Stuck playing Minotaur? Here’s a spoiler-free walkthrough for our free demo and practically free Early Access. Keep in mind though, that this walkthrough only covers puzzles which you have to solve to advance and basic exploration, and leaves optional puzzles, discoveries and choices up to you.
Chapter 1: Nod’s apartment
- Try leaving the room by using exit. This will prompt the activation of Nod’s first skill — Little helper (an unofficial name that Ollie would never approve of). You can use it to ask Ollie for a hint whenever you need help and she’s around; just click on her icon or press the “D” key. We suggest consulting this walkthrough only when [speaking quietly] she’s not of much use.
- Pick up screwdriver and card: Node (in top left corner) from Workbench scene. Cards are optional collectibles; you’re only required to pick up the first one. If you have trouble locating it, try leaving, and the invisible hand will intervene.
- After you return from the workbench (or any other scene) to the room, Ollie will “unlock” Nod’s highlighting ability, which can be used to highlight all interactable objects and areas in current location (except cards). Hold the “A” key to use it; you can complete the game without it perfectly fine, but it may come in handy if you get stuck, or want to make sure that you’ve explored everything.
- Rotate frame and remove screw from it using the screwdriver in Frame scene.
- You’ll see “Jes, 23” written on the back on the photo; by examining Calendar scene, you can see that Jes is the sixth month in U7 lore.
- The code is, therefore, 0623 (it could be 2603, too… but for some reason, it’s 0623). Why add 0 at all, you might ask? Well, since Nod’s alarm panel requires 4 digits, figuring that out is a part of the puzzle!
- You can punch this code in on Alarm scene.
- Leave the apartment and watch the cutscenes (by the way, if you like the movie, there are lots of wallpapers from it and Minotaur in general here).
Chapter 2: Maya
- Find your way to Maya’s Hovercar (use bars control button on her Balcony to open the gates).
- Pick up empty PAC (Portable Axis Container) from compartment.
- Return to Corridor. On your way back, grab switch box key from Easel in Maya’s apartment. You have to turn small easel lamp on first to see the key. It’s really pretty small (yeah, we know), but you can use Nod’s highlighting skill to help him locate it.
- There’s Switch box in Corridor behind boxes (near the entrance to Maya’s apartment); use the key to open it. Congratulations! Nod got his second skill – Axis vision. Just like with Ollie’s hints, click on its icon to use it. Or you might find it more convenient to toggle it with the “S” key. Either way, remember that keeping Axis vision on all the time will drain its internal battery, which will result in game over.
- Okay, it won’t, but please don’t do it anyway, or the whole of Royce will appear blue to you.
- Using Axis vision, re-route power from the lights to Axis generator. Axis current always flows from positive (+) to negative (-); turn on your Axis vision to see the markings on the nodes. Here’s one of several possible solutions for routing Axis power to the generator:
- You can now use Axis generator nearby to charge your PAC. Do it, then return to Hovercar and use charged PAC on onboard battery socket. Time to start the car by pressing engine start button on the steering wheel.
- Too soon… It appears that the car is low on fuel. Return to Switch box and use your Axis vision again to re-route power to Axis pump on Maya’s Balcony. This time, there’s only one possible solution:
- Return to Balcony and start fueling the car with Axis pump. Bam! Or “Bang!”, maybe? Go to Corridor to see what happened.
- Nothing to do here… Go back to Hovercar and drive it by using steering wheel.
- Leave the car and head to the next apartment, which is ominously called Purgatory.
Congratulations! Strange woman should now let you know that you have completed Minotaur demo. Thank you for playing, we hope that we managed to tempt you into buying joining our Early Access. We would also love to hear your feedback!
If you’re supporting Minotaur already [♡♡♡], let’s move on to the next chapter.
Chapter 3: Ghost
- The apartment is… unusual, but there’s not much to do here yet, except to look around. After you’re done, head to Cargo elevator.
- Looks like the only way is up… But without the elevator. Nod needs to find a way to remove huge crate blocking the access to Elevator shaft.
