Rue Valley is a narrative-driven RPG where you play as Eugene Harlow, a troubled man who recently joined a therapeutic program at the quaint town of Rue Valley under the care of Dr. Gideon Finck. While that doesn’t sound too exciting, things escalate quickly when you realize that you’re stuck in a Time Loop, reliving the same 47 minutes over and over again.
With each new Loop, you start back at the Therapist’s Office and get the chance to talk to different people, explore new locations, and find key items to piece together ideas and memories that’ll help you break the loop.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the entirety of the game based on our experience to help you break the Time Loop and escape Rue Valley once and for all.
For more information about the game, check out their official website here.
Loop 0
Choosing Character Stats
After selecting a New Game from the Main Menu, you’ll be greeted with a Define Character Personality screen. This is this game’s version of allocating stat points.
There are six different Personalities, each with two Traits that you can pick from. Each Personality has five points. You can only invest points into three Personalities.
Depending on the Personality and Traits you go with, you’ll unlock additional dialogue options with certain NPCs in specific situations. It doesn’t lock you out of anything, so pick whichever option you feel is best.
We decided to go with the following:
- 5 Calculated (Indecisive, Paranoid)
- 1 Extraverted
- 3 Indifferent (Cynical)
When you’re ready, click the Hold to Wake Up button on the bottom right to start the game.
Trapped in a Time Loop
You’ll find yourself in the Therapist’s Office, sitting in the chair. Exhaust Dr. Gideon Finck‘s dialogues. Note the Total Lack of Motivation shown on your character portrait on the bottom right. This means you can’t interact with too much of the world around you right now. So, might as well run through the motions.
You’ll hear a loud thump coming from outside. Eventually, Dr. Finck will end the session and ask you to check in at the Motel Office. Eugene will automatically leave the Therapist’s Office after that.
Outside, you’ll see that the source of the loud thump is a lady trying to get her coffee from the vending machine outside. But your total lack of motivation prevents you from talking to her. Head left and enter the Motel Office.
Inside the Office, you’ll find the Receptionist, Robin Fleming. You can either choose to leave or try to pass the Social Check. We have 1 point in Extraverted, so we pass the check.
Otherwise, you’ll have to wait on the nearby couch and pass the time by checking your phone. Run through her dialogues, and she’ll eventually hand you the Motel 6 Key Card. Sign the paper and exit the Office.
Head up the stairs on the left side of the building and interact with the door to Room no. 6. Choose the Room 6 Key Card option to enter the room.
You’ll find your suitcase on the bed inside the room. Interact with it and go through the options. You still have the Total Lack of Motivation status effect, which prevents you from opening it. Eventually, Eugene will lie down on the bed.
You’ll pass the time either by messing with your phone or by closing your eyes until you get interrupted by a phone call. Answer the phone and run through the dialogues. Pass some more time, and soon Eugene will fall asleep.
This takes you to the Mind Map, a mechanic that lets you access memories, ideas, and piece together information about the different events and people around you. You should have four nodes available right now. Check all of them.
Eugene will then start dreaming. Run through the dialogue options to eventually unlock the Dream: The Checkout. You don’t have enough willpower to Recall it at the moment.
A few more dialogue options later, Eugene will wake up to the sound of a car engine and screeching tires outside. You’ll also gain the Thirsty status effect and must go look for some water.
Exit the room to trigger a cutscene of a tow truck bumping into the transformer on the road. You’ll hear the man yell out from inside the vehicle in frustration. But he drives off before you can do anything.
Head down the stairs and walk towards the vending machine. There will be a big lightning strike the moment you walk down the stairs.
Click on the vending machine and choose the option “Check the Label on the Reddish Button.” Then press the red button and take the bottled water. Click on the Bottled Water in your inventory to drink it.
After drinking the water, you’ll see a bright flash of light in the sky. You have the choice to either Get Away or Hide. But it doesn’t matter what you choose.
The light will engulf you as the loop resets and you gain the status effect Anxious Aprehension. Run through the final few dialogue options to end the day.
Loop 1
Intention: Investigate Strange Occurrences
You’ll start the day back at the Therapist’s Office. Continue through his dialogues, and he’ll ask about the quality of your sleep. Choose the “It’s not so good” option and he’ll hand you a Purple Pill. Take it and leave the office.
