Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners | Tips and Tricks

Last Update: January 23, 2022 6:20 PM /

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Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - cover

In this Hidden Deep Guide For Beginners, I'll tell you what you need to know about this terrifying action platformer from Cogwheel Software and Daedalic Entertainment.

What is Hidden Deep?

Hidden Deep is a sci-fi platformer with horror elements that pays tribute to classic movies of the 80's and 90's such as Alien and The Thing. A group of researchers have disappeared from an underground cave system deep below the ocean. Now, it's up to you and your team to find out just what happened.

Players will start off by controlling a single person, but they'll soon expand to controlling multiple people in subsequent levels. Along the way, you'll have to solve puzzles and fight terrifying, otherworldly creatures from the depths.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Tentacle
Tentacles are deadly enemies that drop from the ceiling and can instantly kill you. Quickly shoot them 4-5 times to defeat them before they eat you!

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Understanding the Mechanics

We'll kick off this Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners with a quick explanation of the game's mechanics. There's a fair amount to unpack here, but it all works surprisingly well once you have a handle on it.

Movement and Shooting

Moving around uses fairly standardized controls. A and D will move you left or right, respectively. Holding Left Shift will allow you to run. Pressing Space jumps, and pressing W will climb up ladders.

Crouching is a little different than most games, though. There is no standard "crouch" -- rather, there is crawl (activated by pressing S once) and prone (activated by pressing S twice). The key difference is that you can have a handgun equipped while crawling, but you cannot have a gun out while prone.

Guns are primarily used to kill the enemies in the game. As you'd expect, they have a limited amount of ammo (which can sometimes be replenished within the game world) and will have to be reloaded. Additionally, only the pistol can be used while crawling or on a Grappling Hook.

It is very important to note that friendly fire exists in this game. Be careful with where you're shooting -- you could end up hitting one of your teammates and losing a life!

Crew and Lives

Every mission has a fixed number of Crew, typically split between Scouts and Engineers. If a Crew member dies (or a critical piece of equipment such as a Dump Truck is destroyed), you lose a life (noted by "Crew Left" at the top left of the screen). Lose all of your lives and you'll fail the level.

Lower difficulty levels will give you a reduced number of enemies and more lives. Higher difficulty levels will give you more enemies and fewer lives.

Scouts vs. Engineers

There are two types of Crew in the early portion of the game: Scouts and Engineers.

Scouts are your main fighters and explorers. A Scout should always be sent into a new area first as they're usually better equipped for a fight, typically due to starting with more ammo. For example, the two Scouts in the mission "Deadly Sphere" start with over 100 reserve rounds of pistol ammo and an assault rifle. The two Engineers, however, only have 16 bullets in their magazine and 12 extra.

Scouts are also typically equipped with the Grappling Hook, a highly versatile tool that is necessary for exploring. (More on that later.)

Engineers, on the other hand, aren't good for sustained fights; they'll typically only be equipped with a pistol. However, they are the only Crew that can operate machinery which is often needed to open up new paths in a level.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Scout Grappling Hook
Scouts can use their pistol while on a Grappling Hook, making exploring hazardous areas a little less dangerous.

Scout Equipment

Scouts are best used for exploring and combat and their equipment reflects that. You won't always have all of these items in every level.

Grappling Hook

The Grappling Hook is a highly versatile piece of equipment that can be used to reach higher ground or to safely lower yourself deeper into a cavern. It can also be used to set up a zipline.

A Scout can use his pistol while attached to a Grappling Hook, but he cannot reload -- conserve your shots carefully and consider retreating if you're facing too many enemies.

The Grappling Hook can also be used to set up a Zipline that can be used by anyone, Engineers included. You cannot use your pistol while traveling on a zipline, so make sure the area ahead is secure.

One final note: take extra care when swinging across gaps. If you're moving too fast, you can smash into a wall and instantly die. If you cannot cross a gap safely with swinging, consider using a zipline instead.

Rope

Rope is used to safely get characters up to higher areas or down to lower areas. Scouts don't need to use it; this tool exists to allow Engineers to get to higher or lower ground since they don't have a Grappling Hook. Bear in mind, you can't use your gun while climbing up or down a Rope.

