This guide covers all game aspects. Full guide on the game.
 
 

Foreword

In this guidebook you will find all available information about the game, especially:
 
-About the game in general
 
-Story
 
-Gamemodes
 
-Gameplay
 
-Mechanics analysis
 
-Equipment
 
-Classes
 
-Enemies
 
-And.. tips from the author who follows game development for 2 years
 
 
If you’re already familiar with some game aspects, just scroll to the needed one.
 
 
Guys! I live in Ukraine, you know the current situation in here. Periodically my city is being shelled, so i have problems with the internet and can respond not so fast.
 
 
Technical Information
 
Time of starting writing the guide – 26.03.2022 | 11:30 [UTC+2]
 
Game version on the moment of guide writing – 0.94.33.6 | [2022-03-02]
 
Available languages: EN, RU.
 
 
 

1. Introduction

 
 
 

1.1 Development

 
 
Hidden Deep is a 2D speleological themed horror-shooter, inspired by legendary Half-Life 1 and “The Thing”, developed by one man who in 90s made 2 games on Amiga. Game development started approximately in 2017, and following years everything was made by one developer and a bunch of volunteers. In this period game slowly but surely evolved into a finished project.
 
Approximately 1 year ago, HD got attention of game publishing and concurrently game development studio Daedalic Entertainment, which eased life of the single dev.
 
There were only a few opportunities to try out the game before release, in the beginning of 2021, demo-version festival took place, and Hidden Deep participated, which allowed players to try the game again, and not the previous Alpha-Version.
 
At the end of 2021, of delaying the release date, Beta version launched on steam, AKA Playtest, which became last opportunity to try the game for free.
 
During the playtest, an accident occurred: moment with vent. In this little hole you had to grab and get inside in the mid-flight, but some couldn’t do it at all, and some did it from the first try. After all, vent became unofficial meme and the boss of playtest.
 
 
 

1.2 Prologue

 
 
You are a member of scout squad, which got an order to descend 9700 meters below sea level and investigate what happened with subocean mining & research facility Locke Indutries after losing contact almost 4 years ago.
 
And this is where the gameplay starts, where you in role of a scout and engineer mining your way deeper and deeper into the mine, using machinery and equipment. And actually, something in this mine was off..
 
 
 

1.3 Gamemodes

 
 
Game features some gamemodes, which mix up the ordinary gameplay. Gamemodes also have pre-set seed, which are used by speedrunners for competition. Every mode has some parameters that you can edit, for example:
 
Allowed Deaths
 
Easy – 10
 
Medium – 6
 
Hard – 1
 
Hardcore – 0
 
You can also edit seed and monster quantity.
 
 
Find the data-disk
 
You got a beacon, which gonna help you in finding the disk. Follow it, because it’s the only way to find it.
 
 
Clear the Area
 
Here you’re equipped with movement detector, which shows up monsters movement. Detector works only if monster moves.
 
 
Maintain Reactors
 
4 Engineers, 4 Reactors. Don’t let them to overheat by dropping stabilizers into unstable reactor, otherwise everything going to blow up.
 
 
Escape the Sector (Only Remote Play)
 
Currently, this mode available only through Remote Play, means you need to have a gamepad. But anyway, you just need to escape with your friend.
 
 
 

2. Gameplay

 
 
 

2.1 Equipment

 
 
As a scout, our equipment changes with every level, but in total we have:
 
 

Grappling Hook

 

 
 
The most useful tool in the mine, helps with climbing up to heights or safely descending down, you also can make a Zip-Line with it. Has limited range and longest field of view.
 
 

Rope

 

 
 
Rarely used, but if you need to rope down engineer or just got bored of your hook, will work.
 
 

Pistol Dark Hornet

 

 
 
High caliber pistol. Great and universal tool, helps out in most situations. Magazine capacity: 16.
 
 

Scan-Ball

 

 
 
Special ball which lights up and scans surroundings for 15 seconds. Can electrocute nearby monsters by cost of energy and also press the buttons.
 
 

C4 Explosive

 

 
 
Stable explosive which used in mining fields for extracting ore or other ways. In our situation we use it to blow up the way on a lower level.
 
 

Terra-Scanner

 

 
 
Special scanner that scans terrain below and shows empty spaces. In our way we use it to find an entry to a lower level. Second line above on the screen shows explosive’s range.
 

 

Automatic Rifle GR-47 7.62mm

 

 
 
Great weapon against monsters clusters. Magazine capacity: 32.
 
 

Plasma Cutter

 

 
 
Cutter with ionizing oxygen jet. Has very high temperature, which allows to cut metal.
 
 

Medical Kit

 

 
 
Restores 80% health. Use time – 1.5 seconds, life hack – 0.5 seconds. (You don’t have to wait how your character moans, as soon as you injected, you can move.)
 
 
 

2.2 Mechanics Analysis

 
 
Hidden Deep is currently in Early Access, many mechanics are subject to change.
 
