Boreal Tales Act 1: Walkthrough & Disk/Cassette Location List

I’ve spent a number of hours playing through this amazing game, and wanted to share my discoveries and solutions with anyone else struggling to complete it.

I’ve divided this guide into several sections to make navigation a bit easier:

• Part 1: The Gas Station & The Static Sea
• Part 2: The Mill
• Part 3: Ghost Street and the Rest of the Town
• Part 4: Completing the Ritual
• Collectible Locations
• Achievements
• Bugs & Troubleshooting

Hope you find it helpful!

Gas Station – Bree

• Move forward and view the tutorial.
• Go towards the glowing block. Speak to Dr. Alces, Elena, Bugslav and the Wolf Cop. You will need to create a diversion to get closer to the block.
• Move back towards the gas station and towards bottom of screen. You will see a trash pile with birds pecking it. Search it 3 times to get Empty Bottle and Rags.
• Go to the rainbow-coloured puddle of Gasoline on the floor. Use Empty Bottle with it, then use Rags with the Bottle of Gas.
• Go towards the payphone. Note the number – 235 5858. You can also call your Dad if you wish (he will explain that he can provide hints at home if you want them).
• Go up the stairs of the gas station and interact with the Ashtray + Lighter to get a Bic Lighter.
• Go down the stairs and around the corner by the picnic table and bin. Once you’ve gone far enough, Bree will say that this is a good place to use your Molotov. Combine Molotov with Bic Lighter.
• Once Wolf Cop has moved, head back to the Boreal Block. Note the red sigil on the floor (you can’t do anything with it yet. Interact with the Boreal Block to enter the Static.

Static Sea – Sarah

• Move forward and pick up the Disc in Trash (Factory Disk).
• Head left towards the gas station, and answer the ringing phone.
• Dial phone, and enter the number you saw before – 235 5858.
• Ignore the gas station for now, and keep heading left til you get to the Pawn Shop. Go inside.
• Interact with the Stack of Movies to get the Pawn Shop Disk.
• Speak to Guile to get the Camera. He will tell you to stand on the red sigils dotted around, and use the Camera to record his inscriptions. Leave the shop.
• Go right to the gas station. You will see a sigil on the ground. Stand on it and use Camera. Note that you can only move the Camera 180deg in the direction you’re facing, so if you can’t see the inscription, turn the Camera off so you can turn yourself around, and use it again. This inscription (insect) is at the top of the tall signpost, to the right of the gas station as you’re looking at it. Focus on it for a few seconds and Sarah should confirm she’s got it (and it will disappear). You may need to move the Camera around a bit to trigger the collection.
• Go to the Severered Head and interact with it. Drink the Blood when prompted.

Dark Gas Station – Bree

• Move forward and interact with Long Neck.
• Go right. Note the Phantom moving across the right of the screen.
• Go up the Gas Station steps and pick up the Dark Station Disk.
• Go back down the stairs and pick up the Static Cassette (it’s near the picnic table) to get Sarah Tape 1.
• Head down and to the right, towards the Boreal Block you originally interacted with. You will see some Graves. Interact with them to visit the Phantom Dome.
• Go to the left of the Dome, and interact with the Cat to get Batteries. Walk past him to get the Phantom DVD (Phantom Dome Disk).
• Go back to the front of the Dome and to the other side. Note the Candle puzzle. You can light the candles with the Bic Lighter, but you don’t have the solution to it yet (Spoiler: 2413) – to play the game the “proper” way, leave it for now.
• Go to the bottom corner of the map to Leave.

Gas Station – Bree

• Go up to the Truck and head home.

Home – Bree

• A few things to note here:
• Bree’s Dad is asleep at the table. If you talk to him, he will give you clues where to go next.
• The Tape Player can be used to play cassettes you find. Interact and listen to the two tapes you have – Bree Tape 1 (will appear in your list when you interact with the player) and Sarah Tape 1.
• The Combo TV-DVD Player can be used to play Disks. These transport you to different locations.
• For now, head over to the Books to the left. Interact with them twice to get the Old Mirror. This can be used to transport you instantly back to Bree’s house (unless its description changes to Cracked Mirror – this sometimes happens to make sure you don’t miss crucial parts of the game).
• Note the Gate that you can’t open yet.
• Stand on the red sigil on the floor and use the Camera. The inscription (bull) is above the TV.
• Go to the Combo TV-DVD Player and play the Mill disk.