- Let’s start by checking out crane Control panel on the left. To turn it on, power the panel up by turning rusty lever in top left corner.
- Wild Ollie appears and invites you on a short trip. You can use Nod’s highlighting skill at your destination to identify the objects that Ollie wants you to examine.
- After she sends you back, press top left button on the panel, which should activate its touchscreen.
- This touchscreen can be used to move crane to one of four possible positions, while three buttons on the right below it allow you to (top to bottom) lower, raise or engage the crane. Since the crane is electromagnetic, Nod can’t use it to remove the wooden crate blocking the way, but he can move some other stuff around. Try relocating metal box next to him to the back of the elevator.
- Rope is revealed; it’s instrumental for what you’re going to do next, so return to Cargo elevator to pick it up.
- Go back to Control panel; this time, use the crane to move Ghost to position in front of huge crate. Your screen should now look like this:
- And you were only in it for the story… But don’t worry, we’re almost done. Return to Cargo elevator again, and use rope on Ghost to tie it to huge crate.
- Return to Control panel one last time to raise Ghost with huge crate tied to it… Not quite what Nod expected, but it gets the job done. You can now make your way to Elevator shaft.
- Unsurprisingly, shaft door to the next floor is locked, but once Nod examines small key hole to the left of the door, he realizes that it’s possible to open it from the inside with a so-called “drop key”. Of course, the key isn’t just lying around, so Nod will need to find a suitable replacement.
- Well, that’s what this walkthrough is for. Head back to Purgatory (the worn-down room in which this chapter has started), and check out Flowers on the table. Just the kind of thing we’re looking for… But getting one out could be hard. Nod’s inherent laziness prevents him from at least trying , so convince him by turning on his Axis vision and selecting fragile flower.
- After performing an act of vandalism, return to Elevator shaft and use broken flower on drop key hole. The way is now open, and Nod is in good enough shape to do at least one pull-up (or maybe that’s just his right hand). From Penthouse corridor, proceed to Hoptons’ penthouse and watch another cutscene.
Chapter 4: Thea
- Nod begins his second breaking and entering of the day in Storage room. While he’s still there, pick up crowbar (of course…) on your right. Trust us, you’re going to need it.
- Proceed to Penthouse hall, then to Guest bathroom.
- Whatever plans Nod had for this room are ruined now. Examine shower to talk to whoever’s in there.
- Turns out it’s Thea… And she’s in danger. Helping her is entirely optional, and won’t be covered in this walkthrough. However, regardless of what you decide to do, you still need to find your way out of penthouse. Start by grabbing key card from drawer to the left of the shower.
- Return to Penthouse hall and use the key card to open window to Catwalk on the right. Climb out and move forwards until you reach Utility room.
- Getting inside isn’t easy, but lucky for Nod, you’ve got crowbar. You can use it to smash the window.
- Once inside, use the ladder on the right to leave anytime. You can even do it without trying to help Thea and continue roaming Royce apartments in search of your heart.
- After leaving the penthouse, Nod discovers that he’s just a few steps away from Hatch of much-coveted passenger elevator. Those are dangerous steps, though: make sure to guide Nod carefully, so that he doesn’t fall to his death… ha-ha, just kidding. It’s impossible.
- Raise handle and pull it up to open the hatch. See? Not all doors are locked. Jump down into Elevator hole.
- Nod finally reaches the passenger elevator… Press first floor button and visit Ollie in “her world” again (you already know the drill). Enjoy the ride after coming back! This scene was a real pain to make, you know, so you don’t get to fast-skip it anyway.
Chapter 5: Bygone
Nod’s path is blocked again… And this time, he has to fight something other than locks. Ollie says it won’t hurt (much).
Here’s some free advice about this epic battle:
- Assembling your weapon shouldn’t be hard: Ollie will guide you through the process when you exit to Elevator hall. Just grab some stones, wire (make sure that no Axis is running through it by using your Axis vision first) and handle and engage your bulky opponent.
