Surviving Cascade: Navigating Flathill

Stuck in an Alternate Reality where you can't see more than 2 feet in front of you? Gotten lost navigating the foggy streets, or just don't know where to go next? Then this is the guide for you

Entering Flathill

Apon first entering Flathill, you will spawn in a treehouse. Be careful while climbing down the ladder, as a slip can start your journey off with a fractured leg, which isn't good. Fortunately, right after landing, you will encounter an Exit Portal, which can be used at any time to escape if you need to replenish your supplies, or otherwise just escape for a while.

You should also see a Garage and a Supermarket. This is a SAFE ZONE. The Giants cannot reach you while you are in this area. Be advised, as soon as you head through the gate, you will be in unsafe territory, and at the mercy of the Giants.

You should spot a Videostore immediately after heading through the gate. Head inside. You will find a soldier wearing some rather unusual armor. Talking to him will prompt him to lay out your mission, and it's consequences, in a sing song voice. Get the three

Power Cell 1

Reaching the First Power Cell can be the hardest part of Flathill, as every door is locked, and you can find yourself going in circles if you aren't careful.

Here's how I make it through.

Keep to the sides whenever possible, and try and always break line of sight with the Giants. It is important to note that The Giants cannot 'see' you with their head, so as long as their torso is obscured, you should be safe to crouch past them.

Continue straight down the road until you reach the park. There will be a Giant patrolling the road, and another one patrolling the park, so be careful. Feel free to wait until you have a safe opportunity to dash inside. Inside the Park there is a Restroom, which you can use if you need water, or the toilet. It is also a good place to hide if you are spotted.

What you are looking for is the playground. It's bright and colourful compared to the rest of Flathill, so you should not have any trouble finding it.
From there, you should spot a gate, head through the side. There will be a Giant patrolling the area, but he cannot see through the chain-link fence, so hide behind it until he turns his back. Follow the road until you spy a building with a statue outside, and head inside. BE CAREFUL, if you have been spotted, keep in mind the Giants can crouch to get through the door. I recommend waiting until they've lost aggro before entering

After Entering inside, you will find many doors, but the one you are after is the Yellow Door on the second floor

After heading through the door, you will encounter the Power Cell. Grab it, and a portal should appear. 1 Down, 2 to go. Head through the Portal

Power Cell 2

After heading through the portal, you will find yourself atop a new building. Head through the vent, and you'll drop down into an Arcade! This is a SAFE ZONE. The Arcade is full of supplies, mainly Nachos and Salt, but does again contain a bathroom with sinks of clean water.

The Door you are seeking is upstairs, first however, head through the Exit Door, and unlock it. This a shortcut that will allow you to quickly return if you die, or return through the portal.

Some people have struggled to find their way back, so keep an eye out for the White Van. You can head through it to get from one side of the Fence to the other, or simply climb over. Keep in mind that for whatever reason, the Giants can still notice you within the Van, even if you cannot see them. Always check there isn't one nearby before heading through


Once heading upstairs, you will come to another set of stairs that have been cordoned off. Disregard authority and jump over the chain. You'll encounter another yellow door, leading to a ladder. Climb up it (Being careful of the wonky ladder physics), and head through to snag your next Power Cell! Just one more to go

Before heading through the portal, quickly head over to the left to find a ladder and a locked gate, which you can unlock to connect to the First Portal Location

Power Cell 3

After heading through the Portal, you should arrive in a Library. This area is NOT SAFE. 2 Giants wander the mazelike shelves. Unfortunately for them, it is incredibly easy to evade them if you know where you're going.


After heading through the wide opening, take an immediate right and head to the other side of the bookshelf. You should find another shelf leaning on it. You can use this as a Ramp to get up on top of the shelves. Keep in mind the Giant's tall size means they can still grab you even up there.


After getting up atop the shelves, it's a simple act of hugging the right wall until you find the ramp down, then heading towards the light, which should leave you to a set of doors. Again, the Giants can crouch through these doors, so make sure to lose them before heading through.



Once you are through though, you can relax and enjoy the scenery as you cross the bridge to the Lab. Outside, you will find a fountain of Tainted Water (Clean Water in the Demo), while inside contains numerous computers and crafting materials. This location can function as a base, once you head down the ladder and unlock the gate right next to the portal home.

When ready, head through the Elevator. BE WARNED, there will be a Giant waiting outside once the doors open. If it spots you, head back down, and wait for it to de-aggro. If it continues to spot you no matter what, you may just have to run for it. If so, keep this next second in mind.


You will need to run to the back left section of the Lab, head up the stairs, then parkour across the terminals to reach the other side. Like in the Library, the Giants can still reach you even while you are standing on top of the terminals. With that in mind, I actually recommend luring the Giant to chase you up the stairs before attempting the parkour. Once you have made it across, you are safe. Before heading up the stairs however, I recommend unlocking the door underneath. This will allow you, or any friends you are playing with, to access the stairs without doing the parkour.



If you're feeling extra bold, you can parkour to the back left corner, where you can grab a figurine of the Giants. Much like when doing the normal parkour, I recommend baiting the Giant up the stairs before attempting this, otherwise you will most likely be grabbed.



Up the stairs lies the final Power Cell. Grab it, and a Portal will spawn at the edge of the diving board. I recommend getting a running start, as you will need to take a leap of faith to reach it. Once you're through, you'll find yourself safely (relatively) back in the Facility, now armed with with the Cells you need to open up the Maintenance Corridor

[Derktron]

Thank you, I was going in circles for hours trying to figure out where to go. Fantastic job!!

[Cubefarmer]

I'd disagree for one reason alone, those new "symphonists" start spawning as soon as you take the 3rd power cell, don't do that until you're ready to handle those things.

[Fafnir Prince]

Well, Power Cells are used for more than just that one forklift. Some people might want a gun, Keypad Hacker Level 2, or some Batteries, Pest Wheel, or a Forklift they can drive, or a Security Cart to drive. So on and so forth.

Also, it doesn't change the fact that the game intends for you to gather all three powercells, even if you only need one to progress the game. Unless you're attempting to Speedrun, I would still say you should grab all three.

[Elegar]

Why collect all three cells when just one is enough to activate the lift and open the gates to the next sector?

[jbwjr]

Yeah probably.

[Fafnir Prince]

I think I accidentally deleted it while adding in Images, whoops. There's a noticable gap where it should have been

[jbwjr]

One shortcut you forgot to mention. Their is also a Shortcut from the Library to the first exit portal. Once you walk out the Doors of the Libary instead of crossing the Bridge, their is a Ladder to the right of it.

This Ladder is the same ladder you saw when you first entered Flathills, where the 2 white trucks are after you leave the video store.

[scavenger]

yeah, forgot those 2 used a power cell, had forgotten about that.

[Fafnir Prince]

Scavenger - You get a recipe for the Pipe Pistol and Scrapshot after getting the Power Cells, I'm assuming he is referring to those.

[Spunk Mayo]

You could place signs/furniture along the optimal path so you and new players could easily find your way around.