Scan-Ball

The Scan-Ball is used to safely scout ahead; any areas you explore will show up on your map. Unfortunately, this device has a limited battery and you'll only have a handful to use during a level.

Aside from exploration, Scan-Balls have three additional functions:

  • Interact with objects - Scan-Balls can push buttons, opening up areas where you might not be able to get to with a human.
  • Electric Shock - You can shock and kill weaker enemies.
  • Magnet - You can pick up certain objects to bring them within reach of a character.

Terra-Scanner

The Terra-Scanner can penetrate the ground below and let you know if there is a cave underneath you.

Explosive Charge

Explosive Charges can blow a hole in the floor, opening up a new area to explore. You can find caves below ground by using the Terra-Scanner.

Plasma Cutter

The Plasma Cutter is equipped in some early missions, but it doesn't actually get used until the mission "Day 62, Flooded Sector." It can be used to cut through certain specific metal platforms.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Vehicles
An Engineer can remotely control a crane to move vehicles and personnel to new locations.

Engineer Equipment - Vehicles

Engineers are mainly used to operate Vehicles, opening up access to new areas of a level. There are no combat-capable Vehicles in the early game, but Engineers are safe from harm when they're operating a Vehicle.

Vehicles can only drive on flat ground, but you can often find Cranes to move them onto higher or lower ground. Vehicles can also be transported via elevators.

As with the Scout's equipment, you won't always have the same tools available to you in every level.

Crane

The Crane's purpose is to move vehicles and personnel around an area. There are two types of Crane:

  • Claw Crane - Claw Cranes can grab objects with a claw and move them around. Vehicles can be grabbed directly, but you'll often find a platform nearby that can comfortably fit a Vehicle.
  • Platform Crane - Platform Cranes have a platform that can be used to carry a single Vehicle and some personnel. It also comes equipped with a magnet that allows it to stick to metallic surfaces, making it much easier to safely drive a Vehicle off of the platform and onto solid ground.

Be careful when moving Vehicles and personnel with the Crane -- if you move too sharply, you could shake a person or Vehicle loose, resulting in likely death and destruction. Remember, a Vehicle being destroyed will cost you a life!

Tunnel Boring Machine

The Tunnel Boring Machine can be used to drill through rock horizontally. While you can dig through many different places in a level, a level will typically only require that you dig through one or two places.

Bridge Building Machine

As the name implies, the Bridge Building Machine can be used to build a bridge, typically to allow access to other vehicles. There is a limited supply of bridge pieces on board, so you cannot cross very large gaps with it.

Dump Truck

The Dump Truck is used for carrying objects and can dump them to the left or to the right.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Splat
Fall from too great a height and you'll go splat.

Hidden Deep Beginner's Guide - Early Game Walkthrough & Tips

We're almost done with our Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners, but there's one more thing we'll cover -- the final part of this Hidden Deep Beginner's Guide will focus on some tips for the early levels of the game.

Day 1 - Deeper Insight

Deeper Insight is the first mission of the game. There's not much story explanation here -- you're simply thrown into the tutorial to learn the basics. Follow the instructions to get practical experience with movement, using your gun, and the Grappling Hook.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Terra-Scanner
The Terra-Scanner can reveal caves in areas below you. Once you find one, use Explosive Charges to make a hole and climb down.

Day 26 - Lost

Lost is framed as a rescue mission -- you'll begin with a single Scout named Murphy in search of your two missing colleagues Verning and Hannigan. Press M to bring up the man and you'll see two markers: "Scan Area 1" and "Scan Area 2". Scan Area 1 is a bust, so move to the right towards Scan Area 2.

Once you reach Scan Area 2, use your Terra Scanner (N on the keyboard) to check for a hollow cave underneath. Then, equip explosives (X on the keyboard), place them on the ground, and back up so you don't get caught in the blast. Head down and continue to progress downwards until you can't go any lower, then use your Terra Scanner to find another hollow area below. Blow it up with explosives and continue heading deeper into the caves.

