Demons of Asteborg: How to Find All The Souls of Asteborg (Completionist Achievement)

Welcome to the Completionist guide for Demons of Asteborg!

So first of all, why an entire guide for just one achievement? Well, the Completionist achievement is obtained by finding every soul in the game. With 100 souls per level at 10 levels total, you’ll need to find 1,000 souls over the course of a single playthrough. What’s more, once you clear a level, you can’t replay it. Because of this, I thought it might be nice for players if they had a reference guide showing all the souls’ locations.

Now you might be thinking, “what are souls exactly?” They are pickups found within levels that admittedly look more like gems than souls. They differ from the coins/treasures you find scattered about, both in terms of appearance and function.

First, function. When you obtain coins/treasures, the counter in the upper left corner of the screen (see the picture below) will increase. You can use them between levels at the shop as currency to acquire skills, upgrades etc. On the other hand, souls’ sole purpose is to unlock the Completionist achievement.

How about appearance? Well, right after picking up a soul, you will see a number briefly displayed on-screen. The picture below demonstrates an example of this:

This number represents the value of the soul, which, depending on the color of the soul acquired, will be 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8. For your convenience, I have included images of every soul in ascending order, i.e. from 1 to 8, but keep in mind that the pickups for 6 and 8 souls are almost identical.

Now you might be thinking, “How do I confirm that I have collected every soul in the game? Is there an in-game counter?” Thankfully, there is. I recommend making sure you have collected every soul BEFORE you beat the boss at the end of each level. The reason for this is that once you beat a boss, the game will save your data, and, once your data is saved, you’ll no longer be able to play the level. This makes any souls you missed inaccessible, which in turn prevents you from unlocking Completionist.

So, how do you confirm your soul total? In order to do this, you need to pause your game in-level. By doing so, you will see the word “SCORE” within a box in the center of the screen. To the right of this is a value, and this number is related to your soul total.

I say related because this value doesn’t directly correspond to the number of souls you collected. In order to know how many you have, you’ll need to do a little math. Why? That’s because “SCORE” is calculated in the following manner:

SCORE = (number of souls) x 10

For example, if you had collected 30 souls in a level, then your “SCORE” would be 300, since 30 x 10 = 300.

In summary, every level has a maximum score of 1,000, meaning that you need to collect a total of 100 souls in each level to unlock the Completionist achievement. Your best bet is to play through the level and then–once you reach the boss–check your score to see if it is 1,000. If it isn’t, then you should restart the level and make sure you also snag the souls you missed last time.

If you are playing the game on easy, Completionist may actually be impossible to unlock. That’s because in Level 9 (Gate), there are only 90 souls instead of the expected 100. Unfortunately, having already gotten the achievement, I am unable to confirm whether getting 90 souls in Gate and 100 in all the other levels pops Completionist. My guess is that it doesn’t.

While I have tried to explain in detail how to find all the souls, some readers may not feel like reading all the text in the guide. If this applies to you, then please be aware that I have included the total score and soul count after each screenshot/series of screenshots. The totals are presented in the following format:

SOUL TOTAL = X
SCORE = Y

For those of you that do decide to refer to the text, please be aware that I only used numerals once per each additional soul/group of souls (i.e. 1 soul / 6 souls, not one soul / six souls) to help readers more effectively skim the paragraphs. Excluding this section, I used the alphabet to represent numbers outside of the cases I mentioned in the previous sentence.

Hope this guide proves useful. Good luck!

P.S. If you appreciate the effort that went into this guide, please let me know by giving it a thumbs up!

While this guide is meant to only cover the Completionist achievement, I have dedicated a little space here and there to bring up some of the game’s other achievements and how to unlock them.

That being said, a few of them were omitted due to various factors. Because of this, I have decided to dedicate this section to covering which achievements aren’t mentioned in the sections below. They are:

• A Good Start: Watch the intro sequence before starting a new game/loading your save
• I’m Invincible!: Pick up an invincibility potion
• Apprentice Speedrunner: Finish the first level without using magic
• Speedrunner: Finish the game in less than 3 hours
• Spendthrift: Buy every item at the shop
• Well Played, Kid: Beat the game on easy
• Asteborg Rescuer: Beat the game on normal
• Hardcore Player: Beat the game on hardcore

If you want a more detailed look at this game’s achievements, I recommend checking out my achievement guide. As with this guide, any and all likes are welcome!

The initial screen of this level has a house on your left and a tree to your right. Feel free to enter the house if you’d like (this will allow you to unlock the Curious Backtracker, Animal Lover, and Animal Maniac achievements). What’s more, if you smack the crow perched on the nearby tree branch, you’ll pop the Draws Faster Than His Shadow; however, if you startle the crow but fail to hit it, you’ll have to restart the level for another shot at this achievement. Anyway, once you’re done achievement hunting, proceed right to the next screen.

Here you will find a gap with an arc of 5 souls over it. Collect them all, and then proceed further right past the scarecrow to an area with a rat enemy and 3 more souls (side note: hitting the scarecrow dummy or attacking any of the scarecrow enemies in the next level will unlock the achievement Bad Karma upon completing the game, but it will prevent you from getting Faith in Humanity Restored!; you’ll have to complete the game twice to pop these two, but since the difficulty-related achievements don’t stack, you’ll have to clear the game three times anyway, so don’t worry about it). Go right to the next screen once you’ve obtained them all.

SOUL TOTAL = 8
SCORE = 80

On this screen, you’ll find a series of 5 souls to the right of a wooden gate. After using a wall jump to grab them all and get on top of the gate, proceed right from the cliff top until you exit into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 13
SCORE = 130

This area has a number of buildings and boxes with souls perched on top of them. You’ll first notice a line of 4 souls above you. After picking them all up, head right to a stack of boxes and 5 souls. Snag them and continue right toward another building. Jump up to the second beam for 3 more souls, and then use this beam to reach the top of the next building, not forgetting to collect all 5 souls there. Now head right to the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 30
SCORE = 300

On the ground to the right, you’ll find more stacked boxes with 3 souls on them. Pocket them and move right past the bridge, and you’ll eventually come to a well. There are 2 souls to the left of it, as well as a switch and 3 souls on the beam of the building to the right. Once you’ve hit the switch and grabbed the souls, avoid heading right, and instead enter the well.

SOUL TOTAL = 38
SCORE = 380

Keep falling until you reach the well’s bottom. You’ll find Uther the ghost in this area. There aren’t any souls here, so make your way right to the next screen. There will be a descending trail of 3 souls, so fall or roll through them and continue right until you enter the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 41
SCORE = 410

Travel right, then up, then right to a gap. Jump into it and through a column of 7 souls.

SOUL TOTAL = 48
SCORE = 480

Once you reach the bottom of this screen, head left to activate a switch and flood the room with water. With that done, you can use the floating crate on the left to reach a platform and a ledge. Go left from the ledge to a screen with a large boulder in the bottom right corner. It’ll continually roll toward you, so do your best to avoid getting hit by it while moving left past various obstacles (use your roll or sword to destroy them). As you continue running to the left, you will encounter a mound blocking your path with 2 souls up to the right of it. Collect them with a quick wall jump and continue your escape from the approaching boulder. You’ll see 2 more souls in the air to the right of a row of spikes, so snag them while avoiding the nearby hazard. Toward the end of this screen, there will be some wooden platforms with 2 souls that you can use to let the boulder safely roll past and into a gap to the left. Use the now stationary boulder as a platform to acquire the 3 souls above the pit. Move onward to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 57
SCORE = 570

Roll left through the nearby opening and onto a moving platform. Use this platform to cross the pit and then use the two platforms above to enter the next area. You may recognize this screen since this is where you were before falling through a long column of souls. This time around however, you’ll want to press the switch near you to fill the room with water, which makes the crates in the room bob up and down. Use them to reach the upper right section of the screen. From here, you can wall-jump to go up into a new area. Do another wall jump to the right to get 2 more souls, and then head left across three falling platforms to a ledge with an archer. If you fall down to the left, you will land between a chest and a switch. Pressing the switch will create a bridge across the spikes, allowing you to return to where you were before. This time, head right to another screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 59
SCORE = 590

From here, head to the right corner and hit a switch to activate an elevator back on the left side. Ride this elevator up to reach a ledge in the upper left corner with 4 souls. Now head right to a stationary platform. Use the two moving platforms to the right to reach the next area’s entrance in the upper right corner of this screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 63
SCORE = 630

Use the wall behind the waterfall to the left to wall-jump through an arc of 3 souls and land on a platform to the right. If you look carefully, you will notice that there is a black gap in the wall to your left. Jump left off the platform to enter the gap and continue moving left into a secret area. You will immediately get 8 souls once you enter this screen. If you want the chest’s contents, feel free to break it open, but then return to the previous screen. Head back to the platform, and then wall-jump once on the right, then again on the left through another arc of 3 souls. Go up and then left to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 77
SCORE = 770

Move all the way to the left until you reach a gap. Fall through this gap and move right with the flowing water to arrive at another gap. Jump across this to obtain 3 more souls and reach a ledge. Drop off the right of the ledge and continue in this direction to find a switch. Hit it to form a bridge across the pit to the left. Jump across the gap onto the bridge, heading left for a memory fragment and down into another gap. You will automatically fall through 3 souls here before landing down below, after which you’ll want to head left for 3 more souls. Going further left will return you to the screen where you first met Uther. Talk to him and you’ll get a spell that you can use on a switch to the left, which activates the nearby bucket. Ride it up to exit the well.

SOUL TOTAL = 86
SCORE = 860

Head right from the well to a new screen. Use the stacked boxes as a platform to reach 6 souls up on the beam to the left. Cut the rope holding up the drawbridge with your magic spear spell. Hop onto the bridge and keep heading right past various demons until you reach a beam with a wooden fish sign dangling from it. Jump up on this for 2 souls and travel left across the beams–getting 2 more souls on the way–until you reach a key. Return to the beam with the fish sign, and use it to give you enough height to jump and cut the rope holding a crate. Use this crate to reach two beams to the right–one of which has 1 soul–and once again jump up and use magic spear to cut down another crate. From this crate, head right to a grassy ledge and on to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 97
SCORE = 970

Continue onward, first through a large wooden gate and then to another screen. Head right to cut down another crate and use this to reach three nearby beams. Use them to reach a beam to the left, then jump up a series of beams and crates. Now move right across two platforms to cut down yet another crate. Return to the bottom of the screen and use the now lowered crate to safely cross the spiked pit and enter the next screen. Defeat all the enemies in this section, watch the cutscene, and then head right until you reach two beams sticking out from a building. Use them to reach a rooftop, and keep jumping left across the remaining rooftops for the last 3 souls.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

All that remains is to head right and beat the boss. Congratulations on clearing the first level and unlocking the achievement Execute Him before He Does.

Head right from your initial position to the next screen. Defeat the enemies you encounter and grab 1 soul on the platform to your right, quickly jumping off it before it falls and landing on a nearby roof. Move right to collect 4 more souls and enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 5
SCORE = 50

Upon entering this screen, Gareth will automatically slide down a rooftop and through a line of 3 souls (FYI, there’s a chest below this rooftop). After Gareth is done talking, defeat the nearby enemies and pick up 1 soul on top of the wheelbarrow, and then move on to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 9
SCORE = 90

Keep moving right, jumping onto a nearby beam and climbing some vines (jump and press up to grab on to them) for 3 more souls. Jump up from the vines onto a smaller beam, and use this to reach some vines to the left with 2 more souls. From here, jump to the beam on the left and let the crow to your right fly over you. Now you can safely wall-jump off the crates to the left and land on the adjacent roof. Jump left onto the stack of crates, and then fall down to pick up 4 more souls. Return to the roof, and then jump off its right edge to land on a crate with 1 soul, avoiding or killing any crows flying around above you. Head right, down, and then left to reach another patch of vines. Grab on to them and leap across a gap to another group of vines, netting yourself 1 more soul in the process. Move right to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 20
SCORE = 200

If you keep running to the right, you will come across a large spool. Jump on top of it and hold down left to move the spool right (a little counter-intuitive, I admit), rolling yourself through a row of 5 souls. Keep rolling to the right, but be forewarned that there is a pit up ahead. What you want to do here is roll off the edge–continually holding down left–until you are about halfway across the pit, and then quickly switch to holding right and jump to leap off the spool and land safely on the other side. Continue moving forward to reach another spool with 3 souls to the right of it. There’s another pit to the right of this spool, so use the same maneuver to cross the gap and land on…another spool. The pit here is quite small, so once you roll the spool off the edge, make sure to immediately jump to the right to get to the other side. Yet another spool awaits you, but this time you don’t need to use its momentum to cross a gap. Just roll it to the right and use it as a platform to reach the nearby ledge. Once on this ledge, move forward to pick up 2 more souls. Channel your inner matador and slay the bull demon below the ledge, and then continue onward to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 30
SCORE = 300

Get ready for more spools. Head to the right and get on top of a spool resting on a narrow platform for 1 more soul. Like before, roll it off the edge and jump to the right as soon as it starts falling. Jump on the next spool and roll it right down the decline–through 3 more souls–and then use its momentum to help Gareth cross another gap. Perform the same maneuver with the next spool to leap across another pit, and then defeat the farmer on the other side. To the right of the farmer are 4 more souls between two trees. Grab them all and defeat the scarecrow and bull. Now head right into the mill.

SOUL TOTAL = 38
SCORE = 380

Right next to where you start are 4 souls. After picking them up, you will encounter a new enemy, the walking bomb, on the ledge above. These enemies spawn infinitely, and they will briefly flash and then explode when touched or attacked. Your best option is to safely roll through it and continue on your journey. On the other side of the ledge is a gear rotating horizontally. Above it is 1 soul. Jump from this gear to the ledge on your right, and then wall-jump to obtain 2 more souls and land on an even larger gear. From here, jump onto another gear and then across a gap to a ledge where more bomb enemies are being spawned. Head left, taking out the mouse and jumping on a ledge and some gears. You will find another bomb spawn point, so roll through the enemy until you drop off a ledge for 4 more souls. Yet another bomb will be spawned to your right, so roll through it and move on to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 49
SCORE = 490

Head right, defeating a mouse, rolling through a bomb, and taking out another mouse. Do a wall jump to reach a platform on the left with 1 soul, rolling through another bomb and dealing with the mouse on the other side. Jump across the gap here for 1 more soul, and then climb up a series of nets to acquire 6 more souls. Make your way past the bomb on the right and onto a large gear with 1 soul. Use this gear to reach another ledge, proceeding right through another mouse and bomb. Exit right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 58
SCORE = 580

Talk to Uther if you feel like it, and then collect 8 souls by falling into the gap below. This will lead you to a new screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 66
SCORE = 660

Take out the mouse to your left and continue to another screen. Eliminate the mouse you encounter and head to the left corner to find a switch. Hit it to reverse the direction of the nearby gears, allowing you to pass down through them. Do the same with the gears to the left, which will dump you next to another switch. Strike it and then move down through the gears to your right. Clear out the two mice down here and head all the way to the right, wall-jumping once off the right wall and then again off the left one to pass through two more gears. Hit the nearby switch, go back down through the gears, and then wall-jump below the gears to the left. From the top of these gears, perform two wall jumps to pass through another set of gears. Grab the 3 souls to your right and move on to the next screen

SCORE = 69
SOUL TOTAL = 690

Grab the 2 souls directly to your right, and then head below the gears to your right to grab 1 soul atop a platform. To the left of this platform is a switch that can be accessed from below. After stepping on it, you will notice that bomb enemies will begin spawning in the upper right corner of the screen. Head up to the other switch and–once a bomb has fallen on the highest gear–hit the switch with your sword. This will allow the enemy to fall to the left onto the next gear. Once this happens, hit the switch again, and after the bomb falls on the lowest gear, hit the switch a final time. The bomb will then drop off the right edge of this gear, falling to the bottom of the screen and exploding. This will remove the barrier there and grant you access to the next section. Note: if you want to destroy the horizontal barrier on the ground, refrain from hitting the switch after the bomb lands on the lowest gear. While this will usually give you access to a pickup, it will contain nothing on hardcore.

SOUL TOTAL = 72
SCORE = 720

Head to the right and deal with the two mice there. Once the room has been cleared, use the two platforms to obtain 2 souls and a key. Wall-jump to land on the beam above you, and run right and use your key on the locked door. Move into the next room–looting the chest in the bottom left if you feel like it–and then ascend the series of gears until you reach a ledge to your left. Wall-jump off its edge and onto the highest gear, and from here jump to the left and onto the top of the ledge. Defeat the mouse to your right and pick up a memory fragment. Now head left back through the unlocked door and grab the column of 3 souls next to a barrel and a platform. Use the two nearby platforms to reach an alcove with 3 more souls. Head left to enter a familiar screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 80
SCORE = 800

This is the room below the screen with Uther that you fell into earlier. Take out the mouse to your left and enter the next screen. Dispatch yet another pesky critter and use the crate here to reach a beam above, and then jump again to reenter the section with Uther. Talk to him to return the memory fragment and acquire the barrier spell. This time, head right, jump across the gap, and follow the sign to the next screen. You’re now back outside the mill. Be careful when moving to the right, as there is a cannon perched on a ledge above you. What you want to do here is use barrier to reflect the cannon balls into the stack of steel boxes to your right. To do this, hold down the magic button to charge the spell and release it a bit before the ball hits Gareth. Repeat at least one more time to create a gap large enough for you to pass through, and then grab the 3 souls on the other side. Now head right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 83
SCORE = 830

Proceed forward across a bridge for 3 more souls. Use barrier to take out the two cannons and the arbalester, which will grant you access to the next screen. Head right to another cannon and use your spell to destroy the nearby barrier and enter a building. If you want to get to the chest you passed on the previous screen, you can actually wall-jump inside this building to reach a beam on the side. Jump left off this beam onto a moving platform and use it to reach another beam. Head left to enter the previous screen and loot the chest. Regardless of whether you go for the chest or not, head through the building, jump on the nearby platform, and then leap to the ledge to the right before the cannon destroys the platform. Now exit to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 86
SCORE = 860

Once you enter this screen, quickly run to the right and jump onto a patch of vines. Without losing much time, jump onto the nearby platform before the lit fuse destroys it, and then immediately jump to the right and grab onto the vines there. You should get 2 souls in the process, one automatically after landing on the platform, and the other while jumping to the right. But don’t dawdle. Keep moving right across the vines, jumping from the right edge of this patch to another group of vines, acquiring 3 souls during your leap between the two. Swiftly jump from these vines onto the platform to the right–before it is detonated–and then right again to a safe and stable ledge.

SOUL TOTAL = 91
SCORE = 910

Head right from your starting position and jump toward the nearby patch of vines, avoiding the arrow shot by the enemy above. Move a bit to the right and wait for the second arbalester to fire an arrow, then move further right and wait for the cannon above to fire. Once it has, jump across the gap through 1 soul and grab on to some more vines. Quickly move right and leap across another gap–netting you 1 more soul–to yet another patch of vines. Keep up the pace and swiftly jump toward the nearby ledge. On the right end of this ledge are 2 more souls.

SOUL TOTAL = 95
SCORE = 950

Defeat the two farmers below (pro tip: use barrier to both destroy the pitchfork and unlock the achievement 200 IQ) to unblock your path and proceed to the next screen. Jump right to the beam below, picking up 1 soul and defeating the crow to your right. Do this again for 1 more soul. Move forward, taking out a crow on top of some crates and another one atop a haystack. Journey further right, making it past all the crows, mice, and a solitary farmer. Exit right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 97
SCORE = 970

You will have to dodge some windmill sails up ahead, so run under the short ones and roll through the long ones to avoid taking any damage. Loot the chest on the felled tree to your right if you want, and then make your way past the next set of windmill sails to exit right to another screen. Slay the demonic bull you encounter to grant Gareth entrance into the building on the right. If you want a chest, climb the nearby net; otherwise, move to the other side of the screen. The bombs are back, but this time around, you’ll want to use your magic on them to clear any obstacles blocking your path. More specifically, wait for the bomb to make it’s way to the ground, and then charge and release barrier on it to reverse its direction. Once it’s next to the stack of metal boxes, strike it with your sword to make it explode. This will open up the doorway and give you access to the next section. Jump right across the gears here, rolling through the narrow gap and then quickly jumping right off the unstable platform before it falls. Defeat the fly hovering next to you, then head right and grab onto a large net. Jump onto another gear and take out the fly. Leap to the next gear and then down to a ledge below, making sure to eliminate the mouse to your right. Jump up the nearby platforms to the second highest one. Wait to the right of the sack below the highest platform and release barrier immediately after the bomb above Gareth falls down to to his platform. Now quickly roll to the left, through the bomb and down to the platform below. Use your spell on the bomb again right after it falls, and then follow it to the right side of the screen. Hit it with your sword to blow up the barricade and return outside. Walk through the 3 souls right in front of you, and then make your way through a couple of scarecrows. Now exit right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

Clear a path through the numerous enemies here. Once done, make your way to the final screen of this level and beat the boss. Great job! You’re now twenty percent done with Completionist and unlocked the achievement That’s a Lot of Dishes.

After a bit of text, head right to the next screen. Deal with the zombie that pops out of the ground and jump up to the ledge on the right for 3 souls. Enter the nearby mausoleum, which leads to a grave on the other side of the wall. Now hop over the gap to your right, defeat the floating ghoul, jump over another gap, and then eliminate the undead walker. Proceed forward, but don’t rush. Another zombie will emerge from the nearby tombstone, so take it out and move on to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 3
SCORE = 30

Try and quickly take out the walker here; otherwise, the gravedigger on the ledge nearby will set it aflame, transforming it into a deadlier opponent. Continue forward, taking out another walker and making sure not to be hit by the zombie that emerges below the right side of the ledge. Feel free to jump up on the ledge and head left to eliminate the gravedigger if that tickles your fancy. Past the right side of the ledge are two pillars with a total of 2 souls above them. Defeat the floating ghoul and grab the souls, pausing to take out an additional ghoul and acquiring 2 more souls atop the next two pillars. Once the pillars have been crossed, keep heading right to encounter another gravedigger on a ledge with a walker below. Destroy the undead creature, carefully triggering the zombie under the rightmost tombstone to spawn and then subsequently eliminating it. Press onward to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 7
SCORE = 70

Dispatch the walker that greets you and leap across the pit on your right. Jump over another chasm and beat the walker there, grabbing the column of 3 souls once you’re done. Wall-jump off the nearby wall and grab 4 souls on the low ledge to your right. Now head left and trounce the wheel skeleton blocking your path. Feel free to exit left to reach a previously inaccessible chest. Regardless of what you choose to do, get on top of the nearby ledge and stand next to the tree to spawn another crawling zombie. After vanquishing this foe, cross the two pillars in the middle of the nearby gap to add 2 more souls to your counter. Wait on the second pillar for a floating ghoul to helplessly fly into the tip of your blade. You’re now free to move right into the next section of the level.

SOUL TOTAL = 16
SCORE = 160

Head to the center of this screen to trigger a cutscene. You can inspect all of the smaller tombstones here for a few laughs and–if you haven’t already unlocked it–the Avid Reader achievement. Keep running to the right and you’ll find an elevator on the next screen. Be forewarned that once boarded, this elevator will move downward and stay there, so if you fall during the next segment, you’ll have to restart the level and try again. Anyway, hop on top of the two pillars to your right for 2 souls. So far so good. The next jump is a little strict, so run from the left edge of the pillar to the right–to the point where Gareth is about to fall off the pillar–and then immediately jump, making sure that you continue to hold down both the right and jump buttons. If successfully executed, you will land on yet another pillar, adding 1 more soul to your total. But hold on. Don’t celebrate just yet. There’s still one more tricky jump left, so perform the same maneuver you did before to reach the final pillar and 1 soul. Great job! All that’s left is to leap to the platform and then quickly hop onto the rooftop before the platform falls. Grab the nearby tome if you like (unlocking the down air attack and the Curious Acrobat achievement if you haven’t done so already; FYI, hitting at least 100 enemies with this attack over the course of your playthrough will net you the achievement Leap Frog), and then fall off the left side of the roof to get 1 soul. Drop down one more time and move into the opening to enter the catacombs.

