Welcome to Part 1 of Into Indie Games’ walkthrough for Kill the Shadow.
The game starts at the Police Station, where Lucas receives a mysterious letter written on a medical gauge from someone named Lynn DaHandt. Fast-forward to the present: it’s your last day at The Factory in the North as you prepare to head to the South. But the relationship between the two sides is tense, and there are a lot of mysteries to uncover before you can move on.
Disclaimer
The outcomes for each chracter in Kill the Shadow can change depending on the choices you make.
This walkthrough is based on the decisions I made during my playthrough, so your results may differ if you choose different options.
This article is part of our Kill the Shadow Walkthrough Hub.
For more information about the game, check out its Steam page here.
Table of contents
Prologue – Police Station
The game begins with you outside the Police Station. When you’re ready to move, head inside through the door. Officer May, the person sitting behind the desk, will tell you about a letter.
Go and talk to her. Run through all her dialogue. You’ll learn that Uncle Smith is out handling a case.
After the conversation, head left into the lounge. Surprisingly, you find Uncle Smith watching TV in the dark. He’ll ask you to turn the lights on.
But once you turn the light on, he disappears. With nothing else to do, try opening the door to the Mailroom on the left. It’s locked.
Return to the front desk and speak with Officer May again. She’ll ask you to check on Officer Smith’s Desk.
Interact with the Desk and click on all the interactable objects. You’ll find the Key in one of the drawers. You’ll also find a Liquor Token and a collectable Document on the floor under the desk.
Head into the Mailroom and inspect the desk. Click the clipboard on the desk to find the Mysterious Letter. Once you do so, Officer May calls you back to the front desk to see Officer Smith.
Run through the dialogue, and at the end, you’ll get to open the Mysterious Letter.
It’s from someone named Lynn DaHandt, asking you to go to the Factory and look for the band called The Gentle Rogues.
When you back away, the scene inside the Police station changes. The whole building is on fire, and you’re stuck inside, alone.
Head back to the Mailroom and check the desk for the Key to the front door. Along the way, you’ll be able to pick up a Police Dispatch Record from one of the desks in the lounge.
Leave the Police Station through the front door. You can unlock it since you’ve picked up the Key from the Mailroom.
The Old Machinist
You wake up on an overpass near the Factory. As you take a couple of steps, you’ll see a commotion on the street below.
Apparently, a dog (Teddy) has died. Captain Theo, the supervisor, tells you to get Axel Flint and join the meeting.
As you move across the overpass, odd scribblings fill up your screen. Lucas thinks it’s happening because of drinking too much.
A few steps ahead, you’ll find The Old Machinist. He’ll ask for your Relief Meal. Ask what’s in it for you, and he’ll agree to let you have his book: Fundamentals for the Machinist, which is at the Pawnshop.
Head down to the streets and go right. Loop around to the spot under the overpass to find Axel Flint bickering with his old man, Griff Flint. Let Axel know that Captain Theo is looking for him.
During the skill check, I chose to smack Axel Flint. When the conversation ends, Griff Flint will ask you to have a drink with him as Axel goes off to join the meeting. You’ll gain two Clues for your Deduction.
You can make the connection in your Deduction screen if you want. Griff Flint: father of Axel Flint.
Head toward the meeting. You’ll hear the group shouting and blaming each other for the dog’s death.
Join the meeting with Captain Theo. He suspects someone has poisoned his dog, Teddy. Your history as a cop makes you the best candidate to get to the bottom of this.
In the middle of the conversation, something called The Shadow speaks with you. This apparition will help you solve your cases from this point onward.
Eventually, you’ll reach a Skill Check with Captain Theo. Side with the workers, and Theo agrees to distribute the Relief Rations.
When the conversation is over, you can talk to the people nearby to try and figure out how Teddy died. But first, talk to Captain Theo once again and get your Relief Meal.
Take the Relief Meal back to The Old Machinist at the overpass. He’ll hand you his old Senior Machinist Certificate.
Then head back to the meeting and follow the road past it to find the Pawnbroker. Talk to him and ask for the book to get it.
Teddy’s Death
Interrogating the People
Talk to all the people around the street one by one. I started with Captain Theo. He’ll show you a list of people working in the Production Team. Ask him about Rafe Carter.
Then talk to Frank sitting on a crate at the front of the meeting.
I talked to Axel Flint next. When he started being annoying, I decided to punch some sense into him. He doesn’t seem to have any useful information about the case at hand.
