Return of the Obra Dinn: Walkthrough

A good way to use it: study each scene yourself first, then read its entry here to check what you missed or to get unstuck.

Solving the Game

• You never need to guess at random, but you will need to make educated guesses. The tutorial warns that “decisive information is rare” and that you must work from partial information. Aim for the most likely answer, not certainty.
• Knowing real-world cultures, languages, and history helps, but it is not required. The glossary in the book covers most of the background you need.
  • You do not need to know any languages or accents. Subtitles translate foreign speech, and that is enough.
  • From real life, you only need a rough idea of what people from different regions looked like in that era. One deduction also relies on a bit of common knowledge about English or Western culture.
• The book also comments on your progress. It shows deduction ratings and unblurs faces once it decides you have enough information. This walkthrough labels these hints “META” and does not depend on them.
  • Plain facts from the game are used freely: recognising faces and bodies, and using the book to see who appears in a scene (even when they can’t be identified there), how many people are present, and who died where and when.

How This Walkthrough Works

• It assumes you know the interface and basic flow, such as moving through the book and revisiting scenes.
• Chapters are covered roughly in the order you reach them, with Chapter VIII (Bargain) at the end.
• Read it from start to finish. Skipping ahead may not make sense and may spoil other deductions.
• Spoilers are not marked, and they grow as you progress.
• Each entry first covers the obvious details, then the deductions you can make with what you know so far: a full answer for an identity or fate, or a shorter list of likely options.
• Because it follows the game’s flow, the information can seem scattered.
• Not every detail matters, and some possibilities turn out to be wrong. They stay in to show the reasoning and to push you to think for yourself.

Terms and Notation

• [chapter numeral].[part number] refers to a chapter part. For example, VII.8 is Chapter VII (The Doom), Part 8.
• 👤 before a reference means the soul who died in that part. For example, 👤VII.8 is the person who died in The Doom, Part 8. When two people die in one part, they get letters: 👤VII.4a for the man on top and 👤VII.4b for the one below.
• 👤[chapter numeral].D[number] refers to someone who disappeared at the end of a chapter. For example, 👤VII.D2 is the second person who disappeared in The Doom: the man looking over another man’s shoulder on the left of the “Under Way” sketch.
• To keep references readable, some people get nicknames, such as “Beanie Man”. People are described without spoilers where possible, but major figures like the captain are eventually named directly.

Chapter X: The End

Start by reading the opening pages of the book and the glossary at the end. They give useful facts about the crew and the background you need to follow the scenes.

This walkthrough begins after you have the book and pocket watch and have seen the first memory.

Part 1

Opening line: “CAPTAIN! OPEN THE DOOR!!”

[ID] Captain

• The ship has only one captain, as the crew manifest confirms, and someone in this scene calls out to him. Use the conversation log to work out who is speaking to whom.
• Tip: you can review the conversation log in the book. An X before a line means the person who died spoke it.
• Extra hint 1: it is two against one, and the dialogue shows who is ganging up on whom.
• Extra hint 2: check the ship plans in the book to see which room the shooter comes out of.

[FATE] 👤X.1

• He was shot with a pistol. Work out who fired it.

Other details

• The book counts 3 other souls besides the dead man, so 4 people in total. Three are easy to spot. Find the fourth.
• The dead man is well dressed. In the sketch, he wears the same kind of tricorne hat as the captain, and nobody else does. Clothing hints at a person’s status.
• Note the odd mention of shells. It may matter later.

You won’t identify everyone in the first scene. Do what you can and move on. This holds for every scene, and you can return to earlier deaths when new information appears.

Back in the present, the door ahead now opens into a room with two more bodies. Pick the one nearest you for the next scene.

META: Once the book says faces unblur when you have enough information, check the sketches. A few extra faces are already clear:

• The man holding the ship’s wheel. It may be chance that his hand was on it in that scene, but the book treats it as a clue.
• The signature at the lower left of the “Justice at Sea” sketch. The artist must have been on board to draw the scene, so they are on the manifest. Look for someone with the initials “E.S.”

Part 2

[FATE] 👤X.2 = Beanie Man

• This scene is messier. View the fight from several angles: someone you already know cuts his throat with a knife.

Other details

• The extra person from Part 1 is still here and easier to see.

Part 3

[FATE] 👤X.3 = Bald Tarzan

• He is hit on his bald head with a stick. The closest option in the book for a blunt weapon is “clubbed”. The attacker is obvious.
• The game also accepts a slightly different fate, because the stick has a pointed end.

Other details

• The captain has a knife in the right side of his abdomen.
• Another door has opened, showing a small room with a woman lying in some kind of bed or container.

Note that the book does not count dead people as appearing in a memory. So the woman is already dead.

In the present, a new door has opened to where the woman lay, and it now holds a skeleton. In the short corridor between the captain’s cabin and her room lies another skeleton. View that one next.

Part 4

[FATE] Captain

• The audio has a cocking sound, a scrape of metal, and a gunshot. The image is unclear, but you can just see the captain aiming a pistol at his own chest.
• In the book, if you choose “shot with a gun”, you can’t set the captain as the attacker. Choose suicide instead.

What the captain says before he dies matters more for your report.

[ID] Abigail

• Who is the captain calling “Abigail”? Not the dead men in the other room.
• Check that the manifest has exactly one person named Abigail.