Head to the reception and pick up your Room 6 Motel Key, and head back to your room. Click on the luggage. This time around, Eugene is afraid of unpacking and would rather sit on the couch.
Click on the red chair to sit down. Since we went with the Paranoid Personality Trait, we can’t take the Purple Pill right away.
So go with any other options to pass the time. Put the Phone on silent when you get a call and continue passing the time. You’ll reenter the Mind Map. Click the new nodes: Careless Driver, Fiery Sky, and The Loudest Thunder.
They will converge on a single point, giving you the first Intention: Memory or Fantasy. Commit to it by holding the button. But you still don’t have enough Willpower.
After a few more lines of dialogue and passing the time some more, you’ll have the option to swallow the Purple Pill. Doing so removes the Anxious Apprehension and Total Lack of Motivation status effect. You’ll also gain an Inspiration.
After the dialogues, click the button on the bottom-right, below your phone, to access your Mind Map. Choose the Memory or Fantasy Intention and hold to commit to it. Exit the motel room. The Intention: Memory and Fantasy gets updated to Investigate Strange Occurrences.
Head down the stairs and towards the transformer where you saw the car crashing in the previous loop. Choose Look at the Shards and then Inspect the Largest Shard. The Fiery Sky will trigger once again. The Intention gets updated to Everything Happened Again and is completed as the loop resets.
Loop 2
Intention: Leave This Godforsaken Place
Back in the Therapist’s Office, you’ll have to run through the same dialogues again. However, as you hear the loud thump outside, the memory of the last loop rushes in, and you start piecing things together.
The Mind Map opens. Hold the bottom right button on the Intention Everything Happened Again to turn it into the Memory: You’re in a Time Loop and gain an Inspiration.
Apparently, you said Time Loop out loud, and Dr. Finck picks up on it. Choose the You’re in a Time Loop dialogues to progress the story. Eventually, you walk out of the office. Exhaust all the options to get a new Intention: Leave This Godforsaken Place.
Open your Mind Map and commit to it. Then click on your car parked outside and choose the option “Drive back home.”
Continue progressing through the narrative section as Eugene Harrow races along the highway. Nothing else happens here. You’ll keep driving, and eventually the Time Loop will send you back to the Therapist’s Office when the clock hits 8:47.
Loop 3
Intention: Leave This Godforsaken Place
When back at Dr. Frinck’s office, you’ll have a new dialogue option for Leave This Godforsaken Place. Choose the dialogue option to get back to your car and start driving like a maniac. Continue along with the story, and eventually you’ll crash.
Things keep getting worse for Eugene, but the Time Loop strikes again, and you return to the Therapist’s Office.
Loop 4
You’ll unlock a new Memory: Time Loop Heals All Wounds. Exhaust all dialogues and speak with Dr. Finck about the Fiery Sky. When the conversation ends, remember to go back to your Mind Map and hold the button to Give Up on the Intention.
Exit Dr. Finck’s office and speak to the Lady at the vending machine. Now that you no longer have the Total Lack of Motivation status effect, you can speak with her. Exhaust all her dialogues to get a new Intention: Fix Vending Machine.
Intention: Fix Vending Machine
After talking to Riley and committing to the Intention, return to the Motel Reception area. Sit down on the chair while Robin talks to the person on the phone. The You’re in a Time Loop Intention will get updated.
Pass the time until you can talk to Robin. You’ll learn that Robin stays on the phone till 8:10.
Talk to Robin and ask her about the vending machine. She’ll give you the steps to fixing it. Go back outside and try it out. The Intention will get updated. But since Riley is already gone, you have to wait till the next Loop to help her.
Wrap up the Intention in your Mind Map, get in your car, and choose Drive North.
You’ll reach a roadblock. Continue walking forward along the road, under the bridge, and click on the road at the end to reach the next section.
Keep heading forward and take the left path once you reach the fork. You’ll reach a bar called the Kuiper Belt. In the parking lot of the bar, there’s a flower that you can inspect for +1 Inspiration.