- Nod starts at a disadvantage, but can improve his hit chance considerably by reducing mobility of _03.
- Don’t forget that you can still use Nod’s skills, even during battle.
- Another way to gain the upper hand is to bring down Bygone’s chance to hit, but remember that each attempt comes at the cost of your turn. Balance is the key.
- Don’t get distracted — those who’re not focused on the battle get punished.
- If worst comes to worst and you lose, Ollie won’t be able to resist playing a practical joke on Nod. To escape it, help Nod remember that he only learned the world “olfactory” recently.
(This puzzle might be a tad confusing, so we’re considering replacing it with a more elegant one.)
After Nod comes to back in the elevator (how the Hades did he get back there?), he can either fight the Bygone again, or ask Ollie for help (which she offers in an atypically generous fashion). Use her interface gate to do the latter and have her hack the robot. Note that if Nod gets knocked out a couple more times, she’ll interfere and do it anyway. This girl has a digital heart of gold.
Regardless of how your battle ends, it’s time to head for the exit.
- Move through Atrium to Lobby and use Royce exit to get out.
- Navigate the streets of Second Rim district to make your way to Nova Corps station. You can talk to Nova citizens and visitors on your way to receive a bunch of fetch quests from them.
- Alright, alright… Use the stairs on you left to descent into Bowels, then continue to Maintenance tunnel.
- Can’t really blame Nod for not wanting to get cooked, so let’s try and find a way to make this tunnel passable. Start by trying to close gate valve on your right (be quick — Nod’s vision will become clouded in a few seconds, and you’ll have to leave the tunnel and return for him to be able to see clearly again); unfortunately, even Nod’s synthetic arm can’t do the job. It’s really been kind of useless so far, hasn’t it?
- Return to Bowels and use relief valve directly in front of you to bleed off pressure from the pipes.
- Go back to Maintenance tunnel again and turn the gate valve, this time shutting off steam for good.
- The passage is now safe, so proceed to Concierge’s room to watch another cutscene.
- You’re back to present day… Check out Console to your left. Flip PA switch on it to make an announcement (or rather, have Ollie make it for you).
- Looks like you’re going to have to explore Royce building from the outside. Use controls on your right to zoom cameras in and out (lever), move the image vertically or horizontally (joystick) and switch between two cameras (buttons), which show Royce from opposite angles.
- First, you need to locate the PA system. Switch to another camera angle, move the image all the way down and zoom one level in. If you did everything right, Ollie will highlight the entrance on top left monitor.
- Next, let’s check out Royce rooftop. Switch back to original camera angle, move the image almost all the way up (4 times) and zoom in closer again. This time Ollie will draw your attention to the vehicle on the rooftop.
- Rooftop it is then! Return to Concierge’s room and take the stairs to your right.
Chapter 6: Unter
- Start climbing the stairs.
- Continue climbing the stairs.
- Climb some more stairs.
- Finally… Proceed through Catwalk to iron gate at its end. The gate is locked (of course), but lucky for Nod, Unter has the key. He’s not very cooperative though, and Nod needs to get his attention. To accomplish that, try ringing Unter’s doorbell and knocking on his window. This won’t help, but we need Nod to get desperate. Next, return to the start of the catwalk and examine strange door to help Nod remember Unter’s name.
- Will it help? Try knocking on Unter’s window again to find out.
- Bingo! By hook or by crook… Pick up gate key from the tray and use it to unlock the gate to the rooftop. Time for another memory trip… This one’s a bit more interactive, but you should have no problem navigating it.
Chapter 7: Ollie
Things are pretty straightforward from here on out, and it’s time to see which of five possible endings of Nod’s route you’ll get.
Of course, the story of Minotaur doesn’t end here (who the Hades is Minotaur, anyway?) — there’s a lot more to come, and you’re helping it happen! We are very thankful for your support, and would love to hear what you think about Nod’s route. There are many ways to reach us (by e-mail, on Steam or other game platform, on Kickstarter, and so on), and we’re always happy to get in touch.
Hope to see you soon somewhere on Kyos!