Talk to Selene next and run through her dialogue. She’ll mention Frank carrying a Gift Box and coming out empty-handed.
After talking to everyone, The Shadow tells you to find evidence to figure out exactly what happened.
Following the Clues
Inspect Teddy’s body on the table first. Inspect all three objects. You’ll notice a strange stench coming from the dog’s mouth.
Once you’re done looking at all the clues, The Shadow will introduce you to the Rewind mechanic. But you’ll need to find more Shadow Shards to replay the entire event. Head toward where you talked with Griff, and you’ll find a pile of green vomit on the ground.
Head to the Pawnbroker and ask him if he has seen Teddy. He’ll point ot the abandoned Small Warehouse nearby. This gives you another Shadow Shard.
Head toward the Small Warehouse and inspect the door. Click on the door to see that it’s unlocked.
With all the Shadow Shards recovered, use the Rewind mechanic to see where Teddy has been to before he was posioned.
Enter the Small Warehouse and inspect the table. There are chocolates in the warehouse that are toxic to dogs. Teddy was poisoned by Chocolate. This Warehouse belongs to Captain Theo, and he must be responsible. He’s also hoarding food while the employees are starving.
There’s also a locked drawer at the desk, but you don’t have the key to unlock it right now.
Resolving the Incident
Now that you’ve got the case pretty much figured out, it’s time to do some detective work. Open the Deduction menu and connect the clues to the incident.
- Whose dog is Teddy? – Captain Theo
- What killed Teddy? – Chocolate
- What evidence is there to prove this? – Teddy’s Tracks
- What evidence is there to prove this? – Teddy’s Corpse
Talk with The Shadow about the incident, and you have to decide whether you want to expose Theo’s Hypocrisy or talk to him privately.
Return to the meeting and talk to Theo to begin the resolution. I wanted to keep things from escalating and chose to talk to him privately about it. This also improves your relationship with Theo.
When Axel gets angry, I chose to smooth things over.
This will shift the Worldline and complete this quest chain.
Speak with Axel once you’re done solving the mystery of Teddy’s Death. He wants to see you off and heads off towards the gate to the south.
As you’re about to leave, the dog standing at the back of the meeting barks at you. Apparently he wants to take you somewhere.
Follow the dog to the dumpster near the Small Warehouse.
Check the dumpster and take out everything inside till you find the Chocolate Wrapper.
Lucas thinks that he missed something and wonders who left the warehouse door open and how Teddy managed to open the wrapper. You can use Rewind to see a new event play out.
You’ll spot Axel standing nearby. Speak with him for a farewell and some more dialogue. He’ll hand you Lynn DaHandt’s Letter.
Inspect the letter.
Father’s Secret
Rafe’s Mom’s Request
If you haven’t talked to the crying woman near the Pawnshop, you’ll find her standing near the Small Warehouse at this point. Speak with her.
She’s Rafe’s Mom, and she wants you to find Rafe at the Anti-Blockade Protest and bring him back. You can agree to help her or go your own way. I decided to help her, triggering the Father’s Secret Storyline.
The Anti-Blockade Protest
Head right into the section where the Anti-Blockade Protesters are gathering. First thing you want to do is talk to the group of people scattered around the area.
You’ll receive a Clue by eavesdropping on the two workers on the dirt path above. Also talk to the Old Man nearby. This is Dr. Cyrus.
Head into the protest next to find Rafe Carter. Talk about Rafe’s mother and then insist on speaking privately with him.
When talking about passage, choose the Lie option.
From the Protest area, go up and enter the barricaded section. Walk forward along the queue and wait for the two workers in front of you to show their permits.
When you walk up to the guard, Dr. Cyrus cuts in front of you. I decided to let him go first.
The guards turn him away. When it’s your turn to show your permit, the entire protest rallies behind you.
You’ll be put on the spot and have to choose between admitting the guard beat Dr. Cyrus or you did. I went with option 1.
While all this is happening, Dr. Cyrus cuts the line again and heads straight for the gate. The guards shoot him down.
Eventually, Rafe’s Mom comes from the back looking for Rafe. With Rafe gone, the protesters calm down.
At this point, you can just show your permit to the guard, and he’ll let you pass. But there are a few more things we want to wrap up first. After the gate opens, check Dr. Cyrus‘s body. You’ll get some Money and can inspect his armband.
Cooling Rafe Down
With the whole standoff behind you, you’ll find Rafe sitting on a crate nearby, utterly devastated. Talk to him. This will increase your relationship with Rafe.
