Painscreek Killings Story & Achievement Guide

This guide logs all puzzles of the game and features all achievements.

Introduction

This guide aims at uncovering all the secrets of Painscreek. It features two main sections:

1. A Guide section that explains everything you can achieve in Painscreek.
   
2. An Achievement section that will focus exclusively on what is required to unlock all achievements.

As regards the acievements, unfortuantely I have not recorded my blind run of the game so I'm uncertain about the particular trigger for some of them and I do not remember at all what triggered the 'The Hidden Truth' achievement. I'd appreciate any help in that regard.
Please also feel free to comment below with any suggestion or about any inaccuracy of this guide.

And last but not least: !!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

General tips

The Painscreek Killings is all about exploring your surroundings and picking up everything you can. As such, while it is very well possible to get stuck, it has a general flow that is easy to follow most of the time as long as you heed the following ‚rules‘

• Take a lot of care in exploring every area you can access
  I admit that I got stuck a couple of times because I just did not notice something, for instance an item I could pick up. Even worse, I had already played through more than half of the game when I noticed that it actually is possible to enter the Hospital (at the beginning I did not go close enough to the gate for the ‚Enter‘ to appear on screen).
  
• Keep track of your inventory
  Usually you do not accumulate lots of items in your inventory. That makes it quite easy to keep track of what you can do next with the items that you have gathered (mostly keys).
  
• Read (and try to memorize) the diaries carefully
  There are some puzzles that do not involve keys. Solving these puzzles often require clues that you can find exclusively in the diaries that are scattered all over the place. The same is less true for Letters/Documents because they mostly just expand the backstory of the game.

And here are some general tips related to the areas you encounter in Painscreek that are intended to narrow your search:

• Outside
  The gate closing off part of the cemetery cannot be unlocked.
  
• Andrew Reed's House
  The door that is stuck cannot be unstuck and opened.
  
• Ann's Inn
  There is nothing of value (except an achievement) in rooms 202, 203, and 204.
  
• Bernard Hopkins' House
  There is nothing of value in the rooms on the 1st floor.
  
• Church
  The door at the end of the stairs leading down cannot be opened.
  
• Hospital
  The Hospital is a large piece of architecture to explore that, however, only holds little secrets in relation to its size. Note that, while there are lots of doors that show the 'Unlock' possibility, only four doors can be unlocked, one of which is the door to the basement. But do not despair, you will know how to unlock that particular door once you get to that part of the game.
  
• Hunting Cabin
  Take a close look at the book laying around in the cabin.
  
• Mansion
  The following rooms cannot be accessed: Wine cellar, two rooms leading off of the Master bedroom, Guest room, and Bathroom 2nd floor.
  
• Oliver Gibson Photography
  There is nothing to unlock here.

GUIDE

In general, there is no prescribed order of how to solve the mysteries of Painscreek. In fact, while you have to take a couple of required steps to finish the game, there are lots of optional tasks that are irrelevant to finishing the game, albeit necessary to understand what happened in Painscreek (and to obtain all achievements). So instead of writing a walkthrough, the following section explains for each area of Painscreek

• Items to obtain:
  What items can be found in that particular area. In case there is no immediate access to these items, e.g. you have to unlock a door first, spoiler-tags are used.
  
• Clues:
  What clues you can get that are required to solve other puzzles. Please note that I only mention those clues that are necessary for the solution of a puzzle, back story clues are not listed.
  
• Tasks to deal with:
  What tasks you have to complete to progress (as far as possible in chronological order).
  Each task has a spoiler-tagged hint and a line mentioning what tasks are required to be completed beforehand. Mostly these prior tasks involve gaining access to a previously inaccessible area. In that context please note that access is defined as access from the Outside area of the game after unlocking the gate to the bridge.
  In some cases, if the task covers combining several clues or solving a puzzle, there may also be a line explaining the solution.

This way you can easily look up what exactly you are interested in without everything being given away.

Items You Can Get Once You Crossed The Bridge

The following lists mention all items that you can get without completing any further tasks once you have successfully solved the first riddles of the Sheriff's Outpost and unlocked the gate to the Painscreek Bridge.

Outside

• Key to the Church (unlikely you'll find this without a clue, there are clues to where this key is hidden in the Mansion and in the Hospital)

Ann's Inn

• Key to the house in 7 Black Pine Rd.
  
• Newspaper Hospital closed
  
• Flashlight
  
• Key to room 202
  
• Key to room 203
  
• Key to room 204

Hospital

• Flashlight
  
• Map to all floors of the Hospital
  
• Key to the Medical Record Room
  
• Key to Wanda Tyler's house
  
• Henry Johnson's keycard
  
• Diary Wanda Tyler 1995

Mansion

• Map to the 2nd floor of the Mansion
  
• Newspaper Henry Johnson's death
  
• Flashlight
  
• Letter J&L's appreciation letter
  
• Mansion room key in a kitchen drawer
  
• Diary Mary Martinez 1993
  
• Diary Charles Roberts' 1993
  
• Key to Bernard's house.
  
• Newspaper Coal mine incident

Andrew Reed's House

Items to obtain

• Letter to Daniel
  
• Diary Andrew Reed 1994

Clues

None.

Tasks to deal with

None.

Ann's Inn

Items to obtain

• Key to the house in 7 Black Pine Rd.
  