Mill – Nicole

• Go forward and interact with the Accident.
• Use the Old Mirror to return to Bree.

Home – Bree

• Go to the front door and Leave > Go to Gas Station.
• Talk to Old Hunter Earl – he will tell you to use the First Aid Kit in the Mill Office instead.
• Before leaving, stand on the sigil and record the inscription (horse) on the back of the tall sign near the truck.
• Use either the Old Mirror or Truck to head home.
• Use the TV > Mill disk again to switch back to Nicole.

Mill – Nicole

• Head towards the Hole in the floor, and interact with it. Make a note that you need a Flashlight to see inside.
• Go down, towards the Office.
• Head left up the stairs to the walkway with the worker, and talk to them. IMPORTANT: When given a choice, select “It was an accident” (failure to do this will prevent you from being able to collect all the tapes). Next, go right up the second set of stairs to the Upper Catwalks.
• Head right and stand on the sigil. The inscription (rooster) is high up on the wall to the right of the door you came in through.
• Go through the Office door.
• Pick up the First Aid Kit, and then interact with the Video Camera by the window.
• Go up the stairs and through the ???? door.
• Follow the creepy stairs down. Pick up the Bloody Tape (Bree Tape 3) on your way. Go through the Basement? Door at the bottom.
• Speak to Bugslav, and use the First Aid Kit.
• NOTE: sometimes the game bugs at this point, and you may find yourself back at the scene of the accident with the First Aid Kit. If that happens, just skip the next part. You will need to come back here later to get to the Storage Room.
• Once Bugslav has moved, go into the Storage Room and pick up the Storage Room Disk. Note the Keypad. You don’t have the code (Spoiler: 913) for this yet.
• Leave and go right into the Forest. Keep heading right to get the Discarded Disk (Forest Disk). Head towards the flickering light and interact with The Watchers.
• Head back down away from them again, and keep going right. After Sam appears, just run to the right of the screen until it fades out.

Trailer – Sam

• First, head right and speak to Nicole’s boyfriend.
• Next, head to the left and talk to Brother, who is sitting on the countertop. Give him the Batteries to get the Gameboy.
• Head into the bathroom and speak to Nicole. You will get the Trailer Disk and switch to Nicole.

Dark Mill – Nicole

• Go through the Factory Door.
• Head along the walkway – you should trigger a cutscene. Once you’re back, run forward away from the workers, and go Deeper Into the Factory.
• Go forward and interact with the Severed Head.
• Some workers will appear and come after you. Run past and keep going right to go Deeper Still. If you get caught, the screen will fade to white, and you will appear on Ghost Street as Fusilier the Phantom – just use the Old Mirror to return to Bree, and continue with this walkthrough.
• If you manage to escape, you’ll see a short sequence before you return to Bree at home. In either case, you will get the Dark Mill Disk.

Home – Bree

• Use the Gameboy. To complete the first level, you need to collect 12 coins while avoiding the zombie workers. On the second, you just need to reach the end of the walkway above you. At the end, you will get the Iron Key.
• Use the Iron Key on the Gate. Go into Sarah’s Room.
• After the cutscene, go to the bed and interact with the Cassettes to get the Soothing Tape.
• Interact with the Scrying Tome. It tells you you will need several items to complete the ritual Sarah started: a chalice of blessed blood, a finger bone from the town saint, and a forgotten flower.
• Ignore the Communion Bowl for now and head back out into the corridor > to the TV. Use the Mill disk.

Mill – Nicole

• Go over to the Accident and use the First Aid Kit.
• After the dialogue, go over to the Rabbit Worker stopping you from Heading Upstairs. If you talk to him, he will let you pass now.
• Go over to the Radio and interact with the Bird. Continue to look at it to be transported to a new location.

Ghost Street – Fusilier

• Ignore the sigil to the left (it’s a red herring), and head right instead. Stand on the one near the moose and bear, and capture the inscription (???) on the wall near them.
• Head right and exit to The Suburbs.

