Follow the run by decisions, not fake fixed map directions: learn Cobb in the opening, move coal safely, use the conveyor, adapt when senses appear, and shorten commitments as rules stack.
The developer describes a chunk-generated environment with many chunk varieties. This walkthrough focuses on decisions that survive changing layouts and changing rules.
Confirmed mechanics are separated from the player action they imply. The action advice is decision logic, not a claim that every run uses one fixed room order.
The developer explicitly describes Level 1 as the point where Cobb has no senses or abilities yet.
Use the opening to learn spacing, path width, and how dangerous a close pass feels before later rules add detection or extra pressure.
Do not rush just because Cobb looks harmless. The opening is your best chance to learn his movement without extra rule noise.
The core prototype was built around picking up and dropping items and carrying coal toward a furnace.
Locate the objective route first, then choose a return path. Treat the pickup as a commitment, not the end of the decision.
Do not tunnel on the coal while Cobb moves into the connector you planned to use on the way back.
The conveyor was added because carrying coal all the way to the furnace was cumbersome. It reduces the delivery route to the center, but coal still takes time to arrive.
Bring coal to the central delivery point, then use the delivery delay to reposition instead of standing beside the belt.
Do not confuse shorter delivery distance with instant safety. The wait can still expose you if Cobb is closing in.
See, Hear, and Smell each give Cobb different kinds of information about the player.
Change only the part of the route the current sense punishes: exposure for See, noise for Hear, close-range hiding for Smell.
Do not over-correct every route at once. A rule is easier to survive when you identify exactly what new information Cobb now receives.
Reach increases grab range and speed during grab attempts. Duplicate spawns another Cobb and can stack beyond level 5.
Increase the safety buffer and re-check both sides of connectors. Solve the room as a multi-threat route, not one continuous chase.
Do not assume one Cobb leaving an objective makes the objective safe. The second threat can close the same route from another angle.
The developer confirms that rules stack and that Duplicate can continue stacking past level 5.
Shorten decision windows: read the rule, identify the one unsafe habit, complete one task segment, then re-check Cobb before the next segment.
Do not try to execute the whole objective in one uninterrupted sprint. Stacked pressure punishes long commitments with no reset point.
The conveyor shortens the coal route, but it does not erase the danger. Get the coal to the center, then use the delivery time to recover space instead of waiting beside the mechanism.
These cards start with the symptom you are seeing, then point to the route decision most likely to need changing.
The pickup is reachable, but Cobb keeps blocking the route after you commit.
You deliver coal to the center and get caught while waiting for the belt to finish the job.
Breaking line of sight works briefly, but Cobb still closes in later.
The interaction succeeds, then Cobb immediately pressures the route.
Darkness helps against visual pressure but staying there becomes worse over time.
You watch one Cobb and still get cut off from the objective or return path.
Restarting with the same route usually produces the same collapse. Use this five-point reset before the next attempt.
Read the newest rule line again.
Find Cobb before touching the objective.
Name the next safe space before moving.
Break one long objective into smaller commitments.
Change the route only for the rule that is actually punishing you.
Learn movement, interaction, the opening minute, and the core objective loop.
Open How to PlayCheck See, Hear, Smell, Reach, Duplicate, Freeze, Starve, and their counters.
Open Rules GuideUse rocks with intent, reset after every battery, and prepare for the ending-specific furnace phase.
Open Level 7 GuideA rigid room-by-room route is not a good fit for the game. The developer describes a chunk-generated environment with many chunk varieties and seeded randomness for endless mode, so this guide focuses on progression decisions rather than pretending every run has one universal path.
Use the opening to observe Cobb. The developer specifically notes that Level 1 starts with Cobb having no senses or abilities, making it the cleanest time to learn spacing before later pressure stacks up.
The developer describes the core mechanics around picking up and dropping items and carrying coal toward a furnace. A central conveyor was later added to reduce the need to haul coal all the way across the map.
The developer explains that the conveyor still has a downside: coal takes time to be fully delivered. Use that delay to reposition instead of waiting beside the belt.
Rules stack. Detection, tracking, grab range, player conditions, and Duplicate can combine so that a route safe under one rule becomes unsafe under several. Duplicate can also stack beyond level 5.