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The Excavation of Hob’s Barrowis a folk horror game that has you stepping into the shoes of Thomasina Batemen, a barrow digger writing a book about her craft who received an invitation to excavate a particular barrow near the village of Bewlay. The horror undertones are subtle to begin with, with the opening hour of the game taking a relatively light pace.
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This walkthrough will cover the prologue of the game, taking you to Bewlay and settling on a place to sleep for the duration of your visit. We’ll also meet some of the principal characters of the game.
Getting To Bewlay
At the beginning of the game, you’ll be controlling Thomasina outside Ticehurst House.Walk to the leftand you’ll witness a few scenes, after which you’ll be at Bewlay station.
Read the tutorialthat pops up to learn how the game is played, and thenexamine the letter in Thomasina’s inventoryto read it and learn why you’re in Bewlay in the first place. After reading the letter, anold womanwill appear on the other side of the tracks -talk to herand exhaust her dialogue options.
Leave the station- you’ll be interrupted the first time you try, just leave again after the conversation. It doesn’t matter whether you tell the truth or lie to the woman. Keepwalking to the rightuntil you reach the middle of Bewlay - the inn is on the right.
Talk to the man standing outside the inn. It doesn’t matter how you deal with this man, butslapping him will earn you an achievement.
Enter the inn and talk to the innkeeper, who is standing behind the bar, to learn how much a room will cost.
Once you learn how much the room is,give the innkeeper some money(from Thomasina’s inventory). With that done, head up to your room using the door to the right of the bar.
After changing,pick up the Jug of Waterfrom the table next to the door and then head downstairs to the bar again.
Waiting For Mr. Shoulder
Talk to the innkeeperand exhaust his dialogue to learn that he is named Stanley, and to learn more about Thomasina. After this,talk to the old man on the right of the screen, Cyril. Thomasina will sit down to wait for Mr. Shoulder to arrive, but he never does. Instead,Arthur(the man from earlier), turns up.
After Arthur convinces you to buy him a drink, talk to Stanley. You’ll spend the rest of your money on a tankard of ale.Give the Ale to Arthurand when he passes out,use the Jug of Water on himto wake him up.
Finding Arthur
Enter the bathroom to the right. Inside,examine both stallsand then the door that leads further to the right, which leads outside but is currently blocked.
Leave the innthe way you came in, and thenwalk to the right of it to find a man standing by the alley. After he leaves,head into the alley.Pick up the Glovefrom the ground andexamine the woodblocking the door to enter the bathroom again.
Head back outside,leave the alley, and then start walking to the right. Attempt to follow the man until he walks onto the moors and Thomasina gives up.
Return to the inn and examine the door to Thomasina’s room. Choose to go to sleep.