• Newspaper Hospital closed
  
• Flashlight
  
• Key to room 202
  
• Key to room 203
  
• Key to room 204
  
• Room 201: Diary Steve Moss 1997-2
  
• Hidden compartment in reception: Innkeeper's Logbook
  
• Steve Moss' Briefcase: Document Coroner's public report
  
• Letter box 201: Diary Steve Moss 1997-5

Clues

• Phone message from Oliver Gibson: Toolbox and shovel are in his photo lab, Ms. Patterson has a spare key.
  
• Sheet naming all registered guests.
  
• Room 201: Photo: a closet somewhere has a secret lock on the side with a cross-shaped key.
  
• Room 201: Photo: One of the confessional drawers can be unlocked with Calvin's date of birth as code.
  
• Diary Steve Moss 1997-2: Bernard Hopkins' address.
  
• Diary Steve Moss 1997-2: There is a hidden compartment in the reception area of Ann's Inn.
  
• Steve Moss' briefcase: Photo: red darts at 18 (*2), 20 (*3), and the bull's eye, and yellow darts at 2 and 7.
  
• Steve Moss' briefcase: The code for the hidden safe in the Mansion is Vincent's birthday.
  
• Steve Moss' briefcase: The code for the filing cabinet in the Sheriff's outpost is 7741.
  
• Letter box 201: Photo: There is a wall lamp with a button.
  
• Letter box 201: A key has been hidden in a roadside drain.

Tasks to deal with

How to unlock rooms 202, 203, and 204?
Hint:Where would you normally find the keys for hotel rooms?
Required: None

How to unlock room 201?
Hint:The key is in one of the locked rooms in the Mansion.
Required:Access to the Mansion Master bedroom on the 1st floor

Where is the hidden compartment and how can I open it?
Hint:You can find the explanation in one of Steve Moss' diaries.
Required:Access to Room 201 of Ann's Inn
Solution:The hidden compartment is mentioned in Steve Moss' diary 1997-2 in room 201. There is a commode in the reception area with a bottle of champagne on top. The panel right beneath the bottle can be opened by locating the top right corner of that panel and clicking.

How to unlock the briefcase?
Hint:Steve Moss must have that key. I think he went to the Hospital.
Required:Access to the basement of the Hospital

How to unlock the letter box for room 201?
Hint:Who rented room 201?
Required:Access to Steve Moss' car->glove compartment

Bernard Hopkins' House

Items to obtain

• Diary Bernard Hopkins 1994
  
• Locked bedroom: Diary Bernard Hopkins 1995-1
  
• Locked bedroom: Diary Bernard Hopkins 1995-2
  
• Study room desk drawer: Diary Bernard Hopkins 1995-3
  
• Study room desk drawer: Desk key

Clues

• A note says that the code for the locked study room drawer has to do with darts.

Tasks to deal with

How to open the wooden panel in Bernard's study room?
Hint:As the game tells you: you need a tool.
Required:Access to the basement of the Hospital

How to unlock the drawer of the desk in the study room?
Hint:There is a clue in one of the drawers of the study room desk, however, one of the darts fell to the floor. Maybe there is a photo of the position of all five darts somewhere?
Required:Access to letter box 201 in Ann's Inn

How to unlock the bedroom door in the 2nd floor?
Hint:Somehow Steve Moss got hold of that key.
Required:Access to the basement of the Hospital

Church

Items to obtain

• Newspaper Andrew Reed's death
  
• Diary Scott Brooks 1985
  
• Key to the storage room in the Church.
  
• Newspaper Scott pleads 'not guilty'
  
• Scott Brooks' safe: Diary Scott Brooks 1990
  
• Storage room: Slim Jim
  
• Confessional drawer: Letter Sylvia's confession letter
  
• Scott's chest: Diary Scott Brooks 1993-2
  
• Scott's chest: Letter Sister Rachel's confession
  
• Scott's chest: Key to basement
  
• Matthew's bedroom: Diary Matthew Brooks 1971
  
• Matthew's bedroom: Diary Matthew Brooks 1975
  
• Matthew's bedroom: Letter Matthew hires lawyer
  
• Locked desk drawer: Diary Matthew Brooks 1995
  
• Hidden room: Letter Sofia's letter to Matthew
  
• Hidden room: Letter Calvin's confession letter

Clues

• Address of Oliver's Photography
  
• The previous pastor was Father Calvin.
  
• A wooden biplane toy has the date May 3rd 1985 written on its bottom.
  
• Diary Scott Brooks 1985: There is a secret space in Scott's room.
  
• Scott Brooks' safe: The code to the secret hideout.
  
• Diary Scott Brooks 1990: There is a secret room in the Mansion.

Tasks to deal with

How to find the secret space in Scott's room?
Hint:What a small room, it shouldn't be difficult to find a possible 'hidden' action.
Required: Nothing

How to unlock the safe in Scott's room?
Hint:There were three biplanes on the poster covering the secret safe.
Required:Access to the Church
Solution: The combination is written on the toy plane in Scott's room. It's the date he got the plane from Matthew Brooks.

How to unlock the storage room?
Hint:The key is in the Church and readily obtainable.
Required:Access to the Church
Solution:The key is in one of the drawers of Father Matthew's desk in the study on the 2nd floor.

How to unlock the drawers in the confessional?
Hint:There is a clue for that somewhere in Ann's Inn.
Required:Access to Room 201 of Ann's Inn
Solution:A photo in room 201 of Ann's Inn says the code is Father Calvin's date of birth. Father Calvin's date of birth can be found on the cemetery.