Inspect the Sports Car nearby for a new Intention: Unlocked Fancy Sports Car. But we don’t have enough Inspiration to commit to it just yet. Besides, it’s already 8:35, so there’s no point in trying anything new.
Head inside the bar up ahead. Take a seat on the bench and choose Wait until something interesting happens. You’ll see that the Stocky Man from the Motel arrives at the bar drenched in rain at exactly 8:43. Speak with the Bartender, Travis.
You can choose to run out the timer or talk to the Bartender a bit. We decided to talk to the Bartender. But it’s clear that we need to come here sooner if we want to learn more about the people here. Soon, the clock will hit 8:47, and the next Loop will begin. So let’s save this location for later.
Loop 5
When the next Loop begins, choose the Get up and Leave the Office option to save some time. Talk to Riley at the vending machine and hand her the coffee to complete the Fix Vending Machine Intention.
Run through her dialogues to update some Memories. You’ll also gain a new Memory of Coral Destiny and Ben Fleming, the owner of the Motel and Robin‘s father. Once the conversation ends, get in your car and head to the Kuiper Belt.
Intention: Steal the Fancy Sports Car
Commit to the Intention once you reach the bar. Then choose any of the available options. We decided to Drive North. The Time Loop will strike inevitably just as you see something on the road up ahead.
From this point onwards, you can use the Sports Car from the Kuiper Belt to save some time when moving around. Remember to wrap up the Intention when the next loop begins.
Loop 6
Leave the Doctor’s Office and get in your car before doing anything to head straight for Kuiper’s Belt. Then head inside the Bar. You’ll notice a Lady with a Big Hat outside the bar talking on the phone.
She’ll scold you for trying to eavesdrop on her, which will give you the Upset status effect. You’ll gain a new Memory: Controlling Lady with a Big Hat. Head inside the bar.
Talk to Travis, the Bartender, then sit on the stool and wait to see what happens. You’ll note that the Lady comes in at exactly 8:25. Click on her and she’ll scold you again. You’ll gain a new Intention: Eavesdrop on the Lady with a Big Hat. But to complete it, you’ll have to restart the Loop.
Commit to the Intention, then head up the stairs inside the bar to reach the roof. Use your Phone to pass the time until the Loop Ends. You’ll note that the Lady comes up to the Roof just as the day resets.
Loop 7
Intention: Eavesdrop on the Lady with a Big Hat
You know the drill by now: exit the Doctor’s Office and head straight for Kuiper’s Belt. Commit to the Intention and then click on the Lady. You’ll get three options. We went with hiding behind the barrel. Once the conversation ends, the Lady will head inside the bar.
Follow her inside the bar. Once she sits down, click on her again. This time, choose the option to play darts to continue eavesdropping on her. You’ll eventually get a new Intention: Search Anitta’s Car. Anitta is the name of the Lady, and her car is at the Gas Station.
You can wrap up the Intention once the conversation ends. Commit to the Search Anitta’s Car Intention, but there isn’t enough time to complete it before the Loop resets. So head outside and use the Sports Car to drive back to the Motel.
Setting up for the next loop
Enter the Motel Office and speak with Robin. Talk to her about the three major topics:
- Coral Destiny
- Controlling Lady with a Big Hat
- Ben Fleming
You’ll gain a bunch of new Memories, get Ben Fleming’s phone number, and also unlock the Intention: Find Anitta’s Old Stuff.
After the conversation ends, take your phone out and use it to call Ben Fleming. Ask him about Anitta. Once the conversation ends, exit the Reception.
Just that moment, the thunder strikes at exactly 8:38. Eugene remembers the person he saw crashing into the Transformer the night the Time Loop began. You’ll unlock the Memory: Careless Driver.
Head back inside the Motel Reception and speak with Robin about the Careless Driver. You’ll learn that the driver’s name is Frank and he’s staying in Room 101 at the Motel.
Exit the Reception and check the door beside the ice box. Exhaust all the dialogue options to unlock the Intention: Enter Frank’s Room. Use your Phone to pass the time until the Loop resets.
Loop 8
Talk to Dr. Finck about Anitta and Coral Destiny. Exit the room when you’re done. Get in your car and start Driving South. We’re heading for the Gas Station to search for Anitta’s car. You’ll eventually reach the Gas Station. Enter through the main door.