[ID] Abigail’s brother

• The captain says he shot Abigail’s brother. He may mean an event you haven’t seen yet, but you already have one confirmed shooting.
• Separately, think about how you could tell that two people are siblings with what you have. See whether the manifest points to anyone as Abigail’s brother. You can connect this now, or wait until you know more about the captain’s history.

Only one body is left unvisited. View it to move on to the next chapter.

Chapter VII: The Doom (Parts 8–5)

Part 8

Look around carefully. Many people and events are in this scene, and it marks the start of the real game: a giant tentacled monster is attacking the ship.

After you view this scene and close the book, you can’t open the book or check anyone in the scene for a while. You must click the body the game wants identified, which takes you back to the present, then follow the wisp until the next body appears. After that, you can return to the old scene.

One workaround: in a YouTube playthrough, the player did not click to activate the watch after closing the book and could still open it.

[FATE] 👤VII.8

• Rigging (the gear that holds up the sails) strikes her on the head. You can record this as crushed, or as a blunt-object death like X.3.

If everything so far is right, you should get your first confirmation of 3 correct fates. Later confirmations are harder to predict, since many identities and fates take longer to complete.

[ID] Martin

• Find anyone named Martin in the manifest.
  • Note Martin’s quality (rank). It is one of the highest on the ship, so look for someone smartly dressed. Tip: checking the book for who appears in the memory may be easier than searching the scene.
• Alternative 1 (if you know who Abigail’s brother is): compare outfits in the sketch. You know the Captain and First Mate, so the Second to Fourth Mates remain. Other fancy hats are on deck, but the Mates should stand out because they lead. Find 3 people whose clothes match each other and also the Captain’s and First Mate’s.
• Alternative 2: only about 3 people in the scene are dressed for the role. Which of them seems free to look after Abigail?
  • One of them is much closer to her than the other two. Would he just happen to be beside her, dodging tentacles and rigging, while another man ignores him and shouts for Abigail from across the deck?
• If you aren’t confident, wait for more information later. This will happen often.
• META: the book shows which faces are unblurred.

[ID] The two women

• Women are rare on board. Check the manifest for female names and the sketches for female faces.
• Also consider their role on the ship. Their clothes are neither fancy nor rough, which narrows things further.
• This suggests they are the passengers Jane and Emily. To tell them apart, note that Jane is listed as “Miss”, meaning she is unmarried. Can you see a difference between a married and an unmarried woman here?
• Definitive clue: one of the women wears a wedding ring. Their ages can also help.

Part 7

[FATE] 👤VII.7 = Tattoo Man

• He is torn apart in mid-air. The book’s “Torn Apart” option fits.

Other details

• Tattoo Man looks distinctive, which helps, but probably not enough to identify him with confidence unless you know his tattoo designs well. Wait for more.
  • META: the book has unblurred his face, so the game expects you to identify him now.
• In the distance, the monster overturns a rowboat and throws 3 unidentifiable people into the air.

Part 6

A “bitt” appears to be a wooden post for tying ropes to. It doesn’t matter here.

[FATE] 👤VII.6 = Explodey Boy

• He exploded.

Other details

• A friend of his (called Explodey Boy’s Friend here) is handling his rope. They look alike in the sketch and stand close together there, so they are probably the same quality.
• A man in a tall cap with a peak (the visor that shades the eyes) comes up from below deck with several muskets. Call him Police Man. He is well dressed, and opening the gun store probably needs keys and special authority, so this may be part of his job, or he may be helping the officer in charge.

After this memory, the way below deck to the gun deck opens. Go down to find a body crushed under a cannon.

Part 5

[FATE] 👤VII.5

• A cannon crushes him.

Other details

• Explodey Boy and his friend are climbing the stairs with satchels.

Chapter VII: The Doom (Parts 4–1 and Disappearances)

Part 4

[FATE] 👤VII.4a = Top Hat

• A cannon fires into him, so “shot” works. “Exploded” is accepted too.

👤VII.4b is a real puzzle. He isn’t visible anywhere, but the book says he died in this scene. The scene before it may help.

Part 3

[FATE] 👤VII.3

• A cannon crushes him against the hull.

[FATE] 👤VII.4b

• He is trying to free Top Hat, and because of the order of the scenes, this is the most you will see. He stands in the cannon’s line of fire, so you can assume the shot hit him too and threw him out of view.
• Alternative: tentacles are reaching in, so one may have grabbed him and dragged him out before the cannon fired. The answer is truly unclear, and the game accepts any of these.

Other details

• Someone gives orders here, and only one officer-like person is present. He may be in charge of the cannons, or standing in for an officer who died earlier. Nothing is certain.

More bodies are now unlocked in the present. For VII.2, go to the bow (the front of the ship, past where you came in) on the gun deck.

Part 2

[ID] 👤VII.2 = E.S.

• The sketch artist was on board, which fits, since he drew “Justice at Sea”. Start by finding someone with those initials in the manifest. His quality may match as well.

[FATE] E.S.

• A tentacle squeezes him to death.

Go back into the ship. There’s a lot to note:

• When you close the book, you’ll find the top deck is open in this memory.
• At the far end of the gun deck, one person is carrying food for another.
  • Tasks like this are a certain quality’s duty. Check the glossary. [ID]
  • To confirm, check the stewards’ quarters in the present: parts of a uniform hang there.
  • The person in front is dressed the same way and was also preparing food, which shows their quality.
• Two men are having a drink on the gun deck. The hammocks behind them are probably theirs. Otherwise they would be crowding someone else’s space, and every other berth has its own table fixed to the hull. One hammock has a tag. Work out what that number refers to. [ID]
  • Apart from the two drinking men, the hammocks here are tagged: X, 36 (with a scimitar), 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 56, 57.