SOUL TOTAL = 21
SCORE = 210

Head right, speaking to Uther on the way if you’d like, to enter the next screen. You’ll encounter a full-bodied ghoul up ahead, but be careful. Once struck, its torso will separate from its legs, creating two separate enemies. I recommend attacking it at range with two sword combos. Anyway, after dealing with this enemy, you’ll have to fight another one soon after. Once they are both vanquished, head right to obtain 3 souls next to a wall of vines. Directly below are 3 more souls waiting to be picked up. Switching directions, head left and take out two walkers to reach a new screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 27
SCORE = 270

Use the stack of nearby coffins to reach the platform up and to the left. Make Gareth stand on the switch to generate a stream of flames below, and then wait for the walker on the left to wander into them. This will transform it into a flaming walker, which will run off to the right before dashing back to the left (if it doesn’t eventually run to the left, move Gareth a little to the right to trigger it to reappear). Follow the flaming walker to the left, where it’ll burn the vine wall to ash. Head down a series of platforms for a total of 6 souls. Once you’ve reached the bottom, run right to find a walker on a platform above you. Get to the right side of the walker, wait for it to fall down to your level, and then strike it with your sword to make it switch directions. Now wait for the nearby gravedigger to set it aflame with one of its lanterns. Dodge the flaming walker if necessary and let it raze the vine wall obstructing your path. You’re now free to proceed into the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 33
SCORE = 330

On this screen, you’ll encounter a floating torso coming your way. Take it out with your sword combo and then jump over the gap to your right. You’ll want to roll through the small gap and pick up 2 more souls, but be careful as there is a sneaky ghost enemy on the other side. Hold your ground with your back to the wall and slash at it a few times, or roll back through the gap to give yourself a bit more space. Keep in mind however that it can teleport while being attacked, and if it touches you, you will take damage. I like to try and attack it with the tip of my sword and then roll away if it teleports toward me. Anyway, proceed to the right, taking out another torso and walker. You’ll find a gravedigger up on a ledge with a chest behind him. Jump and slash him twice when he isn’t readying his lantern projectile, then wall-jump from the left to reach the chest and get its contents. Further to the right are two walls that you can wall-jump from for 4 souls, but once you move Gareth between them, another green specter will spawn. Dispatch the phantasm, collect your souls, and then continue forward to face another torso and two more ghosts. Note that the final ghost appears on uneven terrain, so you may want to kite it backward to give yourself an advantage. Use the right exit to reach the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 39
SCORE = 390

This section is full of rotating coffins that bob up and down. Try not to be underneath one of them on its way down, as Gareth will take damage when stuck between a coffin and the ground. For the first lone coffin, run underneath it and wall-jump off the right wall. It’s best to start your jump when this coffin is at the apex of its route. Once you’ve landed on top of the coffin, jump right onto the ledge there, roll forward once the two leftmost coffins are as high as they can be, and then jump on top of the coffin to the right of them. Use your position here to safely jump over the fourth and final coffin of this row, run up to the next coffin, and then roll into the nearby gap once this coffin is out of your way. Wait for the coffin on the other side to start moving upward, and then roll out of the gap and next to a stairway. Jump on top of the coffin you just rolled under and use it to reach the platform to your right. Since this platform will fall soon after Gareth lands on it, quickly jump to your right to reach another platform with 6 souls. Fall off this platform and use the nearby coffin to safely cross the gap ahead of you. Now this next part can be a pain so be careful. To the right of the gap you crossed is an elevated ledge with a stairway to the right of it. Make sure you’re ready before moving to the right, because at the top of the stairway is a wheel skeleton that will get ready to attack you soon after it appears on the screen. This is important because you will have a short period of time to successfully set up and land a down air attack on the skeleton as it dashes toward Gareth, which allows you to reach the ledge I mentioned earlier, giving you access to a chest and some souls. Anyway, once the wheel skeleton has spun for a little while, it will roll down the stairs. Position our hero on one of the lower steps, and jump up in the air soon after it starts rolling toward you. While the timing will depend on the specific positioning of Gareth relative to the skeleton, you will probably want to try timing your down air attack soon after our valiant knight begins his downward descent. If executed properly, you will land on the ledge and gain access to the aforementioned chest and 8 souls. Well done! Now jump off the ledge and head right to reach an area with two skeleton gunners. Let the upper gunner to your right fire a round before you jump over the bullet and eliminate this ranged antagonist. Wait for the remaining gunner to shoot before heading down and smashing it to pieces. Now fall down to the bottom level, defeat the walker, and pick up 9 souls before heading right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 62
SCORE = 620

Keep heading right to fall of a ledge and acquire flamethrower, a new magic spell that allows you to burn down vine walls and damage enemies. Use your newly-acquired power to do just that to some nearby vines. This will open the path to the next screen, but don’t wildly charge ahead. There’s another pesky ghost at the start of this screen, but thankfully you don’t have to solely rely on your sword anymore. That’s right, these specters might be ethereal, but they still burn all the same. After roasting it back to the underworld, head right and jump on top of the bony platforms there to get 2 souls. Next, use these platforms to access the ledge to the left and then set the altar there aflame with flamethrower (note, you can also aim this spell upward, so as long as your flame can reach its target, you can stand underneath an enemy or object and burn it from below). To the right of the two bony platforms is another ghost, so make sure you incinerate it before it can hurt you. Further to the right is another altar, 1 soul, and a ghost. Charbroil the spirit out of your wispy assailant, jump on to the upper right ledge, light the altar, snag the soul on the platform below, and then fall to the bottom level and light another altar to your left before proceeding right to the next screen. FYI, you lit all the altars here in order to open the door blocking your path forward.

SOUL TOTAL = 65
SCORE = 650

You’ll notice more bony platforms on this screen, but don’t take them upward just yet. First, head right and light the altar you find there. While doing so, you’ll probably notice a gunner tucked away in an alcove above you. In fact, there isn’t one but two gunners lying in wait to shoot our hero as he ascends the platforms, so be careful when heading upward. If you want, you can stand below the lower gunner, aim flamethrower at it, and turn it into charred bones. Anyway, jump up onto the lowest platform, then again to the one on the left. From here, wall-jump off the wall to your left to reach the third platform, and then perform the same maneuver to get on top of the next platform. Light the altar here and then jump onto the bobbing coffin to your right. Lastly, jump onto the ledge to your right to get 3 souls and exit through the unlocked door to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 68
SCORE = 680

Right next to where you start is a platform with 2 souls. You may want to eliminate the gunner directly above you with your magic spell to make things easier. Regardless, grab the souls, go down to the bony platform below you, and then jump across the gap to another bony platform. Aim your flame spell upward to light the first altar, head right, jump up to the lower platform here to get 2 more souls, and then light the second altar. Proceed to the right, jump across a gap to another platform, light the third altar with your magic, and then get on top of the platform to your right for 2 more souls. If you’re feeling sadistic, incinerate the gunner above you; otherwise, enter the door to reach the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 74
SCORE = 740

Your path is blocked by a vine wall yet again, so burn it down. Just make sure you do it quickly enough so that you can stop using flamethrower before you set the nearby walker aflame. Now take it out, and then use the first tier of the bony platform to reach a wooden ledge with 1 soul. To the left of this is another vine wall. Turn it to ashes and grab the 3 souls in a zigzag pattern to your left. Right above the last soul here is an altar. Set it on fire, head back to the bony platform, and position yourself on its second tier. Burn the gunner directly above you, and then make your way up to the ledge it was on. Up and to the right of your current location is another gunner, so jump up after it has fired a shot and take it out with a quick slash. Jump left from this platform onto a ledge and–if you did everything fast enough–you will have enough time to head through the doorway and pick up a key. Go back through the doorway and use your newly-acquired key to open the door down below. You’ll now be next to a sign pointing downward and a horizontal vine barrier. Let the gravedigger above help you out by getting him to throw a lantern down at you. This will turn the vines to embers, allowing you to jump down onto a pile of skulls. To the left are 2 souls. Snag them and head right to find two more vine bridges. Between them is a gravedigger standing on a platform above you. Take him out with flamethrower before he destroys the vines. Now head right and wall-jump above the vine wall to reach a platform that will fall soon after you land on it. React quickly and jump back toward the wall on the right to pull off another wall jump, get 1 soul, and then wall-jump once more to land on a ledge to the right for 1 more soul. Next, jump up to the ledge on the left and acquire 3 more souls. Continue further left for a chest. It’s up to you whether you want to spare the gravedigger. Once you’ve made your decision, head back down to the right and burn the vine wall in the bottom right corner. With your path cleared, move on to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 85
SCORE = 850

Head right to reach a vertical shaft with numerous bobbing coffins lined up on both the left and right sides. Wait for the one at the bottom to be near its lowest point, jump on top of it, and then quickly jump up to the coffin on your left before the one above Gareth squishes him. Do the same thing to reach the next coffin to the right. You can safely time your next jump since you won’t get squashed here. Once you’re on top of the fourth coffin, wait until the fifth and final one has just started to descend, and then jump up and to the right to successfully land on it. From here, take the stairs down into an open doorway leading to the next screen. The next section is one of those screens where you have to defeat all of the enemies to proceed. You’ll encounter another one of those enemies that splits into two, but worry not, because this time you have flamethrower on your side. Burn it to a crisp and watch how you conveniently take out two birds with one stone. Now aim your spell upward and eliminate the gravedigger. Next, safely navigate your way under a coffin, but make sure you don’t reactively use your magic here. Why? Because there’s a walker heading your way, and all your flames will do is power it up. Instead, use your sword to dispatch it, burn the gunner above you, roll under another coffin, cremate the next monster, and punish the cowardly gravedigger on the platform above you who thinks that he’s untouchable. With all of your foes successfully vanquished, you can now go right to the next screen and collect 5 souls conveniently placed directly in your path. What’s more, right past them is the memory fragment that Uther mentioned sensing earlier.

SOUL TOTAL = 90
SCORE = 900

Uther can be found on the next screen, so give him the fragment and listen to what he has to say. Once the chitchat has ended, head to the next screen. You may notice that it looks familiar, and indeed it is. This time around it’s easier because you can blitz through using flamethrower. Unlike before, you don’t have to go down since you can now burn away the vines blocking your path. Now before charging ahead, you should be aware that there are tombstones in this area that float up in the air when approached. They’ll spin around for a brief period before launching themselves at Gareth’s location. So once you enter this screen, move forward until you see a walker and then stop. Once you have cleaved it in two, trigger the tombstone and then quickly roll or jump once it launches toward you to safely dodge it. From the right side of the ledge above you, jump up and destroy the floating ghoul before heading left to claim 4 souls. Be alert as you approach the tree down and to the right of the ledge you’re on. There’s a zombie waiting to ambush you, so let it spawn, and then take it out from a safe distance. Directly to the right is a floating ghoul, so let it fly toward you and its impending doom. Now jump across the gap onto a pillar with 1 soul, defeat the ghoul flying toward you, and then jump onto another pillar for 1 more soul. There are three more homing tombstones on the ledge to your right, so I recommend rolling repeatedly once you land on the ledge. To the right of them is another tree with a hidden zombie, so time your roll near the end to evade it and proceed into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 96
SCORE = 960

Be aware that as you move right, you’ll encounter two more tombstones and 4 souls. It’s up to you whether you want to patiently bait and dodge them, but whatever you choose to do, avoid falling into the gap up ahead and instead backtrack to the beginning of the screen so that you can jump onto the ledge above. There’s another tombstone here so just roll on past it and make your way to the edge of the ledge. Now jump onto the coffin bobbing up and down in the nearby gap (depending on the difficulty, there may be an item on the column below and to the left of the coffin), and then jump onto the ledge leading to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

Head right and fall down to the ledge below. Use flamethrower to quickly dispatch the wheel skeleton and wait for the gunner on the ledge up and to the right to shoot at you. Quickly jump and attack to defeat it, and then wall-jump off the right wall to reach the ledge up above. Move right in front of the tombstone and attack the walker to your left. Now move left past the tombstone and it will float up in the air. Dodge it however you like, and then quickly move past another tombstone on the ledge above you, jump over the gap, and head into the mausoleum to face Little Bone, this level’s boss. Once you’ve made crème brûlée out of this monstrous foe, you’ll be thirty percent done with Completionist. What’s more, defeating this boss gets you the achievement It Should Not Scratch Anymore Now. Almost one third down. Keep it up!

From your starting position, simply run right to pick up 3 souls and then exit to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 3
SCORE = 30

Continue right but do not run all the way to the edge of the ledge in front of you; otherwise, you will take damage from a root that bursts out of the wall (FYI, these roots are indestructible). Instead, stay out of range of the root and pay attention to the gremlin clinging to the nearby tree’s trunk. It’ll throw a coconut-like object at you, so dodge that while avoiding the root, and then take out the little pest. Once that’s done, head past the tree and pick up 3 more souls arced over the nearby gap. On the other side of this gap is a forest mage who can summon pesky minions if given the chance. After taking a few hits, it’ll teleport to some other location, so it’s up to you to finish it off or just smack it a few times to make it teleport again while you ditch it and move on. Whatever you choose to do, head right to get on top of another ledge, but be careful. There’s another root that’ll pop out from underneath the bushes here, so hop over it and continue rightward. Roll toward the tree and jump up to slash the gremlin before it can throw something at you. Another root will pop out of the mound to the right of this tree, and to the right of this root is another gremlin, so try baiting its projectile, dodging, jumping over the root, and then get close enough to the gremlin to take it out with a jumping slash. You’ll notice a chest on top of one of the tree’s branches, but this is inaccessible at the moment, so ignore it for the time being. Past this chest is another mage, and to the right of the mage is another gremlin. Ignore or eliminate these enemies as you continue to run right, jump over the pit beyond them, and then land on the left side of the next ledge. Why the left side? Well, that’s because another root lies smack dab in the middle of the platform. Jump over the root, and wait for the moving platform to get close to Gareth. Jump onto this platform and use it to acquire the 3 souls hovering over this pit, but be careful because another root will pop up from the left side of the ledge leading to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 9
SCORE = 90

Keep hiking to the right until you pass through a giant tree. On the other side is none other than your mentor, Bohort! After speaking to him, fall down on to the slanted ledge below for 1 soul. Next, roll and then quickly jump to get 1 more soul on a similar ledge to the right before repeating the same maneuver–but in the opposite direction–to land on a lower ledge to the left with 1 soul. Do this yet again to get 1 more soul on another ledge to the right, and then jump left and fall downward to get 2 more souls. Now jump on to the short, elevated ledge on your right to pick up 2 more souls. Go back down to the ledge below and make sure to jump over the root that will appear to the left, roughly two thirds of the ledge’s total distance. Once safely on the other side of this root, you’ll discover a wooden hand thrusting upward out of the nearby gap. You can use this as a platform, but don’t stay on it too long, or you’ll get crushed by the hand as it closes itself into a fist. You’ll notice three more of these hands after you’ve made it to the next platform, so quickly travel across them before exiting left into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 17
SCORE = 170

Run left across the bridge to reach a demonic tree that spits large balls at Gareth. It blocks your path, so jump over its projectiles, smack it while in the air, and then land and unleash your sword combo on it. Rinse and repeat until you’ve turned it into lumber, and then continue left to the next screen. Your path will be blocked by yet another tree, but this one is merely an obstacle and can’t attack you. Whack it a few times, shout, “TIMBER!,” and then use the felled tree as a bridge to cross the nearby gap. Get to the edge of the next ledge, and then quickly jump on top of and past the two wooden hands here to reach another ledge. A bit to the left of where you landed is a large flower that spews poisonous pollen at Gareth. Jump over this floral foe and take it out from behind. Don’t drop your guard though, because up the incline to the left is a tree with two coconut-hucking gremlins facing opposite directions. Gracefully dodge their projectiles and eliminate the pair. Now jump through the arc of 5 souls here to land on another hand. Jump to the left again to land on another hand and then one more time to land on the ledge leading to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 22
SCORE = 220

You’ll find another normal tree blocking your path, so use your sword like a chainsaw and clear the way. On the other side of the newly bridged gap is a mushroom creature. You can’t kill this fungal forest dweller, but you can use it as a trampoline to launch Gareth to new heights. Try jumping on it as it’s walking to the left, and then wall-jump off the large tree trunk to get 3 souls and land on the branch above. Jump onto the branch to the right for 1 more soul. Now use the nearby mushroom to catapult you up to another branch, and from here jump to the left onto a platform that will plummet soon after Gareth lands on it. Don’t do so too quickly though. You have enough time to run to the left end of the platform so that you are close enough to jump onto the large branch in the upper left corner of the screen. Now jump to the right to land on a wooden bridge, which will lead you to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 26
SCORE = 260

On this screen, run right off the bridge into the nearby wall and use it to slide down through a column of 3 souls. Once you’ve gotten the last soul, wall-jump to the left, or you’ll fall down into the pit below. Destroy the chest for some goodies and then wall-jump off the tree to reach the branch above. Jump up from this branch to return to the bridge, then jump over the gap onto a ledge and run into the gazebo-shaped elevator. Make sure you move Gareth all the way to the right to avoid the root sticking out below you. Soon after you’ve passed this root, roll to the left side to avoid another one. Do this one more time to avoid the third root and grab the 3 souls leading to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 32
SCORE = 320

Keep going right and jump over the poison-spewing flower, returning it to the soil from whence it came. There’s another one perched up on the ledge to your right, so safely stand below it and throw out a few sword combos to clear the way for Gareth. Jump up to the second ledge ahead and slash from below to take out another flower. Make your way down the decline and land somewhere before the tree; otherwise, you’re in for a spiky surprise. Jump over these spikes and collect the 4 souls there, and then jump again to avoid another set of sheathed spikes. Fall down to the ledge below for 3 more souls and jump over the hidden spikes in front of the tree there. Leap over another gap and face the mage partially obscured by the surrounding foliage. Take it out, hop up to the ledge on the left for 2 souls, and move onward to the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 41
SCORE = 410

After running to the right a little, hop over the spikes submerged under a brown patch and proceed until you run into another demonic tree. Use the same technique as before: jump over its projectile, slash it once in the air, combo it on the ground, and repeat until it’s dead. Get on top of the ledge to the right for 3 souls, wall-jump off the wall there, make your way across the wooden platform, and then leap to the ledge to the left. Fell another demonic tree to clear your path and then head left to another screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 44
SCORE = 440

Drop down and open the small chest. Continue left, jumping on top of the platform and then the ledge to discover this level’s magic spell: light feet, which allows you to walk in the air as long as you have some magic left in your gauge. Return to the previous screen, but instead of going back the way you came, leap onto the platforms above the demonic tree and use light feet once you’re on the right side of the upper platform. This will allow you to reach a platform below, with a string of 5 souls hovering over the gap to the right of it. Activate light feet to pick them all up and gain access to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 49
SCORE = 490

Head right across the small bridge and into the trunk of the massive tree in front of you. This will cause you to fall down to the spot where you met Bohort earlier. This time around, there are some souls here that weren’t present before. Cast light feet to walk over the pit, adding 5 more souls to your total. Now you might remember that there was a chest next to a gremlin that you couldn’t access earlier. If you’re interested in getting it, read on. If not, just skip the rest of this paragraph. So head back across this gap and left into the next screen. Use light feet here to pass this section quicker, but remember that the ledge to the left of the moving platform has a root that will get in your way and damage Gareth. Hop over this root and then across the gap to land on the nearby ledge. Take out the gremlin who is conveniently facing the other direction, and then jump up to the topmost branch of the tree. From here, use light feet to walk over to the previously inaccessible chest and claim your bounty. Backtrack to the gap with the slanted ledges below and once again use light feet to cross it and enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 54
SCORE = 540

You’ll notice that the background is different, implying that Gareth is now inside a gargantuan tree. Head right and break open the chest you find underneath another gazebo-shaped object. Continue to the right to enter another screen. Gareth will encounter his ghastly friend Uther, who once again asks that you find one of his memory fragments. Head right to shift the perspective of the background here and–more importantly–to reach the next screen. Run to the gap to your right and activate light feet, acquiring 4 souls before reaching a small platform, from which you can use light feet to access another small platform. If you want the contents of a nicely-hidden chest, cast light feet again and run to the right. Part of the wall here is partially transparent and hides some treasure. Loot the chest, return to the previous platform, and use light feet to get on top of the wooden platform with 2 souls on it. You’ve been using light feet a lot, so make sure that you don’t run out of magic while midair; otherwise, you’ll immediately fall down into whatever’s below you. Anyway, take out the two buzzing hornets before casting the spell again to snag 3 more souls and reach another platform. Use your magic once again and head left to a wall that you can wall-jump from for 3 more souls, and then head right with light feet for an additional 4 souls. Wow, Gareth’s really raking in the souls here, isn’t he? There’s another hornet up ahead, just past 3 more midair souls, so time light feet properly and safely make your way to the next platform. Feel free to exterminate both the hornet you passed and its buddy, and then leap to the ledge to your right to exit the current screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 73
SCORE = 730

On this screen, you’ll meet a new enemy: the skull spider. Defeat it before jumping onto the web and using it to reach the ledge up and to the right. A hornet is flying around up ahead, so kill it. Pause for a moment so that the nearby spider is in range before you remove it from the picture and claim its web. Move down a little while on the web and wait for a moment. Once the moving platform is below you, fall down and use it to reach a short ledge to the right. Trounce the hornet before activating light feet to simultaneously cross the gap and obtain 5 more souls. Wait for the spider above to pass to the left, and then wall-jump to reach its web. Be careful of the arachnid since it moves in a clockwise pattern. Anyway, make your way past it and onto the nearby ledge, and then head right to fight two more hornets. At the right edge of this ledge, let the spider get close before taking it out. Now jump onto its web, wait for the hornet circling to the right to be out of your jump trajectory, and then jump again onto the next web. From here, exit right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 78
SCORE = 780

As you move right, you’ll notice some dust that’s periodically released from some parts of the ceiling. This marks areas that roots will pop out from, so proceed carefully. You can either quickly make your way right to avoid them, or cautiously wait for them to come out of the ceiling and then proceed forward. Either way, you’ll reach a gap between two rope bridges with a string of 3 souls. Cast light feet and head right, picking the souls up before falling down onto another wooden bridge. Switch directions and go left, using light feet to cross another gap. Drop down to the bridge below and activate light feet to cross the gap to the right, quickly hopping onto the hand and casting your spell again to make it across the rest of the gap. If you’re feeling brave, you can actually fall down through the gap above the hand, land on it, and then quickly cast light feet to head to the right. Whichever you choose to do, be wary of the dust emanating from the ceiling ahead and board the elevator. As the gazebo begins to descend, make sure you are on the left side to avoid the root below and to the right. Once you’ve passed under it, quickly roll to the right to avoid the next root. Next, roll to the left, then roll again to the right, and then roll once again to the left. Now that you’ve reached the bottom, roll left through the gap for 3 more souls, and then quickly roll about three more times to avoid the ceiling roots entirely. Jump over the mushroom trampoline here and get 2 souls in a column next to the wall. Turn around and hop on top of the mushroom to get the row of 2 souls up in the air. Now bounce off the mushroom one more time to reach the top of the ledge to your left, and then snag the 4 souls on its left side. Head left to transition to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 92
SCORE = 920

Move forward and jump on top of the mushroom pacing in the spikes. This will launch you onto a small platform to the left, from which you can hop on top of another mushroom to land on the next platform. Ahead you’ll find two mushrooms, so bounce on each one once to reach the ledge in front of you. Proceed left and jump over the row of spikes, and then leap onto the next mushroom to safely land on another ledge. You’ll notice that the next mushroom is blue instead of red. It’s a different color because you need to “ride” this one across numerous spikes to reach the other side. I put ride in quotes because what you’re really doing is continually bouncing off it to the left while avoiding any spiked obstacles in the air. It shouldn’t be too tough, but if you want a little advice, I recommend bouncing forward for some of the jump, and then pulling back a bit to stop your forward momentum and safely land on the shroom. Rinse and repeat until you reach the other side (this should unlock the achievement Supersonic Mushroom, although you may need to enter the next screen for it to pop). Depending on the difficulty you chose, there will be some items above the red mushroom you meet here. If you want them, bounce off the red shroom and use a wall jump to reach these items. Once you’re done, exit left to enter an area with a new gimmick. What is this gimmick you ask? Well, you will notice that the screen will turn completely black here, except for Gareth and some green toadstools. Whack them with your sword to illuminate the room, but be forewarned that the illumination is temporary. Activate light feet to cross the nearby gap, jump onto the ledge, leap over two sets of hidden spikes, and then cast light feet again to reach the next ledge. Be careful though, as just past the right edge of the ledge are more hidden spikes. Thankfully, the tips of the spikes remain visible in the dark, so if the room darkens around the time you reach this position, you can still identify their location and safely leap over them. Smack the toadstools to dispel the darkness, and then hop over another set of spikes. Next, wall-jump off the nearby wall to land on a wooden platform, and then jump to the left to reach another ledge. Briefly pause to avoid getting skewered and then jump over the next group of spikes. You’ll see 4 souls down the vertical shaft to your left, but there are spikes at the bottom. I recommend falling down and pressing Gareth into the right wall, which will make him slide down and against it. Once you’ve acquired three of the four souls, quickly wall-jump to get the fourth one and land on a ledge with some luminous toadstools. Thwack the fungi, roll past some submerged spikes, wall-jump once off the left wall and then once more off the right, continue left, and then fall down the next vertical shaft to land next to another toadstool trio. Go left to enter the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 96
SCORE = 960

As you enter the next area, you’ll recognize the familiar word “FIGHT!” flashing on the screen. You know what to do: time to crack some skulls. Move forward and slice the hornet mindlessly flying in front of you, jump left onto the wooden platform there and wait for the spider to conveniently crawl into the tip of your blade, and then claim its web as your own. Use it to climb up on to the platform above and exterminate another pesky hornet. Leap across the gap and take out the spider on the lower web, and then wait for the arachnid above to lead itself down toward you and its imminent death. Ascend to the top of the lower web, and then jump up and slash the circling hornet to clear a path to the next wooden ledge (note that you can press up while falling in front of a web to grab it midair). Head to the left side of the ledge and kill the spider there, and then jump onto web. Climb up and to the left to safely position Gareth for a jump slash, and then do just that to the next spider, grabbing onto the web again during your fall to continue your upward climb. Get off the web and run to the right, eliminating the final enemy on this screen. You’re now free to head right and continue your journey. On the next screen, you’ll find Uther’s memory fragment right there in front of you. Pick it up, and then hop up the platforms there to reach the next screen. This room might seem familiar, and that’s because you passed through it earlier. Exit right and speak with Uther. Once done, you’ll receive a key, so return left to the previous screen and use Uther’s gift on the elevator there. After entering the next screen, defeat the spider to your left and use its web to get on top of the platform above it. Head right and cast light feet to reach another web. Kill the spider and use its silken ladder to get on top of the next wooden platform. Use light feet again to head left and then wall-jump off the left wall to land on another web. I recommend just staying in the center and waiting for the spider to pass under you before jumping off the web to reach a small chest to the right. Break it open for some goodies, slash the spider to your left, and then ascend the web. Get on the platform here and activate light feet again before heading right and then wall-jump off the wall there to get 4 souls. Grab the web here and climb left to get on top of the nearby platform, waiting at the edge of it for two spiders to approach. After they meet their demise, use the left web to reach the next web above and make sure you don’t get hit by the spider crawling around. Either avoid or kill the spider, and then head up through the gap here to enter the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

Jump on the ledge to the left and open the chest there, and then exit to the right. Jump to the right multiple times across falling platforms and onto a ledge with a tree on it. To the right of the tree stands Mantis, an insectoid monster who is this level’s boss. Cleave it in two (literally), and you’ll have cleared the Forest with all souls and the achievement On Top of the Dif’oen Tree to boot. Nice work! You’re almost halfway there.