How to open Scott's chest?
Hint:When Scott had a falling out with Father Matthew, he moved somewhere else.
Required:Access to the Hunting Cabin

How to open the locked door on the 1st floor?
Hint:Maybe Scott had a key to that room somewhere?
Required:Access to the Hunting Cabin

How to unlock the desk drawer in Father Mathew's room?
Hint:Who was the most important person in Father Matthew's life?
Required:Access to the hidden gift box

How to access the hidden room in the Church?
Hint:That is late stage in the game, I suggest you take a closer look at the illumination of Father Matthew`s room and the outside of the Church.
Required:
- Optional:Access to letter box 201 in Ann's Inn
-Access to roadside drain
Solution: There is a lamp in Father Matthew's study that can be 'opened' revealing a keyhole. The key can be found in the roadside drain closest to the Church in Silverlake Blvd.

Dorothy Patterson's House

Items to obtain

• Diary Dorothy Patterson 1975
  
• Locked room: Newspaper Trisha Roberts' death
  
• Locked room: Diary Dorothy Patterson 1995-3
  
• Locked room: House key
  
• Locked room: Letter Oliver's letter to Dorothy
  
• Sofia's chest: Diary Sofia Miller 1975
  
• Sofia's chest: Letter Matthew's missionary work

Clues

None.

Tasks to deal with

How to unlock the door on the 2nd floor?
Hint:Dorothy Patterson was Trisha's nanny and quite fond of her.
Required:Access to room 203 of the Hospital

How to unlock Sofia's chest?
Hint:Have you figured out yet how Sofia died?
Required:Access to the locked part of the garden of the Mansion

Hospital

Items to obtain

• Flashlight
  
• Map to all floors of the Hospital
  
• Key to the Medical Record Room
  
• Key to Wanda Tyler's house
  
• Henry Johnson's keycard
  
• Diary Wanda Tyler 1995
  
• Katherine's locker: Nurse Logbook
  
• Basement: Briefcase key
  
• Basement: Key of B.H.
  
• Basement: Diary Steve Moss 1997-3
  
• Doctor's office: Letter Fund fraud investigation
  
• Doctor's office: Key to room 203
  
• Doctor's office: Letter Threat letter to Henry
  
• Doctor's office: Letter Henry's reply to Charles
  
• Room 203: Newspaper Scott Brook's death
  
• Room 203: Key to a room
  
• Room 203: Diary Dorothy Patterson 1995-2

Clues

• There's a pin in one of the reception drawers with a four-digit number engraved on its back.
  
• A post-it mentions where to find the key to the church.
  
• A clipboard indicates patients' names and their rooms.
  
• A flyer indicates how to unlock car doors with a slim Jim.
  
• The address of the Moon Café.
  
• Medical Record Room: Katherine's pin is in a drawer in the lobby.
  
• Medical Record Room: Andrew Reed's address.
  
• Medical Record Room: Wanda Tyler's address.

Task to deal with

How to open the Medical Record Room?
Hint:The key can be found somewhere nearby.
Required: Nothing
Solution:The key is in a drawer in the Nurse Room.

How to unlock Katherine's locker?
Hint:There's a clue in the vicinity that mentions something that belongs to Katherine.
Required:Access to Medical Record Room
Solution:You have to find a note in the Medical Record Room that points to the location of one of Katherine's belongings. That belonging has a four-digit number on it which is the required combination.

How to unlock the doctor's office?
Hint:The required keycard is nearby but the power can only be activated after finding a different way to access the basement other than through the Hospital.
Required:Access to the Hospital basement
Solution:While the keycard to the office is close to the office on a bench, the power to the Hospital can on be activated once you gain access to the Painscreek sewer which allows you to enter the Hospital basement.

How to unlock room 203?
Hint:Since there are no nurses you should ask the doctor.
Required:Access to the Doctor's office

Hunting Cabin

Items to obtain

• Diary Scott Brook 1993-1
  
• Chest box key
  
• Key with cross on key head
  
• Basement: Diary Scott Brooks 1994
  
• Hidden room: Old Gate Key
  
• Hidden room: Key with a large key ring
  
• Hidden room: Map to Painscreek sewer
  
• Hidden room: Music box key
  
• Hidden room: Diary Scott Brooks 1995

Clues

• Scott was reading a book about hidden rooms and how to build hidden doors.

Tasks to deal with

How to open the locked door?
Hint:The key is one of Scott's things.
Required:Access to Church->storage room->Scott's chest

How to find the hidden room in the Hunting Cabin?
Hint:There's a book about carving in the Hunting Cabin that depicts a certain furniture.
Required:
-Access to the basement of the Hunting Cabin
-Access to Trisha's room in the Mansion->bedside table drawers
- Optional:Access to room 201 of Ann's Inn

Mansion I - Items & Clues

Items to obtain

• Map to the 2nd floor of the Mansion
  
• Newspaper Henry Johnson's death
  
• Flashlight
  
• Letter J&L's appreciation letter
  
• Mansion room key in a kitchen drawer
  
• Diary Mary Martinez 1993
  
• Diary Charles Roberts' 1993
  
• Key to Bernard's house.
  