Part 1

A simple scene with a very useful conversation.

[ID] 👤VII.1

• He is called a Dane, meaning someone from Denmark. Check the manifest.

[ID] The bloody Dane’s attacker

• He accuses the Dane of killing his brother. Look for relatives in the manifest.
• The dialogue shows that at least one brother (the attacker) is alive and at least one is dead. Which brother is attacking depends on something you may have worked out earlier. If you haven’t, you’ll be pointed back here later.

[FATE] 👤VII.1

• He was clubbed in the jaw.

Disappearances

The book’s bookmark feature is especially useful here.

[FATE] 👤VII.D1 = Turban Man

• Last seen in VII.6, falling overboard on the side away from the explosion.

[FATE]x3 👤VII.D2, 👤VII.D3, 👤VII.D4

• In VII.1, they are leaving by boat.
• VII.7 shows what happened to that boat. The book and bookmarks confirm they were there, even though you can’t see them. The game accepts several kinds of death, so pick one.

[FATE] 👤VII.D5

• Last seen in VII.8, climbing the rigging on the port (left) side with a tentacle wrapped around him. What happened next is unknown, so pick any likely fate.

[FATE] 👤VII.D6

• Last seen in VII.8, lifted into the air by a tentacle above the ship’s wheel. The book confirms he won’t appear again, so make a guess.

👤VII.D7 = Striped Shirt Man

• Last seen in VII.8, driving a stick into a tentacle on the port side. This is his last appearance, so anything could have happened to him.

For the next chapter, go back to the gun deck and walk past the cannons to a corridor of rooms. The first room on the left has suspicious pools and a knife on the floor leading under it. Inside this room, the midshipmen’s cabin, is the next body.

Chapter IX: Escape

Gameplay-wise, this may be the most confusing chapter. Two storylines run side by side, with many people interacting and few known identities. It should make more sense once you’ve seen every scene and put them in order.

Part 6

Only the mutineers are still alive, which fits since this is the last part before Chapter X, but there are many bodies. The scene has too many possibilities to solve now, so take notes.

Language: “Och no!” is Scottish.

👤IX.6 bled out, but the book has no such option. You need the cause of the bleeding, which this scene doesn’t make clear.

Pete

• Check the manifest for anyone called Pete, a short form of Peter. Three people fit, but VII.1 already ruled out two.
• Recognise 👤IX.6? He’s Explodey Boy’s Friend from VII.6. Pete’s quality tells you that 👤IX.6, Explodey Boy, and Pete all share the same quality.
• 👤IX.6 says he tried to pull Pete back to save him. This could mean the events of VII.6. Or Pete could be the third midshipman, who wasn’t in VII.6 and had his own incident that (also?) involved pulling someone to safety. If neither option convinces you, see the rest of the chapter first.
• META: Explodey Boy’s face is unblurred.

[ID] Brennan

• At first, the First Mate could be calling any of the people outside the room, alive or dead, since he’s shut in and may not know who is still alive.
  • But he knows there’s been a fight (which hurt 👤IX.6), and he still feels safe enough to call out instead of preparing to defend himself. So he must know the fight is over and Brennan is alive.
• Also, among the living, it makes most sense to call the nearest person, not someone higher up on deck who may not have followed him in.
• Final hint: one person is cupping his ear to hear the orders better.
• Check the manifest for anyone who could be called Brennan.
• Or leave this until you’ve identified others in the scene. Note Brennan’s quality and look for bodies here that could match it.
• META: Beanie Man’s face is unblurred.

Part 5

[FATE] 👤IX.5

• Beanie Man clubs him.

Other details

• 👤IX.6 has a knife in his back. Who put it there?

Part 4

The conversation here is interesting, but it’s hard to tell who says what.

[FATE] 👤IX.4 = Police Man

• 👤IX.5 shoots him.

Part 3

Things are happening above deck. A group of people is in a boat that is gone by IX.4.

[FATE] 👤IX.3

• Someone you already know shoots him.

[FATE] 👤IX.6

• Hint: look below deck to see who stabbed 👤IX.6.

Part 2

[ID] Paul

• Hint 1: a woman calls out to Paul, which shows whose side he’s on.
• Hint 2: Paul is told to “look out”, so he’s in danger. Also note what the women are watching.
• Check the manifest for Paul.

[FATE] 👤IX.2

• 👤IX.3 stabs him.

Other details

• Look below deck to see how the fight began.

Part 1

Language: “Verdammt!” is German.

[ID] 👤IX.1

• Hint: he asks for “his Frenchman”, and another speaker seems to call that same person his mate.
  • Answer: find the French crew member in the manifest. 👤IX.1 is his boss.

[FATE] 👤IX.1

• He bled out. Since that isn’t an option, find what caused it: his whole left arm was torn off, if you can make it out.
• You can guess how it happened, and VII.8 confirms it.

Notes about the Frenchman

• The dialogue suggests the squid tore the Frenchman apart, which gives you a short list of suspects in the book.
• Watch for whoever works closely with 👤IX.1.

[FATE] Frenchman (keep for later)

• Torn apart, as reported.

