Quick Links
The first full day that you play through inThe Excavation of Hob’s Barrowis filled with the usual tasks that you might be used to if you’ve played many point & click adventure games. This is when you’ll explore the area, meet lots of new people, and solve some problems - some of them are your problems, some of them are the problems of random people you come across.
RELATED:The Excavation Of Hob’s Barrow Is A Masterclass In Unsettling Horror
There is one primary objective during this chapter - to learn the whereabouts of Hob’s Barrow itself, seeing as Mr. Shoulder doesn’t seem to want to show up just yet.
How To Find Mr. Shoulder
Leave your room and thentalk to Stanleyat the bar.
When you’re finally able to leave the inn, themap functionwill be unlocked, letting youfast-travelbetween the various points of interest around Bewlay and its surrounding environs.
You can talk to the girl and her brother in the village square if you wish. Your destination, though, is the church, which you’ll see in the background when you walk to the left of the square.Talk to Mrs de Plancy at the churchto learn of Father Roache, who is inHerne wood, to the west.
Before leaving, walk to the right to find aTrowelin the flowerbeds.Pick it up. In addition,enter the church andpick up the necklacehanging on one of the pews there.
Leave this screen to the left and continue on, ignoring the crossroads, to enter Herne Wood and findFather Roache, who is very sick.He will ask you to cut him, believing that bloodletting is the solution to his malaise.
On the ground to the left are some brokenSpectacles.Use Thomasina’s Handkerchief to pick up a piece of Broken Glass. Use the Broken Glass on Father Roache to cure him.
Talk to Father Roacheto learn more about Bewlay. Eventually, you’ll learn thathe knows the way to Mr. Shoulder’s houseand can take you there. When you’re ready,tell Father Roache that you’re ready to be taken to Mr. Shoulder’s house.
During this sequence, Father Roache will test yourShakespeare knowledge. The first prompt is automatic and the answer isRichard III. The second is at Mr. Shoulder’s house - examine the stone carving above the door: the answer isOthello. The final prompt is also automatic and happens at the end of the sequence - the answer isRomeo and Juliet. Answering all three questions correctly will get you an achievement, as will answering all three incorrectly.
When you’re on the moors, Thomasina and Father Roache will have a conversation that triggers a flashback sequence. Here, justspeak to Thomasina’s parentsto end the flashback.
When you reach Mr. Shoulder’s house,examine the door twice and then the windowto determine that he’s not at home. After this,examine the white glove on the clothesline to the right, and thenuse the Gloveyou picked up in the alley behind the inn to determine that they are a matched pair.
Talk to Father Roache and have him take you back to Bewlay. You’ll hear the train whistle, signifying that Kenneth should have arrived.
Obtaining Objectives
There are a few things you can do now to obtain some new objectives. First,fast-travel to the train stationto learn that Kenneth has not actually arrived.Talk to Arthur here, specifically to learn that the crate full of Thomasina’s belongings was taken away by the postmaster.
Fast-travel to Herne wood and take the crossroad to the northto find a little girl sitting by a creek.Talk to the girlto learn that she’s lost her doll.
While you’re exploring,take the left exit from the Herne wood crossroadsand then continue further to the left. Then, take the exit at the bottom of the screen to meet a rude man and some workmen.Talk to the workmento learn about Lord Panswyck.
How To Find Jane’s Rag Doll
Head to the house on the screen to the right of the inn. You’ll find ayoung boyhere, Jane’s brother.Talk to him about Myrtleto get a clue about the doll’s location. He gave the doll to the fair folk.
To find the doll,head to the church and take the exit to the right. From here, take theexit through the arch.
On this screen, you’ll find aring of mushrooms- also known as a fairy ring.Use your Trowel on the fairy ring.
You’ll get a flashback. After the conversation with Ms. Bowes, walk to the left andpick up the doll.
Back in the present, you’ll be confronted with aclose-up of Jane’s doll.Click it to pick it up. You’ll also get aHairpin.
Return to the creek andgive the Rag Doll to Jane. Follow Jane through the woods until she appears to be hiding inside a hole.Use the Trowel with the hole to make it wider and enter it. You cannot progress further into the hole, however, as you do not have a light source. That’s another objective added to the list.
How To Get Into The Postmaster’s Storeroom
To find the postmaster’s storehouse,travel to the village square and walk through the gap in the buildings just to left. The man here isHenry- he’s not the postmaster, but he will tell you that the postmaster is not currently here. You will also learn through speaking to Henry that he loves the train station and gets into long arguments with Cyril, the grumpy man from the previous night, about it. The conversation will also have Thomasina wondering if you couldopen a tabat the inn.
Return to the inn and talk to Stanley about opening a tab. You need something valuable to put down as a deposit.Give Stanley the Necklacethat you found in the church earlier.
Before returning to Henry to offer him a drink, take the left exit from the village square to findCyril.Talk to him about Henryand thenoffer him a drinkby talking about the Plough and Furrow.
With Cyril in the pub, go to Henry and offer him a drink now. After joining you at the inn, Henry will get into an argument with Cyril and stay there - if you hadn’t got Cyril to the pub, he would have left.
With Henry now stuck at the pub,go back to the postmaster’s storeroom and look through the windowto ascertain that Thomasina’s crate is, indeed, inside.Use the Hairpin on the door to open it.
Thomasina will move the crate to the alley and open it. It’s full of the equipment she needs, but no money. She will take aLanternand aChiselwith her automatically. Unfortunately, the Lantern is empty and needs Paraffin.
How To Get Paraffin And Find Jane
Return to the village square and walk to the left to find theblacksmith. Examine hisLanternand thefossil. Talk to him about everything, including the Lantern and the Fossil, to find thathe wants a trade for the Paraffin he has.
Head to thecreekwhere you found Jane earlier. In the back of the screen is anammonite fossil- use yourChiselwith it to acquire it. Back in Bewlay village square,give the blacksmith the Fossil for the Paraffin.Combine the Paraffin with the Lanternin your inventory.
Go to Herne wood again, to the screen with thehole. Now that you have the Lantern lit, you canprogress into the darkness. Head all the way to the end.
How To Get To Hob’s Barrow
After the scene,you’ll learn the location of Hob’s Barrow- Mr. Briden’s farm, which is north of the graveyard.Go there now, taking the path through the archway in the graveyard to the right of the church.
After the scene,knock on Mr. Briden’s door to meet him. Exhaust this dialogue to learn a little about the past excavation of the barrow, among other things. You’ll need tosupply Mr. Briden with proofthat you’ve been asked to examine the barrow -give him the Lettersthat you began the game with.
To visit Hob’s Barrow,use the gate to the left of Mr. Briden’s home. After the scene, walk to the left until Thomasina starts talking about the barrow.Interact with the barrowto be taken to another flashback.
In the flashback,pick up the Trowel on the ground in front of the statue and use it on the three mounds of dirt in the flowerbeds. After the flashback, leave the screen to the right. Talk to Stanley about the events of the day and then try to head to bed. After the scenes, head to the left in Thomasina’s dream.
