In this game, you play as a wage slave playing hooky to participate in an online contest about abandoned buildings. Top prize goes to a photo of "something never meant to be seen". You snuck into an old metro tunnel you read about on Reddit, but the way in locked behind you. So you also need to find a way out.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
While you're in this car, you are urged every turn to photograph the broken sign, but for the highest score, you must resist this urging.
> i. x camera.(You have 11 shots remaining.)
> x door. x sign.
> x phone. take it.
> x radio. take it.
> x cup.("9642")take it.
> w.
Train Car 7001
> x notebook. take it.
> x officer.(has blue key card.)
> take blue card.(no: not without asking him first)
> wake officer.
> ask him about train.
> ask him about contest.
> ask him about blue key card.(unlocks fire doors)
> ask him about way out.
> ask him about taking his picture.(He declines.)
> turn on radio.(He's asleep again.)
> take blue card.
> e.
Train Car 7000
> kick door.(no: need strength boost)
> drink shake. kick door. e.
Train car 7245
> x tape. take it.
> x Fitbit. take it.
> e.
Train Car 7244
> x Lily. ask Lily about Lily.
> ask Lily about note.
> ask Lily about bunny.(in rack?)
> x rack. open rack.(not there)
> ask Lily about bunny.(in shadows?)
> x shadows. search shadows.(not there)
> ask Lily about bunny.(in panel?)
> x panel. open panel.(not there)
> ask Lily about bunny.(up through hatch?)
> u.(no: need something to climb)
> x hatch. x hook.
> e.
Red Tunnel Segment
> x rope. take it.
> x man. ask man about himself.
> ask him about rats. g. g.(He tells you: "Blue 4 7 2 5".)
> photograph man.(+10)
> w.
Train Car 7244
You cannot attach, tie, affix, join, or use the rope on the hook. However, this works:
> put rope on hook. u.
Train Roof
> x bunny. take it. d.
Train Car 7244
> give bunny to Lily.
> ask Lily about note.(It's yours.)
> read note.("SOS. Cellar. they're watching !")
> ask Lily about way out.
> take rope.
> photograph Lily.(+10)
> photograph note.(+5)
> w. w. w. w.
Blue Tunnel Segment
Use what the Rat Man said here.
> x lockbox. enter 4725. open box.
> x crowbar. take it.
> x letter. take it.
> x door. unlock door with blue card.
> w.
Green Tunnel Segment
> x hatch.(You need a green card.)
> e. e. e. e. e. e. e.
Purple Tunnel Segment
> x fire door. x pad.(needs key card)
> x trapdoor.(needs cleaning)
> x leak. fill cup with leak.
> clean trapdoor with cup. x trapdoor.
> photograph trapdoor.(+10. "just say password")
> say password.
> d.
Secret Supply Stash
> x drawing. photograph drawing.(+10)
> x carabiner. take it.
> x purple card. take it.
> x shelf.(The "Gary J" spot is empty.)
> put notebook on shelf.(You acquire an iron key.)
> u.
Purple Tunnel Segment
> unlock door with purple card. e.
Yellow Tunnel Segment
> put rope on hook.(needs reinforcement)
> put carabiner on rope.
> u.
Yellow Tunnel Ledge
> x panel. unlock panel with iron key.
> open panel. x case. x protein soda.
> photograph case.(+5)
> e.
Maintenance Tunnel Ledge
> x black door.
Push the buttons in the order of the tunnels' colors from west to east:
> push green. push blue button.
> push red. push purple button.
> push yellow.(The door opens.)
Note, you're not permitted past this point unless you've taken at least 4 photographs.
> d.
Main Maintenance Facility
> x Larry. x piece.
> photograph piece.(+10. "no pain no gain")
> x cabinet. open cabinet.(locked)
> talk to Larry.
> ask Larry about love —or— ask Larry about train.
> ask Larry about photo.(He declines.)
> e.
Break Room
> x microwave. x board.
> photograph board.(+10. "the chair makes us all taller")
> x machine. kick it.(You acquire nachos.)
> x nachos.
> e.
Boss's Office
> x calendar.("might be worth adding another button sometime")
> x fan.(Something written behind it.)
> x chair.(has loose wheels)
> w. w.
