Execution:
The Hammer is a surprisingly decent alternative when it comes to melee, having a bit of a harder punch to it than most of the other smaller weapons. It has about the same power as a pistol shot, though the primary downside to the hammer is that it lacks an execution ability.

Monkey Wrench
Damage: ■■■■■□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■□□□□□□□□□
Execution:
By far the most beefiest melee weapon so far available, the Monkey Wrench hits like a truck and is a solid choice as a primary weapon. It's regular attack can nearly one shot most regular zombies if struck in the head, and it's heavy attack straight up decapitates almost every normal enemy in the game. It doesn't have an execution move, but with this much power it doesn't really need one.
Weapons - Firearms
This section will cover the ranged weapons available in the game

"Dune Cat" 9mm Pistol
Damage: ■■□□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■■■■□□□□□
Range: ■■■■■■■■□□
A standard 9mm pistol. One of the weakest firearms in the game, it's primary use is staggering enemies and hitting triggerable objects, due to how common the ammo is. It quickly loses it's usefulness once better firearms are acquired as ammo is pretty plentiful for the most part. A good ammo saving tactic in the beginning of the game is to use a single shot of this weapon to stagger an enemy, then quickly swap to the Dagger (or Axe) to perform an execution move.

"Bear" 12 Gauge Shotgun
Damage: ■■■■■■■■□□
Fire Rate: ■■■□□□□□□□
Range: ■■■□□□□□□□
A powerful shotgun that is fantastic for close range engagements. The primary downside to the shotgun is that rounds need to be loaded individually, so completely depleting it's ammunition will leave you vulnerable for quite a long time as you get it reloaded, compared to nearly every other weapon in the game. This can be mitigated with a reload cancel. The shotgun is the weapon of choice for dealing with Weepers.

"Silver Fox" Revolver
Damage: ■■■■■□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■■□□□□□□□
Range: ■■■■■■■■■■
A revolver pistol, which is much stronger than the 9mm. Don't sleep on this weapon, it's not like the Magnum from the Resident Evil series. Ammo for this weapon becomes abundant mid game and it's a viable alternative to the 9mm, especially if you use it with melee weapons to perform execution combos.

"Jackal" 45 SMG
Damage: ■■□□□□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■■■■■■■□□
Range: ■■■■■■□□□□
The SMG is deceptive in principle. It chews through ammo at an incredibly quick rate when dealing with groups of enemies. The primary place it shines is dealing with fast moving, low health enemies such as Maniacs, Crawlers and Blood Worms. It's ammo economy is not really useful for handling standard zombies, squirters, or crystal enemies, as it can become depleted VERY quickly. Primarily save it for dealing with large waves of Maniacs or Crawlers.

"Cheetah" 165 Automatic Rifle
Damage: ■■■■■■□□□□
Fire Rate: ■■■■■■□□□□
Range: ■■■■■■■■■■
By far the best, most well rounded weapon in the game, the AR is just great in almost any situation. It has fantastic range, good stopping power, decent fire rate, and hefty magazine size, making it ideal to be used as a late game primary, especially when ammo is abundant. There's really never a bad time to use this weapon, unless you have no ammo for it, and it'll probably be the mainstay of your late game progression.

Bow
Damage: ■■■■■□□□□□
Fire Rate: ■□□□□□□□□□
Range: ■■■■■■□□□□
The bow's primary use is the fact that it's the only 'silent' weapon in the game, drawing the least amount of attention from nearby enemies when used. It has decent stopping power, but not much more than the Revolver or the AR. The only niche it fills is that it's good for the stealth section of the Story Mode, and it has the ability to fire special arrows, though these are very situational. It's the only weapon in the game capable of firing Golden Arrows, which are the strongest form of ammunition in the game, though these can only be obtained by farming them in the Graveyard Challenge mode. They can also be useful in the fact they can fire explosive arrows, which makes them good for blowing open cracks in walls if you're having trouble using grenades or mines, and they can potentially clear large groups of enemies. Toxic arrows have the ability to confuse enemies and make them fight each other, which could be useful in some situations, though I'm not sure how viable this would actually be as a primary strategy.
Enemy Tactics Part 1 - Basic Enemies
This section will cover the enemy types found in the game and how they work, as well as effective ways to counter them. Spoilers ahead.