 

Movement

 
Movement system almost didn’t changed since alpha demo, from first look it seems realistic, but has its own problems.
 
Cut animations are still a thing, but when you’re going to move with your weapons, while stumbling into a small slope, you’re risking to undrawn your weapon. Fall damage only has 2 outcomes, either you don’t take any damage, or you die instantly. With a bug, while you crawl you can fall like you’re going to die, but actually you’re just going to stand up. Fall could become deadly from approximately 5 meters.
 
 

Hook

 
Irreplaceable tool in this hellhole. You can attach to almost anything, but not metal. You also can’t attach to a vertical wall if you’re going to stand almost below it. You can also swing and do various tricks, one of them is grabbing the edge in midflight, it’s pretty risky though. You won’t attach if your speed will be too high.
 
 
Differences between hook, rope and zip-line.
 
 
Hook, as is, universal. Good for most surfaces. If the mine will be too long and too big, you either will slam into the wall or just hang above without an opportunity to escape your trap. This is where Zip-Line comes in handy.
 
 
Rope was made as helping hand to engineers, but if you want, you can use it for your own goals. During ascend or descend you can’t draw any gun, even if you fully stop, so this variant isn’t for everyone. If the hole will be too small, our rope will just hang on the other edge and became a useless Zip-Line.
 
 
Zip-Line, as we already know, used for long and wide caves. Like with rope, you can’t equip your gun, even if you fully stop. So be careful. You can only set 1 Zip-Line per mission, placing second one removes first one.
 
 

Firearms

 
Core game feature. Pistol or rifle, your laser will shake, on engineers even more. But, there’s a bug when engineers aim doesn’t shake at all, happens rarely and spontaneously. Sometimes during intensive firing laser could disappear, but moving in any directions places it back.
 
Interesting Fact: when the game only came out, unable to reload on your hook was a feature, in first patches it was changed, and now you can fully reload, but, most players didn’t liked it, because that made game more easier and casual. Developer removed this feature because he thought it was annoying for players.
 
 

Artificial Intelligence

 
Bots and monsters are very primitive here, only if the bat responds to shots and grappling hook. Holding CTRL you can order your character to move in a specific direction to the first edge. Bots are still unable to defend themselves against monsters.
 
 

Machinery and Installations

 
One of the most Interesting aspects of the game is using industrial machinery. Only engineers can operate them, they also become invulnerable for gunshots and monsters while being inside any of machinery.
 
I think everyone encountered this problem: steel cage is swinging too strong. Solution to this problem is easy; you just have to at the moment of swing ending, hold corresponding movement button.
 
Another one is bad magnets. It’s the level design problem, so we gotta wait for a fix. While moving out of this cage with bad magnets, you have to press movement buttons shortly and rapidly. It still doesn’t guarantee you won’t fall, but better than nothing.
 
Interesting Fact: playtest had one soft-locking bug, which broke game walkthrough. If you will place zip-line at the steel cage’s way, you won’t be able to move through the rope. In that time you couldn’t remove Zip-Lines.
 
 
 

2.3 Classes

 
 
Currently there are 2 classes in the game. They are different, but very vital for working in the mines.
 

 
Scout – self-explanatory, operates in unknown areas, used mostly to explore surroundings or grab anything important. Scout’s armament is pretty weak, but has high caliber pistol and sometimes a rifle. 90% of playtime will be with him.
 
 
Engineer – trained personnel that operate installations and machinery. Only has a pistol with 2 magazines for self-defense.
 
 
 

2.4 Enemies

 
 
Every level contains every type of threat, physical, environmental, and of course bugged one. But for now we will only talk about monsters.
 
 

Flying Monster (No official name yet)

 

 
 
As all people say – fly, most common monster in the game. Very primitive, but responds to the gunshots and grappling hook. You can also lead him with a scan-ball. In normal state tends to wander around a lot, so his position changes every time. Slows down after taking damage.
 
Interesting fact: there is one funny bug with this fly, if you will fall on it from big height, you won’t die, you’re just going to stuck on its head. All you can do is just waiting, until it kills you.
 
 
Damage – 20%
 
Speed – A bit faster average human walk
 
Shots needed to neutralize – 1-3
 
Danger – Low | Cluster – Medium
 
Attack sequence – After spotting a player, monster is emitting high-pitched noise, just like that one when reacting to the gunshots. Sometimes emits high-pitched noise during attack. Squeaks if took damage or died.
 

 

Worm

 

 
 
Small monster, but bites pretty painfully. Has ability to climb on the ceilings and walls. Main danger this little guy is posing as almost undetectable if you’re not paying attention to your surroundings.
 
 
Damage – 45%
 
Speed – Slow
 
Shots needed to neutralize – 1
 
Danger – Low
 
Attack Sequence – worm crawls in the player’s direction, when it’s pretty close he jumps on a player, emitting squeaking noise. After jump worm doesn’t move for couple of seconds. Has ability to fall from the ceiling and do surprise attack. During death also squeaks.
 