Start by heading right to enter the next screen. You will encounter an enemy here known as “The Thing.” It’s less John’s Carpenter’s alien and more a humanoid sludge monster. It can’t be damaged when it turns into a puddle, but it can still damage Gareth in this state, so be careful. One combo should be enough to take it out, so wait for it to assume humanoid form and then give it the good ol’ one-two-three. Continue to the right to discover one of the fly enemies from the first level. Take it out with a quick slash and then deal with another thing. Proceed forward to eliminate another fly and thing. Head right to pick up 3 souls and enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 3
SCORE = 30

Fall off the ledge here to acquire 3 souls. Next, wall-jump off the nearby wall to land on a branch to the right for 2 more souls. Be on your toes, for a monstrous catfish will emerge from the water with a log floating in it down to the right. The catfish will remain in the air as long as you are within a certain distance from it. What’s more, it’ll periodically shoot projectiles at Gareth. Wait for an opening between the projectiles to turn it into sushi with some graceful cuts from your chef’s blade. Pro-tip: stand next to it once it’s in the air, duck, wait for the projectile to fly past you, and then hit the catfish with a single sword combo. To the right of the log is another tree with a branch. Getting on top of this branch will earn you 2 souls, but it seems out of reach. Thankfully–if you’ve been following this guide–you should have acquired the down air attack in the third level (Cemetery), so use that to reach the branch. If you’re struggling, wait for the thing to move to the right of the tree trunk. It should then enter its puddle form and change direction to the left. Position Gareth just to the left of the branch, and, once this enemy “stands” up, jump directly upward. Now wait until Gareth starts his descent before executing his down air attack. With a properly timed down air, our hero will bounce upward, so move Gareth to the right during his ascent to successfully land on the branch. There may be an invincibility potion on the right branch of this tree, so feel free to jump to the right and get it. Next, drop down, kill the fly, and then leap to the log floating in the bog water. Bait the nearby catfish’s projectile and defeat it with your sword combo (or just mindlessly run forward and attack it if you previously grabbed the invincibility potion). From here, jump onto the branch to the right but make sure you don’t reflexively slash the fly there. Why? Because you’ll need to perform another down air attack to reach a branch to the right. This time however, do a forward jump instead of a neutral one, and then down air attack soon after Gareth begins to drop downward. Hopefully you pulled this off successfully, propelling our hero to the next branch and adding 2 more souls to your counter. Now jump to the right to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 12
SCORE = 120

Hop over the swamp water and air slash the fly hovering above the nearby branch. Head right for 1 soul, dodge the catfish’s projectile, hit it once in the air, and then finish it with some strikes on the ground. Leap onto the branch to the right, jump up and over the thing there, and then take it out after it moves to the right and assumes human form. During this battle, you’ll probably have obtained 1 soul, but if not, make sure to get it before you continue your journey. Note that if you are standing on the right edge of this platform, you will trigger a nearby catfish to pop out of the water. Conveniently, it can’t hit you, but your position is low enough that you can just repeatedly crouch slash this enemy until it’s dead. Move forward to snag 1 more soul and trigger another catfish. Use the same technique from before–jump over its projectile, air slash, then combo it on the ground–to quickly dispatch it. Now jump onto the ledge to the right and exit to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 15
SCORE = 150

There is a vine swinging left and right on a branch to your right. If Gareth comes into contact with the vine, he can grab hold of it. Do your best Tarzan impersonation and then leap onto the branch when a) the thing there has moved out of the way, and b) the vine has swung fully to the right. There’s 1 soul just to the right of you but don’t pick it up just yet. Let the thing come back toward you and emerge from its goopy base (FYI sometimes it won’t do this early enough, so just jump back onto the vine and wait for the thing to head right again), and then take this hunk of sludge out with your swordplay. Now bait the catfish to the right to fire a projectile and then jump slash + sword combo it out of the picture. Next, leap over to the ledge to your right. You might be surprised to see that Gareth quickly slides forward without you pressing a single button. That’s because the yellow goo on the ledge is some type of slippery slime, so make sure you remember this whenever you encounter other slimy surfaces. Once Gareth has stopped moving, a thing will sidle toward you from the right. It should be upright long enough for you to land a combo. Now jump over the slimy surface to the right, and then jump back over it toward the opposite direction to land on a branch with 4 souls. Hop onto another branch up and to the left for another chest, plunder its contents, and then head right past the slimy ledge to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 20
SCORE = 200

On the wooden platform a little to the right of and above Gareth is another vine that looks different than the ones you’ve encountered before. Touching one of these will launch you upward, so use it to get on top of the platform and then do the same with the next one. Wait until the thing prowling around on the ledge to your right emerges from its puddle, and then take it out. Now head right to pick up 3 souls and continue forward to enter a new area.

SOUL TOTAL = 23
SCORE = 230

3 souls are conveniently lined up directly in front of you so pick them up. Just past them is a raft floating in some water with a piranha swimming back and forth to the right. Be aware that once you board the raft, it’ll automatically start moving to the other side of this pool. The piranha will leap out from the water once you’re close enough, so give yourself some space and take it out with a single crouching slash. Once on the other side of the pool, walk through the row of 4 souls and get on the next raft. Simply crouch on the raft and strike the piranha here to safely eliminate it, and then jump on to the ledge after the raft has ferried you across. Stand below the left edge of the branch above and jump up. Now kill the fly in front of you. Next, wall-jump off the wall to the left to get 1 soul, and then quickly air slash to exterminate the fly before it hurts you. Hop onto the ledge to the left and wait for the thing here to come out of its puddle before defeating it with a sword combo. There’s a chest nearby, so claim its loot and then jump onto the ledge to the right. Wall-jump off the right wall to nab 3 souls and land on the ledge above you. Continue left to a raft, slashing the fly in your way. Now wait until the raft is about halfway off the ledge in front of you before jumping over the fly below, and then quickly face this fly and attack it from the left before landing on the raft. Next, turn around and kill the other fly to your left. There’s a piranha swimming in the water below your current ledge, so wait for your raft to once again be about halfway off the ledge before jumping and landing on the left edge of the raft. Ignore or skewer the piranha you passed, and then run left into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 34
SCORE = 340

Proceed to the raft up ahead, take out the fly in front of you, and position Gareth on the right edge of the raft. Once positioned, switch directions, crouch, and then slash the piranha when it leaps out from the water. Now move Gareth to the left edge of the raft and, when most of the raft is above the gap below, jump to the left to land on a ledge there. If done properly, you’ll get 6 souls in one go. Now quickly pull off a sword combo on the nearby thing before continuing left to change screens.

SOUL TOTAL = 40
SCORE = 400

Another raft awaits, so board it and kill the fly ahead of you, but be careful because it isn’t stationary. Move Gareth to the center of the raft before falling through a column of 3 souls, and then skewer the approaching insect as it helplessly flies into your blade. Return to the center of the raft to fall through another vertical stack of 3 souls, and, if you’re quick enough, immediately jump to the left after getting these souls. Depending on the difficulty, there may be an item on the ledge you just landed on. Anyway, quickly jump rightward off this ledge to get back onto the raft and continue forward through 5 souls, making sure to hit the fly floating here before it hurts you. A catfish will emerge from the depths up ahead, so jump over its projectile and then duck after you land to pass under it unscathed. Wait until the raft is protruding over the edge of the nearby gap, and then leap across it to reach a ledge with 2 souls. Now run into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 53
SCORE = 530

Make your way to the altar and pick up the next spell: shockwave. This spell can be used to destroy barriers, propel Gareth backward when midair (a bit counterintuitive, I admit), and damage foes. Destroy the barrier to the right with your newly-acquired magic and pick up the 6 souls on the other side. Continue forward to find another raft, except this time, it won’t automatically move on its own. But worry not. With shockwave, you can use the force from its blast to move stationary rafts insofar as you are standing on them; however, just like when you use it to move Gareth through the air, you need to be facing opposite the direction you want to travel, which in this case is left. Once properly positioned, use the spell to ferry you across the bog water and through a long chain of 8 souls (the second and third screenshots below correspond to these eight souls). Now disembark the raft, stand just to the left of the demonic door blocking your path, face left, jump straight up, and use your magic midair to propel you through the now open door. Remember this technique for any future sentient doors you encounter. Having cleared this subtle tutorial, it’s time to run to the right and enter a screen you were at not too long ago.

SOUL TOTAL = 67
SCORE = 670

Fall off the ledge and through a string of 3 souls. Now this next part will consist of some backtracking but doesn’t lead to any additional souls. What it does lead to is an achievement (Lost Navigator) and a chest containing a fourth strike for your sword combo. If you’re uninterested, please skip this paragraph and jump to the next one. With that out of the way, let’s start backtracking by grabbing the vine to your right, which will catapult Gareth up to the ledge above. Take out the sludge once its upright and exit to the right. Board the raft and crouch, slashing the piranha after it jumps at you. Disembark the raft and get onto the next one. There’s another piranha here so repeat what you did earlier. Next, jump on top of the lower branch and kill the fly, and then wall-jump off the left wall, quickly pivoting to the right and air slashing the next fly. Now leap onto the ledge to the left and hop onto the branch above you. Defeat or spare the thing on this platform, and then hop onto the ledge to your right. Wall-jump off the right wall to get on top of the next ledge. There’s a raft up ahead, so board it and attack the fly to your left. With that winged threat out of the way, wait for the raft to be about halfway off the ledge up ahead, jump a bit to the left once it is, turn around, and then air slash the pesky insect to your right. Once you’ve landed, quickly face left and vanquish another irritating insect. The raft will soon reach another ledge, so wait for it to protrude halfway, jump a little to the left, crouch upon landing, and then fillet the piranha trying to take a bite out of Gareth. Run left to enter another screen and board the raft there. Strike the oversized gnat in your way, crouch, and then take out another piranha. Move to the left edge of the raft and jump from it onto the ledge to the left a little before the raft falls into the pit below. Sword combo the thing in front of you and enter the next screen to your left. You are now in the area that leads to the secret chest and achievement. Board the raft past the arrow sign, kill the fly moving toward you, and then quickly move Gareth to the left edge of the raft. Now wait until the raft is close to falling off the ledge, jump to the left, quickly pivot right, and then press the magic button a few times. If done properly, you’ll land on a branch to your left. Now hop up to the topmost branch, stand on its left edge, make sure your magic meter is full, jump to the left, quickly turn right, and then mash the magic button. Assuming you executed everything correctly, you will land on a small ledge in the upper left corner of the screen. Run to the left and make your way down the branches to the bottom, where you’ll find a pirate and a large chest. Speak to the lost navigator and then claim your bounty: an extra sword blow for your combo! You’ll love the additional damage. I guarantee it ; ) . Alright, head back up the branches and exit right. Use shockwave to propel Gareth back onto the tree to the right, and then do the same thing again to reach another tree right next to the arrow sign. There’s no raft here, so exit right and then back to the left to make it respawn. Board the raft and take out the three flies you’ll come across on your cruise through the marsh. Once you’ve killed the third fly, try and quickly move to the right edge of the raft and duck. This will allow you to both dodge the projectile spat out from the maw of a nearby catfish and safely pass underneath it. It may shoot another projectile at you once you’re on its right, so jump over the ball and leap across the gap to your right to reach the next screen. This is where you got shockwave, so you know what to do: use the spell to destroy the barrier, get on top of the stationary raft, spam shockwave while facing left to reach the other side, get to the left of the demonic door, face left, and then jump up and use your magic to propel you through the door. Exit right, drop down to the platform below, and this time around fall off the edge of this platform instead of heading up. Board another stationary raft, face left, and activate your magic a few times to reach the next screen.

This image isn’t related to the Completionist achievement, but–for your reference–this is where the lost navigator and chest with an additional sword blow for your combo are located:

SOUL TOTAL = 70
SCORE = 700

Before moving your raft to the right, crouch down and make sashimi out of the piranha heading your way. Take note of the green water in the foreground that periodically pours down from the top of the screen. This will damage you, so you’ll want to avoid it whenever you can. Try using shockwave to position Gareth just to the left of where the water falls, and then cast your spell a few times to safely move past this toxic obstacle and into a row of 2 souls. Continue on your way to find 2 more souls adjacent to another toxic waterfall to the right. Now blast your way past this waterfall once it’s safe to pick up 2 additional souls, but make sure not to overdo it, because these souls are sandwiched between two waterfalls. Once the water to the right has stopped flowing, continue along this path to obtain the last 2 souls here. Keep moving your raft to the right to reach another screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 78
SCORE = 780

You might notice the top of a catfish’s body slightly above the surface of the water to your right. Move Gareth to the left side of the raft, but not all the way to its edge. Now face left, release three shockwave blasts in succession, and then quickly turn around and duck. I can’t guarantee success, but if everything worked out, you’ll dodge the catfish’s projectile and have a safe opening to defeat it with a sword combo. With your path safely cleared, jump onto the ledge to the right, and then up to the platform above. Jump up once again and air slash the fly there, then hop onto the platform to the left, and then again to the platform up and to the right. Take out another fly with a neutral jump and air slash, and then jump left twice: once to a platform, and again to grab onto a swinging vine. Swing to the branch to the left but don’t jump up to the other branch just yet. There’s an easily missable soul here, so drop down off your current branch and fall to the left to acquire 4 more souls. Wall-jump off the wall here to get back to where you were before, and then jump on top of the branch with the vine dangling from it. Artfully jump to the right and air slash the fly before landing on the branch to the right of the gap. Get on top of the tree trunk, grab the vine above you, and use it to swing onto a wooden platform. Jump up from this platform to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 82
SCORE = 820

Run to the left and destroy the thing before it can transform into a puddle, and then time a wall jump off the left wall to obtain 3 souls and grab onto the oscillating vine. Use it to reach the ledge to your right, and either dodge or destroy another thing to reach a screen with a new enemy: the piquant, a humanoid batrachian armed with a trident. They’re tankier than the average enemy, but if you got the additional sword strike from the hidden chest in this level (refer to the third paragraph above this one), you’ll be able to take them out in one combo. So let it hop toward you before turning it into confetti. Approach the slimy decline to your right and slip-n-slide through the mini-chain of 2 souls. If you jump at the last minute, you should be able to clear the gap in front of you. But if you don’t, worry not. A thing will approach from your left, so dodge accordingly and eliminate it once it’s damageable. There’s another thing to the left of the one you just defeated: spare or kill it and then wall-jump off one of the short walls that make up the opening above to get back to where you once were. Anyway, once you’ve cleared the gap to the right of the slimy decline, hop onto the ledge to your right and slide down the slime through 4 souls. Try to jump right after getting the last soul to reach the ledge across the gap. If you fall down, you’ll have to make your way left–defeating two piquants–and wall-jump off the wall there to get back to where you once were. Now that you’re on the aforementioned ledge, slide down yet another slimy decline, making sure to press nothing once you’re on the yellow goo. This will add 4 more souls to your counter and allow you to stop right before slamming into a fly hovering below a demonic door. Kill the fly, get to the left of the door, face left, jump up, and use shockwave to make it through the door and into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 95
SCORE = 950

Jump to the vine a little after it starts moving to the left, and then repeat this to reach the next one. There’s another vine up ahead, but there’s a fly blocking the way. Wait until the vine Gareth is currently holding onto is all the way to the right before jumping toward the insect and cutting it in two. This will also conveniently allow our hero to grab hold of the next vine. Do the same thing to the next fly, but this time around, Gareth will grab onto a springy vine, which will launch him up in the air. Hold right as you’re being flung upward, and you will land on another branch with 1 soul. Jump off this branch to the right and proceed onward to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 96
SCORE = 960

Gareth will meet his skeletal friend Uther here. Talk to him if you’d like, and then proceed into the next screen. You’ll notice that after moving a little to the right, the screen will begin scrolling on its own. Soon after, a horrific creature will start chasing you from the left. Destroy the two stacks of pots and boxes in front of you and either avoid or kill the thing beyond them. Jump up to the right and air slash the fly there (if you’re feeling brave, you actually have enough time to let it fly over you before jumping onto the ledge). Whichever you choose, use shockwave to destroy the barrier blocking your way, and then jump up and cast it again to destroy another barrier barricading your path forward. Run ahead to fall off the ledge and onto a raft. A fly will approach from the right. Take it out and then face left and cast shockwave once or twice, quickly pivoting right and crouching to slash the piranha lurking beneath the waves. Now turn back toward the left and cast your spell a few more times to reach another ledge with a fly hovering over its left edge. Jump to the right and quickly air slash it, hop up to the next small ledge, and then kill the fly on its right edge. Drop down to another raft while facing left, use your magic once, then face right, crouch, and strike the piranha before it bites you. Face left again, cast shockwave once, turn back to the right, and slash the fly heading your way. Pivot to the left yet again, use your spell two or three times, and then quickly duck to the right and take out another piranha. Turn left again (are you dizzy yet?) and spam shockwave until you’re next to the ledge with a couple of skulls on sticks. Head right to enter another screen and be done with this dem…oh wait, there’s more. Keep running to the right to board another raft–making sure you are on its left edge–face left, use your magic twice, and then jump over the projectile fired at you by the nearby catfish, not forgetting to strike it once in the air before landing. Once firmly on the ground, take it out with a combo, then immediately face left and cast shockwave a few times. Get up onto the ledge and cast your spell on the barrier there. Wall-jump off the left wall, land on the right ledge, and then fall down to the raft below. Turn left, use your magic twice, wait for the thing to finish moving left and then to the right before jumping onto the left edge of the ledge. You don’t have time to deal with the thing here, so quickly jump over it to land on another raft. Pivot left and cast shockwave a few times, jump twice to the right, and then destroy the stack of pots and crates. Next, jump to the left of the narrow gap and roll through the obstacles there (don’t worry, they’ll break). Gareth will then conveniently fall onto a raft on the other side. Now face the wall, use your spell once, and then turn around and kill the enemy flying toward you. Swing back to the left, cast shockwave once or twice, and then jump onto the nearby ledge and proceed into the next screen.

Whew, that was a bit intense. Thankfully, you can take it easy for a little while. On this screen, you will meet a new NPC. It’s the chief of the Ko’hai tribe, and, long story short, it wants you to root out the impostor hiding among its people. The chief will let you know that there is a member of the tribe–one with blue eyes and fully red feathers–whom it knows is trustworthy. From this point, you have two options: a) speak to the trustworthy Ko’hai and use the information it provides to go from one tribe member to the next and ultimately learn the impostor’s identity, or b) hover over the black text here to quickly learn its identity: the impostor has one red eye and both blue and red feathers. Anyway, once you’ve found the impostor, use shockwave on it (FYI this should pop the Congratulations Sherlock! achievement). The game will then automatically return you to the chief, who will give you the scroll you’re looking for. Return to the screen with all the tribesmen and continue heading right until you find a branch with a springy vine on it. Use this vine to get on top of the branch, and then repeatedly hop left and right until you are on the highest branch. Stand on the left edge of this branch, jump up to the left and then quickly turn to the right. Now spam your magic as much as you can until you land on an otherwise inaccessible branch in the upper left corner of this screen. If executed properly, you’ll get 4 souls for your efforts. Return to the topmost branch you were on previously, and then jump to the nearby tree house. Jump off to the right to enter another screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

Grab onto the vine swaying back and forth above the gap to your right and use it to reach the next platform. Right after landing, run to the left edge of this platform, face right, and take out the piquant with a four-hit combo. Jump to the next vine near the right edge of this platform once it starts swinging back to the left, and then leap onto another platform once the vine is all the way to the right. Hop on top of the trunk here and then jump up again to enter the next screen. You’ll start somewhat to the right of a piquant, so let it hop once toward you, and then combo it to death. Grab onto the vine past your vanquished foe, and then use it to leap toward an airborne fly, slashing it before you land on a branch. Jump left to another branch, hop up in the air to eliminate another fly, and then jump left again to the branch it was blocking. Feel free to fight the thing to the left if you wish; otherwise, jump up and to the right to land on the branch there, taking out yet another fly hovering in the air. There’s a vine to your right, so jump toward it once it starts moving to the left to safely grab it. Hop off it to the right and air slash the fly. You’ll have to Tarzan across two more vines to the right, so remember to jump toward them soon after they start swinging to the left. There’s a fly floating above a ledge to your right, so time your jump properly and quickly hit it in the air to avoid taking damage. Exit right to meet Uther once more, who will give you a key in exchange for the scroll you got from the chief. Use it to open the door to your right, and continue onward to encounter the Marsh’s boss, who is none other than the monstrous creature you were fleeing from before you met the Ko’hai chief. Once you’ve subdued the Kraken, you’re rewarded with the achievement Sushi Time. What’s more, you’re now fifty percent done with Completionist!

After Gareth’s brief comment about Uther’s civilization and the caves, head right to enter the next screen. Walk straight ahead to pick up the first 3 souls of this level, and then move right next to the edge of the ledge to your right. There are two enemies on this ledge: a flame bud that will periodically belch out fireballs and a green spider that patrols back and forth. From your current position, jump up and slash the spider twice when it’s in range to take it out (if you short hop you should be safe from the fireballs). Feel free to get revenge on the bud if you’d like; otherwise, hop onto the edge of the next ledge, and then quickly jump slash the bat beelining toward you (note that the height of the bat may vary, so if it’s low enough to the ground, just slash it standing). With your path cleared, continue onward into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 3
SCORE = 30

Run down the first decline and pause once the ground becomes level. Hold your ground and slash the bat approaching from the right, then walk down and pick up the 2 souls above the brown platform. Wait for a moment after the bud below shoots a fireball before jumping toward the platform in front of it with 2 souls. Jump over the bud’s next projectile, strike it on the way down, hit it with a two-hit combo on the ground, and then dodge another projectile before finishing it with an air slash. Next, drop down to the left for 2 more souls. Now fall off the left side of the row of barrels and move a bit to the right and then face left. Wait for the green spider to be within strike range and hit it with a two-hit combo. With that creepy-crawly out of the way, run down the decline until you reach a bud next to a platform. Be aware that there is another bud, a bat, and a spider down below, so try not to wildly rush ahead. Anyway, mow down the next two floral fire-spitters, automatically acquiring 2 souls after landing on the lowest platform. Wait for the spider below to start walking to the right before you eliminate it with a two-hit combo. Don’t chase it too far though, or you will have to deal with it and a bat. Now head right and air slash the aforementioned bat. Fall down into the gap ahead to transition to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 11
SCORE = 110

A green spider will crawl toward you from the left, so stay where you are and take it out with a simple one-two combo once it’s in range. Now move a bit to the left to trigger a bat to fall from the ceiling. Stop moving and slash it once it’s close enough to remove it from the picture. Continue left to trigger another bat and kill it with a single sword strike. Properly time your next jump onto the platform below and defeat the bud to your left. Do the same with the bud below and to the right. Drop down to the next platform and pause for a moment until a green spider heads to the right. Exterminate the spider with a two-hit combo and run to the left of the gap ahead. Jump up and air slash the bat flying above, and then jump over the two gaps ahead for 2 souls. Proceed into another screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 13
SCORE = 130

This screen pits you against a continually rising tide of cave water, so don’t dawdle and quickly head right. Jump on top of the small ledge there, and then immediately jump onto the mine cart tracks. Wall-jump off the right wall, land on the brown platform, and run to the wall to the left. Perform another wall jump and jump twice, once to a platform and once more onto a ledge. You can now relax as the water will stop rising. Wait until the platform moving left and right is below you, and then drop down to it, netting you 3 souls in the process (try and land on the left edge of the platform to get all souls in one go). Once it’s traveled all the way to the right, roll through the gap and into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 16
SCORE = 160

Head right and jump off the brown platform here to land on a box floating in the water. Leap to the next ledge, and then jump a bit to the right before moving back to the left, landing on the ledge you were just on. This will trigger a bat to fly at you, so jump up and air slash it. Jump right three times–landing on a floating box each time–and then wait on top of the third box. Another bat will fly toward you, but–depending on the box’s position (its height changes because it bobs up and down in the water)–you may not be able to hit the bat, so I recommend jumping up and hitting it on the way down with a well-timed air slash. Now hop right again to another box, and then one more time to reach a ledge leading to the next screen. This next area is another segment where idling or taking your time will be bad for your health. That’s because the ceiling will periodically come crashing down and squish Gareth. So hoof it until you fall into a short gap below, adding 1 soul to your counter (as long as you’re in the gap, Gareth should be safe–even if he’s standing–but feel free to crouch if it makes you feel better ; ) ). Once the ceiling moves back upward, run right to continue your journey.

SOUL TOTAL = 17
SCORE = 170

We’re not done with the antagonistic ceiling just yet, so mash roll until you reach a gap in the ground, acquiring 1 soul in the process. Feel free to bust open the chest between the two stone ledges ahead, but make sure to return to the gap as you won’t have enough time to avoid being squished by the ceiling. Once our environmental foe has receded, jump on the three ledges to your right and repeatedly roll after landing on the third one–nabbing 3 souls in a gap along the way–until you reach a short ledge. Jump on top of it and then quickly fall into the small pit below for 1 more soul. Wait for the ceiling to head back up, and then proceed rightward to enter the next area, thankfully devoid of oppressive ceilings.