Zombie
The most basic enemy you will face in the game. Zombies are generally slow moving, and only really get aggressive at close ranges, however they can be deceptively quick if you are not prepared for them. On normal difficulty levels, zombies take 2 headshots with the pistol to kill, or one thrown axe to the head. The primary threat of zombies is when they go into a lunging state, in which case they will quickly move towards the player with their arms outstretched. The distance they can cover in this state is surprisingly long and catches many players off guard because instinct is to dodge backwards. This will not be enough to escape a zombie's lunge attack, it will take two full back dashes to get out of it's range during this attack. A better solution is to side dash, as zombies cannot turn very well during this attack and will often slip right past you if you dodge to the side when they begin their lunge. Also, they are much harder to hit with throwing weapons in this state as their arms will often block any attempts to throw an axe at their head unless it is directly head on, so keep this in mind. Other than that, they are a relatively low threat unless in large numbers.

(Side note: Zombies can have their limbs blown off, including their legs, causing them to fall. Keep in mind that this does NOT immediately kill them and if you ignore them after blowing their legs off, they will still attempt to crawl towards you and grab you. Always make sure they are completely dead.)

Crawler
The second most common zombie type you'll run across, crawlers shamble along the ground at a low angle, or can crawl on ceilings, making them quite annoying to kill, especially in large numbers. They can also be killed with two headshots with the pistol, or one thrown axe to the head. They are also the first zombies that have the ability to pounce the player and will often do so suddenly and without warning if you are distracted with other enemies. It's a good idea to carry a few knives in your inventory to counter these sudden pounces if they occur. Another trick to avoid being pounced is to jump while they lunge at you. You will take damage (though less than if you were pounced) and be knocked down, but they will not trigger a pounce animation you if they collide with you in the air. Whenever you are dealing with a zombie swarm, and crawlers are involved it's usually best to try and get rid of them first, as their ability to suddenly pounce you out of nowhere is INCREDIBLY annoying.

Squirter
The Squirter (yes, that's it's official name) is a female zombie capable of launching a ranged attack from their giant mouths. These projectiles are SURPRISINGLY accurate if you are not aware of how their targeting works, and can often catch you while you are trying to run away to heal. They, like the other zombie variants, can be killed with two pistol headshots or one thrown axe to the head. Squirters have the ability to lead their targets, meaning that if you are trying to circle strafe or otherwise run in a direction to avoid being hit, they will compensate and try to shoot where they think you are going to be, not where you were when they start their attack animation. The best way to dodge this attack is wait for the moment the projectile is launched, then either stop or change direction. This will cause them to fire in a position they assumed you would be, causing them to completely miss. Squirters also have a close range attack that causes them to vomit blood in a cone directly in front of them. You can be hit multiple times by this attack while they are in range, so it's best to try and engage them at medium to far distances, unless you have something like a shotgun that can immediately take them out. These enemies are generally second in priority to the crawlers when dealing with large groups, as other zombies can block their shots, you can generally avoid the projectiles if you know they're coming and if you have some sort of cover you can jump behind in a pinch, they become incredibly ineffective. They are only really dangerous in large numbers if they are surrounding you from different angles.

Crystal Variants
All three of the previous zombie types, (Zombie, Crawler and Squirter) can have an alternative version that sport a crystal attached to their forehead, either red or blue. In my personal experience, the blue crystal versions are the most dangerous, despite the fact that red crystals are worth more than blue. I don't have the exact stats on these enemies though, so I can't say for sure that they actually are, this is just from my experience in the game. Crystal Variants of enemies have more health and do far more damage than their standard counterparts, and the Squirter variants in particular have WAY better tracking for their ranged shots than their non crystal counterparts. These types of enemies should always be a priority to take down as they can deplete your health rather quickly if they manage to hit you.

Maniac
Maniac zombies are MUCH faster than normal zombies, and have the ability to jump at the player and pounce them, just like the crawler. These enemies can be incredibly dangerous as they can often come out of nowhere and pounce the player. Luckily though, they are much more fragile than the regular zombies, only requiring a single headshot from the pistol to take down. If you counter one with a knife after it pounces you, this will also usually kill it. If one DOES lunge at you, shooting it while it's in the air, even if it's not in the head, will prevent it from being able to pounce you, though it may not outright kill it. Also, like the crawler, jumping while being pounced will prevent the pounce animation from playing, though you will still take some damage and be knocked down. These are only dangerous if you don't see them coming. Luckily, they are not very smart and will charge at you in a straight line, so they are quite easy to take down if they come at you from the front.

Blood Worm
Blood Worms only appear in one section of the game, and they operate like smaller Crawlers, and only take 1 pistol shot to kill. Their tactics are simple, they crawl towards the player and lunge at them attempting to pounce them. Their danger is the fact they appear in large numbers. It's generally advised to just run past them and get out of this section as quickly as possible, as their sheer numbers will deplete your ammo. Their pounce can be countered with a knife.

