The retro-style horror game Heartworm is structured into three distinct acts. Each act presents unique areas to explore, puzzles to solve, and culminates in a challenging boss battle. This guide focuses on the first act, encompassing the Abandoned House and Neighborhood areas. Whether you need assistance with a specific puzzle or prefer a step-by-step walkthrough of the critical path in Heartworm`s initial act, this guide has you covered.
Table of Contents
- Abandoned House
- Grandfather clock puzzle solution
- Abandoned house locked door solution
- Archive
- Neighborhood
- Chess puzzle solution
- Garage fuse box solution
- Funeral parlor candles puzzle solution
- Spider Boss
- Archive
Abandoned House
Upon gaining control, immediately pick up the Camera located on top of the car.
Proceed down the road until you arrive at an abandoned house. Enter it through the door on the far-left side.
Inside, move forward and enter the door on the left to discover a Safe Room. While in the Safe Room, it`s advisable to store the Cigarettes in the storage box from your inventory, as they are not essential for progression and unnecessarily occupy an inventory slot.
Exit the Safe Room and proceed through the other door situated next to it on the back wall.
In this large room, enter the door on the wall just before you reach the kitchen area.
This room is the dining room. Walk straight ahead and through a door on your left to find a staircase. Head upstairs.
At the top of the staircase, navigate all the way around the loft area until you reach a door leading to another screen. Enter this door.
Read the paper found here and make a note of the time 12:15.
Return to the previous room, then walk up and enter the open door on the back wall.
Grandfather Clock Puzzle Solution
Inside this next room, adjust the hands of the grandfather clock to match the time noted from the paper in the other room. The correct time is 12:15.
Once the closet to your left opens, step inside and proceed through the room to find an Emblem Piece. While you are here, take note of the word ROSE.
Leave this room. Before heading downstairs, first go to the room to the right of the open door you just came through. Navigate through the bedroom and pick up the Attic Key.
Return to the first room of the house.
Abandoned House Locked Door Solution
There is a locked door in this area. Enter the letters R-O-S-E to unlock it.
In the basement, push a series of shelves out of your way until you reach a back room. Here, you will find another Emblem Piece.
With both emblem pieces collected, open your inventory and combine them to form the Heart Emblem.
Return to the first room of the house once more.
Go up the stairs, then circle around and enter the door at the far end of the loft.
Walk through this room and ascend another set of stairs, then use the Attic Key to unlock the door. You can now discard the Attic Key.
Proceed through this room until you reach the end, then use the Heart Emblem on the red door.
Pass through the door.
Follow the path down the stairs, and continue onward down a very long and winding staircase.
At the conclusion of the winding staircase, you will encounter a locked door. Begin to return up the stairs.
Near the top, you will be attacked. Quickly run back down to the door again to finally pass through it.
Archive
Once you regain control, you will find yourself in the Archive, which serves as a central hub in Heartworm.
Move forward into a room containing a giant book.
Behind the book, there is a computer similar to those found in Safe Rooms, which you can use to save your progress.
To the left of the book is a machine. Throughout the game, you can collect up to three photos to insert into this machine. The number of photos you choose to insert will influence the game`s ending:
- Bad Ending: 0 photos
- Good Ending: 1-2 photos
- True Ending: 3 photos
When you are ready to advance to the next area, proceed down the hallway to the left of the book until static blocks your path. Take a picture of the static to clear it.
Interact with the red static a bit further into this area.
Neighborhood
Once you regain control in the Neighborhood, there`s no need to waste your ammo on the ghost nearby. If you wish to save, a Safe Room is located in the first house on the left (beyond some chainlink fence). Otherwise, head right towards a store.
Enter the store and retrieve the House Key from the counter at the back.
Return to the house you initially started in front of. Use the House Key to open the front door and go inside.
Head into the living room. There`s a door here; enter it and walk down the long, winding path to Sam`s bedroom.
Chess Puzzle Solution
In Sam`s bedroom, you`ll find a chessboard. Sit down at the table and move the Bishop from E3 to G5.
Successfully solving this puzzle will reward you with the Burst Mod for your camera. Open your inventory, select the camera, and add the mod to it. This upgrade allows you to take three pictures at once, which is beneficial for inflicting quicker damage on enemies.
Once you`ve completed the chess puzzle, go back outside and walk around the house to the garage, then open its door. You can now discard the House Key.
Maneuver around the hole in the floor to locate a shelf that can be pushed aside, revealing a fuse box.
Garage Fuse Box Solution
Flip the first, third, and fifth switches to the right to turn the fuse box green, which will cause a set of stairs to descend.
Ascend the stairs to find the Camera Bag. Open your inventory and use it to expand your inventory space to eight slots. This is a significant improvement!
Exit the garage, then head back in the direction of the store where you obtained the House Key. This time, take a right at the intersection, and follow the street down to an opening on the right that leads to a baseball field.