• Newspaper Coal mine incident
  
• Servant's room: Diary Mary Martinez 1995
  
• Security room: Key to Tea room
  
• Security room: Key to Trisha's room
  
• Security room: Key to Nanny / Dorothy room
  
• Security room: Mansion security logbook
  
• Security room: Document Mansion's worker list
  
• Dorothy room: Diary Dorothy Patterson 1973
  
• Dorothy room: Letter Dorothy's leaving letter
  
• Dorothy room: Diary Dorothy Patterson 1995-1
  
• Tea room: Diary Vivian Roberts' 1972
  
• Tea room: Key with an exquisite design
  
• Tea room: Letter Fund embezzlement
  
• Trisha's room: Diary Trisha Roberts 1989
  
• Trisha's room: Cabin key
  
• Master bedroom: Windup key
  
• Master bedroom: Diary Vivian Roberts 1994
  
• Master bedroom: Key to room 201
  
• Study room: Map to the 1st floor of the Mansion
  
• Study room: Letter Vivian's medical report
  
• Study room: Medical book
  
• Hidden room: Newspaper Magdalene Robert's death
  
• Hidden room: Letter Magdalene visits Charles
  
• Hidden room: Diary Charles Robert 1974-1
  
• Hidden room: Diary Charles Robert 1974-2
  
• Desk drawer in study room: Letter Beckerd's investigation #1
  
• Desk drawer in study room: Letter Beckerd's investigation #2
  
• Desk drawer in study room: Diary Charles Roberts 1995-2
  
• Tea room clock: Letter Henry's advice for Vivian
  
• Garden shed: Key to the Attic
  
• Garden shed: Key to Trisha's desk
  
• Garden shed: Diary Trisha Roberts 1993
  
• Trisha's bedside table: Key to Dorothy Patterson's house
  
• Trisha's bedside table: Cross belonging to Scott
  
• Trisha's bedside table: Diary Trisha Roberts 1994
  
• Garage: Diary Derrik Tyler 1993
  
• Music box in Trisha's room: Letter Scott's letter to Trisha
  
• Locked part of garden: Broken necklace
  
• Locked drawer of Tea room desk: Diary Vivian Roberts 1995
  
• Hidden safe: Document Charles' will
  
• Hidden safe: Diary Charles Roberts 1995-1

Clues

• Post-it mentioning where to find the key to the Church.
  
• Post-it mentioning where to find the key to the servant room in the Mansion.
  
• Note saying that tea time is 3:20 on the dot.
  
• Diary Mary Martinez 1995: Bernard is left-handed.
  
• Diary Mary Martinez 1995: Dorothy lives in 40 Blackpine Rd.
  
• Diary Mary Martinez 1995: Something is hidden behind a painting of an old woman with a white headband in the gallery of the Mansion.
  
• Diary Mary Martinez 1995: Trisha and Scott met at the garden shed, their secret hideout.
  
• Diary Trisha Roberts 1989: The five-digit code to the Study room on the 1st floor of the Mansion.
  
• Study room: Chess piece pawn has number 2.
  
• Study room: Chess piece knight has number 5.
  
• Garden shed: Oliver Gibson has a shovel and a wrench.
  
• Garden shed: Chess piece queen has number 1.
  
• Garden shed: Chess piece rook has number 7.
  
• Diary Trisha Roberts 1994: There may be a hidden room in the Hunting Cabin.
  
• Diary Derrick Tyler 1995: Father Calvin was pastor before Father Matthew.
  
• Hidden safe: Chess piece king has number 4.
  
• Diary Charles Roberts 1995-1: For the study room desk, K stands for King / Knight, Q stands for Queen, B stands for Bishop.

Mansion II - Tasks

Tasks to deal with

How to unlock the servant room?
Hint:There's a note on the door of the servant room that is pretty clear about it.
Required: Nothing

How to unlock the security room on the 2nd floor?
Hint:The P.I. that was also working the case found the code and wrote it down somewhere.
Required:Access to the black car in front of Ann's Inn

How to unlock the Tea room?
Hint:The key is in one of the locked rooms in the Mansion.
Required:Access to the Mansion Security room on the 2nd floor

How to unlock Trisha's room?
Hint:The key is in one of the locked rooms in the Mansion.
Required:Access to the Security room on the 2nd floor

How to unlock the Dorothy room?
Hint:The key is in one of the locked rooms in the Mansion.
Required:Access to the Security room on the 2nd floor of the Mansion

How to unlock the Master bedroom?
Hint:The key is in one of the locked rooms in the Mansion
Required:Access to the Tea room on the 2nd floor of the Mansion

How to unlock the Study Room on the 1st floor?
Hint:The code can be found written down somewhere in the Mansion.
Required:Access to Trisha's room on the 2nd floor of the Mansion

How to find the hidden safe in the gallery?
Hint:One of the servants saw Mr. Roberts at the safe.
Required: Optional:Access to Servant's room on 2nd floor of the Mansion

How to open the hidden safe in the gallery?
Hint:The P.I. had some idea of the code.
Required:
-Access to room 201 in Ann's Inn->briefcase
-Access to Dorothy Patterson's house->locked room on 1st floor->Sofia's chest
Solution:Steven Moss found out that what the code represent and wrote that clue down in a note in his briefcase. The code can only found in Sofia's chest in Dorothy Patterson's house.

How to open the hidden room of the Mansion?
Hint:If you can take a book into your inventory you are really close.
Required:Access to the Study room of the Mansion
Solution:Take the book out of the study room desk and take note of the writing on the back. Place it in the bookshelf nearby and press the 4th book from the right, the 6th book from the left, and the 3rd book from the right.

What to do with the clock in the Tea room?
Hint:There are two notes in the Mansion (one of them is in a locked room) explaining what to do.
Required:
-Access to the Master bed room
-Optional:Access to the Attic
Solution:Find the windup key in the Master bedroom, a note in the Attic explaining how to use the key, and a note on one of the balconies mentioning 3:20. Put the windup key in the small hole of the clock and set the time to 3:20, then turn the windup key and the clock opens.