Main Maintenance Facility
> give letter to Larry.(He goes to the break room with it.)
> open cabinet with crowbar.
> look in it.
> x wrench. take it.
> x large tape. take it.
> w.
Darkness / Storage Closet
> turn on phone.
> x wires. use large tape on wires.
> look. d.
Illicit Closet
> x crack. photograph crack.(+20)
> u. e. e. e.
Boss's Office
> turn off phone.
> use wrench on chair.
> stand on chair.
> photograph fan.(+20. "secret button")
> push secret button.(A way down opens.)
> d.
Cellar
> x Barry. talk to Barry.
> ask Barry about his interests
> ask Barry about how he got down here
> ask Barry about them
> show Fitbit to Barry.(He's now trusts you.)
> ask Barry about how he got down here
> ask Barry about them
> take green card.(He gives it willingly.)
> photograph Barry.(+10)
Head all the way back to the Green Tunnel Segment:
> u. w. w. u. w. d.
> w. w. w. w. w. w. w. w.
Green Tunnel Segment
> unlock hatch with green card.
> save
> u.
Conference Room
The contest was a fake. It was a social experiment. Your photographs are reviewed and you're given a score. My highest score was 120 out of 122.
*** Thank you for your participation in playing Clickbait! I hope you enjoyed your journey. ***
By the way, did you notice that the number on the coffee cup, 9642, is the same as your Participant number?
Extras
Characters
Officer Gary Johnson is sleeping in Train Car 7001. He has a blue key card. He is also the "Gary J" mentioned by the notebook and the shelf.
Lily is a little girl in Train Car 7244. She has a crumpled note and wants you to find her toy bunny.
Crazy Rat Man is ill-dressed and muttering to himself in the Red Tunnel Segment. He's quite keen to share facts about rats with you. His real name is Harry.
Larry is a guy in the Main Maintenance Facility who's looking for love, but not from you.
Barry is a guy trapped in the Cellar. He has a green key card.
A woman on the Conference Room's video screen informs you that the photo contest was actually a social experiment and everyone you met was an actor.
Mentioned:
Rats are mentioned by the Crazy Rat Man.
Inventory
Items are listed in the order acquired in this walkthrough, or first seen if the item isn't taken.
For what it's worth, you can wear the coffee cup, the Fitbit, the iron key, and the extra large roll of duct tape. However, there is no benefit in wearing any of them, unless you think they'd improve your selfies.
Honorable mention: your backpack. You're wearing it and it's referred to sometimes, but it's not listed in your inventory. Assume that whatever you pick up is put into your backpack unless the game explicitly says otherwise.
a camera. You're carrying it.
Take photographs of whatever you think is the most interesting, secretive, or mysterious. You can take a maximum of 11 photographs. At game's end, your choices of photographs are assessed to determine your score.
a protein shake. You're carrying it.
In Train Car 7000, drink the shake to give yourself a brief strength boost, then kick the dented metal door to open it. The boost wears off immediately after the kick.
a cell phone. You dropped it in Train Car 700 as the game begins.
In dark locations, turn on the phone to use its light to see. When you're back in a lit region, you should turn the phone off to save battery power.
a radio. It's in Train Car 7000.
Turning on the radio plays a lullaby for one turn then it turns itself off the following turn.
In Train Car 7001, turn on the radio to put Officer Johnson back to sleep after you've woken him. The lullaby has no effect on anyone else.
an old coffee cup. It's in Train Car 7000.
NOTE: Although the cup is coded as "closed", you can't open it, but you can still fill it with water and pour it.
In the purple tunnel segment, fill the cup with the leak, then pour the cup on the dirty trapdoor to clean it. Photograph the trapdoor (with your camera) to learn you just have to SAY PASSWORD to unlock the trapdoor.
a notebook. It's in Train Car 7001.
In the Secret Supply Stash, after you've photographed the drawing with your camera, put the notebook onto the shelf there to acquire an iron key.
Note that if you haven't photographed the drawing yet, you oddly decide not to put notebook onto the shelf because of an intrusive thought that you've forgotten to do something else first. This is a prime example of the author using mind control on the player character.
a blue key card. Officer Johnson in Train Car 7001 has it.