Take the Baseball Bat from the bleachers here, then leave the field.
Return to Sam`s bedroom. Place the Baseball Bat on a plaque on the wall to receive the Model Train.
Go back to the garage. Head upstairs where you acquired the Camera Bag and look on the opposite side of the room for a model train set. Use the Model Train here to obtain the Padlock Key.
Exit the garage and approach the chainlink fence behind the house. Use the Padlock Key on the door to unlock it. You can now discard the Padlock Key.
Enter the door. Shoot the static here to gain access to the Garden Photo, which is the first of the three photos required for the true ending of the game.
Leave this area and return to the main street. Head all the way to the end and enter the last house on the right by interacting with the static-filled window.
Inside, walk straight and enter the door ahead of you. You will emerge onto a snowy street.
Directly across the street is a funeral parlor. Go there and notice the three unlit candles in the window. A note beside the candles indicates that you need to locate and light three candles throughout the neighborhood to proceed.
Funeral Parlor Candles Puzzle Solution
Leave the funeral parlor and walk all the way down the street until you spot a stop sign. Take a right, then ascend some stairs to enter an apartment.
Deal with the enemy (or simply maintain your distance) and navigate through the apartment`s various rooms until you find the first candle. Use the Lighter from your inventory to ignite it.
Backtrack to the street, then return to the house across from the funeral parlor and proceed back to the main street.
Go all the way down the street and enter the house to the left of the store.
The interior of this house is flooded. Be cautious of the enemy present and head up the stairs, then enter the door at the top.
At the end of the hallway, there is a door on the right; inside is the second candle. Use the Lighter from your inventory to ignite it.
Return to the baseball field.
On the field, you will notice a candle enclosed in a cage on the pitcher`s mound. To unlock this cage, you must start from home plate and quickly run all the bases before the lights extinguish. Accomplish this, and you will gain access to the third candle. Use the Lighter from your inventory to ignite it.
Return to the house at the end of the street with the static window and make your way back to the funeral parlor.
Enter the funeral parlor. Inside a room in this building, there`s a casket you can interact with to be transported downtown.
Head out into the downtown area and take the street to the right. Follow it for a considerable distance until you eventually reach a door on the right leading to a Safe Room.
Enter the Safe Room and save your game, as a boss encounter is imminent. While you are there, place the Lighter in the storage box, as it serves no further purpose.
Exit the Safe Room and walk straight down the street until you reach a right turn. Proceed down this street until you arrive at an alleyway illuminated by numerous lights. Follow it all the way through until you reach a fork in the path.
Go up towards the warehouse door marked by a red light above it. Interact with this door to enter.
Walk into the next room and ascend the stairs in the back-right corner. Follow the walkway all the way around until you reach a blue door. Unlock the door to create a convenient shortcut back to the Safe Room.
Inside the warehouse, descend the stairs in front of the blue door, then go around and enter the space between the two giant shelves.
An enemy will spawn here and pursue you through a series of dimly-lit screens filled with shelves. Weave in and out through this maze until you reach the end, where some boxes will fall behind you, ending the chase. If this enemy catches you, you will die, so it`s crucial that you saved recently.
Proceed down a few screens to reach a door in a fence. Enter it, then collect the Crowbar from this area.
Return to the point where you first emerged from the chase through the shelves and use the Crowbar to remove the wood from the nearby door, revealing a path back to the beginning of the warehouse.
Exit the warehouse through the way you originally entered, then go back through the alleyway until you reach the street again.
Head north from here to find a bus.
Use the Crowbar on the bus to initiate the game`s first boss encounter.
Spider Boss
The first boss in Heartworm is a large spider. Ensure your Burst Mod is equipped, as it will require approximately 40 hits with your camera to defeat this monstrous arachnid. The fight itself is fairly straightforward, though limited mobility can make it a bit challenging.
The spider can perform a basic melee attack when it`s close to you, which can be difficult to avoid due to its speed. It can also shoot webs at you; while these don`t inflict much damage, they will knock you down. This attack can also be dodged with quick movement.
Occasionally, the spider will charge at you for a more powerful attack. You can interrupt this charge by taking a picture when it gets close.
After you`ve inflicted some damage, the spider will sometimes temporarily leave the arena and spawn numerous smaller spiders. These smaller spiders will chase you and explode upon contact. Stay mobile and try to avoid getting cornered. Although individual explosions won`t cause extensive damage, cumulative hits can be significant.
There are multiple rolls of film and a healing item available in the arena, so be sure to pick them up as needed.
Upon defeating the spider, you will receive the Neighborhood Page.
Archive
You will awaken back in the Archive. Head to the left towards a machine and, if you choose, insert the Garden Photo into it.
Now, use the Neighborhood Page on the giant book in the center of the Archive to open a massive gate to the north.
Pass through the gate and follow the path to a door. Open the door to enter the second act of Heartworm.