SOUL TOTAL = 22
SCORE = 220

Climb up the barrels arranged in a stair-like pattern to obtain 3 souls. Eliminate the spider to your right with a two-hit combo, and then wall-jump off the wall here. The platform you land on will quickly fall after being touched. Now you have two options here: you can head left to get an item (note that this is difficulty-dependent) or head right to continue your journey. If you do go left, make sure to quickly air slash the bat flapping toward you, and then move slightly to the left before jumping to the platform and picking up the item there. Don’t worry about the platforms falling and disappearing because they will respawn soon after. Anyway, get back on top of the first falling platform and jump onto the nearby ledge. One-two the green spider (you should also hit the bat coming at you from the right, so you kill two birds with one stone) and continue to the right for another choice: head right across the falling platforms to continue with the level, or go down below to get an item in the bottom right corner. If you choose the latter, fall down once to the track platform and then down once more. Take note of the brown patches of the floor. There’s a new mole enemy here which can pop out of these patches on the ground, so try to avoid standing on them if you can. Locate the green spider crawling around and defeat it, then roll past the two brown patches to get the item above the arrow sign (FYI, this might be difficulty-dependent, but I found something here even on hardcore). It’s up to you if you want to kill the two rocky moles here, but if you do want to take them on, be aware that they are a bit tanky and will burrow into the brown patches whenever they’re above them, meaning you may have to chase them around before you can deliver the final blow. Anyway, return to the brown platform up and to the left of the elevated mine cart tracks, and then jump right to the stony ledge in the air. Quickly run to its right side and jump to the next ledge, slashing the approaching bat midair. Keep up your momentum and jump from the right side of this platform to reach yet another mid-air, rocky ledge. Add an air slash to the next jump to eliminate yet another bat before landing on the last of these platforms, and then jump again to reach a brown platform and head into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 25
SCORE = 250

Continue running forward until a bat drops down to block your path. Let it fly toward you and quickly swipe it off the screen with your sword. Just a little past this bat is Uther, so talk to him if you’d like, and then jump back and forth between the brown platforms above until you’re on the highest one. From here, wall-jump to reach a large chest on some tracks up and to the right of Gareth. Once you’ve pocketed your treasures, drop back down to the bottom and head right to a new section of this level. “What’s new,” you ask? Well, reminiscent of classics like DKC, this game also has a mine-cart section. Before hopping into the cart and challenging the tracks, don’t forget that if you miss any souls, you can drop into a pit to restart at the beginning (of this segment, not the level ; ) ) and pick up whatever it is that you missed; however, doing so will damage Gareth, so minimizing your number of retries is a good idea. It’s also important to keep in mind that the height of the cart’s jump depends on how long you press the button. In general, I recommend using short hops to reach the upcoming souls, but experiment with different heights if you find yourself struggling. Alright, with that out of the way, board the mine cart up ahead and jump over the gap to your right. Press nothing as you move forward through a chain of 3 souls, and then quickly press jump once you reach the edge of this track. Doing so will launch your cart onto the next track and through 2 more souls. As you travel down the decline, hop over the upcoming gap to collect 3 souls (you can still get them if you fall into the gap by quickly pressing jump after landing on the tracks below). Jump once more before the next gap, quickly jumping again after crossing this gap to reach some tracks with 2 souls. Now don’t jump too early. Instead, allow yourself to fall on the right edge of the tracks below and immediately jump right after landing. Assuming you did this properly, you’ll safely land on the other side. Do nothing at the next gap and fall onto the tracks below for 2 more souls, and then jump as soon as you can to reach the upper tracks for a total of 9 souls. Jump after getting them all to reach the end of this mine-cart segment. As an aside, if you hop back into the cart and ride it in the opposite direction, you’ll unlock the achievement Wrong Direction. Anyway, I hope you didn’t dislike this part because once you exit to the next screen, you’ll be greeted by another cart.

SOUL TOTAL = 46
SCORE = 460

Board the cart and short hop three times in a row to pass through three mini-chains, adding 6 souls to your counter (note that these six souls are covered in the first two images below). Don’t jump over the next gap to fall down and get 2 more souls, and then immediately press jump to avoid falling into the pit right in front of you. After landing on the next set of tracks, press nothing at the next gap to fall below and roll through 3 souls. Now do a long jump (hold the jump button down) to reach the tracks above, and then jump again at the top of the decline to land on the highest set of train tracks. Short hop over the goblin driving toward you, and then press nothing as you coast down through two small platforms for 4 more souls. Bounce over the last gap to exit the cart. Head to the next screen for a brief reprieve from Asteborg’s mine-cart madness.

SOUL TOTAL = 61
SCORE = 610

Proceed until you aggro a bat. Both it and a green spider will head your way. Stand your ground and take out the winged pest with a quick slash, and then two-hit the spider once it’s in range. Continue forward until you reach an identical pair and dispatch them with a few swipes of your sword. Now jump on top of the barrels stacked in the bottom right corner for 3 souls. Next, hop left onto the platform and jump left again before the platform plummets downward. Repeat this two more times to get to the left side of the screen, and then do this three more times to the right to reach a platform with 2 souls. From this platform, head up to the train tracks and be ready for three flame buds rooted in the ceiling. You can roll past them to quickly progress forward, or you can stand to the side of each and take them out with three air slashes. Just past them is another flame bud positioned on a wall, which will shoot a fireball directly in-line with Gareth’s position. Jump over its projectile and cut the bud to pieces. With this cavernous garden nicely mowed, jump onto the ledge to the left and run into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 66
SCORE = 660

Well, the mine cart’s back. Depending on your taste, that’s either good or bad news. Either way, let’s get to it. Board the cart, do a long jump across the gap and roll through 2 souls. Jump immediately after touching the second soul to safely avoid the goblin with road rage. Jump again after landing to clear the next gap, and then quickly short hop right after to dodge another antagonistic goblin. Press nothing as you fall through an arc of 3 souls and land on the tracks below. Keep on rolling until you pass over an incline and then jump once you reach the top to both get 2 more souls and avoid yet another goblin. Jump over the next two gaps and zoom through a row of 2 souls. Do one final long jump to reach the end of this course and say sayonara to riding a mine cart for the rest of the game. Press onward to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 75
SCORE = 750

Right in front of you lies soul capture, the spell you’ll be using throughout the rest of this level. Use your magic button to fire out a projectile that allows you to possess any enemy you hit, but make sure you don’t get hit by an enemy while possessing a host; otherwise, you’ll return to where you first used soul capture and have to start all over again. Try it out on the spider to your left. Once you’ve possessed your host, crawl to the left and jump over the narrow gap there for 3 souls. On the other side is a magic potion, which you can’t miss. Keep in mind that possessing an enemy will gradually drain your magic, so refill whenever given the chance. Anyway, hop over the next gap to acquire Uther’s scroll, and then continue on your way until you touch a skull altar. This will transform whatever enemy you’ve currently possessed back into Gareth. Now that our hero’s back in his own skin, exit left to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 78
SCORE = 780

You’ve been to this screen before: it’s the one that had a large chest on top of some truncated tracks. Anyway, fall down to the bottom and speak to Uther if you want. Once done, possess the bat to the left of our phantasmal ally and use it to fly up the nearby vertical gap and acquire 3 souls in the process. Now grab the magic vial to the left and continue upward to find another skull altar. Use it to return to your normal form and head left into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 81
SCORE = 810

Use soul capture on the bat that flies down to greet Gareth, and then fly to the left side of the screen. Now head all the way to the top past three tiers of green spiders, flapping to the right once you reach the top to touch another skull altar and switch back to Gareth. Drop down to the right and enter the next screen. Keep running right until you reach a wall, then wall-jump up to the platform above. Quickly duck to dodge a flame bud’s fireball, jump left over the next one to land on another platform, and then hop once more to dodge yet another fireball so that you can safely get to work on some much needed weeding. With that out of the way, jump back to the right to reach a new platform, and then hop directly up to land on the next set of tracks. Now don’t soul capture the nearby mole just yet. Instead, jump up to another set of tracks, and then wall-jump off the stack of barrels to reach a platform with a small chest. Smash it open, collect its contents, and then return to the platform across from the mole to possess the rocky critter. This enemy is unique because you cannot jump while possessing it. What you can do though is burrow through brown patches to travel through the walls and ground. Once you’re next to the first brown patch (located at the bottom right of this screen), press the buttons displayed on-screen to pass through the wall. Walk through the magic vial for some additional meter and pass under the flame bud above you. Continue to the right and burrow down into the ground below. Head left for a vial and burrow into the next brown patch there. Do this again to the patch above you, and once you are on the other side, drop down to the tracks below and touch the altar to ditch this form and return to our beloved hero. Eliminate the two spiders to your right and run into the next screen to reach a spider that you’ll need to possess. Safely make it past the flame bud here and fall down to a platform with 4 souls on it. Jump to the next platform (careful, the spider has a stubby jump), avoid getting hit by the bud on the ceiling, and then hop to the next platform for a juicy pickup worth 8 souls. Leap to the next platform, deftly pass underneath yet another bud, and then jump one final time to an altar. As Gareth, run to the right to transition to another screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 93
SCORE = 930

Go to the right side of this screen and possess the bat there. This next section, while not as hard, is a bit like a certain thorny section from Ori and the Blind Forest. For those of you that haven’t played that game, what this means is that you will have to navigate the bat through an area completely covered with spikes. It isn’t terrible, but hitting the spikes will revert you back to Gareth, so move carefully to minimize frustration. With that out of the way, fly up through a vertical shaft without touching the spikes to your left and right. Once you’re out of this shaft, head to the far left and up the shaft there (try bouncing back up once you’ve reach the bottom of your flap-filled trajectory to avoid the spikes above you), and then head right to reach another vertical shaft. This one is quite wide and easy to pass through, and you’re rewarded with a skull altar once you’ve flown past it. Exit right to the next screen and fall off the ledge there once the nearby spider has turned around to the right. Get rid of it after landing, and then move to the left of the flame bud, jumping straight up and air slashing it twice. Another spider will come from your right, so take it out on the ground, and then do one final air slash on the bud to remove it from the picture. Drop down to the level below and kill the spider crawling your way. Avoid the fireballs from the two buds here, and then make your way through a series of platforms below to get a total of 6 souls. Either roll past or repeatedly jump slash the next bud you encounter, and then ready yourself to eliminate a bat that flies down and then toward Gareth. Wait for the bud to the left to fire off a shot, and then jump across the gap from one track to another (a bat will fall down from above on the way, but it should fly over you as you land, so don’t worry about it). Jump once more to the left to land on the last set of tracks here and safely roll underneath another bud. Exit left to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 99
SCORE = 990

Jump onto the second ledge to your left and possess the green spider scurrying about. Once inside the arachnid, crawl to the left, making sure to grab the potion along the way to refill your meter. Remain on the ledge with the potion until a mine-cart goblin passes over you. Continue forward and fall onto the track below for 1 soul. Next, jump to the track up and to your left, crawl a few steps ahead until you spawn another goblin, and then return to the ledge below. With your path safely cleared, get on top of the nearby wooden platforms for another magic refill. Hop over the gap here and touch the skull altar to return to your original form. Now exit stage left.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

You’ll encounter a gazebo elevator on this screen. Board it and deftly use your invincible roll to make it through the gauntlet of flame buds. Once safely at the bottom, head right to enter the next area. Take out the spider approaching on your right with a sword combo, and then head right and wait for the stone mole up above to begin walking to the left. Use this opening to wall-jump off the nearby wall and land on the tracks. Quickly cast your spell on the mole and fall down off the tracks to land next to a brown patch of wall. Burrow through this wall and continue walking to the right, cautiously moving forward while avoiding the fireballs raining down from above. You’ll find more brown patches of stone up ahead, so burrow down, right, and then up. Right after you emerge from the third layer of stone, hold right so that you can take advantage of your upward momentum to clear the gap and land on another patch of burrow-able stone. Dig through three layers of stone identical to the previous pattern, and once again use your upward momentum out of the last layer to burrow through the stone wall up and to the right. This will shoot Mole Gareth onto a magic vial, restoring your meter to max. Up ahead are three buds on the ceiling lined up in succession, so time your movements properly to make it through unscathed. Next, dig down, then right, and then up to emerge to the right of a skull altar. Touch the altar to revert to Gareth, and then head right to bust open a small chest. Now keep heading right to enter the next screen and reach a dead end with a narrow gap in the wall. On the other side is a huge, balled-up beast. You will need to possess this monster to continue through the level, but before swapping bodies, be forewarned that this next part is a moving section where you are prompted to jump whenever an “!” surrounded by a triangle appears on-screen. You don’t have to leap immediately after it appears, but be ready and alert when it does to properly time your jumps. There are a total of four of them: the first off a ledge, the second over another ledge, and the final two over bottomless pits. If you successfully avoid all the obstacles and pitfalls, Gareth will reach the final skull altar of this level. Head right and jump onto the pile of pots, barrels and boxes (do not slash or roll into them, or they’ll be destroyed). Use this to reach the two chests above you. Claim your treasure and then exit to the right to face this level’s boss, the skeletal behemoth known as Big Bone. Shattering it into a million pieces will mean you’re almost two-thirds done with both Completionist and Gareth’s quest. As an added bonus, the game rewards you with the achievement Jaw Dropping; however, there’s no respite for our hero, so steel yourself to venture into the perilous mountains leading to Zadimus’s castle.

Ready yourself with a nice, deep inhalation of some alpine air, and then run to the right to enter the next screen. Continue rightward and pass through a chain of 3 souls over a rope bridge. You will undoubtedly notice a flying, beaked demon carrying a pygmy appear on-screen as you approach the bridge. This enemy will drop the monster it carries and afterward dive-bomb toward Gareth. You know it will do so whenever it starts to flap its wings more rapidly. The first time will result in it dropping the pygmy, and every subsequent time will telegraph its dive attack. As for the pygmy, it’ll bob up and down a few times before jumping at Gareth, and the distance of its jump varies depending on how far away you are from it. Anyway, what I recommend is to wait for the beaked demon to flap its wings rapidly, and then stand either to the left or right of it. After it has dropped the pygmy, take the vermin out with a three-hit combo, and then wait once more for the demon to begin quickly flapping its wings. Once it lunges at you, dodge with a roll aimed in the direction opposite of its dive attack and take it out with a two-hit combo. Feel free to develop your own strategy, but this should prove to be an effective method for dispatching this demonic duo. Anyway, a bit further to the right of the bridge is a rock-chucking goblin that cannot be destroyed. But do not despair, because if you strike this foe with your blade or roll into it, it’ll be temporarily petrified and cannot act. What’s more, while merely touching the goblin does not petrify it, it doesn’t damage you either. If you don’t petrify the goblin, it will throw the large stone it’s shouldering at Gareth. Keep in mind that the stone will repeatedly bounce off the ground in whatever direction it’s thrown, but it’s easily dodged with a roll. Alright, once you’ve familiarized yourself with these three enemies, exit right to reach the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 3
SCORE = 30

You will notice some clouds in the foreground of this screen. They can be used as platforms but will quickly dissipate after you land on them, so keep that in mind whenever you come across a platforming section with clouds. Alright, so head to the right and jump on the second cloud from the bottom. Quickly jump on the cloud to your left, run to its left edge, and then jump up to the next cloud. Immediately jump from this cloud onto the platform to your right to obtain 2 souls. There’s a goblin up and to your right that will throw a stone at you soon after landing, so jump up and to the left before moving back to the right once you’ve reached the top of your jump. Remember that touching these goblins doesn’t hurt Gareth, so–after you have landed–quickly jump onto the platform to your right. Now jump onto the next cloud and wall-jump off the cliff to your right to land on another cloud. Lastly, hop to the ledge to your right and run into the next screen, picking up 3 souls in the process.

SOUL TOTAL = 8
SCORE = 80

You’ll notice a cloud slightly below the ledge you start on. Try jumping onto the right edge of this cloud, and then jump as far to the right as you can onto the next cloud. Before this cloud disappears, run to its right edge and jump as far as you can to the right. If done properly, Gareth will avoid the pygmy below and it will leap off the ledge to its doom. Now bait the beaked demon to drop its pygmy, give it the ol’ one-two-three, wait for the demon to lunge at you, dodge it, and then take it out with a two-hit combo (make sure you bait it toward one of the edges and then roll away from the edge). Once you’ve defeated all the monsters, fall off the right side of this platform through a chain of 3 souls.

SOUL TOTAL = 11
SCORE = 110

Gareth will land to the right of a Goliath-sized enemy that I’ll refer to as a werebear. This enemy is tankier than your average foe, but if you keep the following in mind, you can cut this beast down to size without even getting scratched. First, its attacks. If you are far enough away, the werebear will leap across the screen, which will damage Gareth if he’s underneath it. When in close proximity to the beast, it will slash twice, telegraphing both attacks with a white flash of its body. Keep in mind that the second slash is a bit delayed, but if you pay attention to the flashes, you should be okay. Another point to keep in mind is that if you try and roll through the slashes, you can avoid taking damage, but the roll will sometimes “clash” with the slash and Gareth will be pushed back. What’s more, if you do happen to roll through the werebear when it does the first slash, it’ll change direction to face you before attacking with the second one. Anyway, with that in mind, here’s what I recommend: let the werebear jump at you and–while it is midair–open enough space between the two of you such that you’re too close to trigger its jump but too far to trigger its double slash. This will cause the enemy to run at Gareth, attacking you once it’s in range. What you’ll want to do is execute your sword combo in advance, hitting the monster with the tail end of your combo. Now the timing of this will vary depending on whether you picked up the combo upgrade either from the fifth level or by purchasing it at the store, so make sure you start your combo accordingly. Once you’ve landed your attacks, roll away from the werebear until you are out of range of its slashes. Repeat this process a number of times, and you’ll emerge victorious over this intimidating foe. Another useful tip is to avoid being boxed into the corner, so if you find your back to the wall, get the werebear to jump at you and then roll or run underneath it to escape the corner. If it runs at you, wall-jump off the wall to safely open up space and avoid getting damaged. Anyway, feel free to experiment with your own strategy, but if you can’t find anything better, this should work. Anyway, once you’ve vanquished the beast, a cloud will appear to the right. Wall-jump onto it and jump to the right to get 2 souls. Drop down from this ledge to get 1 more soul, and then quickly drop down once more to the next ledge. Wait for both pygmies to hop toward you before jumping over them and rolling to the right. Since about half of this area is sloped, it can be a pain to take out these two pests, so feel free to wall-jump off one of the walls in the gap above you to land on a wooden platform with 2 souls. If you want to exterminate these nuisances, let them leap over to you when you’re in the corner, roll past them into the other corner, get them to jump back toward you, and then quickly three-hit them before they jump again (hopefully you’ll have enough space to do so). Return to the wood platform and jump up into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 16
SCORE = 160

Before making your way to the right and further progressing through the level, head left and enter the next screen. You may not realize it, but you were actually here previously. You couldn’t access this ledge however because it lay on the other side of a wide pit. Anyway, smash open the large chest here for some goodies and grab the 6 souls next to the broken rope bridge. Return to the previous screen to continue your journey.

SCORE = 22
SCORE = 220

Head past the arrow sign and hop onto the left edge of the ledge directly to the right of the wooden platform. Wait for a moment so that a pygmy leaps and lands on the ledge just to the right of you. It’ll probably be a bit out of range, so hit it with either a four-hit combo or two three-hit ones to successfully eliminate it, and then hop up to the left edge of the platform the pygmy was on. Another pygmy will jump onto the ledge to your right, so take it out with a combo or two. Once you reach the topmost of these stony ledges, bait the demon into dropping the pygmy it holds, and then take out the pest. Wait for the beaked demon to charge toward you before rolling through it and following up with a two-hit combo. Next, jump onto the right edge of the nearby cloud to get 2 souls, then head to the left of this cloud before it disintegrates, landing on another cloud below for 2 more souls. Quickly head to the right to land on the right edge of the bottom-most cloud for another pickup worth 2 souls, making sure to immediately run off the cloud onto the ledge to the right to avoid falling onto some spikes below. Exit right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 28
SCORE = 280

Don’t move from your starting point and wait for a pygmy to your right to leap twice toward you. After its second jump, it should be in range, so take it out with a triple strike. On a ledge up and to the right is one of those stone-chucking goblins. Wait for it to throw a rock before wall-jumping off the side of the ledge to reach a cloud. Quickly wall-jump off the wall next to this cloud to land next to the goblin, and then jump once more to the right. Loot the chest here and then strike the goblin to temporarily petrify it. Now drop down below and let the nearby pygmy hop toward you, subsequently taking it out with a combo. There’s another goblin up and to the right of where you stand, and you will need to avoid its projectiles while using some clouds to reach the next area. The best approach is to wait to the left of the broken rope bridge until the goblin throws a rock, and then jump straight up and land on the cloud there. Quickly hop onto the same ledge as the goblin and use it to reach the next cloud. From here, you can leap to a ledge with a broken rope bridge and 3 souls. While the souls might tempt you to run forward and collect them all, it’s best to wait to the right of the broken bridge until a pygmy jumps and lands next to a nearby tree. Take it out before it jumps again, and then fall down twice in a row. This will position you up and to the left of a cart (try to be on the tip of this ledge). Wait until the two pygmies to your right jump toward you, and then run off the ledge to arc over them. Quickly turn to the left and execute a three-hit combo to take out one of the vermin. Next, run or roll to the right to dodge the remaining pygmy and defeat it with another combo. Head back to the left and jump onto the ledge you were previously on. Now hop onto the nearby cloud and use it to reach the other side. Run to your right through a chain of 4 souls and down into an area with another werebear. Defeat it with the strategy I mentioned during your first encounter with the beast or, assuming you have some super attacks stocked up and you’re willing to use them, zap it three times with a lightning bolt to quickly remove it from your path. Whichever approach you choose, do a wall jump to reach the cloud that spawns after the werebear’s defeat so that you can reach a ledge leading to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 35
SCORE = 350

As you head a bit forward, you’ll notice a gap above you and a path to your right. Ignore the path for the moment and jump up and into the next screen. You’ll land on a wooden platform with a goblin up and to the right. Jump to where the arrow sign is and roll twice to the right before hopping onto the nearby ledge. Continue right to reach another arrow sign and a pit. There’s a vertical chain of 4 souls here, so jump from the ledge and into the column of souls. Don’t worry about the pit. It won’t damage you and in fact leads to the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 39
SCORE = 390

This next section is a bit unique. Gareth will start on a rock platform, which is itself in a state of free fall. For the rest of this section, every platform will slowly fall toward the bottom of the screen and then disappear. What’s more, rocks will occasionally fall from above as you navigate your way back and forth across these platforms in an attempt to avoid falling into the pit below (this one will damage you if fallen into and resets the entire section). With that brief explanation out of the way, let’s get to it. First, position Gareth on the right edge of the starting platform. Wait for a small platform to spawn to your right and let it fall about a quarter of the way down before jumping onto it. Next, jump up and to the left to land on another platform, and then run and stop close to its left edge. A rock will fall down just to the left of this platform, so let it pass below you before jumping onto the platform up and to your left. Control your impulse to hop onto the small platform to your right and wait for another rock to fall past you. Once it’s out of your way, jump onto this platform and then quickly do the same thing once more to reach another platform on the right side of the screen. Briefly wait until a rock falls directly through the platform up and to your left, immediately leaping to it before jumping onto a platform that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Make sure you land on its right edge, because another rock will soon fall through the left half of this platform. A little after this, a rock will appear directly above you. Don’t panic and instead let it fall about a sixth of the way down before you jump onto a small platform to the right. Right after landing, jump onto the platform up and to the left so that you can reach another platform to the right. Between this platform and the next one is a gap through which another rock will fall. Wait until it is in front of you before jumping over it to reach the next platform, and then quickly jump onto the platform up and to your left, making sure to run to its left half to avoid yet another falling rock. Once it has passed, leap to the small platform above you and pause. A rock will fall from above, blocking your path to the next platform, so be patient and let it pass before hopping onto the next platform. Quickly jump onto the next two platforms and position yourself on the latter’s left side. Once the next falling rock has fallen below you, run to where it once was to dodge another rock, and then jump directly up onto the platform above. Immediately go to the left side of this small platform and once again jump straight up. This will allow you to successfully dodge the next stone and land on the final platform. Before you shout, “I did it!,” head to the left side of this platform to ensure no more falling rocks hit you. You can now feel free to shout, “I did it!” Remain on this platform as it falls into the pit, dropping you into the next screen and to the left of the stop time spell. As the name implies, this spell stops time, which in turn can be used to temporarily “disable” environmental hazards, keep enemies in place while you attack them, or “transform” certain attacks and projectiles into platforms. Exit to the left and use the spell to turn the goblin’s rock projectile into a platform. Keep in mind that the spell doesn’t immediately activate after pressing the button. If it feels a little weird, use this area to acclimate to the timing. Once you’ve got it down, use one of the goblin’s frozen rocks to reach the ledge above. Now walk through the row of 3 souls and enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 42
SCORE = 420

Wall-jump off the wall next to the broken rope bridge above Gareth to get 6 souls. To the left of this bridge is a waterfall with multiple icy platforms flowing down it. Use your magic to stop the bottom-most platform in front of Gareth, and then quickly hop up the remaining platforms to exit this screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 48
SCORE = 480

You’re not yet at the top of the waterfall, meaning you’ll have to use time stop some more to continue your ascent. Keep in mind that this part is a little longer than the previous section, so make sure your magic meter is full before casting your spell. Anyway, jump on top of the stony ledge to the left and time your cast such that the bottom-most platform is right in front of you. Next, quickly scale this series of platforms until you reach the top of the waterfall, and then hit the switch you find there. This will create a bridge of sorts that leads to the next waterfall. After a short cutscene ends, fall through the gap to your right to obtain 6 souls. Once you’ve landed, run all the way to the left. Make sure that your meter is full and then cast time stop such that the bottom platform is roughly lined up with Gareth’s head and shoulders. Rapidly leap from platform to platform, jumping directly up from the second highest platform instead of toward the highest one. This will allow you to reach the rope bridge at the very top before the spell times out. Run left to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 54
SCORE = 540

You start in the upper right corner, high above a chest, 3 souls, and a pygmy. Quickly fall off the ledge while hugging the wall to give you enough time to defeat the pygmy with a three-hit combo (it should jump just to the left of the bottom right corner, making it defenseless; that’s assuming you fell down soon after appearing on the screen). Grab the souls and bust open the chest before heading left up an incline. Bait the pygmy at the top to jump toward you so that you can safely take it out. As you continue leftward, you’ll probably realize you’ve been here before; however, this time around things are different. That’s because you now have time stop, which will allow you to reach a new part of the level. Anyway, jump up into the gap above the arrow sign to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 57
SCORE = 570