Other details

• The First Mate opens the way to his cabin.
• 👤IX.6 opens the way to the orlop deck.

[ID] Pete

• Now that you’ve seen the whole chapter, you know it starts soon after Chapter VII. So the midshipman missing from VII must have died or disappeared before it.
• That makes it more likely that 👤IX.6 is remembering the friend he saw last, not someone from earlier.

Disappearances

These are the people who left in the rowboat in IX.2. What happened to them out at sea is unknown.

You have a few choices next. Some are on the orlop deck below, but first go to the newly opened First Mate’s cabin: the first door on the right as you leave the officers’ mess (where IX.1 takes place) on the gun deck. Remains hang outside its window.

Chapter III: Murder

This chapter takes place well before everything you’ve seen so far. Many more people are alive, so plenty of unknown people are busy doing things. It may still settle some key identities.

Part 3

👤III.3 appears here for the first time, so you have no idea who he is. He is shot by someone else you are also seeing for the first time. Take notes on who is doing what, but there’s too little to work with for now.

• Tip: look for any distinguishing features on 👤III.3. He seems to be one of the working-class sailors, so you may need those details later to tell him apart.

Part 2

This is the “Justice at Sea” sketch. Take your time studying everyone in the scene.

Language: a Chinese language, reportedly Hokkien (also called Taiwanese; Formosa is today’s Taiwan). It’s easy to tell who is speaking it, which tells you the language.

[ID] 👤III.2

• The dialogue names him: Hok-Seng Lau.

[FATE] 👤III.2

• The dialogue says he’s being executed, but that isn’t an option. He was shot. Hint: follow each bullet’s path. Answer: of the 4 muskets aimed at him, only 1 hits. You know who fired it.

[ID] Mr Wolff

• As with every name you hear, look for a “Wolff” in the manifest.
• In the dialogue, Wolff commands the firing line. Find who is doing that in the scene.

Part 1

A simple, short scene with very few people.

[ID] Nichols

• He is called by name and responds. Find the name in the manifest and assign it.

[ID] 👤III.1

• Hint and answer: III.2 is the trial for his murder, and his full name is given there.
• Real-world support: note his foreign accent and the word “signor”.

[FATE] 👤III.1

• This one is tricky. Nichols is the attacker, but how did 👤III.1 die? It looks like a punch to the chest, which wouldn’t kill in one blow. So a weapon is involved, one small enough to hide in a hand. Look at the pose of his hand as well.

Other details

• There’s a shiny shell in the treasure box in the room. Remember the shells mentioned earlier?
• Hok-Seng Lau is on the floor but not dead, since he dies in the next scene. A bloody club lies near him, which hints at what happened.

[ID] 4th Mate

• The First to Third Mates are identified by now, so one Mate is left. If you’ve studied the sketches closely, you can spot him.

III.3 revisited

[FATE] 👤III.3

• You can now fill in the attacker.

III.2 revisited

[ID]x2 2nd & 4th Mate Stewards

• If you know how stewards usually look, this scene is quite telling.
• Hint: notice how the Third Mate and his steward stand together. Similar pairs appear elsewhere. Someone is even whispering something to Nichols.

That completes this chapter. Next, go down to the orlop deck. At the bottom of the stairs, a large pool of what is probably blood is on the left. On the right, a small, suspicious trail, probably blood too, leads behind the purser’s office. Go left to the center of the deck, where an animal skull hangs on the wall with flies around it. The flies help you notice that you can use the pocket watch on it.

Chapter II: A Bitter Cold

Part 3

No one dies in this scene, but a lot is going on.

[ID] Charlie

• Start with the main action. In the audio, someone explains how to slaughter the cow. When the cow is killed, someone you can find in the scene throws up. He is called Charlie and teased for never having been on a farm. Look for anyone in the manifest who could be called Charlie.
• To confirm, look at the others killing the cow. You know 2 of them already. These 3 share the same quality and are grouped together in the sketch, so it makes sense that they work together. “Charlie” is also a nickname, which shows they are friends.

[ID] The last of the three friends

• By elimination.

[ID] Cow slaughter instructor

• Four people are killing the cow, and one doesn’t fit. His knife is in the cow’s throat, which, together with the audio, confirms he’s the instructor.
• This is the navy. Who on board would know how to slaughter a cow? Check the qualities in the manifest. Several roles might include this, but one has no other use. Also, this chapter is early in the story, so the specialist is unlikely to be out of action and replaced.

Other details

• The audio opens with someone telling others what to do with a dead body. Only one person in the scene fits, though he doesn’t look much like an officer.
• Next to the exit is an open door that seems to lead into darkness. Look inside anyway. The deck plan shows it’s the surgery, which hints at what happened. Inside, a man you haven’t seen before is wiping what is probably a bed. It’s early to draw conclusions, but at least one person here must be a doctor.

Part 2

A lascar is an Indian sailor.

Laudanum is a tincture (an extract dissolved in ethanol) of opium. It was once used as a painkiller and cough suppressant.

[FATE] 👤II.2

• Clearly, the laudanum didn’t work.

[ID] The medical reporter

• In the audio, someone asks someone else about 👤II.2’s condition. In the scene, a senior officer is talking to the stranger from Part 3. One of them looks like he’s visiting, while the other is in a position to examine the patient, so you can tell who gives the report.
• The reporter must have medical training. As the glossary explains, a “surgeon” here is really a general doctor. Two people on the manifest have medical knowledge: the surgeon and his mate. Which one would the officer more likely ask for a report?