Eventually, you'll reach a large, open shaft where you will be prompted to use the zip-line functionality of your Grappling Hook. Take care not to fall -- while you'll survive the fall, there's no way to escape and you'll have to kill your character with intentional drowning or by using the "I'm stuck with no way out" option in the menu.

Continue to progress through the level and you'll find one of the survivors next to an assault rifle. Unfortunately, the other survivor is dead. This is where you'll learn to switch between characters by pressing 1 & 2 on the Numpad

After some more spelunking, you'll reach a point where you need to descend. While your Scout has a Grappling Hook, the Engineer does not -- you'll have to place a rope to allow the Engineer to climb down. A little further ahead, you'll encounter some water. You'll have to swim through it to reach the end of the level -- make sure to keep an eye on your oxygen meter on the bottom right.

You will once again have to cross the big shaft area, this time at the bottom. Once you're at the other side, you'll have reached the end of the level.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Crane and Tunnel Boring Machine
The Tunnel Boring Machine loaded onto a Crane.

Day 31 - Area D-219

Area D-219 serves as the introduction to Vehicles and several other mechanics-- you'll get to use a Crane and the Tunnel Boring Machine for the first time.

The early parts of the level require you to turn on the elevators. Unfortunately, they're behind a locked door. There is a computer terminal on the wall next to a big machine that has some useful information including the Elevator Room door code: 5288. (This code is not randomized, but that might change in a later update.) Any important information (such as door codes) will be listed on your map screen (M on the keyboard) for future reference.

Once you've opened the door, head further down underground and you'll see some pipes ejecting steam. You'll have to turn a hand crank to access a lower area and turn off the steam below (and you'll have to kill a few enemies, too). Then, head back up past the pipes to power up the elevators.

Once you're back up top, activate the elevator for Shaft 3. Unfortunately, access to the Crane Room is blocked off. Head down the elevator in Shaft 3 and to the right until you reach a sign that says "Transport Pit. Press the button to open up the Transport Pit doors and go down below using your Grappling Hook. You'll find that access to Area D-219 is blocked off and two Engineers will be sent to assist you.

The Engineers will spawn it at Shaft 3 -- press 2 or 3 on the Numpad to switch to them. Activate the elevator and then walk to the computer terminal on the wall; you can now open the door to the Crane Room. There will be some enemies inside, but you should be able to deal with them with the Engineers and their pistols; if not, have your Scout backtrack to the elevator to help out.

Next, put one Engineer into the Tunnel Boring Machine and drive it onto the platform to the right of the Transport Pit doors. Have the other Engineer open up the Transport Pit Doors, and then have that same Engineer enter the Crane.

Use the Crane to pick up the platform with the Tunnel Boring Machine on it. Do not move left or right too quickly -- you could cause the Tunnel Boring Machine to fall off! Carefully lower the platform and Tunnel Boring Machine into the pit. Once it's at the bottom, use the Tunnel Boring Machine to drill through the rock.

Have your Scout head through the new opening you've just made towards the Data Storage Room; the Engineers can stay behind. You'll eventually reach a door with a missing crank and you'll be prompted with a tip about using Scan-Balls to attack enemies. Don't worry about this for now and head down the small elevator shaft.

To the left is a Test Chamber that has a few enemies and some ammo, but beware -- there is also Radiation in the area and you'll take damage over time if you stay there. To the right is RNX-480 Lab 4. The door is mostly closed off. You have three options:

  • Send a Scan-Ball into the room to clear it out.
  • Shoot the ground on the other side of the door to lure enemies closer and kill them.
  • Crawl through the door and shoot enemies once you're on the other side.

Whichever option you choose, keep in mind that there is a tentacle in the ceiling. Make sure you've reloaded before progressing further. When it emerges, keep shooting at it quickly until it goes limp -- if it grabs you before you kill it, it will instantly kill you.

You'll find a Crank to the right of the room. If you've sent in a Scan-Ball, you can use its Magnet function to pick up the Crank and carry it to the partially-open door. Take the Crank back up the elevator shaft and use it on the closed door above to enter the Data Storage Room.

