Stage 1: Start in Story Mode
The game page names two modes. Story Mode is the one built around uncovering what happened at Fathom Amusement. Chase Mode puts you straight into the hunt.
Take Story Mode first. Chase Mode is the same monster without the story scaffolding, and you will not know which corridors loop back on themselves until you have walked them once.
How you know it worked: you spawn on the parking level with the objective bar already showing a job.
Stage 2: Follow the green arrows to the DESCENT LIFT
From spawn, the floor is marked with green arrows. They lead to a neon sign reading DESCENT LIFT. Jason's subtitle explains why that is the only way down.
The arrows are the only navigation aid the game gives you at this point. Follow them rather than exploring, because the parking level has more dead ends than it looks.
How you know it worked: you are standing under the DESCENT LIFT sign and the objective bar changes.
Stage 3: Crawl through the vent
The first physical obstacle is a vent. The objective bar reads Crawl through the vent, and the small line under it tells you to find the way through the railings and crates.
Crouch and follow the gap. In the recorded run the player crouches behind stacked crates before the vent opens up.
How you know it worked: you come out on the other side and the bar moves on to the fuse objective.
Stage 4: Get the power back on
This is the longest stage of Chapter 1. The bar reads Get the power back on, with a counter underneath showing how many fuses you have found.
| What the bar shows | What it means |
|---|---|
Fuses found (0/3) |
Nothing picked up yet |
Fuses found (1/3) |
One fuse in hand or banked |
| A hint line under the counter | The room to try next — it names a place, not a direction |
The hint line changes between runs and between sessions. In one recorded Chapter 1 run the same counter showed Try the toy store at 0/3 and Try the prize booth at 1/3. Read the line again after every pickup instead of trusting a route you memorised.
How you know it worked: the objective bar stops mentioning fuses and switches to the gate.
Full detail, including what to do when the counter will not move, is on power and fuses.
Stage 5: Get through the gate
The bar now reads Get through the gate. Near this point you can also see a sign reading CRANE 2 OPERATOR, and the corridor opens into a loading bay.
Inside the bay the objective changes to Clear the bay with the line Set it down on a pad. The bay is where Chapter 1 stops being a walking tour and asks for a two-handed action.
| What you do | What the screen shows | What tells you it worked |
|---|---|---|
| Grab the load | A hold prompt appears on the object | The load follows your cursor |
| Carry it over the pad | Latched appears with an OVER PAD indicator |
The indicator turns while the load is above the outline |
| Release it | The prompt asks you to place the load | The pad outline fills and the objective line changes |
One recorded run also shows a warning at this point: He's climbing up to you. Shine your flashlight on him. Treat it as an instruction for this bay, not a rule for every chase — we have only seen it attached to this objective.
While the load is in your hands you cannot use the tools you would normally run with, so clear the bay before you start carrying. If he arrives mid-carry, dropping the load and breaking line of sight costs less than finishing the placement.
How you know it worked: you pass the gate and the phone call with Jason starts.
Stage 6: Finish the chapter
Near the end, the screen switches to the in-game phone with an active call and Jason on the line. He explains what chased him and describes the dome underneath the park.
Progress saves automatically, so you can close the game and resume from where you stopped. How often the save point updates is not documented.
How you know it worked: Chapter 1 Complete appears on your badge list. It had 92,454 lifetime awards when we checked on 30 October 2026.
When a stage will not advance
Check the objective bar first, not the map. Three things cause most stalls:
- The bar already changed. It switches the moment a job completes. If you keep hunting for a fuse that is no longer requested, you will walk past the next target.
- You are in the wrong mode. If the objective bar shows no job at all, you joined a hunt rather than the story.
- The hint names a room you have not found. The hint line names a place. If the name does not match any room you have seen, finish the floor you are on before searching further.
Two things we could not confirm and did not invent: the exact starting menu layout, and what a death costs you mid-objective. The game page says progress saves automatically, which is not the same as saying a death keeps your current job.
What to read next
If you were caught rather than stuck, go to Grinsworth — three sound channels give your position away and four tools answer him. If you are setting up a session with friends, read multiplayer before you send the invite.