Suburbs (Day) – Jessie

• Hit the mailboxes with your bat. There are 5 altogether – 4 to the right of your starting point, and 1 to the left. When you go right, make sure you pick up the Worker Tape on your way.
• When the phone starts ringing, head towards the left of the screen. Capture the inscription (???) on the red truck as you go.
• Answer the Telephone.

Fusilier – Ghost Street

• Talk to the ghost, Neidpath, to get a clue about how to put the fire out.
• Head Into the Elevator.

Elevator – Chad

• You will get the Pocket Knife when you start this location. Head up the stairs til you get to the open area.
• Head up the screen to the Boarded Window. Use the Pocket Knife on it.
• Go back down towards the bottom of the screen, and capture the inscription (bird) on one of the grain silos.
• Go into the Old Office, and get the Dusty Disk (Elevator Disk) from the top of the stairs. Grab the Old Board on your way.
• Go to the middle silo and use the Loose Board to make a bridge over it.
• Go to the far left of the screen and go Outside. You will briefly switch back to Fusilier: talk to Nana before coming back inside.
• Go up the stairs and pick up the Flashlight. You can read the Pamphlet on the floor on your way, if you like.
• Go back down the stairs for a disturbing cutscene.

Home – Bree

• Use the TV to return to the Mill.

Mill – Nicole

• Go to the Hole in the floor and use the Flashlight. Note down the combination, 913.
• Use the Old Mirror to return to Bree.
• Use the TV to go to the Storage Room

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Storage Room – Nicole

• Enter the code 913 into the Keypad to get the Dead Walkman.
• Use the Batteries with the Dead Walkman to get (not dead) Walkman. 🙂
• Use the Old Mirror to return to Bree. Use the TV to go to the Dark Mill.

Dark Mill – Nicole

• When prompted, play the Soothing Tape to give Nicole the confidence to move past the horrors.
• Go forward and talk to The Frog to unlock the Dark Wave achievement.
• Once you return to the Mill, use the Old Mirror to go back to Bree.

Home – Bree

• Use the Forest Disk in the TV.

Forest – Bree

• Head towards the right. Don’t miss the partially-hidden sigil on the floor. The inscription (heart) is high up in the trees, in roughly the direction you’re going.
• When you reach the Flickering TV, ignore it for now and head upwards instead, towards the huge bear. This is Logarious, the town guardian. Talk to him to learn more about the ritual: you need to bring blood from his severed head to him to be blessed, before it can be used in the ritual.
• Go back to the Flickering TV and interact with it. Choose to Watch for a While.

Lake – Fusilier

• Talk to the phantom, Bulsifer, to get the Umbrella. This can be used to make rain.
• You should unlock an achievement.
• Head back to the right edge of the screen to leave.

Home – Bree / Mill – Nicole

• While you’re here, you may want to listen to the Bree Tape 3 and Worker Tape 1 that you picked up (Soothing Tape can also be played, but it is just music).
• Use the TV to return to the Mill.
• As Nicole, speak to the Rabbit Worker to Head Upstairs again. Interact with the Radio (it will say Bird, but the bird won’t actually be there) to get to Ghost Street.

Ghost Street – Fusilier / Dark Church – Chad

• Use the Umbrella to make it rain, putting out the fire on the stairs. Head up to the next level and pick up the Dream Disk (Ghost Street).
• Go up to the Top Level and look at the Graves. You will get 2 possible combinations – 3142 or 2413. The second one is the correct one.
• Go past the church and pick up the Dirty Cassette. (NOTE: If you said “She was pushed” to the worker in the Mill, the cassette will not be here).
• Go into the Church.
• As Chad, interact with the Degraded Vassal. There isn’t much else to do here yet, so simply leave again via the door you came in through to get the Dark Church Disk.
• As Fusilier, head back down the stairs to ground level and head to the bottom right edge of the screen to exit to Main Street.

Main Street – Nicole

• Head forward and pick up Main Street Tape (Bree Tape 2).
• Go to the crowd and listen to the Frog’s speech.
• Go to the sigil and capture the inscription (owl) – it’s a bit hard to see, but it’s on the side of a building on the opposite side of the road to the sigil, near a tree.
• From here, you can either head to the Suburbs, or go back home. For now, head to Suburbs (Night).

