Walkthrough

Subway World

"Huh? This is my dream and you don't even know my name?"

Complete maps

Opening Hallways

Run straight ahead to the woman at the end of the hall. Meet Cynthia. She needs your help to find the exit and will reward you with a "special favour" for doing so. Yes, please... She knows how to keep a man motivated.

Head around the next corner and down the lifeless hallway for another cutscene. Cynthia feels sick and enters the ladies' room. As Henry waits, you're introduced to the first enemies of the game: Sniffer Dogs.

Sniffers can be a hassle due to their insane lunges, so just slip straight inside the ladies' room. Inside, Cynthia is nowhere to be found but there's a strange hole on the wall, larger and more refined than the one in your washroom. This is the first Portal. Enter it to return to your apartment.

Note on Portals:
These large holes will always return you to Henry's Room 302 when traversed. While there you can recharge your health, save your game or witness different events that may sometimes progress you through the game. Read the next note below for more specific details.

Back in the subway, examine the stunning mannequin, then once again for the 5 Lynch Street Line Coin. Exit the washroom back to the Sniffer-occupied hallway. Instead of fighting them, quickly run to the next area to the left, zigzagging to dodge their attacks. Get used to this running style, although quietly walking past them can sometimes avoid getting their attention.

Concourse and Dead End Corridor

Take a right to find a Sniffer by the turnstiles. If you'd like some more Pistol ammo, continue along the right and move into the next corridor.

Two Sniffers and a weird snake-like pipe (known as Greedy Worm) occupy the area. You can attack it but nothing will happen. Up the far right stairs you'll find Pistol Bullets. Return to the concourse and check the turnstiles in the middle.

Remembering your coin, check the signs and use the Lynch Street Line Coin to pass through the appropriate entrance turnstile. Head down the stairs.

Connecting Stairway

In a cutscene, new enemies called Ghosts will be introduced. Instead of fighting them, continue down the stairs and take the next stairs just ahead.

Note on Ghosts:
First things first, Ghosts can never die. Ever. Yeah... that's what we're dealing with. But you can attack them and even knock them down for short periods if desired. One problem is that even being near Ghosts will flash your screen red and do slight damage bit by bit, so always try to minimize time spent near them. Essentially always and certainly now, your best bet is just to run past them, but you'll receive some items later in the game to help you fight back or suppress them.

Lynch Street Line East Platform: Releasing Cynthia

Just down the stairs you'll see Cynthia trapped in a subway car. You won't get your special favour if you don't help her out, so head south to the end of the platform where the conductor car is, passing any Ghosts. Enter the final car through the door with the new angle and examine the red light to push the button.

Back outside, Cynthia will be making her way towards you, so that worked. The south door here is locked and there's nothing else to do but make your to the west platform via a little maze in the stopped subway cars. To begin, head to the north car and enter from there.

Navigating the Subway Car Maze

The aisle to the south is blocked so use the right cement column to get to the other side of the car. There's a toy box on the bench there but it's locked so forget it for now and pass through to the next car south.

Enjoy the nice view, then advance to the next subway car south. Use the cement column to reach the fourth subway car at the southwest and pass through straight to the middle car. Use the column once again to get around the blockage and enter the sixth and final car. Follow the aisle and exit the last car through the west open doors at the end.

Lynch Street Line West Platform

After enduring the maze, make your way south down the platform. You can find Pistol Bullets just up the stairs ahead by the blockage. Continue south and enter the maintenance room at the end.

Just inside, Henry will notice he's lost Cynthia again... Talk about playing hard to get. She promises a special favour and then makes it impossible to receive the reward by disappearing every couple of minutes. She can't be found even if you go back, so let's just hope for the best.

You'll find another Portal on the wall in here, but there's no need to return to Room 302 unless you need to recharge your health. Otherwise, continue down the ladder.

Maintenance Hallway

Follow the path past the intersection and up the other ladder if interested in some ammo. You'll find Pistol Bullets on the floor up there. You can also unlock the door to the east platform, which I highly recommend you do for reasons you'll understand much later. But head back down when done.

Now head into the intersection and ignore any Ghosts as you proceed down the stairs and through the end door.

King Street Line Platform

Now on another platform, quickly bash the nearby Sniffer with your Steel Pipe, then move down the platform. Cynthia is heard on the intercom and she's apparently found the exit. She sure knows how to tease a man...

She tells you to come to the turnstiles, which you'll come across up an escalator ahead so just keep moving. The subway train at the north side of the platform contains four Sniffer Dogs, which you can fight your way past to find a 6 9-Iron golf club. It's up to you if that's worth it. It's a nice weapon but it breaks easily and you'll find many more of them later on anyway.

Note on Golf Clubs:
You'll find a whole bunch more of these over the game, enough to assemble your own golf bag. Golf clubs are powerful melee weapons that offer more damage than the Steel Pipe, but they break easily and become useless, remaining in your inventory until dumped in your item chest. They're a dime a dozen so don't ever hesitate to use and break them. Just consider having a backup weapon in case.

Continue west to find escalators on the other side, plus a Nutrition Drink at the foot of them. Farther west is another Portal back to your apartment if you wish. Consider using it to recharge your health and save your game, and hold onto that Nutrition Drink, cause the next segment can be a frustrating one. Step onto the upward escalator when ready.

Escalator to the Turnstiles

While taking the longest escalator ride of your life, new enemies called Wall Men will be introduced. They will partially emerge from the wall at various points and reach out to smack you to the ground. To get past them you can either time it to wait for their attacks and run past, or swing at them as you escalate past.

That said, both can be tough to get exactly right. Some are predictable and only swing once at a time, but some will regularly attack several times in a row and it can be hard to judge whether another attack or a short break is coming. Consider running past the few that aren't so aggressive when the time is right, but for most it's a better idea to swing at them with your pipe as you carry past them. Once you're just past each one, ignore it and prepare for the next one.

Alternatively you can use the Pistol, but again, don't waste any more bullets than necessary. Once you're alongside or past, run instead of shooting any more. Once you've past enough of them, there will be a short distance to the end where there won't be any more.

This can absolutely be a frustrating segment if you're aggressive and try to run past them all. Advancing slowly and carefully will generally do you much better than trying to sprint through it all. So be warned, and only use the Nutrition Drink if you're about to die because you'll return to your apartment shortly.

Meeting Cynthia at the Turnstiles

Take a deep breath after surviving that, and head down the side hallway to the left to find Pistol Bullets on the ground by the blockage. Then head back and move up the nearby exit stairs.

A whole bunch of makeup and other belongings that appear to be Cynthia's line the floor up here on the inside of the turnstiles. Examine the ticket booth door and take the 7 Temptation Placard... Quite relevant. Then step inside for a cutscene. So... Is it a bad time to ask for that special favour?