How to unlock the drawer in the Tea room desk?
Hint:The Roberts' do not have the key but someone that was serving them.
Required:Access to Bernard Hopkins house->locked drawer of the study room desk

How to unlock the garden shed?
Hint:Mary Martinez knew who used the shed regularly.
Required:
-Access to Servant's room on 2nd floor of the Mansion
-Access to Church->hidden safe in Scott's room
Solution:Mary Martinez diary of 1995 mentions that Trisha and Scott often met at the garden shed and call it their secret hideout. The safe in Scott's room mentions the code to the secret hideout of Trisha and Scott.

How to unlock the drawers of the nightstand in Trisha's room?
Hint:The key is in a locked part of the Mansion.
Required:Access to the garden shed of the Mansion

How to unlock the door to the Attic on the 2nd floor?
Hint:The key is in a locked part of the Mansion.
Required:Access to the garden shed

How to unlock the music box in Trisha's room?
Hint:One of Scott's diaries mentions who gave that music box to Trisha.
Required:Access to the Hunting Cabin->basement->hidden room

How to unlock the gate in the garden?
Hint:Scott was the last person seen with this key.
Required:Access to the Hunting Cabin->basement->hidden room

How to unlock the drawer of the study room desk?
Hint:Take a closer look at the combination lock!
Required:
-Access to the Study room on the first floor of the Mansion
-Access to the hidden safe in the Mansion
-Access to the garden shed
-Access to the time capsule Outside
Solution:Upon closer look, the four-digit combination lock shows the letter combination KQBK which, according to the Charles' diary in the hidden safe stands for King Queen Bishop Knight or Knight Queen Bishop King. Since you have access to all chess pieces you should be able to figure it out.

Oliver's Photography

Items to obtain

• Letter Event cancelled
  
• Diary Oliver Gibson 1996
  
• Shovel
  
• Wrench

Clues

None.

Tasks to deal with

None.

Outside

Items to obtain

• Directly obtainable but hardly findable without clue: Key to the Church
  
• Black car in front of Ann's Inn: Letter Hiring P.I. Steve Moss
  
• Black car in front of Ann's Inn: Diary Steve Moss 1997-1
  
• Glove compartment: Letter box key 201
  
• Glove compartment: Diary Steve Moss 1997-4
  
• Time capsule: Document Derrick's confession
  
• Hidden gift box: Letter Matthew's letter to Sofia
  
• Hidden gift box: Letter Sofia's birthday gift
  
• Roadside drain: Key with 19th century design

Clues

• Diary Steve Moss 1997-1: The code to the security room in the Mansion.
  
• Time capsule: Chess piece bishop has number 9.
  
• Time capsule: There are hidden rooms in the study room of the Mansion and above Father Matthew's room in the Church.

Tasks to deal with

How to unlock the gate to the bridge?
Hint:Very early stage of the game, the key must be somewhere nearby.
Required:Access to the top desk drawer in the Sheriff's office

How to unlock the Church?
Hint:There are post-it messages in the Mansion and in the Hospital, each explaining where the key can be found.
Required: Nothing

How to access the black car in front of Ann's Inn?
Hint:You cannot open it with a key, you need to find a special tool to unlock the doors. Best check any tool box you can find.
Required:Access to the Church->storage room

How to find Andrew Reed's address?
Hint:He worked in the Mansion.
Required:Access to Mansion Security room

How to unlock the door to Andrew Reed's house?
Hint:Someone asked the innkeeper for the key in question.
Required: Nothing

How to find Wanda Tyler's address?
Hint:She worked in the Mansion.
Required:Access to Mansion Security room

How to find Derrick Tyler's address?
Hint:He worked in the Mansion.
Required:Access to Mansion Security room

How to unlock the door to Wanda and Derrick Tyler's house.
Hint:Wanda Tyler had terminal cancer before she died.
Required: Nothing

How to find Bernard Hopkins' address?
Hint:He worked in the Mansion.
Required:Access to Mansion Security room

How to unlock the door to Bernard Hopkins house?
Hint:Bernard worked in the Mansion. Isn't there a place that would hold his belongings?
Required: Nothing

How to find Dorothy Patterson's address?
Hint:She worked in the Mansion.
Required:Access to Mansion Security room

How to unlock the door to Dorothy Patterson's house?
Hint:Dorothy was Trisha's nanny and she was very fond of Trisha.
Required:Access to Trisha's room in the Mansion->drawers of the bedside table

How to find the Hunting Cabin?
Hint:It should be close to the hunting grounds.
Required: Nothing

How to unlock the door to the Hunting Cabin?
Hint:Scott lived in the cabin and he was Trisha's friend.
Required:Access to Trisha's room on the 2nd floor in the Mansion

How to find the entrance to the Painscreek sewer?
Hint:The entrance is sort of hidden, it is close to the Mansion.
Required: Nothing
Solution:The door is located half way up the stairs leading up to Maple Drive close to the entrance of the Mansion.

How to unlock the entrance to the Painscreek sewer?
Hint:The sewer is connected to the Church, maybe one of the inhabitants of the Church has a key.
Required:Access to the Hunting Cabin->basement->hidden room

How to uncover the time capsule?
Hint:One of the children mentions the time capsule and its location in her/his diary. But even if you find it you are going to need a shovel to dig it out.
Required:
-Access to the Tyler's house
-Access to Oliver's Photography

How to unlock the door to Oliver's Photography?
Hint:You can find a clue in the reception of Ann's Inn.
Required:Access to Dorothy Paterson's house->locked room on the 2nd floor

How to open the roadside drains?
Hint:What person had all the tools?
Required:
-Access to Oliver's Photography
-Optional:Access to letter box 201 in Ann's Inn

How to unlock the glove compartment of the black car in front of Ann's Inn?
Hint:The car is Steve Moss' and there is a note saying that he wanted to look at some files.
Required:Access to filing cabinet in the Sheriff's outpost.