 

Spider

 

 
 
This monster shows up a bit later in campaign, and more dangerous than previous ones. It’s also easy to spot him even before coming closer. Spider during walk makes creepy noise. Has an ability to crawl on ceilings and walls. If you really want, you can jump over it, but it requires a bit of luck and skill. Spider also will camp you below if you’re descending on a rope. His hit box works a bit off; you can deal damage only shooting in his body, not legs.
 
 
Damage – 40-50% | Pounce (Fall from ceilings) – 20%
 
Speed – Average human walk
 
Shots needed to neutralize – 3
 
Danger – Medium | Cluster – High
 
Attack sequence – After spotting a player spider speed ups in direction of a player, after reaching 0.25 meters to him spider unfolds his sting from torso, attacking the player. During attack spider remains still. If on a ceiling, spider falls from it after reaching close range to a player. Sometimes after taking damage – retreats.
 
 

Tentacle

 

 
 
Who the hell knows how to call it perhaps Barnacle friend, but this one is unique. Attached to a ceiling, and sometimes, undetectable if you’re not paying attention. You can even run through it, but it requires luck as always.
 
 
Damage – 100%
 
Speed – N/A
 
Shots needed to neutralize – 6-8
 
Danger – High
 
Attack Sequence – after reaching close range tentacle extracts and tries to grab a player, after grabbing player immediately dies. If tentacle fails to grab him, it retracts back to his hole.
 
 

Cocon

 

 
 
Like tentacle, this one can’t move too. Cocon is some kind of incubator for spiders. Rare monster and only on medium and high difficulties you can find him. Recommended to destroy ASAP. But, if it doesn’t disturb you, you can run past through it, if you won’t disturb it…
 
 
Damage – Acid – 15% Per drop
 
Speed – N/A
 
Shots needed to neutralize – 16-18
 
Danger – High | Cluster – Very high
 
Attack Sequence – Cocon itself doesn’t pose any threat, but if player disturbs it, he’s going to have a bad time. You can trigger cocon in various ways, shots, scan-ball if you flew close enough, or standing near it. There is a probability that cocon won’t do anything at all, even if you provoke him. After triggering cocon opens and spits out 4 balls, which in 3 second evolve into spiders. When cocon finishes spitting out spiders, it becomes just a decoration, literally doing nothing. After multiple shots cocon explodes and drops acid in 3m radius.
 
 

Macrocheriant

 

 
 
Macrocheriant is a mini-boss one of the level, currently biggest monster in the game. In short, Macrocheriant is a big spider, with height as average human and length 3.5 meters.
 
 
Damage – Small flies – 10%
 
Speed – Slow
 
Shots needed to neutralize – 30
 
Danger – Very high
 
Attack sequence – Macrocheriant does not pose any threat directly, but after spotting a player it spawns a lot of very small flies, which are hard to shoot down. He also moves in a scripted way, from corner to the edge.
 
 
 

3. Tips from the Author

 
 
Knowledge are light and ignoring is darkness. In this topic you’ll learn some tips, especially what to do in various situations. If you already know these, maybe repeat? Because practice makes perfect! These tips will help you to get most optimal way out of the situation.
 
 

MOVEMENT

 
Some levels can have multiple ways, and you don’t know where monsters are. Rushing could be an option if you have luck, either way it’s going to be fatal. Not checking corners and running past will lead you into epicenter of danger. Shooting monster forward will lure monster that was waiting upward.
 

 

 
 
While riding on the elevators, be ready for an attack from both directions. If you’re riding a mini-elevator, do the following: send lift down and shoot it, it will lure monsters into a one nest, after call lift back and get easy kills. If you’re down the lift, just shoot the ceiling, lure monsters and shoot them from below.
 

 

 
 
You can even trap them, but it requires some luck, because you need to go down first and go up .
 

 

 
 
Monsters can camp literally anywhere, so don’t forget to check, especially when you’re on a ladder or zip-line.
 

 

 
 

TERRITORY SWEEP

 
Attach your hook correctly. Otherwise when you have to retreat, you will have no way back.
 
If there are multiple ways too, recommended to drop scan-ball to check for nearby threats. Do not miss out any ways, as monster can go from it.
 
 

 
 
If you found a cocon, destroy it ASAP. Otherwise your life will get only harder. Especially if cocoons already did their job and you have to descent.
 
 

 

 
 
If you’re not fast enough, that’s what you will have to deal with.
 
 

 
 
 

Post Scriptum

Thanks for checking out this guide, as i said, i could not respond to some comments because of current state in Ukraine. This guide will be maintained and updated with more information. If you can, please give a like or an award, would be really appreciated!
 
 

 
 
Hope you enjoy the Guide about Hidden Deep – Full guide & gameplay walkthrough, if you think we should add extra information or forget something, please let us know via comment below, and we will do our best to fix or update as soon as possible!