Head right–stopping at the right side of the leafless tree–and time your magic such that the rock thrown by the nearby goblin is near the bottom of the screen. Use it as a stepping stone to access the ledge the goblin is on. From here, jump up to the next ledge and stop in the corner. Use your spell again to unfreeze time and wait for your meter to refill. There’s another goblin above you, so use time stop to freeze the rock it throws in front of the tree trunk to your right. Jump from the frozen rock onto the ledge above you, and then make your way left into another screen. On this screen, you’ll notice a wooden hatch in front of you and a large, button-like switch to the left of it. Run over this hatch to automatically acquire 1 soul (it’s not visible, but you’ll notice the number one appear when stepping on the hatch, signifying you acquired the soul). This switch will unsurprisingly open the hatch, but if you step off it, the hatch will immediately close, which means you’ll want to use time stop after stepping on the button to keep the hatch open. Make sure you have enough meter before doing so, and then fall through the gap to get 2 more souls. Alright, so once you’ve landed on the ledge below, unfreeze time and wait for your meter to completely refill. There’s a goblin right below you, so wait for it to chuck a rock and try to freeze it around the bottom of its second bounce. Now quickly jump on top of it and then leap onto the platform to the left. Cast your spell again to allow the rock to continue bouncing–jumping up as it approaches to dodge it– and then freeze time again so that the rock is between the platform you’re standing on and the ledge on the other side. You should have limited meter at this point, so immediately jump to the rock and use it to reach the ledge. Let your magic run out and wait for a brief period to regain some meter, and then stand on top of another switch before using time stop yet again. Wall-jump off the left wall of the nearby gap and, after landing, leap over the small spiked pit to your right to reach 6 souls. Return to where you just were and head left to encounter a new type of cloud. These clouds are black and have little blue waves coursing through them. They also occasionally flash blue, and if you happen to be on one of them when this happens, you’ll take damage. With this in mind, wait for the cloud to flash blue, jump on it, and then jump once more onto the ledge to the left. Above you’ll find two more clouds: a white one and a black one. Wait for the black cloud to flash blue before wall-jumping off the nearby wall and landing on the white cloud. Next, quickly jump right onto the black cloud and then immediately off it and onto a stony ledge. Let the pygmy to your right jump toward you before taking it out with a combo or two. Head a bit to the right to aggro another pygmy as well as a goblin. Next, try and use your invincible roll to safely dodge the rock, and, if necessary, reposition yourself after the roll to prevent the pygmy from landing on you. Swiftly hit it with a combo, and then roll through the next rock thrown at you. Hop up to where the goblin is and use this ledge to reach a small rock platform with 1 soul on it. Jump up from here to reach the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 67
SCORE = 670

You’ll start this area with a beaked demon and pygmy duo already alerted to your presence. Use the same technique you’ve used this entire level to eliminate these enemies, making sure to keep them on the left side of the screen so that you aren’t harassed by a rock-chucking goblin. This little troll is on a ledge to the right of a pit full of icy spikes, so turn the rock it throws into a platform to reach its ledge and then roll to the right a few times to both get 6 souls and safely cross a platform that would normally collapse if time wasn’t frozen. There’ll be more of these up ahead, so make sure you’re ready for them (don’t worry, this guide’s got your back ; ) ). Okay, so jump onto the next platform, run to its right side, and then jump to another platform. Some green wisps will rush toward you, so jump over the first one and slightly move Gareth to the right while doing so. This will let you dodge the first wisp with a narrow jump arc, allowing you to land and jump over the next enemy without taking any damage. Alright, with those two threats deftly avoided, continue rightward, jumping onto the edge of the next platform once you’re close enough. Another pair of wisps will rush toward you, so dodge them the same way as before (I think they are a little more spaced out than the previous duo). Once again, head right and make sure to land on the edge of the next platform because you’ll have to deal with yet another pair of wisps. Dodge them accordingly and proceed toward the first narrow platform of this section. It’s a good idea to jump on its edge because a solitary wisp will leap at you from the right and the platform doesn’t give you too much room to dodge it. Anyway, you probably noticed the small black cloud between your current platform and the one to your right. You can’t jump on these unfortunately, and–as you’ll notice–they have an electric orb “tethered” to them. These orbs repeatedly move away from and then back toward the cloud they’re attached to, so be mindful of their movements before jumping over them. For this particular cloud, wait for the orb to be pulled next to the cloud before jumping onto the platform to its right. Above the right edge of this platform is another small black cloud, but unlike the one you just encountered, this type will periodically shoot out bolts of lightning. Wait for one of these bolts to pass in front of Gareth before activating your magic. That’s right, the collapsing platforms are back. Thankfully, you just froze time and can now safely venture onward. Hop over the gap and then quickly roll after landing. Once your roll has finished, jump on top of the white cloud, run to its right edge, and then leap to the small platform to your right. Jump once more to the next platform. During this jump, your magic should run out and time will return to normal. Be ready because the platform you land on will collapse, so briefly run to the right before jumping to both close the gap between the current platform and the next one and avoid falling into the bottomless pit below. A lone wisp will approach from the right after Gareth lands, so jump over it before continuing onward. Hop onto the white cloud here, and then use it to reach the snowy ledge to the right. Continue forward through 4 souls and into the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 77
SCORE = 770

Head to the right and you’ll find two up-and-down platforms to the sides of two black clouds of the “tethered” variety. To make things easier, you can utilize time stop to pass through this area, so please do that if you’d like. The following explanation can be used in conjunction with the spell or without it (just make sure to cast the spell early enough in advance and, as always, be mindful of your meter). So what you want to do is: wait until a) the platform is near the bottom of its path, and b) the bottom tethered orb has just started getting pulled back toward its respective cloud. Once this has happened, immediately do a short hop to the right and you should both avoid getting damaged and land on the other platform. Wait for the next platform to come close enough before jumping on top of it, and then wait for it to carry Gareth next to another moving platform. Leap to it once it’s in range and use the same maneuver you used previously to pass through another pair of electric orbs. Once the platform you’re on gets close enough to the snowy ledge, jump onto it and grab the 2 souls above an abandoned cart to the right. Next, stand below the goblin above you and use time stop once the rock it throws hits the ground. This should freeze the stone midair between the two nearby leafless trees, so use it to reach the ledge with the goblin and walk onto the switch there. The switch will stay activated, eliminating the need to cast time stop. Now hop off the right edge of this ledge to get 6 souls and land on the bridge that was spawned by the switch. Next, jump onto the platform to the right and quickly jump again to avoid falling into the pit below. Run through the line of 3 souls to enter a new area and give Gareth a brief reprieve from the cold snow.

SOUL TOTAL = 88
SCORE = 880

Head to the right and speak to Uther if you’d like. Now hop onto the wooden platform up and to the left of the arrow sign for 2 souls. Board the nearby elevator and stand in the middle of it. This will automatically net you 5 souls as it moves upward (FYI, this chain of souls is covered in the second and third reference images below). Take the exit right in front of you to continue your climb to Zadimus’s castle.

SOUL TOTAL = 95
SCORE = 950

Get onto the moving platform to your left–making sure you are on its left edge–and wait until it is just to the right of the dark cloud shooting out lightning bolts. You should be able to safely jump under the cloud and onto the next platform the moment your current platform begins to move back to the right. Now there’s another cloud up ahead. Get close to its right side and wait until the last bolt it has fired is just below you before jumping onto the third platform. Do the same thing to get past the third cloud, and you will find yourself on a ledge with a leafless tree below a rock-chucking goblin. Wait for the rock it throws to bounce, and then cast your spell a little after the rock starts descending. Use the airborne rock as a stepping stone to get to where the goblin is and position yourself to the left of it. You may notice one soul lying in a small gap to your left. Roll into this gap to get 1 soul and enter a secret area with three chests. Doing so will also unlock the achievement Cave of Ali Baba as well! Anyway, after claiming your plunder, exit this area the way you came and try to wall-jump off the wall to your left a little before or around the same time the dark cloud above you flashes blue. Immediately jump onto the next cloud, wall-jump, land on another dark cloud, and then quickly jump toward the goblin to your right (FYI, you can make all of this easier by first casting time stop with a full magic gauge; the same applies to the next series of obstacles). Another dark cloud lies just ahead, but this type is one you haven’t encountered yet. What it will do is shoot out a lightning bolt, much like one of the clouds you came across earlier. The difference here is that when the bolt hits a surface, it’ll generate two electric orbs that travel left and right respectively. Not only that, but they will continue to travel along any surface–vertical or horizontal–until enough time has passed for them to dissipate into nothingness. With that primer out of the way, here’s what you want to do: get to the right edge of the ledge you’re on, jump right before the bolt hits the ground and try and land directly below the middle of the cloud. Once you’ve landed, immediately run toward the slanted pine tree and briefly pause to the right of its trunk. This will open a little bit of space between Gareth and the orb in front of him. Now jump to the right before the other orb hits you from behind, and then run off the right edge of the ledge you landed on. At this point, the orbs should have dissipated, so you can rest at ease. Try and position yourself a bit to the right of the nearby signpost, baiting a pygmy to jump in front of you while you move a little to the left to avoid taking any damage. Take the vermin out with a combo and press onward into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 96
SCORE = 960

You’ll start on a ledge, so run off its edge and pull back to the left while falling to make sure you are tucked into the corner. A pygmy will land in front of you, leaving it open to a combo. Like earlier, this next part can be made easier with time stop, although the following description assumes you don’t cast it. Anyway, once the pygmy is defeated, quickly roll to the right, jump onto the elevated platform, run ahead a little bit until you’re under the left side of the cloud above, roll again, continue running until you’re under the right edge of the house in the background, perform a narrow jump to the left to avoid the orb approaching from behind (it will disappear before you land), and then turn around and take out the pygmy that landed nearby. Wait until the bolt released by the dark cloud to your right just hits the ground before jumping directly underneath the middle of the cloud. Immediately run a little to your right and jump onto the ledge ahead, making sure that you don’t travel too far and accidentally land on the orb in front of you. Run to the edge of this ledge and jump just before the orb behind Gareth hits him, landing directly below the middle of another cloud. Move a little to the right before jumping up to the next ledge. Soon after landing, hop onto the right edge of the nearby cart, and dispatch the pygmy that conveniently lands right in front of you. Now this next part is a little strange, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Head right until you are in front of an arrow sign to the left of a pit. On the other side of it are two ledges, and above the upper ledge is another one of these clouds that shoots out orb-generating bolts. The right orb will travel up and off the screen, so it’s nothing to worry about. The left orb will travel horizontally to the edge of the ledge before moving down the side of it. Once it reaches the bottom of this ledge, it’ll travel diagonally downward, eventually disappearing into the pit below. While this is a bit odd compared to the other clouds of this type, all you need to do is wait until the left orb is about halfway down the ledge before jumping across the pit. Once you land, quickly roll to the right and exit into the next screen. Below and to the right are two black clouds that you can land on, but you’ll want to wait for them to flash blue before falling or jumping onto them. Soon after landing, beeline to the right side of the screen and fall down the gap there. Once you’ve reached the bottom, run a little to the left to meet a new enemy: the golem. This enemy is a bit interesting because it requires you to use time stop to damage it. More specifically, the golem will thrust its two fists into the ground to create a shockwave of rising earth, which travels across the screen. This shockwave will cause a pillar of stone to pop out from the ground and then recede back into it, soon followed by another pillar that appears right next to where the previous one was. This will continue until the shockwave reaches the other side of the screen. If you use your spell during this time, it’ll freeze one of these earthen columns in place, giving you a platform that can be used to reach the other side of the golem, where its only damageable point lies (you can also use Gareth’s down air attack to get behind this menace, and this method doesn’t require a pillar). Time stop is also useful because it keeps the golem in place while you strike at its weak point, so it’s a good idea to cast the spell when your meter is completely full; however, you do not want to destroy this enemy just yet, because you need to use one of its pillars to reach some souls above and, once it’s gone, it’s gone. With that in mind, approach the golem, standing to the right but not directly in front of it; otherwise you’ll take damage. Now wait for it to generate a shockwave, and then quickly use your magic. Jump on top of the pillar and use your down air attack on the golem to propel Gareth upward and onto a heretofore inaccessible platform. If you don’t have the down air attack, try freezing the pillar high enough to reach the platform above. From this platform, jump to the next one to the left for 4 souls. There’s a super attack floating above another platform to the right, so grab that if you aren’t already maxed out at nine of those, and then fall back to the bottom of the screen to vanquish this intimidating foe. Use one of the methods mentioned above to attack the golem’s weak point until you run out of magic. Once time has returned to normal, you’ll probably be able to get in a few more strikes so hack away. After a little bit of time has passed, the golem will ball up and roll to the other side of the screen. Wait for your meter to refill and repeat this process as many times as necessary to turn the golem into a pile of rubble. With it defeated, you are now free to go left past the signpost and into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

This next segment can be made easier with time stop, but the following explanation doesn’t use it, so it’s your call. Anyway, immediately after the word fight fades from the screen, jump once to the left, then roll, and lastly run until you reach a broken rope bridge. From the bridge, jump left to land on a white cloud, and then run to the edge of it before jumping onto the dark cloud to your left. Run to the edge of this cloud and leap onto the next one. Once again, run to its edge and jump to the left to land on another dark cloud. Run about halfway across this cloud before jumping to ensure you don’t get shocked, and then quickly hop to the right to land on the cloud there. Immediately jump to the left to reach another cloud, run to the other side of it, jump and land on a dark cloud, and then jump in the air right after landing to arc over this cloud, avoid getting shocked, and land on another cloud below. Run off the left edge of this cloud to reach a long, snowy ledge. Proceed leftward to encounter another golem. Since this is one of those “FIGHT!” screens, you’ll have to beat it before you can enter the next area. Apply the same strategy you used on the last golem to vanquish it and clear the way. After you’ve entered the next screen, you’ll notice one of Uther’s memory fragments directly in front of you. Touching this fragment will relocate you right next to Uther (which is the same screen you boarded the elevator on). He’ll drop a key that will open up the path leading to this stage’s boss. Pick it up and head right, using your newly-acquired key on the elevator. As you travel upward, the screen will become darker and darker, and once you reach the next screen, you’ll be greeted by a beautiful sunset, which tinges the screen with hues of yellow, orange and purple. After you’re done appreciating the scenery, continue to the right to meet Ridly, the cataclysmic storm. Besting this foe will unlock the achievement, After the Rain Good Weather. Pat yourself on the back but don’t get too comfortable. You still have three levels worth of souls to get, and your showdown with Zadimus soon approaches!

Surrounded by mist and darkness, our hero Gar…oh wait a minute, that’s not right. Sorry about that, it’s become a habit at this point. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Gareth is surprisingly not present. Instead, the player is given the opportunity to play as Gareth’s mentor, none other than Bohort, the mighty leader of the royal guard. He is equipped with a massive blade, and the hitbox of his slashes is greatly increased due to the length of his weapon. While this is an improvement over Gareth, keep in mind that all of his slashes are a bit slower, and his fourth strike is a thrust that simultaneously moves him forward. These two properties can make him a bit more unwieldy, so–once he’s done muttering something about Zadimus–you may want to use this initial screen to familiarize yourself with his attacks before proceeding into the castle and using him in combat. Once you feel comfortable with how he fights, head right twice to enter the castle proper.

After entering the castle, you’ll be greeted by the first new enemy of this level: the mad monk. Let the monk get in range and take him out with a three-hit combo. Run to the first window and use another combo to take out the next monk before moving to the statue up ahead, waiting for a floating head to fly close enough and dispatching it with a single slash. Continue past the next window and eliminate the monk that appears on-screen. As you move beyond the large column to the right, you’ll meet a pair of monks, with one of them on a platform above and another down on your level. Position yourself below the sword banner and take out the lower monk, during which another floating head will appear up and to the right. You should be able to avoid it at your current position, but if the monk was killed fast enough, you can quickly jump straight up and dispatch the head with a single air slash. Whichever you choose to do, wait for the monk above to be near the right side of the platform before jumping onto it. Deftly defeat him with a combo and pick up the 4 souls here. Now head to the right edge of this platform, waiting for the next floating head to fly in range. Depending on your position and/or how comfortable you feel, hit it with either a standing or aerial slash. You’ll probably have noticed some souls on a platform to the right and slightly above the one you’re currently on; however, it’s best to take out the bone-chucking skeleton below in advance. Note that its projectiles can be destroyed with a swing of your sword, so either destroy or dodge one of the bones it throws at you, attack with a triple strike, evade/destroy the next bone(s) it chucks your way, and then land one more strike to finish the fight. Return to the platform you were just on to reach the next one for a total of 8 souls. Fall off the right side of this platform and advance to a statue to trigger another one of those ghoulish monks. Make mincemeat out of him before exiting right into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 12
SCORE = 120

Continue to the right but stop a bit before entering the gap in order to safely avoid a bone that may come flying from off-screen. Make sure there aren’t any follow-up bones, and then jump off your current ledge and into a vertical chain of 2 souls.

SOUL TOTAL = 14
SCORE = 140

Bohort will land on a ledge with a merman prowling below. Keep in mind that three strikes aren’t enough to eliminate this beast from the deep, so either tag it with a three-hit combo, run/roll backward and finish it with another strike, or use the four-hit combo if you feel comfortable with it (FYI, I don’t remember if Bohort can do the four-hit combo without getting the additional combo strike either in the marsh or from the shop, so you may have to rely exclusively on the former method). Keep in mind that mermen will occasionally spit out a ball of sludge that travels horizontally. If they puff up their cheeks, that means they will soon spit out a sludge ball. One safe method for dealing with this is to hit a merman at range with a three-hit combo, check to see if telegraphs its projectile, and, if it does, roll backward after the third strike before jumping up and over the sludge ball. Anyway, once you’ve made sashimi out of this new enemy, head a little to the right to take out another creature from its tribe. With all the enemies here exterminated, hop onto the nearby platform before quickly jumping off it to both avoid falling into the water and obtain 6 more souls. Continue forward until you trigger another merman to leap up from the depths (you can see its head slightly protruding from the murky water below). Show it who’s boss before jumping onto the ledge above for 3 more souls. Jump up once more to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 23
SCORE = 230

Jump up to the ledge to your left and continue in that direction before quickly jumping onto a platform with a mad monk. Take it out with a properly-spaced combo while paying attention to the skeleton on the platform to the left. It may throw a bone at you, but it will most likely hit the ledge directly above you. If it doesn’t, make sure you dodge accordingly. Feel free to jump up to the skeleton’s platform and go ham, or you can opt for the safer approach by either jump-slashing it between bone tosses or hitting it while standing near the left edge of your current platform (as I mentioned at the beginning, Bohort’s attacks have incredible range). With the threat removed, claim this platform as your own and use it to reach the ledge to your right. Stay where you are and note the ghastly portrait nearby. Once you head a little to the right of it, the demonic lady pictured within will become animate, jumping out of the frame before dashing toward Gareth. What’s more, two floating heads will spawn to your right. What I recommend doing is running a bit to the right of the picture, slashing once to take out the first head, quickly turning to the left and doing the same to the picture-come-to-life, rolling once to the left before running to the left edge of the platform, and then quickly pivoting right before taking the second head out with another single strike. With your path safely cleared, continue right into the next screen, picking up 9 souls in the process.

SOUL TOTAL = 32
SCORE = 320

Down below from where you start are two platforms with one side full of spikes. These types of platform will periodically rotate, so whenever you come across a section with spiked platforms, make sure that you both know your route and have the proper timing down before continuing. With that out of the way, you’ll want to jump onto the higher of the two platforms right after its upper side is safe to jump on. Pause for a brief moment after landing, and then leap from your current platform to the next one, adding 2 souls to your counter in the process. Now quickly jump from the second platform to the floor below. You may have triggered another portrait, so turn around and eliminate it with a wide swing of Bohort’s sword. A bit to the right of your current location is a bone-chucking skeleton up on a platform. Be wary of its bones while landing aerial strikes whenever you can, but also be mindful of the head that will appear from the bottom right corner of the screen. Do your best to dispatch these two enemies while avoiding damage, and then head up the stairway and through the large door there.

SOUL TOTAL = 34
SCORE = 340

Alright, so this next section is visually interesting but, depending on your preferences, might be a bit annoying. Essentially, Bohort is now outside of one of the castle’s towers. As he moves left or right across the screen, the tower will turn with him, making various platforms and obstacles that weren’t there previously appear on-screen. It’s a cool way of presenting a 3d object in a 2d space. Anyway, this screen is an extended platforming section, so once your reflexes are sharpened and ready, let’s ascend this tower! Hop twice to the right onto two different platforms before heading to the right edge of the second one and leaping as far as you can across the gap to land on another platform. Jump up to the next platform but make sure you don’t overdo it. That’s because the first obstacle of this section blocks your path. It’s a spiked ball, and you can safely jump over it from the left side of this narrow platform. Try landing on the left side of the next platform, jumping from this position to land on the left side of another narrow platform. Leap over the next obstacle to safely reach the platform on the other side. Hop over the gap ahead to yet another small platform, doing the same again to the right, making sure to stop yourself before hitting the nearby column of spiked balls. Now jump directly up to the next platform before jumping to the left. Do so once more and run to the left until you are under a small platform. Hop up twice in a row, moving Bohort to about the middle of the leftmost platform before doing a long jump to safely clear the two spiked balls lined up side by side. Hop a little to the left to both reach the next platform and avoid touching the nearby spiked ball. Perform another jump but don’t go too far; otherwise, you might hit the next obstacle. Hop over it, run a little to the left, and then hop again to clear the spiked ball and land on a platform. Jump again to the left, and then up two times in a row to further ascend the tower. Hop over the next spiked ball but make sure to aim for the middle of the platform so that you aren’t poked by the two balls sandwiching you. Leap over to the right and then up once more. Do three rightward jumps in a row, and then do the same once more to the left before jumping straight up. From here, run to the right edge and leap as far as you can across the gap (you might notice some bombs up above moving horizontally around the tower; these are the second type of obstacle you encounter in this area). After clearing the gap, jump up and a little to the right, pause for a moment to let the bomb above move out of your way, and then jump to the next platform up and to the left. Next, jump to the right before jumping back to the left, and then hop to the right one more time. Head to the right of these platforms before jumping over a gap and onto a small platform. Do the same to the right, but don’t go too far because the spiked balls are back. These next two jumps can be a little tricky to make without taking damage, but hey, it’s worth a shot. Try positioning yourself in the middle of this platform and jumping as far as you can to the right to clear the two balls lined up diagonally and land on another little platform. Once you’ve landed, wait for a moment or two to let the bomb above move out of your way (that is, if it’s there), and then leap to the right once you’re in the middle of the current platform. Whew. The worst of your climb is now over, and you’re basically done. Hop up two times before jumping to the left twice, and then jump once more to the right. Get near the middle of the rightmost platform, perform a great leap to the right, hop up three times, move to the left side of this row of platforms, and do one final leap to the left. Catch your breath, marvel at your accomplishment, and then enter the door. This will trigger a cutscene with some dialogue, which leads to a fight between Bohort and Zadimus.

If you’ve read through the rest of this guide, you may have noticed that I haven’t given any explanations or strategies for the bosses. That’s because I’ve done just that in my achievement guide; however, the Zadimus fight covered there is for when you fight him with…Gareth, whom you assume control of after Bohort’s duel with Zadimus. Because of this, I have decided to give a brief rundown of what to do against him in this fight. If you’re not interested, please skip to the next section.

During the fight, Zadimus will either be on the walkway or in the air somewhere above you. Whenever he is on the ground, you will want to hack away at him with your trusty sword, although keep in mind that he will sometimes teleport away from you while you’re attacking him. If you see a blue streak appear where he was, that means he has teleported to the other side of the screen and has begun storing power for one of his attacks. Once you see the streak, immediately begin rolling to the other side of the screen and attack him repeatedly while he is charging. After a few strikes, he will get stunned, allowing you to do more damage and canceling the charge for his attack. This isn’t very hard to do once you know what to look for, and successfully doing this the entire fight will completely prevent Zadimus from using two of the attacks from his kit. I’ll assume that you do just that, and thus will avoid describing these specific attacks. The remainder of his attacks consist of an energy orb that he will throw at you when he is in the air and a series of lightning strikes that track to Bohort’s location but can be dodged. For the former, you’ll know he’s getting ready for it because he will extend one of his arms and envelop it in energy. Once that’s done, a blue orb will appear in front of him, and soon after it will be launched toward your position. I recommend going to either the left or right corner while he is charging this attack, and then rolling away from the corner right after the orb is thrown at you. This is important because he almost always follows this up with his lightning attack. If you positioned yourself in the corner and rolled away from the orb after it is thrown at Bohort, you can continue to run in this direction and avoid all four lightning bolts. While it was uncommon, there were times when Zadimus used his lightning attack without throwing the orb first, so be on your toes. If you are running away from the lightning bolts but get stuck in the corner, try wall-jumping off the wall. The timing can be strict but you might get lucky. Once the fight has ended, there will be a bit of dialogue before you switch to Gareth. After he comments on the situation, head right into the next two screens to enter the castle.

Alright, so this next section is a retreading of the areas you’ve already covered with Bohort. Since we’re playing with Gareth now, things are going to be a bit different. The good news: our hero’s attacks are faster. The bad news? They do less damage and have smaller hitboxes. Thankfully, you’ve played as Gareth for the majority of the game, so you should have no problem switching back to him.

Run forward a little bit and do a three-hit combo on the monk. Now move to the left to open up some space between you and your opponent, and then pivot to the right before unleashing a two-hit combo to finish him off. Move Gareth in front of the nearby window to spawn another monk. Hit him with the tip of your blade once he’s in range. If spaced properly (and assuming you got the combo upgrade), you can finish him with a four-hit combo before he reaches you. Approach the statue up ahead to trigger a floating head, and then jump up in the air and defeat it with an aerial slash. Run to the curtain to the right of the next window before four-hitting the monk once he’s in range (or three-hit, run back, pivot, and then two-hit, just like you did with the first monk; this will be your attack method if you don’t have the four-hit combo, so keep this in mind). Move Gareth a bit past the large pillar ahead and take out another monk. You might spawn a head while doing this, but you can safely ignore it and just let if fly over and past you. Wait for the monk on the platform above to start heading to the right before you jump up to his level and take him out with some strikes from behind. Wait on the right side of this platform for a head to approach and then eliminate it either on the ground or in the air. Now jump over to the next platform and fall off its right side to avoid dealing with the skeleton below. Once you reach a statue between two banners, you will trigger a monk to spawn to your right. Do what needs to be done before pressing onward into the next screen. Wait for the skeleton up and to the right to throw a bone toward you before jumping into the pit leading to the sewers. Just like last time, you’ll encounter two mermen here. It’ll take more strikes this time around to vanquish them, but you should be able to use the same strategy from before, i.e. strike a few times, roll back, dodge a projectile if necessary, and then land more strikes. Now continue right, hopping onto the platform and jumping to the other side before it collapses into the toxic water below. Defeat the next merman you come across before first jumping onto the nearby ledge and then up once more to enter the next screen. Make your way onto the platform with a monk on it. Take him out with a flurry of strikes once his back is facing Gareth, making sure not to overextend and expose yourself to the bones chucked by a pestilent skeleton. Once you find an opening, jump up to the skeleton and go ham. A head should fly over and past you toward the left side of the screen. Depending on how long it took you to defeat the skeleton, the head may be directly above, up and to the left, or up and to the right of Gareth. Try and safely jump slash it if you can, as this will make the next part easier. Now leap to the next ledge to the right. Run a little past the right side of the picture, turn to the left and slash the demonic woman who emerges, head left to open up some space, and then strike once or twice to the right to take out the head flying toward you (it might be better to use the second slash of your combo to hit it, since the hitbox of the first strike is a bit narrow and thus hard to land). Run into the next screen to reacquaint yourself with those spiked platforms that rotate every few seconds. Like before, you’ll want to time your jumps properly to make it safely to the picture below. Get the woman to pop out of it before quickly dispatching her, and then move to the right, being mindful of the nearby skeleton and any bones it throws at you. Make your way underneath the platform and dodge or kill the head that appears to the right. Either beat the skeleton or ignore it, and then head up the stairs and continue into the next screen.

