Helix: Descent N Ascent features a unique art style and gameplay that revolves solely around puzzles. There are five main abilities, and then you’ll have to merge and synchronize their usage to solve these puzzles that only keep getting more challenging as the game goes on.
For more information about the game, please visit its official Steam page here.
Table of contents
Block And Hook
The Block and Hook abilities allow you to swap locations with a Block if you use the Hook ability on it. From the spherical-maze glyph, go north and then go right.
Use blocks to reach the other platforms and place a block on each pressure plate to unlock the path ahead. You’ll enter a dungeon area. Here, you have to go left.
In the puzzles ahead, you’ll have to use the Hook to swap places with blocks. You’ll also have to place the Blocks on the teleporting tiles on the ground. These tiles will then teleport the block elsewhere, and you can then use the Hook to get to those areas.
After placing the block on a teleport tile, you’ll have to press the switch button to teleport the block elsewhere.
Block And Drone
The Block and Drone abilities work well together because you can use the drone to swallow the entire block and place it somewhere else.
From the sphere, go up and then go right. You’ll find two pressure plates here. You can use both abilities together to press the pressure plates. As you enter the dungeon area, go right. You’ll find a vent in this section.
Use the drone to press the switch on the other side of the vent, and that will open the device in the main area. Interact with the device and select the Block + Drone icon in the joystick menu. This will open the path leading to the next dungeon area.
Here, you’ll have to utilize the drone ability to drop the blocks on pressure plates, even if your character can’t reach them physically. At times, you’ll have to utilize the block placement with the help of the drone in such a way that you can easily drag the statues to the pressure plates.
In the main gate’s room, you’ll find two trenches filled with water. Place the first block on the trench to the left, then go to the room on the left. Here, you’ll find two pressure plates. Use the drone to drop the block on the right pressure plate.
After that, return to the main gate’s room. Cross the left trench, and then place the block on the right trench. This will allow you to reach the room on the right without sacrificing the block on the pressure plate. Send the drone to activate the switch.
Hook And Sandglass
Using Sandglass with any other ability changes the other ability’s properties. For example, the Hook will turn into a ball that will allow you to control a device from a distance, even if you’re not connected to it.
From the sphere, go right. Use the Hook to get on the platform and keep going up. You’ll eventually reach a glitched-out black pipe. Use the Sandglass, and it will show you a path here. Get inside the dungeon and keep going ahead.
Keep in mind that you can use the ball ability to push and pull on objects and levers, even if you’re not in the same section anymore. Use this to solve the puzzles ahead.
Since the ball can bounce on walls, you can use it to access statues that cannot be reached by a simple Hook.
Furthermore, you can also use the ball to access switches. Use the Sandglass to alter the terrain and use the ball and the hook to solve the puzzles until you reach the main gate. In the end, you’ll have to use the ball on the lever and use it telepathically to raise the required platforms to get to the main gate.
Cage And Drone
With these two abilities, you can use the cage on the drone. The drone can then hit flying objects and absorb their essence, which can then be used to activate devices that require such essence.
To get to the combined glyph, you’ll have to start from the sphere and go up. Use the drone to unlock the gate. Take the left path in the black area. You’ll then find a machine that requires three crab essence. There’s an entrance to the left where you can find two crabs. Use the Cage ability on them and feed the essence to the machine. You can find the third one to the left of the sphere-maze glyph.
Once you’ve fed the machine the required number of crab essence, you can then access the device on the right. Select the Drone + Cage glyph in the menu, and it will open the locked gate ahead.
As you enter the dungeon, you’ll find a machine that requires the flies’ essence. There’s a rotten crab nearby with some flies around it. Use the cage on the drone and then hit the flies with the drone. Once the drone has received the flies’ essence, have it interact with the machine, and it will open the path ahead.
In the next area, there’s a bug on the left side of the screen. If you use the drone on it, it will drop a bug on the ground. You’ll have to place these bugs on the pressure plates, while also feeding their essence to any machine that requires it.
To get the bugs on the pressure plates, you’ll have to obtain the essence first. Once you’ve got the essence, summon the drone and throw the bug’s essence on it. This will cause the drone to be filled. You can then use the drone to drop the essence, which will cause the bug to return to its original form and press the plate below.
In the final area, the machine requires the essence of flies. You’ll have to go to the previous room and pick up the rotten crab using a cage. Bring it to the main gate’s room, and drop it on the pressure plate.
Once the pressure plate is pressed with the rotten crab, you can use the cage on the drone to catch the flies and feed them to the machine.
Cage And Sandglass
The Sandglass changes the Cage’s ability and allows you to turn into a bug instead. You can use this ability to get into sewers with no bars.
From the sphere-maze, go left. Feed the crab to the machine, and it will open the gate ahead. In the dungeon, use the Sandglass ability to uncover a sewer with no bars. Turn into a bug and get inside of it.
The main gate of the dungeon requires two bug and two crab essence. You’ll have to use your ability to turn into a bug to travel across the sewers. Furthermore, there are only two bugs and two crabs in the area. You’ll have to reposition all of them repeatedly until you can bring them to the final room to open the gate.
Sandglass And Drone
The Sandglass ability allows your drone to become faster, and it also gives it the dash ability, which lets it phase through thin walls. However, you cannot interact with switches in the other form.
From the sphere-maze, go south. Go left where the path splits into two, and you’ll reach the room with a Sandglass + Drone icon on it.
Use the drone to enter the vent and press the switch. This will unlock the device outside of the dungeon. Select the Sandglass + Drone icon inside the device to unlock the gate.