Talk to the person standing behind the counter. This is Maxine Kay. Run through her dialogue to gain a bunch of new Memories related to different characters. You can also ask her about Anitta and Frank.
Intention: Search Anitta’s Car
Once you’re done speaking with Maxine, commit to the Intention: Search Anitta’s Car from your Mind Map. Then check your phone for Wi-Fi connections. Speak to Maxine and ask for the Wi-Fi password. Choose to buy a pack of gum. She’ll give you the password.
Before you leave the shop, check the poster of the cat on the wall. Exhaust the dialogues to gain 1 Inspiration. Then head outside and check Anitta’s Car. You’ll find that it’s locked and you need to figure out how to open it.
Use your phone and choose the Search Anitta’s Car dialogue option to look up how to unlock the car. Choose the first option, “Speedrun car breaking video tutorial.” Go through the entire video and then interact with Anitta’s Car. Choose Sly Sy’s method. You’ll have to choose the following options next:
- Continuously press the button.
- Press in a 1-2-3-4 rhythm.
The door will unlock, and you can search the car. Check the Glove Compartment to find a Notebook. Take it and click on it to inspect the Notebook. Check all the pages.
Then use your Phone and call the number from Anitta’s Notebook. It doesn’t matter which dialogue option you choose afterward. Eventually, the person on the other end will mention some documents. You can now wrap up the Intention in your Mind Map.
Intention: Find Anitta’s Old Stuff
After completing the Search Anitta’s Car Intention, commit to Find Anitta’s Old Stuff Intention in the Mind Map. Since we still have time left in the day, we can wrap it up before the Loop kicks in. Get in your car and Drive North to reach the Motel.
Take out your Phone and call Ben to ask about Anitta’s Stuff. Choose the following dialogue options:
- Anitta’s assistant should suffice
- Word is you’re about to lose your job soon
Ben will suggest you look in the Lost and Found room of the Motel. Head inside the Motel Reception and go through the back door to reach the Lost and Found room.
Inspect the crates in the corner by the shelves. Then keep checking everything and all the videotapes. You’ll eventually unlock a new Intention: Play Anitta’s Song.
You don’t have enough time to complete the Intention. So head outside the Motel. Check the poster on the wall near the stairs to gain 1 Inspiration. Then use your Phone to pass the time until the loop resets.
Loop 9
Now that we have plenty of Inspiration saved up, we can try to recall the Dream: The Checkout. Hold the button to recall the memory. Then, when you talk to Dr. Finck, you can ask about The Checkout for some additional dialogue.
Once the conversation ends, head outside and drive to the Kuiper Belt. Make sure you’ve committed to the Play Anitta’s Song Intention.
Intention: Play Anitta’s Song
When we reached the bar, Anitta was already walking inside at 8:25. If you need to pass the time, you can talk to the Bartender or play with your phone. Head inside the bar.
Interact with the piano and choose the Play Anitta’s Song. This will trigger a cutscene where we see Eugene start playing the piano.
You’ll eventually follow Anitta to the roof. Approach her and run through the dialogue. This will complete the Intention just as the reset kicks in, starting a new Loop.
Loop 10
Intention: Enter Frank’s Room
Exit the Therapist’s Office and open your Mind Map. You can wrap up Play Anitta’s Song Intention. While you’re at it, also make sure you’re committing to the Intention: Enter Frank’s Room.
Head inside the Reception Office and speak to Robin. Choose the dialogue options related to Enter Frank’s Room. Eventually, you’ll learn two things:
- She has a Master Key Card that opens all the doors in the Motel
- There’s a Manual in the Storage Room
Exit the Reception and choose the wait option. Enter the Reception again and speak to Robin. Tell her that you left your Key Card in your room.
Exhaust all the dialogue options, and you’ll get a Social Check to persuade her to open the door. We had +1 Extraverted, so we passed the check. You’ll learn that she has lost the Master Key Card. Convince her to look for it, and she’ll retrieve it from The Stocky Man, Jason Burns‘s room. Now you know where it is, on Jason Burns’s nightstand.
You’ve got some time to kill right now. You can either just wait until the loop ends or try your luck reading through the manual. We tried reading the manual, but Eugene couldn’t make sense of it.