[ID] The other guy in the surgery room

• He has his shoes up on the table in a doctor’s room. He could be the surgeon or the surgeon’s assistant, or someone linked to the dead man, such as a superior or a witness.
• Hint: what he does in II.3 settles it. Tidying the surgery bed is only the job of the surgeon and his mate.

Part 1

Recognising spoken languages helps here, but it isn’t needed. You only need what the lines mean, and the subtitles give you that. You do need another way to deduce identities, though, and you’ll need it to finish the game anyway.

[ID] Syed

• One person is being cared for, and the audio calls him Syed.
• Alternative:
  • Clue: look at his hammock.
  • Solution: the tag on his hammock says 54, which is Syed’s number in the crew manifest.
  • This is less an alternative than a method you can reuse, which makes this scene very valuable.
• The language is Hindi.

[FATE] 👤II.1

• The wheezing and worried friends are one clue. In II.2, the medical reporter says 👤II.2 had a lung disease, the same one as the other man (very likely the wrapped body outside, 👤II.1). He also suggests both of them caught it at the lascar house.

The card players at the table (possibly cheating)

• Language: the gamblers speak Russian. Check the manifest for who speaks it. The number of people matches.
• Alternative: the hammock numbers show who is at the table.

You can’t tell exactly who is who yet, but they come as a group, so remember their faces in the sketch.

Now use the hammock method as much as you can.

[ID]x3 Syed’s pals

• Note Syed’s origin. The friends around him are probably from the same place, especially since they seem to share a language. One more crew member has that origin, but he’s a steward, and the deck plans show the stewards have their own room on the gun deck.
• Read their hammock numbers. One is obvious this way. One isn’t in his hammock because he’s tending to Syed. The last can’t be read this way, but you can find him by elimination.

Other details

• The other hammock numbers here are: 55, 56, 57, 58. 37, 42. 36. 38, 39, 40, 41, 59.
• While you’re here, look for physical features or belongings that could identify people later. Note the satchel hanging from a hammock by the Russians.

Chapter II: A Bitter Cold (Extras)

If you didn’t spot the hammock trick in VII.2, you can use it now. It’s the key to identifying 👤VII.1’s attacker. Hint: go back to VII.2 and see who is still alive.

[ID] 👤III.3

• This one is hard. You have to notice the same detail in two different scenes and connect them. Look again at what you’ve seen so far. If you don’t spot it now, you will once you’ve seen every scene and need to solve him.
• Mild hint: he has appeared in only 2 memories so far.
• Mild hint: one of his features is visible in both.
• Major hint: look at his arm in his death scene.

The notorious Chinese topmen can also be solved at this point (from II.1 and III.2). They are very hard, so they’re covered at the end under Final Deductions.

[FATE]x4 Does the surgeon’s name ring a bell?

• He is the one who sent you this book, as his signature on the preface shows.
• So he survived the Obra Dinn. Do you know his fate in the book?
• A quick search of the book shows he left in a rowboat with others in Chapter IX. They clearly reached safety, but the book wants to know where.
• Reread the preface. Henry asks you to send the book somewhere when you’re done, which is probably where he lives now. If you don’t know the geography, look it up online.

For the next chapter, go back to the stairs on the orlop deck, follow the faint trail behind the purser’s office, and enter the port walk.

Chapter VI: Soldiers of the Sea

This chapter comes just before The Doom and has many deaths of its own.

Part 7

👤VI.7 is one of the hardest people to identify and to find a cause of death for. You can study the scene now, but since he left a trail of blood, it’s fine to postpone him.

More useful are the glimpses of the action through the windows (viewports) in the port walk. Keep them in mind for the next few scenes, which may be as confusing as Chapter IX.

Part 6

You’ve already identified 👤VI.6.

[FATE] 👤VI.6

• Spikes are sticking out of him. The game automatically treats any death by spiking as a “terrible beast”. That fits, since the only enemies here are what now look like huge spider crabs with spiky clusters growing out of them.

This scene also explains some of what you saw before. But the front of the ship, where the other fight takes place, is cut off, so the scene doesn’t show much.

Part 5

You’ve already identified 👤VI.5 too.

[FATE] 👤VI.5

• He burned.

Part 4

[FATE]x2 👤VI.4a and 👤VI.4b

• “Clawed” fits.
• Or look at the bodies afterward: their heads were taken clean off.

[FATE] 👤VI.7

• 👤VI.7 crawls away with a spike in his back. He’s in shadow here, but VI.5 shows the same thing more clearly.
• The key point is that the spike is in his back. (By VI.6, he has already pulled it out.) In his death scene, though, something comes out of his front. So something else killed him.
• In the present, there is a small hole in the wall near where he stood. Put the visual clues together for a working theory.
• Last piece: by VI.4, you can be confident that the only bald man in all white around here is Striped Shirt Man.

[ID] Scimitar guy

• On the gun deck, you finally see who owns the scimitar first noted in VII.2.

Other details

• Top Hat is handing out weapons from the gunner’s store.
• Police Man is opening the hatch to the cargo deck, the last area of the game. Finish this chapter first.

Part 3

The dialogue gets interesting here.

Language: “En dæmon” is Danish.

You don’t know 👤VI.3’s identity, but he calls someone “boss”, and the dialogue and scene make clear who that is. Remember both of them. Call them Axethrow Junior and Axethrow Senior.