As you walk inside the dungeon, you’ll find your path blocked. You can still send the drone inside as it can phase through bars and thin walls.
As you keep going deeper, you’ll encounter tunnels. The tunnels can’t help you get through if you take the normal path, because the drone will expire before reaching the destination. Here, you can phase through to the other pipe if it’s near and the gap between the two is thinner, significantly cutting the distance and ensuring that the drone can safely reach the destination.
The rest of the dungeon is fairly easy. You have to utilize the phasing ability of the drone while Sandglass is active to solve the small puzzles ahead. The Sandglass version of the drone is also a little faster, allowing it to cover a little more distance.
Hook And Cage
From the sphere-maze glyph, go right. Use the hook to get to the platform on the right. As you keep going, you’ll find a device on the right that requires a crab essence. If you go south from the device, you’ll find a crab here.
Once you’ve fed the crab to the machine, it will open a device. Here, you’ll have to select the Hook + Cage icon, and that will open the path to the main dungeon for you.
Once you get inside the dungeon, you’ll find a couple of fish in the pool. To catch the fish, you’ll first have to drop the cage ball on the ground. Grab the cage ball with the Hook. After that, throw the hook towards the fish, and the fish will come back in a bottle. You can then feed the bottle to the nearby machine that requires a fish essence.
As you go deeper into the area, you’ll have to find these living creatures and feed them to the essence machines. This will cause the main gate to open up, and you’ll earn the glyph.
Hook And Drone
With the Hook ability, you can target a drone. This will remove the life bar from the drone, and you can then control the drone to twist and turn the hook and its trajectory. If the drone finds anything to latch onto, such as a pipe or a lever, it will pull the character to it, even if the path isn’t straight.
From the sphere-maze glyph, you’ll have to go north and then left. Use the drone to unlock the path ahead. As you enter the small dungeon area, head right from there. Use the drone and target it with the Hook. You’ll then assume control of the drone and will have to lead it to the pipe.
In the next few sections, you’ll encounter long vents. You’ll have to attach the Hook to the Drone and then let it enter the vents. This will allow the drone to reach the destination without disappearing in the middle of it.
You can also pull on statues with the help of a drone attached to a hook. In the final section, you’ll have to use the Hook on the Drone and have it place the three statues on the three plates before the main gate can open up.
Block And Sandglass
The Sandglass changes the Block ability in such a way that the character will kick the Block immediately after summoning it, causing it to reach the other side if there aren’t any obstacles on the front.
To reach the main dungeon for this pair of abilities, you’ll have to go south from the sphere-maze glyph. When the path splits into two, head right. Use the blocks to reach the device on the other platform. Interact with the device, and it will drain the water from the area, allowing you to enter the dungeon.
As you enter the main dungeon, you’ll find the main gate in the front. There’s a switch to the left and one to the right. The right one can be pressed right away. However, the left one is locked. You’ll have to go to the chamber on the right.
Kick the blocks. There will be two pressure plates here. The pressure plate in the middle will require you to kick two blocks behind it first. The second plate can be easily pressed in just one kick.
In the next section, you’ll find a pressure plate in the middle of the platform, but there’s a trench before and after it. To press this plate, you’ll have to kick the blocks diagonally until the final block touches the plate.
In the next chamber, kick two blocks, and one of them will reach the pressure plate. Keep going south. Here, you’ll find two movable pillars. One of the pillars has a pressure plate on it. Bring the pillar with the pressure plate all the way to the right and manually create a block on top of the plate.
For the next movable pillar, you’ll have to place it in the center so your kick can reach the pressure plate on the left side of the screen. Doing this will unlock the path to the switch for the main gate. You can then exit it and obtain the glyph.
Block And Cage
You can use the cage on a block to enhance its power, allowing you to trap the essence of more powerful living things. From the spherical maze, go left. Feed the device one crab essence and keep progressing. You’ll enter a dungeon area that’s half-filled with water. Go right, use the blocks to create a path across the water.
When you reach the next area, you’ll find a big crab here. You’ll have to use the Cage on a Block first. Then throw the enhanced cage on the big crab. Keep its essence in your pocket and feed it to the machine in the next room. This will open the main gate for you.
Enter the main dungeon. Keep in mind that if you’ve enhanced the Cage with a block or two of them, you won’t be able to use the block spell unless you throw that cage away. You’ll have to throw the filled cages away so that you can freely use the blocks unless you need to use the enhanced cage again.
There’s a gigantic crab in one of the rooms. Here, you’ll have to enhance the cage using two Blocks. Once you’ve got a fully enhanced cage, approach the giant crab and let it thrash around for a bit. Once it’s exhausted, throw the cage on its head, and it will be caught. You can then feed its essence to the machine beside the main gate to end this ability quest.
Ending
After you’ve unlocked all the double ability glyphs, the main spiral glyph in the centre of the area will be complete. This will also trigger the game’s ending, during which a gate will open. If you go through the gate, you’ll trigger a cutscene.
Once the cutscene is over, the credits will roll. You can continue the game and unlock the remaining glyphs, which will require you to use three abilities on each quest, with each ability complementing the others, but the puzzles also get more challenging.
This concludes Part 2 of the walkthrough for Helix: Descent N Ascent.
You can find more walkthroughs for the game here. If you’re looking for more to read, please check out the following articles:
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Fahad Suleman is an avid fan of fighting games who spends most of his time writing walkthroughs and reviews for cozy indie titles or mashing around in Tekken. If he’s not writing or playing any games, you’ll often find him watching historical videos on YouTube for hours.