You cannot just take the blue card while Johnson sleeps. You must first wake him, explicitly ask him about the blue key card to learn what it's for, then turn on the radio to put him back to sleep. Now, you can finally take the blue card.
In the Blue Tunnel Segment, unlock the heavy steel door with the blue card.
a small roll of duct tape. It's in Train Car 7245.
In the Storage Closet, you can try to use the small roll of duct tape on the exposed wires, but the there's not enough tape to finish the job. Use the large roll of duct tape instead.
a Fitbit. It's in Train Car 7245.
Feel free to wear it, if you like.
In the Cellar, show the Fitbit to Barry to gain his respect. Now you can take his green key card.
a scrap of rope. It's in the Red Tunnel Segment.
In Train Car 7244, put the rope on the hook, then climb the rope to reach the Train Roof.
After you've given the toy bunny to Lily, take the rope (from the hook).
In the Yellow Tunnel Section, put the rope on the hook, then put the carabiner on the rope. Now you can go up to the ledge. It's best to leave the rope there.
a toy bunny. It's on the Train Roof, above Train Car 7244.
Give the bunny to Lily; it's hers.
a crumpled note. Lily in Train Car 7244 is holding it.
After giving the toy bunny to Lily, ask Lily about the note. She gives it to you. Read it. It's an SOS message from the Cellar.
a crowbar. It's in the lockbox in the Blue Tunnel Segment. To unlock the lockbox, enter 4725, as clued by what the Crazy Rat Man said.
In the Main Maintenance Facility, after Larry has left the room with the love letter, open the locked cabinet with the crowbar.
a love letter. It's in the lockbox in the Blue Tunnel Segment. To unlock the lockbox, enter 4725, as clued by what the Crazy Rat Man said.
In the Main Maintenance Facility, give the letter to Larry. He takes it into the Break Room, leaving the locked cabinet unguarded.
a purple key card. It's in the Secret Supply Stash.
In the Purple Tunnel Segment, unlock the fire door with the purple card.
a small iron key. Acquire it in Secret Supply Stash by putting the notebook onto the shelf there — except this only works if you previously photographed the drawing in the room.
On the Yellow Tunnel Ledge, the iron key unlocks the suspicious ceiling panel.
five protein sodas. They're in the Hulk Juice soda case in the suspicious ceiling panel at the Yellow Tunnel Ledge; unlock the panel with the small iron key.
You don't need any of these.
an instant protein nachos. Acquire it by kicking the vending machine in the Break Room.
You may eat the nachos, but they're quite disgusting and you gain no benefit from them.
a wrench. It's in the locked cabinet in the Main Maintenance Facility; open the cabinet with the crowbar when Larry isn't there.
In the Boss's Office, use the wrench on the chair. Now you can stand on it and photograph the ceiling fan with your camera.
an extra large roll of duct tape. It's in the locked cabinet in the Main Maintenance Facility; open the cabinet with the crowbar when Larry isn't there.
In the Storage Closet, use the large roll of duct tape on the exposed wires to reveal a downward hatch.
a green key card. Barry in the Cellar has it. After you show him the Fitbit, he lets you take the green card from him.
In the Green Tunnel Segment, the green card unlocks the emergency egress hatch.
Score
The response to SCORE is:
There is no score in this story.
But that's not true. When you enter the Conference Room, your photographs are assessed and you are told:
Your final score was N out of a possible 122.
As near as I can tell, points are awarded or deducted as follows:
−2 points each for photographing the suspicious ceiling panel (when open), the Fitbit, the crowbar, the carabiner, the vending machine, or the worn office chair.
−1 point each for photographing the small roll of duct tape, the notebook, the cracked steel fire door, the large tin cabinet, the wrench, or yourself.
No points for photographing the emergency egress hatch or the calendar.
2 points each for photographing the broken sign, the dented metal door, the suspicious ceiling panel (when locked), the lockbox, the iron key, the love letter, the toy bunny, or the radio.
3 points for photographing the leak or the small black door.
4 points for photographing the exposed wires.
5 points for photographing the crumpled note or the Hulk Juice soda case.
10 points each for photographing Lily, the Crazy Rat Man, the dirty trapdoor, the drawing, the graffitied train piece, the bulletin board, or Barry.
20 points each for photographing the ceiling fan, or the crack (in Illicit Closet).