Suburbs (Night) – Jessie / Static Sea – Sarah / Ghost Street – Fusilier

• Head right. When the camera angle changes, you can Peek into the Pawn Shop to briefly switch to Sarah.
• As Sarah, speak to Guile. You should have 5 memories unlocked, which you can watch to fill in gaps in the story. When you’re done, Leave to switch back to Jessie.
• Keep heading in the same direction up the street until you see the Frog. Speak to him. Once he’s gone, keep following the road until…
• Fight off your attackers with the bat. Once you’re done, you will get the Dark Suburbs Disk.
• You will switch back to Fusilier. Use the Old Mirror to return to Bree, and then switch to Phantom Dome.

Phantom Dome – Fusilier

• Use the Bic Lighter on the candles in the following sequence – 2413. This unlocks the dome door.
• Go inside and pick up the Ritual Chalice. Exit the Dome.
• Use the Old Mirror to go back to Bree.

Home – Bree / Static Sea – Sarah / Forest – Bree

• You should now have all 7 cassettes needed for the Guidewires achievement – simply access the Tape Deck and the achievement should pop.
• Next, use the Pawn Shop disk to return to Sarah.
• As Sarah, exit the shop and head towards the Severed Head outside the gas station.
• Use the Ritual Chalice on the Severed Head to get Ritual Chalice F. You will switch back to Bree automatically afterwards.
• As Bree, use the Forest disk. Head right and use the Ritual Chalice F. with Logarious to get Ritual Chalice B. Use the Old Mirror to return Home.
• Use the Pocket Knife with the Ritual Chalice B. to get the Ritual Dagger. NOTE: This action sometimes bugs out, and your character will get stuck in a loop saying “I cut it!”. I was able to stop this by standing next to either the Open Window in the Elevator, or the TV in Bree’s house before selecting the knife; this seems to trick the game into working.
• Use the Dark Station disk.

Dark Station – Bree

• Use the Ritual Dagger on Long Neck. You will get the Winter Disk, and the achievement Skipping Disks for collecting all of them (note: one will still show as ?. This disk doesn’t exist in the game currently, so won’t stop you from getting the achievement).
• Use either the Truck or the Old Mirror to return home.

Home – Bree / Dark Church – Chad / Church – Chad

• As Bree, use the Dark Church Disk to switch to Chad.
• As Chad, use the Ritual Dagger on the Degraded Vassal. Go through the newly-accessible door at the back of the church to Leave Dark Church.
• In the Church (Day), interact with the Altar to get the Finger Bone of a Saint.
• Use the Old Mirror to return to Bree.

Home – Bree / Winter Grave – Sarah

• Use the Winter Grave Disk to switch to Sarah. Talk to Nicole to get the Forgotten Flower.
• Capture the last inscription (shepherd) at the top of one of the trees to the bottom right of the stage. Go back to Bree.
• You now have everything you need to complete the ritual! Head to Sarah’s room, and interact with the Communion Bowl to begin the ritual.

That’s it…for now! 🙂

Cassette Locations:

• Bree Tape 1 – given automatically when you interact with the Tape Player.
• Bree Tape 2 – Main Street
• Bree Tape 3 – creepy red corridor in Mill
• Sarah Tape 1 – Gas Station (Day)
• Worker Tape – Suburbs (Day)
• Soothing Tape – Sarah’s Room (cassettes on bed)
• Dirty Cassette – Ghost Street, next to church (must have selected “It was an accident” when talking to the worker on the first catwalk in the Mill).