I hope you liked the tower section because it’s back. The following is a near copy-and-paste of what I wrote earlier, so if you felt comfortable with this section during your previous ascent, please feel free to skip it. Alright, so hop twice to the right onto two different platforms before heading to the right edge of the second one and leaping as far as you can across the gap to land on another platform. Jump up to the next platform but make sure you don’t overdo it. That’s because the first obstacle of this section blocks your path. It’s a spiked ball, and you can safely jump over it from the left side of this narrow platform. Try landing on the left side of the next platform, jumping from this position to land on the left side of another narrow platform. Leap over the next obstacle to safely reach the platform on the other side. Hop over the gap ahead to yet another small platform, doing the same again to the right, making sure to stop yourself before hitting the nearby column of spiked balls. Now jump directly up to the next platform before jumping to the left. Do so once more and run to the left until you are under a small platform. Hop up twice in a row, moving Bohort to about the middle of the leftmost platform before doing a long jump to safely clear the two spiked balls lined up side by side. Hop a little to the left to both reach the next platform and avoid touching the nearby spiked ball. Perform another jump but don’t go too far; otherwise, you might hit the next obstacle. Hop over it, run a little to the left, and then hop again to clear the spiked ball and land on a platform. Jump again to the left, and then up two times in a row to further ascend the tower. Hop over the next spiked ball but make sure to aim for the middle of the platform so that you aren’t poked by the two balls sandwiching you. Leap over to the right and then up once more. Do three rightward jumps in a row, and then do the same once more to the left before jumping straight up. From here, run to the right edge and leap as far as you can across the gap (you might notice some bombs up above moving horizontally around the tower; these are the second type of obstacle you encounter in this area). After clearing the gap, jump up and a little to the right, pause for a moment to let the bomb above move out of your way, and then jump to the next platform up and to the left. Next, jump to the right before jumping back to the left, and then hop to the right one more time. Head to the right of these platforms before jumping over a gap and onto a small platform. Do the same to the right, but don’t go too far because the spiked balls are back. These next two jumps can be a little tricky to make without taking damage, but hey, it’s worth a shot. Try positioning yourself in the middle of this platform and jumping as far as you can to the right to clear the two balls lined up diagonally and land on another little platform. Once you’ve landed, wait for a moment or two to let the bomb above move out of your way (that is, if it’s there), and then leap to the right once you’re in the middle of the current platform. Whew. The worst of your climb is now over, and you’re basically done. Hop up two times before jumping to the left twice, and then jump once more to the right. Get near the middle of the rightmost platform, perform a great leap to the right, hop up three times, move to the left side of these platforms, and do one final leap to the left. Enter the door here to reach the walkway where Bohort fought Zadimus. A cutscene will ensue, granting Gareth a power-up that increases both the damage and range of his attacks, as well as popping the achievement Royal Heritage! Exit the walkway to continue storming the castle and fulfill your destiny!

There will be a skeleton near the foot of the descending stairway to your right. Either jump over or roll through the bone it throws your way and then quickly smash it to pieces, which you’ll notice is a lot easier because you now do double the damage. Fantastic! Fall off this ledge through a chain of 4 souls. There’s another skeleton on the other side of the next flight of stairs, so do what you did previously to remove it from the picture. Before dropping down once again, be aware that a floating head will appear to your right once you land, without much distance between the two of you. It will probably be awkward to hit it, so wait in the corner and perform a wall jump once it’s pretty close to you. There’s yet another skeleton at the foot of the stairs here, so let the head fly off to the right, dodge any bones chucked at you, and then quickly dispatch the skeleton. Afterward, eliminate the head before jumping through an arc of 4 souls to the right of a window. You will land on the next ledge below and encounter a new enemy: the headless fencer. If you are somewhat close to this enemy or strike it, it’ll raise it’s blade upward before lunging toward Gareth with a thrust of its long dagger. In addition, it will sometimes leap backward, which doesn’t hurt you but does allow it to move out of range of your attacks. One effective strategy is to hit it with a two-hit combo, roll backward, and then attack it with a three-hit combo. If your back isn’t against the wall at this point, you can tack on another three-hit combo; otherwise, I recommend slashing it twice and then rolling toward and through it to both avoid taking damage and escape the corner. Use this strategy or one of your own to vanquish this foe before continuing to the left and dropping down to the bottom floor. The exit to the next screen is nearby, but there’s another fencer blocking the way. Do what you gotta do to clear the way, and then press onward into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 42
SCORE = 420

Briefly walk forward and take care of the monk to your right (with your powered-up attacks, you will destroy him with only two slashes of your sword). Now don’t run ahead just yet. Do you see that golden chandelier dangling from the ceiling? Once you’re to the left of it, it will begin to shake before falling down to the ground. Keep this in mind as you proceed through the level. The chandeliers can feel very “backgroundy,” so they’re easy to overlook, but if they fall on you, you will take damage, so do your best to avoid them. One nice thing about the chandeliers though is that while they can damage Gareth, they also damage enemies, so use this to your advantage whenever you can. Alright, with that out of the way, jump up to the left edge of the ledge above and then fall back down again to safely dodge the next chandelier. Return to the ledge and move Gareth to the first banner to spawn a floating head. Try to hit it with the second or third slash of your combo to make things easier, and then stand below the right side of the banner next to the top of the stairs. Now throw out a three hit combo to defeat both a monk and a head. Run down the stairs to make another chandelier fall down. Move back a little and watch it crush the monk blocking your path. There’s a bookcase up ahead, so stand on its left side to make another head appear, and then try to hit it with an aerial slash. Head a little to the right and defeat the monk you encounter, then run to the left edge of the chandelier before running back to the left to avoid being crushed. As you approach the next window, you’ll spawn both a head and a monk, so safely pick your targets to dispatch them without taking any damage. Continue forward and briefly stand next to the left edge of a spiked pit before moving to the left. This will cause the chandelier above the pit to plummet, allowing you to safely jump across. Run just past the right side of the bookcase here to make a head appear on-screen. Destroy it and then take out the monk shuffling behind it before triggering and then dodging another chandelier. Continue right and into the next screen. Head to the right side of the screen and jump onto the ledge there. To your left is a rotating tower of books. As it rotates, protruding books will appear on its side. Using these books, Gareth can ascend this bibliotower and make it to the next section. Keep in mind that when one of these books first appears on-screen (or right before it disappears), it’ll be covered in shadow. You can’t jump on the books when they’re like this, so wait until they light up before trying to jump on one of them. Alright, so once the first book lights up, hop onto it. Soon after landing, jump straight up to land on the next one (the books are rotating with the tower, so it should conveniently rotate under you, negating the need to jump to the right). Do the same once more, and then note how the next book is a bit further away than the last two were, so jump a bit to the right to make sure you don’t fall down below. Hop a bit to the right to reach the next book, then to the left, and finally once more straight up. Stay on this book to be rotated near a ledge in the upper left corner of the screen. You should find an item here, but this might be difficulty-dependent. Jump back to the right to land on a row of two books, and then use them to reach the aforementioned ledge. Wait for the books to reappear on-screen before jumping onto the third one from the top once it’s in range. Immediately make your way right across the remaining books and leap as far as you can from the last book to land on a platform. This will soon fall down, so quickly jump off it to reach a nearby ledge. Defeat the monk there, and then wait for a book that is level with the ledge you’re on to get into jump range before getting on top it. There’s a head bobbing up and down below you, but don’t worry about it for now. Wait until the book is about to disappear off-screen before jumping straight up and adjusting Gareth’s position so that he lands on the book that appears below. “Ride” this book to the right before jumping over the head mentioned earlier and landing on the book you were just on. Quickly walk off the left side of this book to land on a different one below. Move to its left edge and crouch to safely avoid the head from before, which is now above you. Remain on the platform until it turns dark, which will force you to fall down. Hold right as you fall to get 1 soul and land on the next book. Slash a different head after it changes direction and approaches our hero, and then jump up and a little to the right to obtain 1 more soul. Hold left as you descend to land on another book, waiting for a moment until this book is slightly left of the center of the tower (this should allow you to safely make the next jump without getting damaged by a flying head below). Make a leap of faith as far as you can to the right, which should allow Gareth to land on a ledge in the bottom right corner of the screen. Exit right to continue into the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 44
SCORE = 440

Gareth is greeted by another new enemy: the dark knight. It may start by slamming the ground with its sword, forcing the chandelier in front of you to come crashing to the ground (if it doesn’t, wait until it does so that you don’t have to worry about this obstacle during the fight; note that if the knight is too far away when doing this attack, the chandelier won’t fall down). This enemy can be a bit tricky because it won’t take any damage while its shield is up. You’ll want to wait until right after it slams its sword onto the ground before hitting it with either a three- or four-hit combo and then falling back right after. You’ll know it’s getting ready to do this attack when it spreads its arms and legs out to the side…or at least that’s what I’d like to say. The truth is, it’ll sometimes try and fake you out by assuming this stance before firing a projectile from its shield. This projectile–a fireball to be more exact–is easily jumped over, but try not to land too close; otherwise you might be vulnerable to a follow-up attack. Try keeping some space open between the two of you, but if you’re too far away, it might not do its sword attack. Sometimes, the knight will get down on one knee while its shield repeatedly flashes green, which means that it will soon release a wave of three floating heads. While they still bob up and down, they are released at a height from which it is relatively easy to remain on the ground and take them out with a few swings of your sword. The knight can be a bit “stingy” when it comes to creating an opening, but try staying neither too close nor too far to bait the sword slam and get your strikes in before safely falling back. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can’t damage it from behind, so remain patient and wait for the knight to leave itself open. Anyway, it’ll take a few combos to defeat this opponent, but you will emerge victorious eventually. With your path now open, run right to reach a gap and jump into it. You’ll find yourself in a subterranean area. Start off by heading left before grabbing the 3 souls on the platforms below. Next to the bottom-most platform is a raft, which will automatically start moving once you board it. Crouch down to avoid the spikes overhead while being guided through a row of 3 souls. Once you’ve emerged on the other side of the spikes, run to the right side of the raft to make a merman jump onto the ledge above. Quickly jump onto the platform to the left and either use the increased range of your upgrade to land some strikes from your current location or join the beast on the ledge and beat it face-to-face. Whichever method you use, eliminate the creature from the deep before using the platforms to the right of the ledge to reach another raft, gaining 2 souls in the process. Just like before, remain crouched with Gareth to avoid being damaged by a row of spikes overhead. After safely reaching the other side, wall-jump off the left wall to reach a ledge up and to the right. Exit stage right to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 52
SCORE = 520

Drop down to the ledge below and quickly defeat the merman that appears with a three-hit combo (gotta love the increased damaged : ) ). Do the same with the next creature before falling onto the platform to the right for 1 soul. You are going to ride another raft here, but this one is a bit different because it’ll continue moving while you navigate through a series of obstacles up ahead, so make sure you are ready before boarding it. Once you’re on the raft, duck to avoid the spikes and then immediately wall-jump off the left wall once you’re on the other side. Be aware that after the wall jump is a series of three platforms that will plummet soon after you land on them. This will make you want to jump off them as soon as possible, but be careful with the last platform. The raft, which will be moving to the right simultaneously with Gareth, is a bit slow, so you’ll need to delay your jump off the third platform to buy you enough time to land on the raft instead of sinking into the murky depths. Once you’ve re-boarded the raft, duck once more to avoid another row of spikes, and then move to the left side of the raft once you are safely on the other side. Wait for the raft to be partially under the spiked platform up ahead before jumping over it. This should allow you to safely land on the tip of the raft, which by now is slightly protruding from the right side of this platform. What’s more, by doing so, you will add 1 soul to your counter. Repeat the same process at the next spiked platform to acquire 1 more soul. Now wall jump off the right wall to land on a platform to your left, and then quickly jump to the right before the platform collapses to land on a ledge. A merman will leap up to your position, so quickly dispatch it with a three-hit combo. Don’t dawdle and continue to the right to fall through a gap containing a column of 3 souls. If you weren’t too slow, the raft will be below you. Stay on the raft and let it carry you into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 58
SCORE = 580

Hop twice from the raft to reach a stony surface, from which you will want to jump straight up to land on a moving platform, although you will have to wait until it’s in range. This platform will move counterclockwise in a roughly circular motion. Once it’s in the top right position of its path, wall jump off the wall just above the row of spikes to land on a platform. Before it falls, quickly jump to the left and strike the switch here to make the platforms travel clockwise. Now drop back down to where you were previously and once again jump onto one of the moving platforms. There is a platform up above, sticking out of the left wall. Once you are close enough to jump on it, make sure you do. That’s because there’s a bone-chucking skeleton there and you’ll want to quickly get next to him before he starts throwing bones at Gareth. Hack it to pieces, and then wall jump off the wall to reach another platform and get 1 soul. Jump to the left and exit into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 59
SCORE = 590

This section features a wooden surface that repeatedly rises and falls, and it’s up to you to time your movements such that you never touch any of the spikes. If you do, you will lose some health and be forced to start back at the beginning of this section. Start by jumping down below and moving Gareth to the right of the first row of spikes. Once the surface is near the bottom of the screen, roll once to safely clear the spikes and keep running until you’re right next to another row of spikes. Immediately jump over them once the surface is about halfway past the spikes to both safely reach the other side and avoid the head approaching from the left (if your timing is off, you may want to let the head fly next to you and eliminate it with an air slash). Now position yourself just to the right of the next spiked row and jump over it once the surface is near the spikes’ tips. Stand right next to the wall to the left and roll once the surface is near the bottom of the screen. Next, wait for it to rise a little above the spikes and then jump up to acquire 2 souls. With that out of the way, wait for the surface to move a little below the row of spikes to your left before rolling underneath them. There’s a wall here that you’ll want to jump on top of but be wary not to stand too far to the left since there are some spikes down in the corner. Once you’re up on the wall, you will want to fall off its left side a) when the surface is rising and b) right when the surface passes the tip of the extended spike row below Gareth. Immediately run to the left and jump when you’re about seventy percent across the pit. Right after landing, let out a three-hit sword combo to eliminate the monk creeping toward you. Continue forward to enter the next area.

SOUL TOTAL = 61
SCORE = 610

Run to the left and jump onto a platform before doing the same to reach the next one. On its left edge is a switch, so strike it to make the spiked surface below recede underground. Quickly drop down and run to the left, making sure to roll when the approaching head is a bit to the right of the nearby statue, and then either jump or roll to evade the monk following in the head’s wake. Make sure to keep moving, because the spikes will eventually reappear. Now position Gareth just to the right of the spikes up ahead before rolling to safely pass underneath them. Once you’re on the other side, immediately wall jump off the wall to the right to reach a ledge with another switch. While doing so, the spikes should reemerge from beneath the ground, so hit the switch, drop down, roll twice to the left, run for just a moment, jump on the platform above you, and then swiftly jump up and to the right before the platform switches sides to safely land on a small ledge (this is timing dependent, so if the platform doesn’t behave like I mentioned, I apologize ; ( ). Once the spikes on the nearby platform are facing up, strike the lever, drop down, run to the left, and jump onto the platform near the left wall when its spikes are facing down. Quickly leap from it onto the nearby ledge and try and land on its edge. There’s a skeleton to your left that will probably have thrown a bone toward you. Dodge it by rolling left and defeat the skeleton with a three-hit combo. Continue into the next screen and grab the key. Fall off the ledge and board the elevator to head upward into the next area. Run to the left corner for 4 souls, and then quickly pivot to the right and take out the head with one of your strikes. Approach the pit to your right and wait for the skeleton on the other side to stop throwing bones before jumping over the gap for 10 more souls. Quickly dispatch the boned nuisance once you land, grab any souls you may have missed when jumping over the pit, and then proceed forward into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 75
SCORE = 750

Wait for the head to be in range before jumping up and taking it out with an aerial slash. Leap across the gap to land on a platform and let the next head fly over and past you. Jump once more to the next platform before taking out another head with an air slash. You can’t see it, but on the other side of the long pit in front of you is a skeleton. It’s a bit difficult, but you’ll want to jump on the rotating platform once its spikes are down and when the skeleton has taken a break from chucking bones. Try using your lightning bolt attack if you have any for some peace of mind; otherwise, test your luck, braving the pit and destroying the skeleton on the other side. This next part is new and might seem a bit dangerous, but it isn’t too bad. There’s a shaft in front of you that is perpetually rotating, with a row of spikes that diagonally spans the entire shaft. Wait for the left edge of the shaft to be free of spikes before you get on top of it. Now try rapidly alternating between moving forward and stopping such that Gareth is always on a spike-free part of the shaft. Keep this up until you reach the other side, and then leave this screen through the right exit. Leap over the pit just ahead and wait for the spikes on the platform to be facing down. Get on top of this platform and jump straight up to reach a ledge next to another one of those rotating spiked shafts. Use the same technique from before to safely reach the other side. On the left side of the screen is a simpler variant of the spiked shaft. Half of its surface is covered in spikes, and it will continue to rotate rightward, making its upper section safe to wall-jump from for short periods of time. What you’ll want to do is time your wall jump such that: a) the spikes on the shaft aren’t facing right and b) the spikes on the platform above are facing downward when you land on it. If you don’t feel comfortable, watch the two for a little while until you figure out the timing. Once you’re on top of the platform, run to the right to deal with the same thing but in reverse: a rotating spiked platform that must be jumped on before wall-jumping off of a spinning spiked shaft. Run to the left until you are a little to the right of a candle stand and wait for the exact moment the spiked platform to your right flips its spikes downward. Quickly jump up and to the right five times. If you set it up properly, you’ll safely hop on top of four different spiked platforms and ultimately land on a ledge. Now if you like, you can use the two platforms above Gareth to reach an item, although there may be nothing there depending on the difficulty. If you’re interested, wall-jump off the right wall around the same time the nearest platform’s spikes have just begun to face downward, and then briefly wait before moving to the left side of the platform. Next, leap to the left to land on the next platform after its spikes have flipped to the bottom. Jump once more to the left to reach a ledge and pick up whatever item is there. Now jump back to the last platform you were on just before its spikes face downward, pause for a brief moment, jump to the next platform, and lastly either jump from or fall off it to safely return to your previous location, from which you’ll want to run right to enter a section with a new type of elevator.

There’s an elevator right in front of you, but this one is a bit different than the others you’ve previously boarded. To the right of the elevator, you’ll notice a crisscross of cables, and it’s these cables that determine the route traveled by the lift. Sometimes it’ll move vertically, but other times it’ll move horizontally. In addition to its unique movement properties, you will encounter numerous enemies–predominantly bone-chucking skeletons–along the way. It can get a bit hectic, so make sure to be on your toes before boarding the lift. Once you’re ready, move Gareth to its right side. There’ll be two skeletons, one above and below, and they should both throw bones. If you’re positioned properly, they will both miss our hero. Now move to the center of the elevator and roll to the right as soon as the skeleton below throws another bone. You’ll get 2 souls, dodge the bone, and fall into an alcove. Quickly destroy the skeleton with a three-hit combo before dropping down from the alcove to fall back into the elevator. Run to its left side, turn Gareth around, and take out the head to your right with a crouching slash. Position yourself between the center and left side of the elevator and wait until right after it begins to move up. Immediately jump up and to the left to enter another alcove with a skeleton, striking it with an air slash during your jump. Right after, turn around and finish the boned nuisance with a combo, jump up to get 2 more souls, and then wall-jump up the vertical corridor to board the elevator once more. You’ll soon start moving to the right, but there’s a skeleton somewhat nearby that will start throwing bones your way. Stand in the center of the lift and wait until you reach an orange banner. Now jump as far as you can to the right, and you should travel over the next bone thrown at you. Once you’ve landed, defeat the skeleton with a combo and keep running until you fall off the right side of the ledge you’re on. You’ll land in front of another skeleton, but the bone it chucks at Gareth should arc over his head. Combo it into fragments before running through a row of 7 souls. Get back onto the elevator and stand between its left side and center. There’s a small platform with a skeleton on it down below. Once you’re under it, move next to the right side of the lift. It’ll begin to move up, so jump and slash the skeleton twice before finishing it with a combo. Move to the middle of the elevator and wait until a head passes underneath you before moving to the left side. When you see a bone coming at you from the right, jump up to avoid getting hit by it. The head will now be moving toward the left, so jump up and slash it soon after it’s passed overhead. Now stand in the middle of the lift, hopping straight up to dodge the next bone that flies close enough to hit you. Next, roll to the right to pass through the skeleton and then either destroy or spare the undead pest. All that’s left is to run through the gap to your right.

SOUL TOTAL = 86
SCORE = 860

Right in front of Gareth is a large glass window blocking his way forward; however, there are some conspicuous cracks on its left side. Strike them a few times to shatter the glass and unblock his path. Move a little to the right to pick up 3 souls but pay attention to your surroundings. There’s a little glass window below that reveals a row of spikes. This is the game’s way of telling you that there’s a pit there, so stand a little to the left of these spikes before leaping to the right to safely clear them. There’s another window above you with a monk prowling back and forth. Wall-jump from the right side of the window you’re behind to reach the monk. Give it the one-two-three before jumping up to the next window. Continue to the right until you hit a dead end, and then turn around and run to the left. There’s another row of spikes behind the window below, so jump over them before falling into a non-visible gap on the other side. There’s another monk here, so take him out before continuing leftward and falling to the bottom of a long vertical window. There’s actually a secret here that you might overlook, although it may contain nothing depending on your current difficulty level. If you want to check it out, move to the left corner of this window before rolling to the left. You can’t see Gareth, but that’s okay. Wall-jump a few times to reach a ledge above. Now run to the left to grab an item near a tiny window. Once you’re done, return to where you once were and jump up and to the right. There are two souls here, but only one of them is visible. So walk forward to pick up 1 soul, and then roll right after to add 1 more soul to your counter. Head to the right of this window and then jump up and to the right to reach a ledge. Now roll to the right to fall down behind another large window and dispatch the monk there. Head to the right side of this window and swing your sword a few times at the cracks to shatter the glass. With your path now cleared, run right through a row of 9 souls. Enter the large double doors ahead to once again reach the castle’s exterior.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

You’ll find yourself outside another tower. Hopefully you enjoyed your previous climbs, but if not, you’ll just have to suck it up and push onward to reach Zadimus for the final showdown. There are a lot more bombs this time around, but hopefully they shouldn’t prove too difficult. Start by waiting for the first bomb approaching from the left to pass over Gareth before leaping over the gap to land on a platform to the right. Try jumping straight up from the center of this platform and then pressing right a little after while continuing to hold down jump. This should allow you to safely clear the column of spiked balls on your right and reach the next platform. Quickly return to the previous platform to avoid the bomb coming your way and, once its has passed over you, jump back to where you just were. If there are any bombs blocking your way, wait until they move to the left side of the tower before hopping once to the right and then twice to the left. Run to the edge of the next two rows of platforms before jumping left. Now land on the right edge of the next platform and jump over another spiked ball. Do a short hop to land on top of the right edge of the adjacent platform, and then jump once more to the left to clear another ball. Repeat the same process to pass over another ball before hopping slightly to the left and jumping up and to the right to reach a row of platforms. Run to its right edge and leap across the large gap there. From the center of the platform you just landed on, briefly jump straight up before moving to the right. You should safely fall between two sets of spiked balls, from which you can jump up, slightly left, slightly left again, and then far to left over a spiked ball. Gareth will now be sandwiched between two balls, and you’ll want to move him to the middle of the current platform before leaping as far as you can to the left. There’s a series of small platforms up ahead, so first jump twice to the left, then right, and lastly back to the left. From the right side of this platform, jump left to clear a spiked ball before landing on the right side of the next platform. Do the same twice more, and then briefly jump straight up from the middle of the platform before moving Gareth to the left. Now jump to the right and run forward a short distance before hopping straight up to land on a row of platforms. Stand right where these two platforms meet and jump and land on the right side of the platform to the left. Jump once more to reach the next platform and position Gareth between its center and left side. From here, leap as far as you can to the right to safely clear the diagonal row of spiked balls. Do a short hop onto the platform next to you before jumping directly up and waiting for the bomb above to get out of your way. Now jump up to the next row of two platforms and stand in the middle of the right one. Jump up for a brief moment before moving Gareth to the right, and then jump up, up, left, up, left and finally right (no, this isn’t a secret code ; p ). Run to the end of this row of platforms and do a short hop to the right. Now try doing the next series of jumps quickly to set Gareth up for a slightly tricky jump near the end: right, left, left, right, left. Next, from the right side of this platform, jump to the left, short hop to the next platform, position yourself near the center of the current platform and wait for the bomb on the left side of the tower to disappear off-screen. Now leap as far as you can to the left. Hopefully, you safely cleared the diagonal row of spiked balls. Wait once more for another bomb to pass over to the left before jumping straight up. Pause for a moment so that the bomb approaching from the right is close enough for you to jump over. There’s a door nearby, so run into it to enter the throne room.

Once inside, run forward and open the chest for a few goodies. Continue to the right to finally reach Zadimus. This fight has been a long time coming, and I’m sure you’ll emerge victorious, both for Gareth and the people of Asteborg! Defeating Zadimus will unlock Vengeance Fulfilled, although he will retreat before you can deal the finishing blow. Overwhelmed by rage and despair, Gareth transforms into none other than a demon. Confused and disoriented, he’s greeted by a familiar voice: his undead ally, Uther the sorcerer! With his memories restored, Uther informs Gareth of his heritage. Our hero is the son of the first half-demon, half-human hybrid, meaning that he too has demon blood running through his veins. And that’s just what’s needed to open the portal leading to Zadimus. Your quest to save Asteborg and collect all souls is almost complete, but for the rest of the journey, you’ll be doing it as a demon, not a human. Godspeed!