Brute
Brute's are the primary zombie types you will find in chapter two. They are more resilient than standard zombies and a bit more dangerous. Their lunging attack has been upgraded so now they swing their arms while running, and each of these swings can cause damage, though they are no longer able to grab you. This is actually FAR more dangerous as taking a full volley of these swings can pretty much kill you from full. One of the other notable features is their ability to use melee weapons. Brutes have the ability to attack with and throw melee weapons, and will pick up any weapons in their path, so be careful about how you use thrown weapons against them, as they may just pick it up and throw it back. These are best engaged at a distance with firearms, though if you can throw a Monkey Wrench at their head, they can be taken out instantly.

Biohazard Suit Brutes wear a suit with an explosive tank on their backs. These can be incredibly useful as they are essentially walking bombs. The easiest way to kill them is to shoot them once in the leg so they drop to their knees, then shoot the canister on it's back. This is also useful for shattering glass windows in chapter 2, or blowing open locked doors.
Enemy Tactics Part 2 - Special Enemies
This section will cover special enemies that operate differently than most standard enemies in the game and are harder to take down.

Weeper
The Weeper is the first 'miniboss' style enemy that you will see in the game. The first encounter with a weeper can be devastating for players who have never seen one before. Loosely similar to it's Left4Dead cousin, the Witch, Weepers, when spotted in the wild will often be sitting on the floor crying. They will not attack the player unless disturbed by either the player getting too close, or by the sound of gunfire/explosions. Weepers have a TON of health, even on normal difficulty and can easily tank 7-8 shotgun blasts directly to the face. They also hit like a truck, being able to drain 50% of your health AND knock you down with a single swipe. Counter intuitively, keeping them close to you is the best strategy, as if they are too far from the player they will scream, doing health and stamina damage to the player (even around corners) which also causes the player to be stunned. You want to avoid them being able to do this. They do, however operate in a very predictable pattern that once learned makes them significantly easier to deal with. There are multiple strategies for dealing with a Weeper. I'll start with the easiest:

Zombie Killer Grenade: The ZK grenade will instantly kill a Weeper when thrown. These are expensive, but can be farmed easily in the challenge modes once they are unlocked. If you really don't want to deal with a Weeper, this is the easiest option to remove it.

Mines: If you have a decent stockpile of proximity mines, Weepers can be easily taken down by dropping about 3 or 4 mines in it's path before engaging it. Generally speaking, 3 mines will be enough to weaken it to the point where 1 or 2 direct shotgun blasts to the face will kill it, 4 should outright kill it.

Shotgun: The shotgun is generally the best weapon to deal with a Weeper if you plan to take it down with firearms. Weepers have a very simple pattern of attack; they will charge the player and attempt to swipe at them. This swipe can easily be avoided with a backwards dodge, allowing you to immediately counter with a shotgun blast to the face. This will generally stun the Weeper, causing it to stumble backwards. When this happens you want to move forward towards them as they stumble backwards, unloading your shotgun in their face until they recover. This prevents them from getting far enough away to trigger their scream, and it allows you more distance to backdash again once they go in for another swipe. Simply repeat this pattern until they are dead. (You can use this tactic with any weapon, but the shotgun tends to be the most effective at it.)

Devourer
The Devourer cannot be killed (or at least, there is no way to damage it in the section it appears in) and must be run away from. During this section, you will have no access to weapons and must simply reach a safe area before it catches you. I'll post tactics for completing this section later in the guide.

Predator
The Predator is by far the most dangerous enemy in the entire base game, and one that has very few easy counters to it. Luckily the areas in which they show up can allow them to be killed with shrewd and albeit cheesy tactics, but considering this thing has the ability to instantly one-shot you with an attack that is almost impossible to dodge, sometimes that's the only winning play. Predators will try to close the gap with the player and either swipe at them, dealing massive damage or go in for a lunging attack. If they hit you with this lunging attack, it is generally a 1 hit kill, even from full health. You can use a knife counter when pinned in this animation and it will only do 50% damage to your health. Alternatively, jumping while he is lunging at you will either cause him to miss, or simply knock you down, preventing you from being pulled into the kill animation, though you will still take 50% of your health in damage. Generally speaking these enemies are the most annoying in the game and trying to fight one legitly is generally not worth it, as they have a tendency to dodge your shots. There are a couple ways to deal with them, and they follow a similar pattern to the Weeper.

Zombie Killer Grenade: Again, this just instantly deletes them. By far the best use of this grenade in the entire game, in my opinion. This fight is not worth it.

Mines: During the scripted fight with the first Predator, you can cheese the battle a bit by stacking 4 or 5 mines next to the doorway in which he appears before triggering the cutscene. This will basically just outright kill it before it is able to do anything, which is an alternative to using the ZK grenade.