After he walks off, return to the area outside the Small Warehouse. You’ll find Rafe and his mother locked in an argument.
For this section, you need to be careful, as choosing the wrong dialogue and siding with his mother will cause Rafe to run to the blockade and die.
So here are the options you’ll want to choose.
- Maybe you should give Rafe some space.
- I think you’re being a little selfish.
- Dr. Cyrus set that soldier off. It had nothing to do with you.
- He’s right. If we don’t resist, it’ll only get worse.
This will count as a Turning Point in the storyline as Rafe calms down. Talk to him afterward. He’ll hand you the Key to the locked drawer in the Small Warehouse.
Go inside the Small Warehouse and inspect the desk. Use the Key to open the drawer. Inside you’ll find a framed picture with Captain Theo, Marshall Carter, and Griff Flint.
Run through the dialogue with The Shadow. When you’re done, you’ll be transported ten years ago, into the body of Captain Theo, before he became the Captain.
Captain Theo’s Memories
Investigate the bulletin board and read the notices.
You’ll learn how Reporter Lin brought the workers together and inspired them to stand up against unfair treatment.
Then head through the gate to the right and follow the path forward. Listen to the two workers past the gate.
Continue past them to reach a shop. Talk to the shopkeeper. She’ll tell you that Marshall Carter, the current Captain and Rafe’s dad, is in his apartment, 301. She’ll also give you a Megaphone to help with your band performance.
Go right from the shop, and you’ll find a young Axel sitting by the staircase. Talk to him.
Head up the stairs to find a young Rafe. Talk to him as well.
Head left past Rafe to find a person fishing in the bathroom. You can talk to him if you want. But it’s not important.
Continue forward, and you’ll find Ms. Carter (Rafe’s Mom) talking to a lady named Lily. Talk to them and run through the dialog.
After Theo makes a fool of himself, head left, and you’ll find the door to Apartment 301. Head inside.
You’ll find Marshall and Griff already inside. You’ll also learn that the band The Gentle Rogues is made up of the three people in the room, including Theo.
Run through the conversation, and you’ll learn of a plan to rescue Reporter Lin from the Imperials with the help of The Firefly Gang. This is also the time when Marshall asks Theo to keep some distance from the two of them.
Once the conversation ends, you’ll find yourself back on the ground floor two weeks later. Check the bulletin board once again. There’s a notice that Marshall Carter is being suspended due to an illicit relationship during operating hours.
Head back to Apartment 301 while talking to everyone along the way. When you enter Marshall’s Apartment, you’ll find Rafe and his mother inside. They’ll tell you that Marshall is in the bedroom.
Head into the bedroom and talk to Marshall and Griff. You’ll learn how The Firefly Gang rescued an unnamed woman instead of Reporter Lin. This is also when the group says farewell to each other, giving you a new Clue: The Gentle Rogues.
When you return to the present, Lucas will have a conversation with The Shadow, after which the storyline wraps up.
Take a look at your Deductions tab and tie up all available clues together. You should get the hang of it by now.
Wrapping up Loose Ends
Leave the Small Warehouse and speak with Rafe. When you ask for the letter, he’ll tell you that his mom has it.
Talk to Rafe’s Mom to get the Anonymous Letter. Then speak to Rafe again about the letter.
Rafe also thinks that the letter came from Theo as a way for Rafe to replace him as the next Captain.
Go to Captain Theo and ask him about The Gentle Rogues. Make sure you solve the Clue in the Deductions tab. The answer is Marshall Carter, Griff Flint, and Captain Theo.
He’ll take you to a secluded area on the overpass and explain the history. Unfortunately, he can’t tell you anything concrete about the mysterious woman.
Halfway through the conversation, Rafe walks in. He tells you that Lynn DaHandt is the pen name of Reporter Lin. She is the person who sent you the letter back at the Police Station, ten years ago.
After the conversation, go and talk to Griff Flint. Tell him that Rafe wants to talk and run through the conversation. I shared a toast for Dr. Cyrus.
When you’re ready to move on, head back ot the gate and continue south past it to leave the Factory and see your end-of-chapter report.
This concludes part 1 of our walkthrough for Kill the Shadow. For more interesting articles related to indie games, check out the links below:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Shards of Order – Walkthrough & Guides Hub
- Lunarium – Walkthrough Hub
- The Ranchers Walkthrough Hub
- Rubinite – Complete Walkthrough
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.