You can also eavesdrop on Robin and Jason in the reception room if you manage to make it there on time. If the eavesdropping is successful, you can talk to Robin afterwards about Jason to learn more about him.
There’s nothing else left for you to do at the moment, so let the Loop end.
Loop 11
Intention: Enter Frank’s Room (Contd.)
Leave Dr. Finck’s Office once the day resets. You’ll unlock a new Memory: The Incident. Ignore it for now and head upstairs.
Knock on the door of the Motel Room 5. Jason Burns will answer the door. Tell him Robin sent you to get the Master Key Card and ask him to check near the bed.
When he grows suspicious, ask him how you would know it’s in his room if Robin didn’t tell you. With the Master Key Card in your hand, return downstairs and use it to enter Frank’s Room.
The Intention gets updated to Search Frank’s Room at this point. Check the documents on the table. Exhaust all options to unlock the Memory: Guiding Light Accident. You’ll also find Frank’s Phone, but it’s out of juice. Exit the room once you’re done.
Intention: Access Frank’s Phone
Wrap up the previous Intention and commit to Intention: Access Frank’s Phone. Head to the Reception Office and ask Robin to charge the phone.
Also, talk to her about the Guiding Light Accident. Pass the time on the couch or by checking your phone until the phone is finished charging.
Talk to Robin and ask for the Phone. Inspect it, but as expected, it’s locked. You can try random buttons, but it won’t work.
Get in your car and Drive South to reach the Gas Station. Head inside and speak with Maxine.
Talk to Maxine about the Guiding Light Accident to unlock a new Memory of Judy the Astronaut. Apparently, she was Frank’s Girlfriend. Inspect Frank’s Phone again and choose the password, 5839-Judy, to unlock the phone. You can now wrap up the Intention.
Check everything in the phone. You’ll get a new Memory: The Signal. Once you’re done, speak to Maxine again and ask her about The Signal to update the Memory. She mentions her brother Alex, who is at the Kay Ranch. There’s not much time left before the Loop kicks in. So we’ll have to look into it the next day.
Loop 12
When the next loop begins in the Therapist’s Office, ask Dr. Gideon Finck about the Guiding Light Accident. He’ll refuse to talk much about this topic. But you’ll unlock the Intention: Get Inside Dr. Finck’s Room. You’ll also gain an Inspiration.
As you stand up, Eugene realizes that you still have Frank’s Phone in your pocket, meaning it’s not affected by the Time Loop. This gives you the Cognitive Snap status effect. Exhaust all the options and exit the Office. Wrap up the previous Intention from your Mind Map and commit to the new one.
Intention: Get Inside Dr. Finck’s Room
There are a few things we have to do now. First, help Riley get her coffee, and then talk to her about the following topics:
- Coral Destiny
- Guiding Light Accident
- Gideon Finck
Then quickly run upstairs and collect the Master Key Card from Jason Burns. You can also talk to him about Gideon Finck if you want.
Afterwards, head to the Motel Reception and speak with Robin about the doctor. Once you’re done, go outside and stand in front of the Therapist’s Office.
Use your phone to pass the time until the thunder strikes. Choose “Quickly do something else before it strikes” and use the Master Key Card to enter Dr. Finck’s Room.
Dr. Finck will hear you coming in, so you have to hide under the couch or behind the chair. We went with the couch option. After a while, you can come out. Dr. Finck is in the bathroom, leaving you free to explore the room.
Inspect the documents on the table and exhaust all the options. Read the letter you find here. At that point, Dr. Finck will barge in, surprised to see you.
Choose the “Hug him” option to get the Overwhelmed status effect just as the Time Loop triggers.
For more interesting articles related to indie games, check out the links below:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Dispatch Complete Walkthrough
- Syberia Remastered Walkthrough Hub
- Restaurats – Review
- Simon the Sorcerer Origins Review
Muhit Rahman lives off two things: gaming marathons and endless cups of tea. He writes guides, reviews, and occasionally forgets that real life doesn’t come with checkpoints. His favorite genres are Soulslike and Metroidvania, with Dark Souls III, Hollow Knight, and Dota 2 forever holding top spots on his all-time list.