If you are attempting to fight the Predator in a legit fashion, there are some things to know; simply opening fire on it is not very effective, it will block and dodge many of your shots. The most effective way to deal with it, is to use explosives: Either mines, grenades, explosive arrows, or canisters. This not only deals decent damage, it will cause the Predator to lower it's guard momentarily, allowing you to get a few shots in before it goes into it's standard attack pattern again. While this is a viable way to fight this enemy, the fact that it can shrug off your bullets and then instantly KO you without much counter play makes this fight more frustrating than anything, so I would suggest one of the first two options instead.

Grim Reaper
The Reaper only appears in challange modes and is very difficult to kill due to the way it's mechanics work. Reapers will appear on the map under certain conditions of challenge modes in both the Graveyard and Haunted Mansion modes.

The Grim Reaper will slowly float towards the player and when close enough will attempt to swing it's scythe, dealing a large amount of damage and knocking the player down. If it gets TOO close, it will grab the player and outright kill them. There is nothing you can do to escape this grab. In simple terms, DO NOT GET CLOSE TO THIS THING. Which becomes a problem because of another quirk of this enemy: It gets faster the more damage you do to it. Do NOT attack a Reaper unless you plan to kill it VERY quickly. It can easily build up enough speed to outrun the player even while sprinting.

In the Haunted Mansion, the Reaper will appear after the first 4-5 pumpkins are destroyed. Due to there not being a very easy way to get rid of it, your best option is to attempt to avoid it while you run around and finish smashing the rest of the pumpkins.

The Reaper is slightly more forgiving in the Graveyard mode due to the golden arrows that spawn on this map. Golden Arrows are the only real viable way to kill a Reaper. It will take 3 arrows to kill, however make sure you have enough distance between you and it to get all 3 shots off before it reaches you. You MUST hit it 3 times consecutively in order to have a chance of surviving. If you only hit it twice and attempt to run, it will have enough built up speed to catch you easily, even if you are sprinting. Do not attempt to shoot it, then run, then shoot it again. Just take it out immediately.

Side note about Golden Arrows: Golden Arrows will one shot any enemy in the game other than the Grim Reaper. This includes Weepers and Predators. Farming golden arrows in the Graveyard and taking them into the main story is a viable alternative to dealing with these enemies.
Escaping the Devourer
The section where you have to run from the Devourer can be incredibly difficult for some people if you don't understand the way it operates. The Devourer has the ability to break through any walls in its way on its path towards the player, making it incredibly difficult to escape. Stamina also becomes a major problem in this section, because you WILL run out before fully escaping, making it even harder to get away. The game does provide you with one free energy drink to get your stamina back, but this alone will not allow you to sprint fully through this section either.

The key thing to understand about this section is that the Devourer can effectively 'cheat' by taking shortcuts through walls, which you can't. In order to effectively complete this section, you have to take this advantage away from it. The best way to do that is to get to the end of long hallway sections and then stop and wait for it to come to you (while avoiding anything it tries to throw at you). You want it to take the same path you do. If you try to cut a corner early, it will simply break through the wall and cut you off, which will not only make it harder to get away, but will leave you with absolutely no stamina later in the chase. By lingering at the end of hallways and having the Devourer come to you, not only do you have time to let some of your stamina regenerate, you are effectively forcing it to take a longer path to you than it usually would, thereby slowing it down. This can take a few tries to find a good pattern of when and where to stop, but generally speaking, they will become self evident if you take your time and pay attention to the layout of the level.

Tactics
When the cutscene starting this battle plays out you will end up in a room below were you were initially attacked. The Devourer will not attempt to chase you until you reach a certain point in the hallway, so do NOT immediately try to run as soon as the cutscene ends, you will simply get jumped on immediately and dropped to 1 hp. You will also likely miss the free energy drink on the shelf in this section. You will start in a room that leads into a T shaped intersection. Half way down the hallway once you make a right, the chase will initiate. Slowly walk towards the trigger area and as SOON as you hear rumbling, IMMEDIATELY dodge backwards to avoid being crushed. At this point, back up and hug the corner on the right hand side, allowing the Devourer to make it's way towards you, using the wall for cover if he attempts to throw anything at you. Once he gets close enough, immediately enter the door on your right, the one you initially came through, and back into the room you started in. The previously blocked door will be destroyed, allowing you to circle around the Devourer and run to the end of the hallway. STAY HERE until he makes his way towards you again, regenerate some of your stamina and wait for him, using the same tactic of using the corner to hide if he starts flinging things at you. Once he gets close, run down the hall to the next room, dodging the zombies until you get to the door. You can rest here momentarily as the Devourer makes its way across the room, then head down the hall once he gets near you. Again, stop at this corner briefly for him to try and catch up and then round the corner into the room with the blue hue. Once you are there, simply gun it to the vent at the end of the hall and chug the energy drink if you run out of stamina. It may take a few tries to get down a proper pattern, but this is the most effective way I've found of completing this chase.
Misc. Notes
Storage Boxes
There are two types of storage boxes in the game, blue and green.