Welcome to the Gate, an interdimensional gateway that Gareth will need to traverse in order to find Zadimus. This is the first level where you can play as Gareth in his demon form, and the only level where the gameplay departs from 2d sidescrolling action. In its stead, you get to play a rail-shooter level reminiscent of Sega’s classic Space Harrier. While this might be a welcome reprieve, keep in mind that Gate has zero checkpoints, and you can’t exit to the main screen from the pause menu. Due to this, level 9 may prove to be particularly irksome because, being a rail-shooter stage, it constantly moves you forward and thus gives you no chance to backtrack and collect any souls you’ve missed. What’s more, there may be times when it looked like you picked up a soul but didn’t, giving you a rude awakening when you check your soul counter, or worse, when you complete the level. You’ll definitely want to check your soul total once you’ve reached the final boss to confirm that you did indeed collect all 100 souls.

There’s an additional point you should be aware of. I covered this in the General Information section at the start of this guide, but in case you didn’t read it, it’s worth reiterating here. If you are playing the game on easy, Completionist may actually be impossible to unlock. That’s because there are only ninety souls in Gate if you’re playing on easy. Unfortunately, having already gotten the achievement, I am unable to confirm whether getting ninety souls in this level and one hundred in all the other ones pops Completionist. My guess is that it doesn’t, but if any of you reading can confirm or disconfirm, please share this information in the comments to help out future players. I’ll make sure to update the guide accordingly if you do.

You’ll notice this when playing the level, but the souls look a bit different than usual. If you ever played Zelda, imagine a red rupee, and you’ll know exactly what they look like. When they first appear in the background, souls look quite small, but they get bigger and bigger as they approach Gareth, almost equaling him in size at their closest distance. This is great because none of them are hard to find, but it is also difficult because if you don’t grab them in time, they are gone for good (and since you can’t exit to the main menu from this level, restarting can be a pain). Also keep in mind that every soul in this level has a value of one. There are no pickups worth two, four, six, or eight souls.

If you notice you’re consistently missing souls, there’s a nifty technique you can implement to increase your success rate. Vertically speaking, as long as about half of Gareth’s body touches a soul, the game should count the soul as collected. Most of the souls in Gate are lined up in either a row or column–which you should be able to get consistently with a bit of practice–but there are times when they are lined up diagonally. Thankfully, the chain is always two souls when they are. If you make it a point to move half of Gareth’s body onto a soul when collecting them in columns, you should be able to pick up any subsequent diagonal chains by merely moving him to the side, no vertical adjustments needed. This technique worked well for me and made it a lot easier to clear the level with all souls; however, there is one part late in the stage with four pairs of diagonal souls spaced further apart. The distance between the two souls is too far for the technique to work, so you will have to move vertically and horizontally (or beeline diagonally) to get them. These groups appear one after another, so if you are struggling to collect all the souls, I recommend memorizing this section to spare yourself any additional grief. The rest of the souls shouldn’t be too challenging to collect.

I alluded to how this level is played above but let me elaborate a bit more on what Gate is like. You play the entirety of the level as Demon Gareth, airborne from start to finish. His back is constantly facing you, and you have complete freedom when moving vertically and horizontally. The only attack he has is a fireball, which can be shot rapidly by either repeatedly pressing the attack button or simply holding it down. Excluding the boss, you encounter three enemies in Gate. The first one, the demon head, moves from the background toward Gareth but always remains in the same position, moving neither up nor down. It has no attacks and will eventually disappear from the screen, unless you destroy it first. They are pretty weak and can be beaten with a single fireball. The other two enemies are the red and yellow demons, and you’ll want to do your best to destroy them as quick as you can since they won’t leave you alone until they’re dead. Red demons will sometimes shoot cannonballs at you, and they telegraph this attack by puffing up their cheeks (like the Mermen in the previous level). The yellow demons are armed with a sword and shield. They use their shields to block your projectiles and attack by lifting up their sword and swinging it downward. To dodge these attacks, you merely need to move out of the way, but be careful with the sword strikes, as they still might hit if you only try to dodge them with vertical movements.

Another thing worth mentioning is that this is one continuous level, so it doesn’t have any separate screens. Instead, as you progress through the stage, the background will change from purple to red, and red to purple. Because of this, I will use these transitions to group together screenshots and their accompanying explanations.

One final point before covering the souls’ locations. Many of them are aligned depth-wise, but sometimes, due to how spread out they are, it is difficult or impossible to capture all of the souls in one neat screenshot. Due to this, there are numerous instances where I refer to them as a group in the explanations below but cover them across multiple screenshots. This may be a bit confusing, but unfortunately it’s the best I could do.

Alright, that’s about it for the overview. Gate can be frustrating, but it’s a nice change of pace. Good luck!

Alright, start by moving Gareth toward the bottom right corner and positioning him in front of a chain of 3 souls. Next, head in the opposite direction and fly through another group of 3 souls near the upper left corner. A string of demon heads will appear first to your right and then in the bottom left corner but just ignore them. Instead, position yourself in the middle of the screen and move to the top. A chain of heads will appear with 3 souls sandwiched between them, so keep shooting fireballs until you’ve destroyed the heads and collected the souls. Soon after, three heads will appear one after the other around the middle of the screen. They appear, right, center, and then left. 1 soul is behind the middle head, so remove it with a fireball and grab the soul. Next, move to the left and stay there to fly through 1 more soul. Now quickly head to the right side of the screen and blow up the head that appears there. Wait until a chain of heads pops up in the same spot and destroy them all so that you can safely pick up the 5 souls that follow in their wake. Another group of demon heads will appear on the left side of the screen, protecting another chain of 5 souls. It might be a little dangerous to immediately move to this location from your position, so get close and pick your moment to move in front of one of the heads (make sure you’re holding down the attack button while doing so). Don’t wait too long though or you might miss some souls. Once you’ve grabbed them all, the background will make its first color transition, switching from purple to red.

SOUL TOTAL = 21
SCORE = 210

This next section will up the difficulty a bit because the souls are no longer always lined up along the Z axis. I mentioned this in the overview as well, but if you want to increase your chances of picking up souls that are lined up diagonally, it’s a good idea to grab those aligned along the Y axis (in other words vertically) by touching them with just the upper half of Gareth’s body. This helps because it allows you to pick up souls in a diagonal chain by moving horizontally, which in my experience is far more consistent than trying to get them through diagonal movement. My explanations will assume this technique is used, but it’s up to you to decide what works best.

Let’s continue. Some heads will spawn in a reverse C pattern but pay them no mind. Instead, move near the bottom left of the screen. Grab the soul that appears here, and then fly upward, snagging the remaining souls in the column. Next, move to the center and then to the right to pick up the remaining souls. This should net you 5 souls in total. Head back to the bottom left and repeat what you just did for 5 more souls. Now head to the middle of the left side of the screen and blow up any heads that appear in front of you. After enough time passes, the gate will turn back to purple.

SOUL TOTAL = 31
SCORE = 310

Destroy any nearby heads and wait for the next soul to appear. Grab it and the next one directly above. Now fly to the center and then to the right side of the screen before moving down to the middle of the right side. These aerial acrobatics should add 5 more souls to your counter. Next, head toward the bottom left of the screen and position yourself in front of the soul that appears. Pick it up before heading up twice for two more souls. Soon after, move right for an additional two souls, increasing your soul count by 5. Return to the bottom left, flying straight up through a column of 3 souls. Now head to the bottom right and fly from right to left through a row of 3 souls. Go back to the bottom right corner, moving right to left and then straight up before heading a bit to the right. Doing so will increase your counter by 6 souls. Next, fly to the upper left corner to pick up 1 soul, and then flap on over to the bottom right. Sweep right to left for 3 more souls. You may be able to destroy the head right above you, but the timing is tight, so try swinging around to its right before heading back left to get the soul in the upper left corner (or you may just want to tank the hit and avoid missing the soul; it’s up to you). Make sure you snag it with your upper body to set Gareth up properly for the rest of the souls, and then sweep from left to right before moving down to the middle of the right side of the screen. If done properly, you’ll have acquired 4 more souls. Now move down to the bottom of the screen and over to the center. After grabbing the first soul, fly to the right before going up two times and left twice for 6 more souls. Head near the bottom right and blow up all the heads there for 1 soul, and then do the same in the upper left for 1 more soul. Some more heads will appear in the upper right, so get in front of and destroy them to grab 1 additional soul. Once you’ve picked it up, fly to the bottom left for an easy 5 souls with a head sneakily positioned behind them. Make sure you hit it before it hits you, and then wait for the screen to once again switch from purple to red.

SOUL TOTAL = 75
SCORE = 750

This is where you encounter your first yellow demon. Basically, line Gareth up with the demon and barrage it with fireballs. You might defeat it before it gets in range to hit you with its sword but be ready to move either diagonally or to the side whenever you see this enemy raise its sword. This will allow you to safely dodge its only attack. Another one will come on-screen, so keep hitting it with fireballs until it is gone. Position yourself wherever you want and destroy any heads that appear in front of you. After a little while, another yellow demon will emerge from the background, but this time around it’s joined by some demon heads. Focus your attacks on the demon to eliminate it, and then move to the center of the screen. Gareth will soon fly into a soul, after which you’ll want to move right, back to the middle, left, back to the middle a third time, and then once more to the right. Once you’re done, you’ll have obtained a total of 6 souls. A few more heads will appear on-screen, so destroy any in your way and then wait for the background to turn purple.

SOUL TOTAL = 81
SCORE = 810

This section is where the red demon makes its debut. Just like with the yellow demon, you’ll want to get in front of it and repeatedly shoot fireballs. It might be a good idea to position the upper half of Gareth’s body on the demon’s lower half because, unlike the yellow demon, this foe has a ranged attack. You’ll know it’s about to shoot at you when it puffs up its cheeks. Once its projectile has been fired, move in any direction to avoid taking damage (you may want to choose a direction away from the nearest corner to avoid getting boxed in). Anyway, you have to fight another red demon so take it out the same way you did the first. Soon after defeating these demons, you will come to the only part of this level where you have to fly diagonally to pick up souls, so it’s a good idea to know what’s coming in advance. First, go to the center of the screen and then move near the top. You should pick up a soul here, with another coming on-screen down and to the left. Successfully grabbing them both nets you 2 souls. Return to where the first soul appeared to grab the next one, and then move down and to the right for another soul. Great, that’s plus 2 souls to your counter. The next pair starts in the bottom center and ends in the middle of the right side, so pick them up for 2 more souls. A final pair of 2 souls appears in the exact same spots as the last two. Alright, well done! You next have to deal with a yellow demon duo, but you’ve dealt with them before, so they shouldn’t be a problem. Ditto for the two red demons that appear on-screen afterward. Once they’ve been vanquished, another yellow demon will pop up far in the background. While it may catch your attention, you’ll actually want to focus on the middle of the right side of the screen. If you do, you’ll notice 1 soul in the distance, so make sure to grab it while dodging and destroying any demon heads that fly your way. Defeating the yellow demon will cause another red one to emerge from the void, so show it who’s the projectile master to make the background switch from purple to red yet again.

SOUL TOTAL = 90
SCORE = 900

Move Gareth to the exact center of the screen to acquire the next soul, and then move him up so that just his torso is touching the soul above. Now move right to get the next one, and then down a little to snag yet another one (be ready for any heads zooming toward you). Doing all of this successfully will add 4 more souls to your total. Next, move near the upper left corner, again touching this soul with only the upper half of Gareth’s body. Move right twice to pick up both souls before flying down to obtain another one. That’s 4 more souls down. You’re close, but not done just yet, so wait for the screen to turn purple for the last time.

SOUL TOTAL = 98
SCORE = 980

You will fight a red, then yellow, and then another red demon. 1 soul will appear in the middle of the right side of the screen along with the second red demon, so move into position while destroying any heads coming at you to safely get the soul. Take out the demon and then return to where you picked up the last soul. 1 more soul appears directly in front of you, but you’re not alone. Protect yourself from any heads that get in your way, pick up the soul, and then defeat the red demon. If you’re tired of fighting demons, then that’s too bad, because the game will spawn two reds and one yellow at the same time. Show these bullies who’s boss and then…fight another group of the exact same demons. After you’ve incinerated the second satanic squadron, the screen will become red one final time…

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

Skaard, the apex predator of the gate, will emerge from the dark portal in the background and try to claim you as its prey. But little does it know that with you as its opponent, the hunter will become the hunted! Once you’ve slain this beast, you’ll unlock the achievement Interdimensional Hunter. More importantly, beating this boss with one thousand souls means that you have finished the hardest level for Completionist and are just one level away from getting the achievement. Your hard work has nearly paid off!

Having slain Skaard, Gareth is now able to enter the lost dimension and continue his pursuit of Zadimus. The final level, labeled ??? by the game, is a return to the 2d sidescrolling action that you’ve grown accustomed to; however, there’s a twist. Just like in the previous stage, Gareth is in his demon form, and this grants him various new abilities.

Let’s start with his attack. Having discarded his blade at Zadimus’s castle, Gareth can only strike barehanded. But worry not, because Demon Gareth comes equipped with his own natural weapon: razor sharp claws. Just like before, he can combo with his standing strikes and hit once while airborne or crouching.

As for magic, there’s no spell to pick up in this stage. Instead, Gareth keeps the fireball ability he acquired in Gate. Using the magic button will fire one fireball, which consumes a bit of your mana meter. Unlike the last level, you cannot hold down the button to repeatedly fire projectiles, but you can time your button presses to have multiple fireballs on-screen at once (I think the max is two). You can also fire this projectile while jumping, but it’s unusable whenever Gareth is crouching.

Gareth has also gained a midair stomp, although he does so with his arm instead of his legs. While this can be used as an attack, it isn’t very good and is best used to destroy any destructible barriers below Gareth.

While these are all significant changes, the most notable is his ability to hover midair. To execute this, merely press the jump button again sometime after jumping and before touching the ground. This will cause Gareth to hover in place, and from this state he can move either left or right. You can deactivate hover by pressing the jump button again and, if you are still airborne and have enough meter, you can reactivate hover once again by pressing the jump button. If Gareth touches a wall while hovering (or holds the direction toward a wall he is jumping into), he can cling to it with his talons; however, some walls–such as spiked ones–cannot be gripped, so be careful. When clinging to a wall, you have a couple of options: pressing down will make Gareth fall straight down, pressing jump will make him go straight up, and pressing jump + the direction away from the wall will make him jump up and to the side. Keep in mind that you can grab onto a wall again after jumping straight up or falling straight down by pressing the D-pad/analog stick in the direction toward the wall, the timing of which will determine your position on the wall. This all sounds great, and it is, but there is a trade-off. Hovering consumes mana, which can only be restored when standing on a surface. If Gareth grips a wall with his talons, his meter will no longer drain, but it also won’t refill. There are various sections in this stage that require you to use his aerial abilities, so you’ll want to be mindful of your mana as you progress through them. All of his attacks (aerial slash, fireball, stomp) can be used when hovering, but using fireballs while doing so will quickly deplete your mana.

Lastly, Gareth’s roll has been replaced with a slide. You can attack enemies with it, but it doesn’t do much damage. More importantly, Gareth is not invulnerable while sliding and can’t pass through enemies. If he hits a foe with it, he will bounce back in the opposite direction. This change is basically a downgrade, so you probably won’t use slide very much.

Hopefully this gives you a good idea of the tools in Gareth’s kit. You start the level in an area with no enemies, so you may want to take a little bit of time to familiarize yourself with how Demon Gareth controls. I’ll cover the level and souls in the sections below.

After Gareth makes some remarks about Zadimus and this dimension, head right into the next screen. You will see two souls in a column above some iron blocks. These blocks can be destroyed using Gareth’s stomp, but make sure you are lined up with the souls before you do; otherwise, you’ll miss a long, continuous column of many souls. So position yourself properly before using Gareth’s stomp to obtain 15 souls and slam into a platform down below (FYI the third soul in this chain is hidden behind the iron blocks in the first picture).

SOUL TOTAL = 15
SCORE = 150

Directly below the platform is a gator demon in a deep slumber. Take advantage of this by jumping behind and defeating it with a three-hit combo. Now move to the right to enter a different screen and head up the stairway. Near the top of the stairs is a coffin, from which a demonic archer will emerge once you’re close enough. While these archers may seem pesky, you can control the direction in which they shoot based on Gareth’s position. They can shoot in six directions: up and to the left, straight to the left, down and to the left, up and to the right, straight to the right, and down and to the right. Most importantly, if you stand just to their right or left, they will oddly fire an arrow in an upward direction, meaning all you have to do is move Gareth to their side between the arrows they fire–which are shot at a relatively slow rate–and then combo them to death. One four-hit combo or a three-hit + two-hit combo are enough to destroy them. You can also eliminate an archer with around five fireballs, so if you come to a section where you feel it’s risky or difficult to hit one, you can just beat it at range. Lastly, if you are level with an archer, you can crouch to easily avoid their projectiles. Anyway, the one you encounter here is even easier to deal with. That’s because Gareth approaches it from below on an inclined surface, so you can just walk until you are in range and slash it to pieces. With the archer out of the way, head right past the coffin to another stairway. Once you’re at the top of it, you’ll awaken a gator sleeping at the bottom, which will promptly charge toward you. It runs somewhat quickly, so it’s not a good idea to attack the gator when it’s coming your way; otherwise, you’ll take a hit. Instead, merely jump and hover to let it run past you and off into the distance. Continue rightward and you’ll reach two platforms, the second of which spawns another demonic archer. Wait for it to fire an arrow before jumping up to its platform and standing just to its left. Defeat the archer with the appropriate number of hits, jump down to the next platform, and then immediately jump up and hover in the air. Watch as an enraged gator will dash underneath you and ultimately into the pit below. Next, continue right to enter a new screen, where you’ll notice a heart-like object bobbing up and down above you. These obstacles cannot be destroyed and hurt Gareth on contact, so do your best to avoid them. In the bottom right corner, you’ll find a spiked pit with an elevated platform to its left and a small column of two souls next to the nearby wall. Hover over to these 2 souls to pick them up, and then touch the wall to grab it with your talons. Now this next maneuver will depend on how high you were when you grabbed the wall, but what you want to do is first press jump and then press right when the bottom of Gareth’s sprite is lined up with the top of the platform to the left. This will properly set you up for the next jump, letting you avoid the spikes above but also reach the platform. When you’re ready, press both jump and left at the same time, afterward pressing jump again to activate hover before flying onto the nearby platform for 2 more souls. You’ll notice the heart-like object I mentioned earlier between this and the next platform, so move to the left side of the current platform, jump straight up, and then press jump again during your descent when you are slightly above the platform to your left. You’ll want to do this because after jumping straight up, you’ll trigger another deformed heart to come down from above, and hovering like I explained will keep you out of its range. Now properly time your flight to the left to safely make it past the heart obstructing your path. Gracefully land on the next platform to increase your soul counter by 2, and then observe the wall up and to the left. You should notice some spikes at the bottom of this wall, so you’ll want to make sure you’re hovering above these spikes before moving to the left and grabbing onto the wall. This will most likely increase your counter by 2 souls, but if you were too low to get both in one go, then just press jump before quickly pressing left to safely get the remaining one. With that done, make sure you’re not too close to the spikes above. If you are, drop down a bit to safely reposition Gareth. Once he’s in position, jump to the right and hover, either to the platform directly to your right (which will collapse soon after you land on it) or to the next one over. If you do decide to fly to the latter, make sure you land on its right side to avoid getting hurt by the heart you previously passed. Next, jump back up into the air, hover, and then fly over another heart when it’s safe to reach another platform. Lastly, hop over the gap to your right to reach a ledge with 2 souls, and then exit into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 25
SCORE = 250

Make your way to a stone pillar, first jumping onto and then quickly off it toward the right to reach a ledge with some spikes on its side. Continue to the right until you reach another stone pillar, which this time is sticking out of a spiked pit. Now from here until the end of this screen, you’ll have to travel across a series of pillars with nothing put spikes below them. These pillars, just like the last one you jumped on, serve as temporary platforms that collapse soon after you land on them, which means you will have to heavily use Gareth’s hover to clear this section, and hover requires mana to work. So make sure your meter is completely full before attempting this part and try to land on each pillar you see to regain a bit of meter. Once you’re ready, jump onto the nearby pillar and then quickly off it toward the right, making sure to activate hover midair. Deactivate it above the next pillar to get some meter, and then quickly jump to the right again and hover. Repeat the same procedure two more times, making sure to hover at the highest point of your last jump so that you clear the raised spikes to your right. You’ll have to fly for a bit longer than normal to reach the next pillar, but if you followed the instructions, you should have enough meter to reach it. Once you’re close enough, land on the pillar and then quickly jump to the right, this time delaying hover for as long as you can to safely make it underneath the spikes to your right, but not so long that you hit the spikes below. You’ll be cutting it close on meter, but don’t worry, you’ll reach the next pillar. Deactivate hover to land on it before quickly jumping twice to the right–first onto another pillar, and then onto a ledge. Regain some of your lost mana before flying over to the left and grabbing 2 souls next to a wall. Now return to the ledge and enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 27
SCORE = 270

There’s a crimson structure blocking your path, and the only way to remove it is with a fireball. Once it’s burned away, shoot another fireball to destroy the next red column on the other side of the gap. You’ll definitely have noticed an archer shooting at you from the spikes below, so wait for it to fire an arrow before jumping toward the gap and activating hover. Deactivate once you’ve reached the other side and move Gareth below another archer perched on the platform above. From this position, get it to fire an arrow down and to the left, and, right after the arrow is loosed, walk to the archer’s right side and jump straight up. Take it out with a few swipes before picking up 4 souls to the right. Next, drop off the left side of this platform (if the archer below hasn’t despawned, you may have to wait for it to fire an arrow before doing so) and then walk right to fall off the ledge. Immediately after landing, jump straight up and hover to bait a charging gator into some spikes to the left. The pesky archer in the gap might fire some arrows from off-screen, so be ready to duck if necessary. Now to the right is a wall with a few spikes poking out from the top. Try and get Gareth to hover about halfway between these spikes and the ones below, and then fly right and grab onto the wall. With our hero properly positioned, jump up and to the left, activating hover at the peak of his jump before flying left and grabbing onto the wall there. If you jump up and to the right from this position, you might not be high enough to reach the nearby platform, so I recommend jumping directly up, grabbing onto the wall, and then jumping to the right before quickly activating hover (it’s better to use hover as you might hit the ceiling with a normal jump and fail to reach the platform). Land on the platform to regain some mana before shooting a fireball at the red column to the right, and then use hover to reach the 2 souls on the other side of the now-destroyed column. A demon archer will spawn down and to the right, so move Gareth a bit to the left of the center of this ledge and wait for a moment to both avoid the arrows from the archer below and fully restore your mana. Once your meter is full, wait for an opening between the arrows to safely hover over to the right. Deactivate hover once you’re near the stone pillar below, and then quickly jump off it before flying right to another pillar. Fall on top of this pillar for a bit of meter gain, making sure to quickly jump up and to the right before it falls into the spikes below. Now activate hover to fly to yet another pillar and use it as a platform to reach a ledge. While you may be tempted to go right, you’ll actually want to jump off this ledge and fly right into a wall to pick up 1 soul (just make sure your mana gauge is full first). Quickly jump off this wall to avoid getting hit by an arrow, pressing jump again soon after to hover midair and fly to a platform to the left. Depending on your current difficulty, there may be an item here. Anyway, get back to the ledge below the wall you grabbed and head right to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 34
SCORE = 340

There are some spikes up and to the right, so activate hover to safely cross over them before using Gareth’s stomp to smash down through the iron blocks below. Continue forward and you’ll be greeted by a hulking minotaur wielding a mjolnir-like hammer. While undoubtedly an intimidating foe, it’s actually not too bad. The minotaur essentially has three attacks: it’ll swing its hammer once, it’ll swing its hammer twice, or it’ll throw mjolnir straight at you (being mjolnir, it’ll return to its wielder after being thrown). Now there are a few points about these attacks that are useful to know. First, the single strike and hammer throw have the same startup animation: the minotaur will lift its hammer up and behind its head before attacking. Second, the two-hit combo–as its name unsurprisingly implies–will only occur after the minotaur does its single-strike attack. Because of this, you can use a simple but effective strategy that covers all scenarios. Move Gareth next to the minotaur and wait for it to ready its attack. Next, pull him back about 2.5 or so body lengths from the beast and crouch. This will move Gareth out of range of the minotaur’s strike and keep him safe in case it throws its hammer (remember to remain crouched to avoid the hammer as it returns to its wielder). If the minotaur does the strike and not the throw, walk forward a bit to trigger the follow-up attack before pulling back to get out of range (FYI, the hitbox of the second strike isn’t as long as the first). Once it whiffs the second attack, walk toward it and do either a three- or four-hit combo before pulling back to get out of range of the next attack. Follow these steps and you’ll make mincemeat out of the behemoth in no time. Keep in mind that you can fly over to its back, but the minotaur will switch sides in response, so I only recommend doing so if it has backed you into a corner. You can also spam fireballs from a safe range (just be ready to duck any thrown hammers), but your projectile is pretty weak, so this approach is quite slow. Regardless of your method, defeating this towering foe will spawn a platform that moves up and down. Grab its side once it’s in range and then jump on top of it. One point I’d like to add is that these platforms can be a bit finicky when you’re trying to grab them. It’s not a big problem, but it can be a little wonky, so you may want to spare yourself some frustration by timing your grabs more properly. Anyway, from here, fly to the right and into the next screen.