[FATE] 👤VI.3 = Axethrow Junior

• This is what he gets for taunting the enemy.

The only other useful part of the dialogue is “Nick”, who seems to have died recently. Check the manifest. The only bodies in this scene are the two on the main deck, but there may be more out of view.

Part 2

[FATE] 👤VI.2

• Impaled. “Enemy” doesn’t work for some reason, probably because it means a human, so choose “Beast”.

Part 1

👤VI.1’s fate is obvious. [FATE]

The glossary says which quality works in the rigging. Label everyone up here with it.

[ID] Nick

• From these two scenes, Nick must be either 👤VI.2 or 👤VI.1.
• To decide, notice how shocked most of the crew are at 👤VI.2’s death, while hardly anyone pays attention to 👤VI.1.
• Nick’s origin may also help.

[ID] Russian topman

• Of the 3 Russians (whose faces you saw in II.1), 2 are seamen and 1 is a topman. One of the Russians appears here, which settles which one he is.

Six people are pulling the rope below, which matches the people in VI.2. The ones you know are seamen, so you can assume they all are. Striped Shirt Man is at the front of the rope, probably directing them, as a lead seaman or in some other role.

The last part of this chapter is reached from the cargo bay. Go down the stairs, turn left to the door behind you, and enter the room.

Part 8

It’s Axethrow Senior, and his fate is obvious. [FATE]

For the next chapter, go to the right of the stairs, to the door behind you again. A barrel there has attracted flies.

Chapter I: Loose Cargo

This is the shortest chapter in the game, and it tells you even less than its length suggests.

Part 2

As the book says, the person who died is a stowaway. Someone who wasn’t part of the crew was hiding in the barrel and died when it hit the floor. No one ever noticed, and the barrel with the body inside was stored in the hold like any other cargo.

It may help a little to label anyone handling cargo as a seaman. Topmen and stewards might help too, but they likely have their own work to do, rigging the sails and serving their masters. The stewards also don’t look dressed for heavy lifting.

Part 1

This is the same scene as Part 2.

Someone dies in an obvious way. [FATE]

His identity is less obvious. This is clearly the only scene he appears in, so there isn’t much to go on.

[ID] 👤I.1

• How did the crate end up under him if the cargo is coming from above? He was probably carrying it, which makes him a seaman.
• You can rule out anyone who appears in II.1. That leaves 2 choices: #50 (John Naples, Welsh seaman) and #60 (Samuel Peters, English seaman).
• You could wait for more information to rule one out. The next points are softer hints.
• Nothing is known about John Naples yet, but Samuel Peters came up before. Remember VII.1?
• From VII.1: (i) his brother Nathan thinks Lars killed him; (ii) it could be seen as an accident; and (iii) it happened a while ago, since Nathan says he “waited so long”. Points (ii) and (iii) clearly fit I.1. For (i), Lars is on the orlop deck above, close to the cargo and looking down at it, so he could be blamed for causing it in some indirect way. The book says Nathan is present, but he is hard to find.
• The final nudge: you know who Nathan is in the sketch, and his body language shows he’s close to one person. He rests his elbow on 👤I.1’s back, leans in, and points something out to him.

For the next chapter, go to the other end of the cargo deck and find a skeleton’s leg hidden behind the stairs.

Chapter V: Unholy Captives

Part 4

This scene is confusing. Study everyone in it and do your best to work out who says what.

• There are two centers of attention. The first is 👤V.4, lying helpless on the floor with several people tending to him.
• The second is a man being dragged away by Striped Shirt Man. The captain and First Mate watch disapprovingly. The Bosun is coming out of the bosun’s store with some rope.
• The audio has several identifying clues: the name “John”, the presence of a steward, and a line in a foreign language.

Language: “Era dårar!” is Swedish. That would give a lot away if you know it, but here we take the harder route again.

[ID] The steward

• To find him in the scene, remember he’s the one who has gone “mad”, whose “sanity” is finally in doubt.
  • The candidates seem to be (1) the man who died, perhaps after trying to kill himself, and (2) the man being dragged away, who may have bitten someone’s leg off like a rabid animal.
  • The madman answers in the audio, while the man who died has no lines.
• For his exact name:
  • Strong but uncertain hint: the steward serves someone who seems to be in charge. Who is the most senior officer here? Surely he would handle something this serious himself rather than leave it to a subordinate.
  • Alternative strong hint: there are 2 commanders in the main scene (3 if you count the Bosun, but he has no steward). You already know one’s steward, so this is the other’s.

[ID] John

• Check the manifest. There are two Johns this time.
• It’s hard to tell John’s role from the audio. If you can, it helps a lot.
• John is close by. Based on who you’ve already identified, think about who here could be named John. This matters a lot, so you may want to wait until fewer options remain. This walkthrough won’t return to it at the end.
• Pay close attention to everyone’s clothes.
• All the officers are identified, so this isn’t John the officer. It’s the other John. By now you’ve seen that seamen and topmen, as working-class crew, have no uniform and wear tough, worn clothes for hard labour.

Only one option now remains for 👤I.1. [ID]

[FATE] 👤V.4

• You may need to look around, but it isn’t too hard.
• His leg is missing, as the audio suggests, and he’s bleeding out from it. How did it come off?
• A sword splashed with blood lies on the ground near him.
• Guess who did it.

