Demo walkthrough
Play the demo in this order: learn to slide and swim along the colony shore, follow the trail inland to the camp, watch the expedition's first breakdown, then take the ice interior route toward the glow under the shelf.
This is the demo in play order, one stage at a time, with the moments players report getting stuck on. It assumes you have the free demo installed and nothing else.
Stage one: the colony shore
You begin among penguins with water nearby and the expedition somewhere inland. Do not look for a marker. The first stage is a movement lesson disguised as scenery, and the only objective is to feel the difference between waddling, sliding and swimming.
- Waddle for control and short distances
- Slide whenever the ground tips downhill, and stay on it as long as you can
- Swim when the water route is shorter than the ice route
Finish by getting the colony fully behind you and finding the first signs of human traffic: tracks, equipment, a trail worth following.
Stage two: the trail inland
The expedition's route runs between the colony and the base camp, and it is the closest thing the demo has to a road. Follow it rather than cutting across open ice, and use the trail to learn how the fog and the light change what you can see.
Stage three: the base camp
This is the demo's centrepiece. Approach from downslope, keep the structures between you and the busiest part of the camp, and let the sequence play out around you. Nothing here asks for a button press.
| What happens | What you should be doing | What catches people out |
|---|---|---|
| The camp appears through the fog | Slow down, watch from cover | Running straight in and seeing nothing |
| The humans work and argue | Stay put and listen | Trying to follow one person and losing the rest |
| The first breakdown | Watch from close range | Being too far away when it lands |
| The aftermath | Leave the way you arrived | Forgetting your return line |
Stage four: the ice interior
Inside the ice and the structures around it, the demo tightens up. Routes are narrower, light comes from fewer places, and this is where the stamina ring turns into a real constraint because shafts and ladders are steep.
Take the interior route in short pushes, watch the ring, and do not commit to a climb you cannot finish. If you get turned around, backtracking to daylight is always a valid move.
Stage five: the closing set piece
The demo ends rather than concludes. The last sequence is built to be watched, and it is where the game's influences do the heaviest lifting. Whatever you do, do not try to intervene: the point of playing as a penguin is that you cannot.
For the systems behind the route, read stamina and movement and navigation and orbs. If you would rather understand the setting first, the story and factions page covers what the two human groups are doing out here.