How to solve Matthew's puzzle?
Hint:You can find the instructions in diaries.
Required:
-Access to basement of Hospital
-Access to Father Matthew's bedroom
Solution:According to Steve Moss' diary 1997-3 there are clues on the outside walls of the Sofia's and Matthew's favourite places in Panscreek. The diary also mentions Sofia's favourite places. Matthew's favourite places are written down in Matthew's diary 1971. The clues are 'Stream', 'Playground', 'Bird', 'House', 'Stump', and a four digit code.

Sheriff's Outpost

Items to obtain

• Map of Painscreek
  
• Flashlight
  
• Newspaper Vivian Roberts' death
  
• Newspaper Scott Brooks' apprehended
  
• Diary James Howard 1995
  
• Letter Sheriff's relocation
  
• Key to the top desk drawer in the Sheriff's office
  
• Top desk drawer: Document Vivian's murder case report
  
• Top desk drawer: Old gate key
  
• Filing cabinet: Car key
  
• Filing cabinet: Document Record of alibi
  
• Filing cabinet: Coroner's undisclosed report

Clues

• The fax machine mentions a Steven, who stays at Ann's Inn, and a package.
  
• The pin board mentions the address of the Moon Café.

Tasks to deal with

How to unlock the top desk drawer in the Sheriff's office?
Hint:Did you follow all Tutorial directions in the Sheriff's office?
Required: Nothing

How to unlock the filing cabinet?
Hint:The person that called the outpost last has the key.
Required:Access to room 201 of Ann's Inn->briefcase

The Tylers' House

Items to obtain

Diary Derrick Tyler 1990

• Diary Derrick Tyler 1995
  
• Diary Wanda Tyler 1974
  
• Stuck drawer in Wanda's bedroom: Derrick's psychiatric report
  
• Stuck drawer in Wanda's bedroom: Diary Wanda Tyler 1981

Clues

None.

Tasks to deal with

How to open the stuck night stand drawer in Wanda's bedroom?
Hint:You should use a tool to rearrange the drawer.
Required:Access to the basement of the Hospital
Solution:The storage room in the basement of the Hospital features a hammer that you can use to fix the drawer.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Tutorial Completed
  Unlocks once the Tutorial is completed, i.e. when you cross the bridge to Painscreek and use 'Shift' to run. Not sure whether all prior Tutorial messages have to be followed.
  
  
  
• Best Friends Forever
  Unlocks when you pick up start digging for the photo in the time capsule (according to comment by "Harold Gillies").
  
  
  
• The Secret Lies With Her
  Unlocks when you pick up the photograph in the black car in front of Ann's Inn. It has these words written on its back.
  
  
  
• Guest's Lost Cap
  Unlocks when the baseball cap on the floor behind a closet in room 202 of Ann's Inn is picked up.
  
  
  
• The Hidden Truth
  Unlocks when you read Scott's journal in the hidden room in the basement of the hunting cabin. (Thanks to barefootwalk for that info!)
  
  
  
• Dying Man's Letter
  Unlocks when the letter on the floor in one of the corner's of patient room 205 in the Hospital is picked up.
  
  
  
• Here She Lies
  Unlocks when you reach the bottom of the well in the locked part of the garden of the Mansion.
  
  
  
• Scott's Secrets
  Unlocks when you manage to find and open Scott's hidden room in the basement of the Hunting cabin. Or when you enter that room, I don't remember.
  
  
  
• Bloody Knife
  Unlocks when you remove the nails from the bloody floor board in Bernard Hopkins' study room on the 2nd floor. Or when you pick up the knife underneath these board, I don't remember.
  
  
• All Tools Found
  Unlocks when you got all four tools (Slim jim, Hammer, Shovel, and Wrench) plus, according to user barefootwalk, the book that you can pick up in the Mansion.
  
  
  
• Truth Revealed
  As far as I understand, this achievement unlocks when the game is finished by leaving Painscreek with a completion rate of more than 50%, and Vivian's murderer and the murder weapon are correctly identified.
  
  
• All Keys Found
  Unlocks when you found and picked up all keys of the game. In case you're missing this achievement check the guide above for areas that you have not yet accessed.
  
  
  
• Missing Journalist
  Unlocks when you finish the game by being killed by the man with the axe.
  
  
  
  
• You're Fired
  Unlocks when the game is finshed by leaving Painscreek with a completion rate of less than 50%. Basically, just leave Painscreek after starting a new game.
  
  
  
• Case Unsolved
  As far as I understand, this achievement unlocks when the game is finished by leaving Painscreek with a completion rate of more than 50%, and Vivian's murderer and the murder weapon are NOT correctly identified.
  
  
• Completionist
  Unlocks when the game is finished by killing the perpetrator (and correctly naming him and the murder weapon? Not sure).