Other details

• The orlop deck is open, and the next body is there. His friend is checking on him, and Axethrow Junior and Senior are bringing a stretcher.
• Also on the orlop deck, Police Man stops two people you already know from getting a closer look.
• Three people you’ve identified as seamen are carrying the artifact down the stairs while the Third Mate directs them.

Part 3

Less happens here than in Part 4, but there’s one important detail.

[FATE] 👤V.3

• Obvious, though maybe hard to describe. The book accepts several options.

[ID]x2 Axethrow Junior and Senior

• Can you find them in the scene?
• They’re behind the stairs, with Senior looking out of the room. Got it yet?
• The room is the carpenter’s shop, and Junior is doing carpentry.

Other details

• 👤V.4 is one of the men carrying something down the stairs. That may help if you haven’t solved him yet.

Part 2

Two decks are open again, but mostly normal, uneventful things are going on. It can help confirm who is working class.

[ID] 👤V.2

• The audio makes his identity clear. Only one person on the list would be expected to “fry the boys a solid meal”. Maybe two if you count the butcher, but he’s already identified.
• Other scenes hint at his role too, such as III.2, where he stands near the animals holding a fork.

[FATE] 👤V.2

• He is hit hard enough to die. The creature being carried is very much alive and thrashing. Several options are accepted. If you choose “struck”, you’ll also need to decide which part of a beast you’re seeing, but the likeliest option should be clear.

Other details

• The madman from V.4 can be seen running off on the gun deck, near the scene exit.

Part 1

[FATE]x2 👤V.1a and 👤V.1b

• 👤V.1b is holding 👤V.1a for questioning. 👤V.1a dies in an obvious way. 👤V.1b dies too, and blood sprays from his back, so the spike went right through.

👤V.1a is easy to recognise, but you need his name. It will probably be obvious when it comes, and there’s little you can do until then.

[ID] 👤V.1b

• If you’ve observed carefully, you’ll know his quality and will have identified enough people to narrow the options until his appearance settles it. If not, identify more people first and check the manifest for other possible names for him.

The next body in this scene leads to the final chapter. That chapter marks the point where the scattered accidental deaths end and the killing by sea creatures begins. The chapter title may hint at why.

Chapter IV: The Calling

Part 6

There’s interesting activity in the boats.

👤IV.6 is someone you’ve already identified (and, if you remember Chapter III, probably don’t like).

[FATE] 👤IV.6

• Clearly shot by 👤V.1a.

If you haven’t identified the man in the other window yet (from III.1), check which room he’s in. He’s on the gun deck, and the footprints on the deck plans (your position and facing) show which window he’s at. You can also count the windows, but the end of the ship is unclear.

Other details

• Someone is on the top deck too, but he’s too far away to identify.

Part 5

[FATE] 👤IV.5

• It’s hard to read because of the magic fire, but his body shows the fire killed him.

[ID] Formosan woman

• 👤IV.5 calls her by part of her name. This comes from the subtitles only; the spoken line uses no name.

Part 4

This is a good moment to check the bodies, and you can probably tell how they all died. But closing the book takes you straight to Part 3, so come back when you can.

[FATE] 👤IV.4

• Nothing is attacking her, so she seems to have bled out.
• She has deep gashes on her face, so go with that.

Nichols is hiding like a coward.

Part 3

“O’Hagan” is somewhere around here.

[FATE] 👤IV.3

• The old man takes him down, but there’s more to it.
• In Part 4, a knife is sticking out of his neck.

[ID] Formosan old man

• The woman calls him by name.

[ID] 👤V.1a

• Only one option is left. Remember to fill in 👤IV.6’s fate.

Part 2

“SHU JIA!! MAI KIRAI!!!”

[FATE] 👤IV.2

• Obvious. Choose “beast”, not “enemy”.

Part 1

[FATE] 👤IV.1

• Obvious again.

Take stock of who is here: 2 boats with 4 people each.

[ID] O’Hagan

• Check the manifest.
• You know most of the people here. Once you factor in origin (the Russians are already identified as a group, even if you don’t know which is which), only one choice is left.

Disappearances

[FATE] 👤IV.D1

• Last seen in Part 3, with something pulling his right arm into the water.

[FATE] 👤IV.D2

• Last seen in Part 2, being pulled overboard.

When this chapter ends, the seaman in the present calls for you. That means you’ve seen every memory. Don’t leave yet, because the book still needs finishing.

Final Deductions

Here you combine everything to solve the hardest cases. All fates should be filled in by now, except those whose attacker is someone from this section. Only identities remain.

[ID] 👤VI.7

• He’s easiest to see in V.2, holding a lantern at the stairs on the gun deck.
• His clothes narrow the options a lot.
• His general appearance may also show which origins fit him or don’t.
• Answer: he wears a steward’s outfit, and every other steward, except perhaps the captain’s, is identified by now. V.4 gives a fairly confident identity for the other steward.

[ID]x3 The Chinese topmen

• One of them was identified back in VII.2. For the other 3, you can follow what each one does, but what you need is their names. Their names never come up, so there’s only one way left to link names to people.
• Look for any visible features in II.1.
• Only their shoes are visible, so note them: 38 – black shoes with white socks, 39 – white shoes with black socks, 40 – covered shoes.
• Then find them in other scenes. Tip: 2 of the 3 appear in III.2, and 2 appear in VI.1.