Disk Locations:
1. Mill – Static Sea, picked up by Sarah.
2. Pawn Shop – interact with the Stack of Movies in the Pawn Shop in the Static Sea.
3. Dark Gas Station – Dark Gas Station, at top of stairs.
4. Phantom Dome – Phantom Dome, accessible by interacting with the graves at the Dark Gas Station or using the TV in the Trailer.
5. Storage Room – Enter the Storage Room in the Mill. You can get to it by going through the ???? door in the Office, running down the red corridor (RUN, otherwise you will get caught by a zombie halfway down), and going through the Basement? door. The Storage Room door will be in the next area.
6. Forest Disk – in the Forest, after traversing the creepy red tunnel in the Mill. Once you reach the room with the Storage Room door, go right into the forest.
7. Trailer – you will get it automatically when you leave the Trailer for the first time.
8. Dark Mill – you will get it automatically when you leave the Dark Mill for the first time.
9. Elevator – pick it up in the Old Office when playing as Chad in the elevator. You can access it from Ghost Street.
10. Ghost Street – pick it up from the second floor of Ghost Street (near Neidpath & the Hunter), or get it automatically when you leave this area.
11. Dark Church – get it automatically when you leave the Dark Church for the first time.
12. Dark Suburbs – get it automatically after defeating your enemies in the dark suburbs.
13. Winter Grave – cleanse Long Neck at Dark Station with the Ritual Dagger.

NOTE: There is space for a 14th Disk, but this is not currently included in the game and doesn’t count towards the Skipping the Disks achievement.

There are 10 Achievements for Boreal Tenebrae:

1. Static Sea
You will get this automatically when you first switch to Sarah after interacting with the Boreal Block. Can’t be missed.

2. Dark Wave
You need to use the Walkman (Dead Walkman + Batteries) and Soothing Tape in the Dark Mill when prompted – this will allow Nicole to progress further into the mill, to reach the frog. Speak to them to get the achievement. Missable.

3. Deeper Still
Unlock the gate in Bree’s house, using the Iron Key you get by completing the Game Boy game. Can’t be missed.

4. High Score
Successfully complete the Game Boy game. Can’t be missed.

5. I Converge
Capture all of the inscriptions using the camera, and speak to Guile in the Pawn Shop. There are 5 memories to unlock, and you will unlock one for every couple of inscriptions you find. Missable.

6. Lake Phantoms
Get the Umbrella from Bulsifer by the lake. You reach it via the Forest, by watching the Flickering TV as Bree. Can’t be missed.

7. Old Friends
You will get it when you speak to Nicole in the Winter Grave. Can’t be missed.

8. Guidewires
Pick up all 7 cassette tapes. You must have chosen “It was an accident” when talking to the worker in the Mill after Sam’s accident to unlock the Dirty Cassette. Missable.

9. Ritual Rites
Complete the ritual. Can’t be missed.

10. Skipping through Disks
Collect all 13 disks. Missable.

Q. I tried to use the First Aid Kit on Bugslav, and I ended up back at the scene of the accident – what happened?
A. This bug happened a lot to me. It basically causes you to skip a section of the Mill – but you can recover. After the dialogue about Sam ends, you will appear at the back of the Mill. Head to the right, and you should trigger the woods scene to start. You can follow the rest of the guide from there. When the guide refers to using the Storage Room Disk, you won’t have this: to get it, you will need to go back to the Office and down the red corridor to the Basement? door. You will need to RUN through this whole section, otherwise a zombie will catch you halfway down and you will be booted back out to Ghost Street.

Q. I can’t combine the Ritual Chalice B and the Pocket Knife.
A. Another common one. First, make sure you have Ritual Chalice B, not F – if you have Ritual Chalice F, you will need to take it to Logarious in the Forest to have it blessed first.
The most consistent way to “fix” this for me, was switching to Home/Bree, standing next to the TV so that it’s highlighted, and using the items there. This seemed to break the cycle of just trying to use the knife by itself. Failing this, try going to the Elevator as Chad, and standing next to the Open Window – since this is the one place you can actually use the knife, sometimes this will break the bug.

Q. I’m trying to go to the Suburbs from Ghost Street, but the cursor has disappeared and I can’t select any options.
A. I never found a solution to this – the only option was quitting out of the game and loading the autosave.

Q. The Dirty Cassette isn’t appearing next to the church like you said!
A. You MUST choose “It was an accident” when you speak to the mill worker on the catwalk. If you say “She was pushed”, the cassette does NOT appear in my experience. I had to replay the game several times to try and work out what was influencing it.

Q. I’m still missing 1 Disk – where is it?
A. There are only 13 Disks in the game right now – this means one will still be a ? when you end the game. This won’t prevent you from getting the Skipping Disks achievement though.