There are two platforms to your right with souls on top, so jump onto both of them to increase your counter by 4 souls. Now wait for the moving platform to your right to be low enough for you to hover over and then land on it. Be aware that the red “ceiling” above you acts like spikes, meaning if you touch it, you’ll take damage and have to restart from the beginning of this screen. It’s an odd quirk of this level: sometimes these ceilings are fine to touch, whereas at other times they act like spikes, so treat them with caution. Alright, with that out of the way, jump on top of the two platforms up and to the left to obtain 4 additional souls. Wait for the moving platform to the left to get in range before flying toward and grabbing its side. The wall to the left and the ceiling above also act like spikes, so make sure to stay on the right side of this platform and be careful when flying toward the next moving platform to the right. Get on top of the platform and ride it until you see another one come on-screen up and to the right. Do the same as before, grabbing its side and jumping on top, and then fly to the left and land on a stone pillar (once again, avoid the ceiling here). Leap off this platform to reach a ledge leading to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 42
SCORE = 420

This screen has some objects in the foreground that obscure Gareth when he passes behind them, but that’s about it, so continue forward to the next one. Here you’ll meet the next new enemy, which I refer to as the demon grunt. It has two different attacks: jumping toward you and slashing or a three-hit combo that moves it forward. Funnily enough, I think they’re harder to deal with than the hulking minotaurs. Anyway, here’s one strategy I found to be effective. First, stand two body-lengths away from the grunt and turn Gareth toward it. Next, jump straight up once you see it move from its neutral stance. If it does the jump slash, merely land and wait for it to start its next attack. If it does the combo, move Gareth a bit toward the side he’s facing to avoid falling on the demon, and then walk slightly toward it before performing a three- or two-hit combo (you’ll have to gauge how much time you have). The micro-walk is there to put you in range for the three-hit combo. FYI, if you just don’t feel like dealing with the grunts, you can take advantage of your flight ability and avoid them entirely. Whichever method you choose, keep in mind that there’s another grunt a bit to the left of the first one. Past the second grunt is the entrance to the next screen, which has what looks to be a deceased knight tied up in the background. To the left of the knight is a column of gold blocks that you can’t break yet, and above these blocks is a ledge with 3 souls on its side. Make sure to pick them up before getting on top of the ledge, to the right of which is a row of 5 souls floating midair. Now fly through this chain to reach another ledge, and continue to the right to enter the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 50
SCORE = 500

Head a little to the right to trigger a cutscene and unlock the achievement Retrouvailles. Once it’s done, return to the previous screen and fly back across the gap. There’s a door here that you can now open thanks to the key you received during the cutscene. On the other side of this door is a pool of blood from which crimson orbs float up and toward the ceiling. Unsurprisingly, they’ll damage Gareth if they hit him, so you’ll want to avoid them. Wait until the orbs are about halfway up the screen and then jump and hover near the top. Move Gareth above the middle of the pool, which will position him between the two orbs and trigger an archer to spawn. It won’t attack you yet, but once you get in range, it will aim its bow at you and fire an arrow. The best way to approach is by letting the next series of orbs float up and hit the ceiling, and then flying about three-quarters of the remaining distance between the center of the pool and the left ledge. Now deactivate hover while holding left, which should allow you to both land on the ledge and dodge the arrow fired at you. Take out the archer with a few slashes before shooting a fireball at the column blocking your path. Another archer will appear up ahead, so jump over the arrow it fires at you and position Gareth next to its right side. Eliminate the archer and you’ll find yourself next to another blood pool releasing orbs. This time around, the orbs are fired from both above and below. To make it through these orbs unscathed, jump as soon as you see the orb closest to Gareth fire, and then hover when Gareth’s vertical position is slightly above that of the ledge across the pool. Quickly fly across and deactivate hover once you’re above this ledge, and then walk to its center. This is important because if you go a bit past the center, you’ll get hit by an orb falling from the ceiling. Next, head to the left side of this ledge and wait for an orb to travel up and out of your way. Now fly across the pool here and land on the next ledge as soon as you can. An orb will come out of the wall to your left, so duck to dodge it before jumping and hovering at the peak of your jump. From this height, grab onto the wall and use it to reach the ledge above. Walk to the left side of this ledge and wait for two orbs to be fired below: one from the left, and the other from the right. Pick your timing to jump down and move Gareth under the right stone block. A little to your left, an orb will be shot downward, and a bit past this orb an archer will spawn. It’s a little slow, but a safe strategy here is to hold this position, duck whenever the archer shoots an arrow, and hit the archer with fireballs between the arrows it shoots. Once the archer is defeated, head left until you are right next to a small pool. An orb will be shot upward from this pool, and around the same time an orb will be fired leftward from the wall above. Wait until the orb moving upward is three-quarters up the screen, and then jump up and to the left to grab onto a wall. Repeatedly jump and grab to get on top of the nearby ledge fast enough so that you may avoid the orb coming at you from the right. There’s a pool on the other side of this ledge, which will fire upward-moving orbs. Fly over to the left wall to safely get out of its path, and then fall down onto the ledge to the left, which leads to the next screen. You’ll have to move fast during the next section because there’s a rising tide of blood that’ll damage Gareth on contact and restart him at the beginning of the screen. Start by jumping forward and activating hover at your highest point so that you may fly to the left and land on the platform there. Now walk forward for a brief moment before jumping up and to the left to grab onto a moving stone platform. It’ll move you up and toward a stationary platform, which you’ll want to jump onto when you’re slightly below it. Quickly move to the right side of this platform, then jump to the right and hover over to the next one. Land on its left edge and then immediately jump up and to the right to grab onto another moving platform. Once the top of this platform is aligned with the top of the column of spikes to your right, jump up and to the left, hover, fly to the left, and then grab onto the moving platform there. Get on top of this platform before jumping and grabbing onto the side of the next moving platform you encounter. You’re nearly there, so once Gareth is on top, jump straight up to reach an area that is safe from the blood. Now exit to the right.

Start off by jumping twice, first onto a platform and then onto a stone pillar. As expected, it will collapse, so quickly jump off it to the right and fly a short distance before dropping down onto another pillar. Quickly get off this pillar and fly to the right to reach a platform with some souls next to a wall. Fly toward this pickup for 4 souls, and then return to the platform. Now jump off this platform to the right and get Gareth to hover somewhere below the wall. Once you’re in place, fly underneath this wall and land on a coffin floating below some spikes. It’ll move to the right and ultimately into a spiked wall, but as long as you are standing on the coffin’s left side, you’re safe. Next, wait for the moving stone platform up and to your left to get low enough before jumping toward it and grabbing its side. Now jump off and to the right, using hover to reach a ledge with 3 souls, which you should then drop off from to fall through a column of 3 souls. You will land on a coffin, which, like the last one, will move automatically to the right. Do a short hop in the air, activate hover, and then land on the coffin once it’s passed the spiked platform in the middle of the pool of blood. Next, jump up high and hover to get on top of the nearby ledge before falling off its side to land on another coffin. Yet again it’ll move to the right, but this time around you’ll have to jump between two sets of spikes, one above and one to the right. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, so carefully time a diagonal jump to make it through. Either that, or you can wait on the left side of the coffin until it stops, position yourself to the left of the spikes to your right, and then jump straight up and hover at just the right moment (this approach seems more difficult to me, but it’s an option). Whichever you choose, you’ll reach a ledge that leads to the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 60
SCORE = 600

On the right side of the ledge you’re on is a heart repeatedly moving left and right. Position Gareth a little to the left of the edge of the ledge and wait for the heart to be all the way to the right to safely drop off the side. Now move to the right wall and wait for the heart to travel to the left before jumping up high and grabbing onto the wall, and then quickly jump up and to the left to grab onto another wall. From here, you can hop onto a nearby ledge next to a long pit of spikes. Next, fly to the right and you’ll see a small platform from which an archer will spawn. Quickly drop down to it and eliminate the archer before it can fire an arrow. With this pest removed, fly over the next pit to reach another platform. To its right is a heart, this time bobbing up and down. Once it has moved down and out of your way, jump to the right side of the screen, but make sure you don’t touch the right wall, as it acts as if you touched spikes. Gareth will fall down toward a pit of spikes with 4 souls floating over its right side. If you’re not comfortable falling into the pickup and hovering before you hit the spikes in one smooth drop, you can pick up the souls with a controlled descent by activating and deactivating hover. Just make sure to be mindful of your meter so that it doesn’t run out and cause you to helplessly fall into the spiked pit. If you really want to play it safe, land on the platform to your left, regain all your mana, and then do a short hop before hovering to line up with the souls. Afterward, regardless of the method chosen, you’ll want to land on the platform to the left of the spikes and make sure to regain all of your mana. To the left of this platform are two groups of spikes: one below and one above. You’ll have to hover at the correct height so that you are sandwiched between the spikes without touching them. This should be fine because you can safely try this many times from your current position; however, these rows of spikes have two diagonal sections, which you will have to fly through unscathed to reach the next platform. As you’re probably aware, hitting spikes not only damages Gareth, it also restarts him at the beginning of the screen. This is why you’ll want full meter for this section, because it allows you to travel between the spikes a bit more slowly in case you need a little time to think and make adjustments. Anyway, the best way to make it through these diagonal sections is to quickly press jump twice, allowing you to briefly fall before hovering again. It’s totally doable in one smooth attempt, so don’t worry about it too much. Just keep in mind that tackling it with a full mana bar will help if you’re struggling. Once you make it through to the other side, you should have 4 more souls added to your total. Next, you’ll have to fly through another one of these spike “tunnels,” but thankfully this section is a bit wider than the last one. Start by making sure Gareth is at the right height to obtain 4 more souls (note: the first soul in this chain has the appearance of a red soul, but for some reason it’s worth two souls), and then once you’re above the left side of the spikes forming a downward diagonal, deactivate hover and fall down to the left. You’ll land on another platform with 3 souls on it, from which you’ll want to fall off its edge and hover so that you’re below the spikes to the right but above the spikes below. Now fly to the right and grab the wall there to pick up 2 souls. If you are positioned pretty high, it’ll look like Gareth might touch a spike if he grabs the wall, but you should be fine (he does in fact grab the spike with his left leg, but it doesn’t damage or reset him to the beginning of the screen). Next, jump as high as you can without hitting the spikes above you and activate hover. Move to the right to pick up 3 souls, and then drop down once you can safely do so. An archer will appear, so jump over the arrow it fires and stand to its left. Defeat it with a few slashes and continue forward into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 80
SCORE = 800

An archer will materialize after you take a few steps forward, so dodge the arrow it fires and take it out up close. Wait until the moving platform to the right is low enough before flying over it and stopping about a body-length away from the ledge. This will prevent you from getting hit by a swaying heart coming from the right. Now wait for it to start heading back to the right before moving a bit forward and dropping down to the ledge. There’s another moving platform to your right, so wait until it is low enough for you to jump on and for the heart above to pass to the left before getting on top of it. Immediately jump again and activate hover (don’t worry, the ceiling here doesn’t act like spikes). Maintain this position until the top of the platform has moved past the heart, and then fall back onto it and shoot a fireball to the right to remove the column blocking your way. Before moving past where the column was, jump up and activate hover once Gareth is lined up with the pickup to his left. Now fly into it for 8 souls. Once the heart has moved back to the left, drop back down to the platform to regain a bit of mana, then quickly jump back up and hover in place (note: if you don’t want to worry about having limited mana, go below the heart and wait until your meter is full, and then return to this position). The platform will once again move above the heart, so land on its right edge and stay there for as long as you can before touching a spike. Now jump up and to the right before activating hover and fly until you’re between two sets of vertical spikes. There’s a heart moving left and right below, so wait until it has just moved past the left set of vertical spikes before deactivating hover, and then reactivate it once you’re near the bottom of the right spike column. You’ll notice a platform moving left and right below you, and you’ll want to get on it ASAP. If you’re a bit too high, you might hit some spikes, so drop a little if necessary before flying toward and landing on the platform, making sure you land near the middle of it or on the side away from any nearby spikes. Feel free to pause here for a moment to refill your mana meter, and then wait until the platform has moved all the way to the right before jumping onto the stone pillar there. It will collapse soon after, so jump straight up, hover, and fly into the right side of the nearby moving platform once it’s low enough. Next, get on top of it and shoot a fireball at the pillar over to the right. If you’re low on meter, you know what to do; otherwise, you’re going to want to fly over to the right, but keep in mind that all the surfaces that look like they’re made up of a tangle of bloody roots act like spikes when you touch them, so you’ll definitely want to avoid them. There’s a platform down below, but it’s a bit difficult to fall straight down on it without touching the roots to your right. What you’ll want to do is open up about a body-length between you and these roots before deactivating hover and holding right. You should land on the platform, from which you’ll want to immediately hop until you’re slightly above the roots to your right and then reactivate hover. This is important because there’s another heart swinging back and forth up and to the right, and properly positioning Gareth will help you avoid both it and the roots below. Next, fly through the space between them until you reach a gap between two clumps of roots. It’s a bit of a squeeze, but once you’re in the right spot, drop down and reactivate hover when you’re a little above the bottom of the screen. There’s a moving platform around here, and you’ll want to deactivate hover and fall on its right side once it’s below you. Right after landing, make sure to duck to avoid touching some low-hanging roots. Now this next jump is a bit strict, but here’s what you should do: stop crouching once Gareth is lined up with the right side of the lower bunch of roots above him (it’s the one that’s more oblong than circular). Immediately after standing, jump up and to the right and hit jump again once you’re at the top of your arc (FYI, your sprite can slightly touch some of the roots). Briefly fly to the right before falling onto the platform below, jumping off it soon after and flying past the spiked block once it’s moved high enough to let you pass. On the other side is a bobbing heart, so wait for it to move down and out of your way before flying past its right side and dropping down to the ledge below. Whew, good job! You’ve made it through the worst of the flying sections. After patting yourself on the back, head right to encounter the last enemy type of this level.

SOUL TOTAL = 88
SCORE = 880

On this screen, you have to defeat two enemies, both of which are what I like to call demon elites. I say “have to” because you can’t progress to the next part of the level until they’re both defeated. While it’s a bit tricky (or perhaps lame is more appropriate), you can make it through this screen unscathed, but before I get into that, let me go over their attacks. They’re actually pretty simple: they either fly up in the air and dash toward whichever side you’re on, or they shoot fireballs at you. The former sounds like just a movement technique, but if they touch Gareth, he’ll take damage. What’s nice about this though is that they dash forward in the air for a fixed distance, so it’s hard for them to catch you off guard; however, if they hit a wall, they won’t fall directly down but instead bounce back a bit, so keep this in mind. Another point to be aware of is that if you switch sides soon after an elite flies up in the air, it may change direction, but as long as you don’t move too far in that direction, it will, due to its fixed dash distance, move and fall past you. As for the fireball, it can be avoided by merely ducking. What the above means is that you can basically stand to an elite’s side after it lands–or when it’s shooting fireballs–crouch, and repeatedly slash until it goes back up in the air. If you repeat this, there’s little the demon can do but fall before your might. There’s another quirk to this enemy: once an elite has taken enough damage, a red symbol will appear above its head. If you’re familiar with anime or manga, you’ll recognize this as a cross-popping vein, but it basically looks like four parentheses arranged together in an intersection-like shape. This symbol signifies that the elite will start moving more quickly, which in principle sounds bad, but the same strategy works nearly as well as before. And that’s about it for the elites’ attacks.

So if they’re so simple to beat, why is this part a bit tricky? Well, you have to fight two of them in a somewhat small screen, but you can always head left to the previous one if you feel you got a bad roll. Anyway, start by walking forward until Gareth’s wings are aligned with the left side of the dull pink tree ahead, and then duck in case a fireball is heading your way. This next part is what’s most tricky, as it’ll depend on what the elites do, but you basically want to quickly find an opening and head right (by walking + ducking, sliding, jumping, hovering, etc.) until you reach two piles of skulls. There’s a large statue nearby, and insofar as you stay to the right of its leg, you won’t aggro the leftmost demon and thus only have to deal with the right one. Now position Gareth between the two piles and duck. If the rightmost elite decides to shoot a fireball at you from off-screen, remain crouched to dodge it, and then stand up and shoot one of your own before crouching again. Rinse and repeat until the elite flies toward you. After that, you can use the strategy I mentioned in the previous paragraph to take it out. With the first demon defeated, only one remains: finish it. Once the second demon is gone, a cutscene will commence.

After the cutscene has ended, you’ll be in control of a different character, who, depending on how you look at it, is either an upgrade or downgrade from Gareth. Let’s start with movement. He can crouch and jump once in the air, but cannot roll, slide, or hover. What’s more, he can’t crouch attack nor can he attack in the air (note: he can technically attack while crouching, but his standing attack will come out). With everything I’ve listed, he sounds terrible, right? Well, he has one excellent perk: his attack, while slow, has great range and deals incredible damage. At most he can do a two hit combo, but with his high damage output that’s plenty. Anyway, you only play as him for a little, so if you like him, have fun, and if you hate him, rest easy because you’ll resume control of Gareth soon. Since there aren’t any enemies here, I recommend using this screen to get a feel for the range and speed of his attacks.

Once you’re done practicing, exit left to the next area, jump off the ledge, and head left to some golden blocks. While they were previously indestructible, they’ll be nothing but pebbles before this hero’s might, so smash the blocks to open the path to the next screen. Before moving any further, keep in mind that this hero one-shots archers and, as mentioned above, has great range, so whenever you see one pop up, press attack soon after to quickly remove it from the picture. If you don’t react quickly enough, you can always get close to the archer by jumping over its arrows. Just like with Gareth, it’ll aim upward once you’re next to its side, so you can attack the archer without having to worry about any additional arrows. Considering this little segue, it shouldn’t be surprising that there’s an archer up ahead. Get your first taste of this hero’s strength by taking the archer out with a single strike before pressing onward. Now there’s an elite standing on a level surface up ahead, and you’ll want to bait it to fly toward you so that it lands on an angled surface to the right of where it’s standing. Once the elite’s on the decline, it may be high enough for you to hit it standing without needing to duck its fireballs, but you may want to crouch anyway just to be safe. What’s nice about this position is that when the demon tries to fly at you, it’ll bounce off the wall above and return to where it just was, giving you an opening to land some attacks. It won’t take many hits to defeat it, and with this elite out of the way you can proceed to the left, where you’ll encounter another archer a little past a dull pink tree. Take it out with a strike once you see it appear on-screen, and then jump left over the spiked pit. There’s another elite to your left, so crouch and pay attention to its next action. If it flies up in the air, move over to the left so that it doesn’t land on you. As I said before and as I’m sure you’ve noticed, this hero’s attacks are slow, so I recommend just going for a strike whenever the elite lands. You only need to land five hits to defeat this foe, so it shouldn’t take long, but feel free to take risks if you want to speed things along. Anyway, with this demon vanquished, head left to spawn an archer near a coffin, and then eliminate it with a mere swing of your blade. Now press onward until you reach a spiked pit. Jump over it and attack right after landing to take out another archer. Next, move left into a new screen, walk up the stairs, and break the blocks in your way. Quickly duck to dodge the oncoming arrow, walk forward a little to get in range, dodge another arrow, and obliterate the source of these projectiles. Continue on your warpath, falling off the ledge through a column of 3 souls. The archer down where you land should fire an arrow upward, leaving it open, so take advantage of this and destroy it with a strike before walking to the right edge of the next ledge, which should net you 2 souls. Now jump up and to the right, holding right throughout your jump to make sure you land in the bottom right corner. Immediately turn around and mash attack to take out the grunt before it hits you, and then edge forward to bait the next grunt in range before two-hitting it to death. With the grunts out of the way, return to the bottom of the ledge you were just on and jump up for 1 more soul. That’s it for this screen, so head left to enter the next one.

SOUL TOTAL = 94
SCORE = 940

A familiar foe blocks your path, and it doesn’t want to let you pass. Well, this minotaur is in for a rude awakening because it’s about to learn how hard you hit. Start by striking it three times, and then pull back and crouch to dodge either its hammer throw or strike. If it goes for the strike, move forward a little to bait the follow-up attack. Whichever attack it used, hit it three more times to vanquish the fiend. Your path is now clear, so head up the stairway to exit the current screen. This stairway continues into the next one and leads to a flat surface, where you’ll encounter a demon elite. I think it’s easiest to deal with it on a level surface, so keep the fight here and don’t let it spill over to the stairs. If the elite flies at you, move out of the way and strike it once as it’s landing. If it repeatedly shoots fireballs, keep ducking then moving forward until you are in range, and then strike it soon after the last fireball passes overhead (you should have enough time to land a hit at range and duck before being hit). The demon’s speed will increase once a red symbol appears over its head, meaning that from this point onward you’ll only want to go for hits before it lands. After pulverizing this antagonist, head up the next staircase until you encounter another elite. Make sure to lead it over to the flat surface you were previously on and repeat the same method as before. Now return to the top of the stairs and use the level ground here to defeat yet another elite. That’s the last of them, so continue left into the next screen to find none other than Zadimus; however, there’s no battle this time, just a cutscene. Once it’s over, you’ll resume control of Gareth.

As Gareth, walk left to enter the next screen. Continue forward to spawn an archer, whose arrows you’ll want to jump over to close ground and land a fatal blow. Past the now-defeated archer is a demon elite, which you can bait over to the nearby decline. Try attacking it from below when you can, but keep in mind that it might not land low enough for you to safely avoid its fireballs when standing. If it ever tries to fly at you, it’ll hit the wall up above and fall back to where it was, which is a great opportunity for you to land a combo. Once you’ve shown it who the top demon is, head past the tree up ahead to make another archer spawn. Let it fire an arrow before getting in front of and quickly dispatching it. Next, jump across the nearby spiked pit and get ready for the elite you just aggroed to start attacking. Use your now vast experience dealing with these enemies to remove it from the picture, and then head left to trigger another archer next to a nearby coffin. Deftly defeat this demon so that you may safely cross a pit located past the stairs to the left. Another archer will appear after you’ve reached the other side, but it will soon regret drawing its bow. Once you’ve made quick work of this archer, exit left into the next screen and ascend the small stairway.

Guess what? That’s right! Yet another archer blocks your path. What a surprise ; ). Do what needs to be done before dropping off the edge of the ledge you’re on. An arrow will sail past Gareth’s head during his descent, creating the perfect opening to destroy the final archer of this level. Now this next part is a bit tricky if you’re trying to get through without a scratch because there are two demon grunts below, but you don’t really have much room to safely control them. One option is to grab onto the side of the ledge and wait for an opening between their frequent leap attacks to fall down, hover just below the bottom of the ledge, and then fly left into the next screen. Another is to use the approach just mentioned but remain on this screen to duke it out, or just hop down into the fray and try your best! Either way, you’ll subsequently encounter one final minotaur after you’ve entered the next screen. Use the same strategy you used in previous fights, but make sure to fly over to its other side before you’re boxed into the corner. Once you’ve bested this behemoth, head up the stairs to the left and stop at the statue just before the next screen. It’s easy to overlook, but if you activate hover at the peak of your jump and fly as far to the right as you can, you’ll run into a well-hidden ledge. The goodies found there may differ depending on the difficulty, but one thing that will always be here is a pickup worth 6 souls, which will bring your score for this level to one thousand. That’s right, you finally did it!…well, kind of. You still have to beat the level, but you’re near the end of it, so the Completionist achievement is almost in your grasp. Also, if you never purchased it at the shop, you might find the Amulet of Health here as well. This item doubles your health, but the extra bar it grants cannot be replenished through healing items, meaning you’ll need to start the next level for it to be refilled (which at this point in the game is a moot point). Alright, with that out of the way, drop back down to the stairs and take them into the next screen.

SOUL TOTAL = 100
SCORE = 1,000

Head up the stairway and stay on the level surface at the top to safely defeat the elite you encounter. Once it’s dead, head up another flight of stairs to aggro the next elite. I recommend luring it to the level surface you were just on and taking it out there. Now walk up the stairway again and fight the third and final elite right where you encounter it. After flexing your demonic mastery, continue left to enter the next screen and initiate a cutscene. With the cutscene out of the way, climb up the wall to the left of Zadimus to get on top of a ledge. You’ll probably notice the bottom of another ledge up and to the right. You’re going to want to fly to the right–passing underneath this ledge–and grab onto the wall on the right side of the screen; however, there are some inconveniently positioned spikes on its upper half, so try jumping up and activating hover when Gareth is about halfway between the ledge he was standing on and the one up above. If you do this properly, Gareth can jump up and to the left from the wall without hitting the spikes above and get high enough so that he can grab onto the right side of the upper platform. Just make sure to activate hover at the top of his jump arc, and you should be fine. You’ll then want to jump straight up before quickly grabbing onto the wall again. Now do this one more time, making sure not to jump too high; otherwise, you’ll hit the spikes above and have to restart this segment. Once you’re safely on top, don’t do anything until your mana meter is fully refilled. Next, walk off the left side of this platform and then immediately press jump to activate hover. With hover activated, fly over to the left and grab onto the wall there (if you activated hover quickly enough, you won’t have to worry about the spikes below). Just like with the last platform, jump straight up and grab the wall so that you are high enough to reach the next one, but keep in mind that you can’t go too high because there’s a column of spikes covering the upper section of this wall. Remember, you can let go of the wall and fall straight down by pressing the same direction on your D-pad, so do this if you need to adjust your height. Anyway, once Gareth is properly positioned, jump up and to the right–activating hover at the highest point of his arc–and then fly right to grab the next wall. Now hop and grab a few times to get up top. To the right is a large purple portal, which leads to a screen with numerous pillars in the foreground and background but not a single enemy in sight. This area is bigger than usual, so keep sliding to speed up your journey and ultimately reach the last screen of the game. It’s now up to you to finish what you started by defeating the guardian of the lost dimension, sealing the portal, and returning to Asteborg. Having made it this far, I know you’ll fulfill Gareth’s destiny and finally unlock Completionist! As a bonus, you’ll get Home Sweet Home, an achievement for beating the game on whichever difficulty you chose, and one of the two scarecrow achievements. Congratulations are in order. You’ve earned them!!

Clearing the game with all souls will unlock an easter egg in the ending, which differs depending on the difficulty you beat. For completeness’s sake, I have included screenshots of the endings both with and without the easter egg. Since Gate only has nine hundred souls on Easy, there is no easter egg to unlock, and thus only one picture. I have marked all the images as spoilers, but if you’re interested in viewing them, just move your mouse cursor over one of the black bars below.

Easy Mode Ending

Normal Mode Ending

Normal Mode Ending (with Easter Egg)

Hardcore Mode Ending

Hardcore Mode Ending (with Easter Egg)