[ID]x2 The Russian seamen

• Use the same approach as with the Chinese topmen and look for features in II.1. They’re out of their hammocks, so besides shoes, there’s another feature you can use.
• 47 has a bag with a smoking pipe.
• Once you have your feature, go to IV.1 or a similar scene to identify them.

[ID] 👤VII.7

• You may have solved him already. If not: VI.1 showed he’s a topman. Only 2 choices remain, and 1 doesn’t match his appearance.

[ID] 👤X.3

• Bald Tarzan. VI.1 also confirmed his role, and only one option is left.

[ID] 👤VII.D4

• The book says he appears in only 6 scenes. The first tells you nothing, but the next 3 are quite suggestive. The 5th supports the theory: he’s carrying papers and scrolls like the ones in the purser’s office.

[ID] 👤VII.D6

• He appears in just 2 scenes, III.2 and VII.8, plus the “Justice at Sea” sketch. Each time, he’s right by the ship’s wheel. It’s unclear where he is the rest of the time.

[ID] Frenchman / Bosun’s Mate

• Recall what IX.1 told you. Very few suspects, maybe only one, are left.
• In support, the main suspect was last seen very close to the Bosun.
• Background knowledge also helps: someone wears the classic striped sailor shirt, and it’s his most recognisable feature among the whole crew. That shirt is called a Breton shirt or marinière, and it’s French.

[ID] Police Man

• With the Frenchman settled, only one choice is left for someone this well dressed.
• He appears in many scenes, but few of them are decisive. The best soft hints are that he’s with the gunner at the gunner’s store in VI.7, and that he’s usually with the gunner before the chaos of Chapter VII.
• You could also work the other way: follow the gunner around and ask who is most likely the gunner’s mate.
• Remember to fill in the fate for 👤IX.6.

Two people are left: Alexander Booth (57) and George Shirley (59). Both are English seamen who died around the same time, in Chapter VII. [ID]x2

• First, recall which two bodies they are and what they were doing at the end. One tried to leave by boat and was capsized. The other was (nearly?) hit by a cannon.
• VII.2 is the scene to study. Once again, it’s the only way to link their names to a physical difference.
• In that scene, hammock 57 is empty, as are 36, 48, and 49. 36 (Omid Gul) is on the top deck watching the sea, and 48 (Nathan Peters) and 49 (Lars Linde) have their fight in VII.1. Since one of the last two men is on the boat with 48, his hammock would be empty too.
• While checking the Chinese topmen in II.1, you may have noticed an extra hammock in their corner of the orlop deck with an out-of-place number. This suggests George Shirley (59) was friendly with them, so the half-hung hammock next to the two drinking men in VII.2 is likely his. This is probably the strongest hint you’ll get.
• One last hint: #59’s legs are visible in II.1, and they’re white. One of the two men is noticeably darker-skinned than the other. Unfortunately, both wear covered black shoes.

Chapter VIII: Bargain

You can’t finish this chapter until every other fate in the book is correct. The game tells you when there is nothing left to do on the Obra Dinn. After that, the surgeon mails you a monkey’s paw, and that paw is your way into the hidden room.

This chapter mostly explains the story, so the entries below give the answers directly. The memories play in reverse order, starting with Part 5.

Part 5

Now you know what was in the package you received: part of the surgeon’s monkey.

• Two bodies are in this scene. One of them leads to the next memory.
• The dialogue covers a door key that has gone missing, a push for the group to leave, and someone being told to get in.

[FATE] The monkey

• The surgeon lures his monkey into the empty hold and shoots it. He takes a piece of it, which gives anyone using the pocket watch (the death compass) a link to this hidden room.
• You can spot the monkey on the surgeon’s shoulder in some earlier scenes.

Part 4

• The dialogue mentions a third shell, which means the captain didn’t throw all of them away.
• The familiar shimmer comes from the shell the beast is holding.
• Orders are given to lift, throw over, and lock the door, along with a request to get the Obra Dinn home.

[ID] 👤VIII.4 = Third Mate, Martin Perrott

[FATE] Martin Perrott

• He and two others free the third beast, hoping it will spare the surviving crew. Once released, it spikes him.
• Before that, he gives back the shell stolen from the treasure chest and asks the beast to see the Obra Dinn safely home. This is implied to be why the ship returns for inspection once all fates are sealed.

A beast carries you to the next memory.

Part 3

• Someone threatens to kill the captive creatures and orders the kraken called off.
• The person holding the shell here was thrown into this room in an earlier chapter.

[FATE] The second captive beast

• It fights its jailer and is speared. The threat only works after this second beast is stabbed.

Part 2

This scene happens at about the same time as Chapter VII, so the people in the cargo hold are still alive.

• The captain works out that the beasts locked in the hold drew in the kraken attacking the upper decks. In the dialogue, he says the kraken belongs to them and demands they send it back.

[FATE] The first captive beast

• It shrieks in defiance, and the captain shoots it to force the others to obey.

Part 1

This is the game’s last death. Finishing it completes the book, and the credits roll.

[ID] 👤VIII.1 = Captain’s steward, Fillip Dahl

[FATE] Fillip Dahl

• He burns to death, the same way a Formosan died earlier. This links back to the treasure chest opening in Chapter IV.
• His last line is “Quicksilver!” (mercury). Mercury doesn’t burn like this, so the injury looks like a chemical burn. The shell may also be what burned his arm to the bone, not the mercury alone.