Diaries A - M

Character	Diary	Area	Location
Andrew Reed	1994	Andrew Reed's house	On the shelf in the room on the 2nd floor.
Bernard Hopkins	1994	Bernard Hopkins' house	In the right third drawer from the top of the desk in the study on the 2nd floor.
	1995-1	Bernard Hopkins' house	In the bottom drawer of a small desk in the bedroom on the 2nd floor.
	1995-2	Bernard Hopkins' house	On the night stand next to the bed in the bedroom on the 2nd floor.
	1995-3	Bernard Hopkins' house	In the center drawer of the desk in the study on the 2nd floor.
Charles Roberts	1974-1	Mansion	On the shelf in the hidden room of the study room.
	1974-2	Mansion	On the shelf in the hidden room of the study room.
	1993	Mansion	On the red couch in the gallery on the 1st floor.
	1995-1	Mansion	In the hidden safe in the gallery on the 1st floor.
	1995-2	Mansion	In the center drawer of the desk in the study room.
Derrik Tyler	1990	The Tyler's house	In a cardboard box in Derrik Tyler's room on the 2nd floor.
	1993	Mansion	On a red box with wooden top in the garage.
	1995	The Tyler's house	In the bottom drawer of the cabinet right next to the door of Derrik Tyler's room on the 2nd floor.
Dorothy Patterson	1973	Mansion	On the right night stand in the Dorothy room on the 2nd floor.
	1975	Dorothy Patterson's house	In the right top drawer of the desk in the study on the 1st floor.
	1995-1	Mansion	In the second drawer from the top of the desk in the Dorothy room on the second floor.
	1995-2	Hospital	In the top drawer of the night stand in room 203 on the 2nd floor.
	1995-3	Dorothy Patterson's house	In the top drawer of the night stand in the bed room on the 2nd floor.
James Howard	1995	Sheriff's outpost	In the bottom drawer of the office desk.
Mary Martinez	1993	Mansion	On a washing machine in the laundry room on the 1st floor.
	1995	Mansion	In the right bottom drawer of the closet in the maid room on the 2nd floor.
Matthew Brooks	1971	Church	In a cardboard box in the bedroom closet on the 2nd floor.
	1975	Church	In the drawer of the left night stand in the bedroom on the 2nd floor.
	1995	Church	In the top drawer of the desk in Matthew Brooks' study on the 2nd floor.

Diaries N - Z

Character	Diary	Area	Location
Oliver Gibson	1996	Oliver's photography	In the bottom drawer of the worktable in the office.
Scott Brooks	1985	Church	In the top drawer of the desk in Scott Brooks' room.
	1990	Church	In the hidden safe in Scott Brooks' room.
	1993-1	Hunting cabin	In bottom drawer of a little desk with a gramophone on top in the main room.
	1993-2	Church	In Scott Brooks' chest in the storage room on the 1st floor.
	1994	Hunting cabin	On a shelf in the basement.
	1995	Hunting cabin	In the right middle drawer of the desk in the hidden room in the basement.
Sofia Miller	1975	Dorothy Patterson's house.	In Sofia's box on the shelf in the bed room on the 2nd floor.
Steve Moss	1997-1	Outside	On the passenger seat of Steve Moss' car in front of Ann's Inn.
	1997-2	Ann's Inn	In the top drawer of the desk in room 201 on the 2nd floor.
	1997-3	Hospital	On the floor in one of the corners of the mortuary.
	1997-4	Outside	In the glove compartment of Steve Moss' car in front of Ann's Inn.
	1997-5	Ann's Inn	In the 201 letter box of the reception on the 1st floor.
Trisha Roberts	1989	Mansion	In the closet in Trisha's room on the 2nd floor.
	1993	Mansion	On a shelf in the garden shed.
	1994	Mansion	IN the bottom drawer of the right night stand in Trisha's room on the 2nd floor.
Vivian Roberts	1972	Mansion	In the top drawer of a small stand with a green lamp on top in the tea room on the 2nd floor.
	1994	Mansion	In a cabinet to the right of the bed in the master bedroom.
	1995	Mansion	In the center drawer of the desk in the tea room on the 2nd floor.
Wanda Tyler	1974	The Tyler's house	In a cardboard box in the closet right next to the door to Wanda Tyler's room on the 2nd floor.
	1981	The Tyler's house	In the bottom drawer of the night stand in Wanda Tyler's room on the 2nd floor.
	1995	Hospital	On a small stand in a corner of room 102 on the 1st floor.

Newspapers

Topic	Area	Location
Andrew Reed's death	Church	On a bench in the congregation hall.
Coal mine incident	Mansion	On the bar counter on the 2nd floor.
Henry Johnson's death	Mansion	On a table close to a fax machine in the family room on the 1st floor.
Hospital closed	Ann's Inn	On the reception counter on the 1st floor.
Magdalene Roberts' death	Mansion	In a cardboard box in the hidden room of the study room on the 1st floor.
Scott Brooks apprehended	Sheriff's outpost	On the office desk.
Scott Brooks' death	Hospital	In the bottom drawer of the night stand in room 203 on the 2nd floor.
Scott pleads 'not guilty'	Church	In the second drawer from the top of the desk in Matthew Brooks' study on the 2nd floor.
Trisha Roberts' death	Dorothy Patterson's house	In the bottom drawer of the night stand in the bed room on the 2nd floor.
Vivian Roberts' death	Sheriff's outpost	On the pin wall in the office.

