- Route 0: Have We Been Here Before?
- Route 1: The Dark Forest
- Route 2: Dog-Eat-Dog World
- Route 3: Live, Laugh, Divorce
- Route 4: Ashes and Alliances
- Route 5: Should’ve Aimed for the Hand
- Route 6: The Cow Heist
- Route 7: Welcome Home, Ally
- Route 8: Music is Magic
- Route 9: The Court of Last Chances
- Route 10: Any-fin is Possible!
- Route 11: Wolf in Sheep’s Wool
- Step 1: Interact with the statue
- Step 2: Find the first altar
- Step 3: Collect the remaining orb pieces
Heartfall — A Tale in Three Lives offers a rich narrative experience with multiple branching story routes that drastically change your playthrough. Each route presents a unique perspective built around your choices, side quests, or interactions with elusive objects, making them essential for players craving every layer of the story.
Unlocking all routes requires precision in dialogue and quest completion. From accepting Scar’s mischievous quest early on, to discovering hidden altars or deciding whether to relocate, these choices carve the path ahead. Understanding what triggers each route is key to experiencing every facet of Heartfall — A Tale in Three Lives.
Spoiler alert: The routes contain intense themes including horror, body horror, and extreme imagery. Players should be aware of content warnings before engaging the more disturbing storylines.
Route 0: Have We Been Here Before?
This route carries no content warnings and follows the game’s main storyline.
Start by visiting the village and interacting with the house that has a green sign. Choose Take a look to begin.
Accept Scar’s quest to cause some mischief together.
Select – Take a look.
Accept Scar’s quest to cause mischief with him.
Enter the caves to collect the flint and steel. You will also meet BigB and Martyn there.
Give the flint and steel to Scar.
Choose to seek monopoly with Scar.
Lead the creeper toward the group. Both choices lead to the same outcome, but repeatedly choosing the second option gives you more dialogue.
When Martyn asks, “How is it working with Scar?” reply with It’s enjoyable.
This completes the initial steps to start Route 0: Have We Been Here Before?. Continue the story from here.
Continue playing the story.
Route 1: The Dark Forest
Content warnings: Immolation, horror, body horror.
This path requires maintaining your own base instead of relocating to Flower Valley with Jimmy and Scott.
When visiting the village for the first time, interact with the i sign on the land and accept the prompt to Build a little base?
Interact with the i sign on the land and accept to Build a little base?
When Jimmy and Scott invite you to move to Flower Valley, choose Decline.
Continue following the main story route.
Insist on living at your house when you pass it with Scar.
Choose Take a close look, one last time, and then accept to keep your base.
When the game asks about keeping your base, select Accept.
These choices unlock Route 1: The Dark Forest.
Route 2: Dog-Eat-Dog World
Content warning: Extreme blood.
- When Martyn asks about your experience with Scar, select Do you mean working under Scar?
- Follow up with It’s not how I thought things would be.
This starts Route 2: Dog-Eat-Dog World.
Route 3: Live, Laugh, Divorce
No content warnings apply here.
You must accept Jimmy and Scott’s invitation to move to Flower Valley.
- Build your base during your initial village visit.
- Accept to move to Flower Valley when invited.
This sequence begins Route 3: Live, Laugh, Divorce.
Route 4: Ashes and Alliances
Content warning: Extreme blood.
For this route, you need to help Joel with his wolves and agree to ally with him.
- Help Joel tame wolves after finding him in the village.
- Choose Maybe they just don’t trust you.
- When offered an alliance, select Sure would! I also need somewhere to stay.
Completing these steps starts Route 4: Ashes and Alliances.
Route 5: Should’ve Aimed for the Hand
Content warnings: Grief, drowning.
You need to follow the main story, make specific dialogue choices with Martyn, and accept his request to cause chaos.
Follow the main story route.
During dialogue with Martyn about Scar, select Do you mean working under Scar?
Choose I’m joking mostly! followed by No, I’m fine, dude. during subsequent prompts.
Then select No, I’m fine, dude.
When collecting driftwood for your base, interact with Ren and BigB on the beach.
Continue until the travelling magic act.
After the travelling magic act, accept Martyn’s request to commit a crime and cause chaos.
This officially kicks off Route 5: Should’ve Aimed for the Hand.
Route 6: The Cow Heist
Content warning: Starvation.
- Follow the story until Jimmy and Scott plan a cow heist.
- Agree to the plan by selecting Okay.
- Accept the Cow Heist quest.
This sequence starts Route 6: The Cow Heist.
Route 7: Welcome Home, Ally
No specific content warnings are listed.
- After leaving the village, locate and talk to Jimmy.
- Accept the quest “Do you want to catch a cow and be my ally?”
- Continue the main story, and when prompted “For some reason, it feels like you are forgetting something,” choose Remember.
These steps unlock Route 7: Welcome Home, Ally.
Route 8: Music is Magic
Content warning: Body horror.
Visit the village, find Impulse, and accept the quest “What Can I Do for You?”.
Visit the village.
Find Impulse and accept his quest, What Can I Do for You?
Accept the request until Impulse asks you to show him the secret room in the village.
Agree to show him the room.
During the conversation, choose the following responses in order:
- How did you know about that?
- Hmm, I don’t know
- All right, all right. You win. I’ll take you there
Successfully completing these interactions initiates Route 8: Music is Magic.
Route 9: The Court of Last Chances
This route has no noted content warnings.
You can start this route on Day 3 by finding a goose in Flower Valley and following it.
On Day 3, after following the main story and leaving the desert, find the cow and travel to Flower Valley.
Leave the desert and find the cow.
Travel to Flower Valley.
Look in the bottom-left corner for a goose. Follow it when it runs away.
Approach the goose. It will start running away.
Follow it.
Accept the quest to sabotage the Mystic Tree grove when prompted. This unlocks Route 9: The Court of Last Chances.
Route 10: Any-fin is Possible!
Route 10: Any-fin is Possible!
Content warnings: Unreality, depersonalization, scopophobia, trypophobia.
This route starts with fishing. You need to catch a Catalog book and accept the related quest.
Visit the village for the first time.
Find the fishing rod near a lake in your first village visit. Start fishing and continue until catching a Catalog book.
Go fishing – select Yes.
Keep fishing until you obtain a Catalog book.
Agree to read the book and accept the “Gone Fishing” quest to start Route 10: Any-fin is Possible!.
Accept the Gone Fishing quest.
You have now started Route 10: Any-fin is Possible!
Route 11: Wolf in Sheep’s Wool
Content warnings: Horror, body horror, starvation, unreality, derealization, scopophobia.
Step 1: Interact with the statue
Early in the game, locate the statue beside the lake and keep interacting until a staring contest prompt appears. Choose to Stare back.
Interact with it continuosly until a staring contest prompt appears, or until you can no longer interact with it.
When the staring contest begins, select Stare back.
Step 2: Find the first altar
Step 2: Find the first altar
Head to the beach, find and interact with the altar, then accept the quest “Something about it feels… familiar.”
Accept the Something about it feels… familiar quest.
Step 3: Collect the remaining orb pieces
Explore the map and interact with altars at these key locations to collect all orb pieces:
- Center of the map
- Inside the cave
- Secret room in the village
Once completed, Route 11: Wolf in Sheep’s Wool will begin.
Middle of the map
Inside the cave:
Secret room in the village: Find the hidden room in the village and interact with its altar.
Once you have followed the altar quest and collected the orb pieces, you will have started Route 11: Wolf in Sheep’s Wool.