Blue boxes are global storage, anything stored in a blue box will be available in ANY game mode that also has access to a blue storage box. This means you can transfer items between modes. You can use this to farm weapons, ammo, explosives and usable items from the Challenge modes and have access to them in the primary campaign, though I would recommend trying to complete the game without farming at least once for the best experience.

Green boxes only appear in story mode and are linked to other green boxes in the run. These boxes do not share an inventory with Blue boxes and anything stored in a green box will not be available to you in other modes.

Zombie Doors
There are doors in the game that when you attempt to open them, they will be locked but zombies will bust down immediately afterwards, often hitting the player and dealing what seems like unavoidable damage. This isn't the case. You can test the handle and then back dash out of the animation before the door collapses, preventing it from falling on you.

Locker Zombies
Later in the game you will encounter lockers with zombies hiding inside ready to pounce you the moment you open the door. The best way to avoid this is to approach the locker from the side and open it from there. The zombie will still pop out and attempt to lunge at you, but since it has to turn to face you, it gives you much more opportunity to either avoid it or shoot it. Remember: If you attempt to backdash, do so TWICE or the zombie will still catch you.

Retrieve the Assault Rifle
After the cutscene where you first transform and kill the man that tried to kidnap you, you'll fall over the railing through the floor into the basement, losing all your weapons in the process. There is a pistol to find down here, but to make your life easier, as soon as you have control, find the hole you fell through and look up. You should see the stock of your Assault Rifle hanging over the edge. If you jump and press E, you'll be able to grab it, allowing you to start this section with a fully loaded gun, which makes it FAR easier than going through it with no weapon at all.

Final Notes
If people are interested in specific things not covered in this guide, I'll see if I can add them. Also, I may update this guide with tactics for beating each of the Challenge modes. Hopefully you found something useful here.
FAQ's
This section will address some questions I see asked regularly about the game.

What does the "Reduce Undesirable Effects" option do?
This option basically puts the game into a "safe mode" as far as sexualization and gore. Zombie dismemberment is turned off, Jodi keeps her towel on during the shower scene, and the camera is adjusted in vents to avoid focusing on the character's butt while crawling through it.
18 Comments
BWK 22 Jun @ 1:12am 
Very well made tutorial, thank you mate!
Le-Kcat 10 May @ 7:53am 
awesome thumbnail. Gotta ask, where's it from? Is it a show or a game?
William JCM 20 Mar @ 6:09pm 
You can still do it, it just requires good positioning. The bow can be recovered too, but in my experience, it requires a well-placed grenade to knock it into the hole (that grenade can land on the floor where you are, the explosion will still affect the bow).
Ramslash 19 Mar @ 9:14pm 
It appears as you can no longer retrieve the assault rifle after falling through the floor
RossR89 11 Mar @ 4:24pm 
Any idea how to switch shoulder view (left/right) when using a game pad? Thanks!
bypasser 9 Mar @ 12:51pm 
Neat guide, a few additions though:
- the Grim Reaper on the castle map can be stunned by shooting his scythe;
- the "zombie doors" get triggered by you approaching them, not by pulling the handles (although it may seem different, as it takes a little while for the zombies to get to those doors), so you can just run or dodge past those doors and wait at a safe distance for the zombies to break them;
- there is some more "secret cheeze" too, like the fan button trick, or the shortcut in the Devourer's scene;
- more about the fan part - not only you can easily enter the area without switching the fan on (by dashing through the door as you push the button), but in this case you also can safely roll through this fan back (should you forget to pick something in the area before it) by doing it before it spools up.
Icke 2 Mar @ 2:24pm 
where do I find the pistol? xD
Nicoredje 2 Mar @ 8:40am 
When it comes to reload canceling. I noticed that she can do partial reloads. When she is reloading you can press RMB then hit LMB and she will finish her animation for that shell and be ready to shoot. However in a pinch dashing is still easier.
Toybox  [author] 21 Feb @ 10:59pm 
@Sagara
You will get access to a blue box (called a Hyperbox) on NG+ at the beginning of act 1, allowing you to pull any stored items from it. Most challenge maps also generally have a hyperbox somewhere as well.