Letters/Documents

Title	Area	Location
Beckerd's investigation #1	Mansion	In the center drawer of the desk in the study room.
Beckerd's investigation #2	Mansion	In the center drawer of the desk in the study room.
Calvin's confession letter	Church	In the top drawer of the desk in the hidden attic room.
Charles' will	Mansion	In the hidden safe in the gallery on the 1st floor.
Coroner's public report	Ann's Inn	In Steve Moss' suitcase on the desk in room 201 on the 2nd floor.
Coroner's undisclosed report	Sheriff's outpost	Top drawer of filing cabinet in office.
Derrik's confession	Outside	In a hole next to a large rock oppsite Jessie Elliot's grave on the cemetery.
Derrik's psychiatric report	The Tyler's house	In the bottom drawer of the night stand in Wanda Tyler's room on the 2nd floor.
Dorothy's leaving letter	Mansion	On the desk in the Dorothy room on the 2nd floor.
Event cancelled	Oliver's photography	In the left drawer of a desk with a fax machine on top in the office room.
Fund embezzlement	Mansion	In the top drawer on the right of the desk in the tea room on the 2nd floor.
Fund fraud investigation	Hospital	On a little table with a fax machine in the corner of the doctor's office
Henry's advice for Vivian	Mansion	In the clock in the tea room on the 2nd floor.
Henry's reply to Charles	Hospital	In the third drawer from the top on the right of the desk in the doctor's office.
Hiring P.I. Steve Moss	Outside	On the passenger seat of Steve Moss' car in front of Ann's Inn.
J&L's appreciation letter	Mansion	In the second drawer from the top of a stand with a fax machine in the family room on the 1st floor.
Letter to Daniel	Andrew Reed's house	In the safe in the burnt room on the 1st floor.
Magdalene visits Charles	Mansion	On the shelf in the hidden room of the study room.
Mansion's worker list	Mansion	On the desk in the security room on the 2nd floor.
Matthew hires lawyer	Church	In the drawer of the right night stand in the bedroom on the 2nd floor.
Matthew's letter to Sofia	Outside	In a box in the tree stump next to the bird house between playground and hunting cabin.
Matthew's missionary work	Dorothy Patterson's house	In Sofia's box on the shelf in the bed room on the 2nd floor.
Oliver's letter to Dorothy	Dorothy Patterson's house	On the mantelpiece in the bed room on the 2nd floor.
Record of alibi	Sheriff's outpost	Second drawer from the top of filing cabinet in office.
Scott's letter to Trisha	Mansion	In the music box in the closet in Trisha's room on the 2nd floor.
Sheriff's relocation	Sheriff's outpost	On the window sill in the office.
Sister Rachel's confession	Church	In Scott Brooks' chest in the storage room on the 1st floor.
Sofia's birthday gift	Outside	In a box in the tree stump next to the bird house between playground and hunting cabin.
Sofia's letter to Matthew	Church	In the second drawer from the top of the desk in the hidden attic room.
Sylvia's confession letter	Church	In the drawer of the right confessional.
Threat letter to Henry	Hospital	In the third drawer from the top on the right of the desk in the doctor's office.
Vivian's medical report	Mansion	In the bottom drawer on the left of the desk in the study room.
Vivian's murder case report	Sheriff's outpost	In the top drawer of the office desk.

Other

Title	Area	Location
Innkeeper's logbook	Ann's Inn	In the hidden compartment of the cabinet with a bottle of champagne on top in the reception.
Mansion security logbook	Mansion	Underneath the key cabinet in the security room on the 2nd floor.
Nurse logbook	Hospital	In Katherine's locker in the nurse room.

[Laserlizard]

You can actually get the Case Unsolved Achivement early than 50% I only had 21% i think as you can collect a motive from someone else you're okay. I can do more testing on it if you'd like.

[Innocentive]

@CindyK_JA: glad to hear that and thanks for letting me know :)

[CindyK_JA]

You rock! This is a monumental help for players working towards 100% I finished at 99% and your guide was a great way to audit my journal/inventory. I had unlocked one drawer in my mind but (evidently) walked right past it in the game! Thanks so much for this guide!

[Innocentive]

@bryonr02: the code for the safe in Scott's room?

[bryonr02]

im confused with the safe code in the church

[E.M.J. ㋛]

Thanks for a great guide! I just wanna point out to gamers who wanna 100% it that you NEED to do the bad endings BEFORE the good ones (at least getting fired), or you'll have to do everything twice (every document, every-f_cking-thing). I got everything, got the killer and weapon right, then started from last save and on purpose got the killer and weapon wrong for another ending, and then another load for getting myself killed. Then I started a new game to get the "fired" ending, leaving before I learned anything. And so yeah, since the game was restarted for that, it doesn't count all the achievements I allready got in my other save file, so KEEP THAT IN MIND!

[alicia, sun's nemesis]

Can't edit previous, sorry, but clarifying I think the check is performed when ITEMS go to your inventory, not keys/letters/etc.

[alicia, sun's nemesis]

This is an amazing guide, thank you so much. I appreciate how much care you put into minimising spoilers, given the nature of this game. I just wanted to add that for All Tools Found, mine didn't trigger when I found all the tools (I'd already used the book and I'd used all 4 tools to interact with stuff), but when I went down the well and picked up Sofia's brooch, it triggered . So I suspect the check performed for that is just when you put stuff in your inventory and the book/brooch aren't relevant in particular. :)

[detroitmew]

Thank you for this great guide! I could not find the last newspaper and had no clue where to go! Just some info too...regarding the two endings Truth Revealed + Completionist I found:

For Truth Revealed you need to have LESS than 100% completed and you must kill Matthew by pushing him off of the hospital roof before he kills you !

For Completionist you MUST be at 100% AND you must kill Matthew by pushing him off of the hospital roof before he kills you !

[CaptainAndrasteCrotch]

Hi Innocentive! Thank you for the awesome guide. I had some issues getting the ending achievements (Truth Revealed in particular) the way you had described them, so I posted and got a definitive answer from a Dev about the trigger conditions for each ending achieve - thought you'd want to know so you can update the guide :) Thank you again though - it was really helpful. https://steamcommunity.com/app/624270/discussions/1/3198117312264663854/