The Data Storage Room is a fairly small space that will have a handful of enemies to kill. Once you've cleared the area, head to the upper level and search the server racks for the Data Disk. After you've retrieved it, you'll be ordered to head to Shaft 4 -- you'll have to head all the way back up to where you dug a tunnel.

Have your Scout step onto the platform and switch to the Engineer controlling the Crane. Raise it up one level and switch back to the Scout; jump off and head towards Shaft 4 to the right. Enter the door code 3212 and head to the right; open up a storage room to grab more ammo, then head down the elevator. Move to the right once you're at the bottom and you'll move on to the next level.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Deadly Sphere
Don't try to swim past the titular "Deadly Sphere" without shutting it off -- you'll be instantly killed.

Day 38 - Deadly Sphere

Deadly Sphere tries to bamboozle you at the beginning. You'll see a water airlock to your right and assume that you'll have to travel ahead, but the underwater area contains a reactor and lethal radiation. Look at the bottom-right of the screen -- you'll notice that there are actually four characters right from the beginning.

Switch to any of the other characters and you'll see that they're on another part of the map. Turn on the switch to the right to power up the lights. Then, have one Engineer hop into the Tunnel Boring Machine and the other Engineer hop into the Crane.

Line up the Crane's platform with the metal plate on the wall next to the cabin and activate the magnet with Space to help hold it in place. Have the other Engineer hop into the Tunnel Boring Machine and carefully drive it onto the platform. Then, lower the crane a bit and have the Scout hop onto the roof of the Crane platform.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Moving Crane
Move the Crane slowly and carefully along the path and clear out enemies along the way. Make sure not to move too quickly or you could send your men or Vehicles flying off!

Slowly and carefully move the crane to the right. You'll soon see some enemies on the edge of the screen; stop moving the Crane, switch to the Scout, and kill them with your guns. If an enemy gets stuck under the crane, move it a bit to the left to free it and then quickly switch back to your Scout to shoot it.

There are three Transport Pits in this large cavern. Once you've cleared out the enemies, drop the Crane down into the center Transport Pit. (There is nothing of value in the other two Transport Pits, so you can safely ignore them.)

Once you've reached the bottom of the middle Transport Pit, drive the Tunnel Boring Machine off of the platform and drill through the rock to the right past the "Warning! Contamination" sign. Then, turn off the Tunnel Boring Machine and send your Scout ahead.

On the other side of the rock barrier is a tunnel that heads down to the "MDX-1 Waves Absorber." Continue heading down this path and you'll reach a path that goes to the left and right. Head left towards the pair of signs that say "Terminal Room" and "YZ-8 Condutors" [sic].

Take the leftmost elevator down -- this is where you'll encounter Spider enemies for the first time. They move fast and do a lot of damage, so shoot them quickly. Open the blue lockers to the left and retrieve the key, then head back up the elevator to the Terminal Room. Kill a few more enemies in here and use the computer on the wall to open a door. Then, head back to the middle level and go right to enter the MDX-1 Waves Absorber room.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Big Spider
You'll have to face a big spider at the end of "Deadly Sphere." Fortunately, you have a fully-automatic assault rifle.

Once inside, you'll see a large yellow machine with the label "Unit 02" and a warning sign that tells you it can only work for a maximum of 15 seconds. Stand next to the button and switch back to the Scout you originally started the level with (4 on the Numpad).

Your other Scout is equipped with an Oxygen Tank, so he can stay underwater much longer than usual. Proceed through the airlock and head through the underwater tunnel, but do not go past the sphere. Once you get close to the sphere,  switch back to your first Scout (1 on the Numpad). Press the button next to Unit 02, then switch back to the other Scout to safely swim past the reactor.

Once you're past the reactor, exit the airlock. Proceed forward carefully -- there are two tentacle monsters in the next room. Further ahead is another room called the "Extraction Zone" with a massive spider creature -- use your assault rifle to kill it and the other creature in the area.

After you've cleared the area, use the grappling hook to look up and find a hole in the ceiling. Climb up into a new cavern, and then climb up again to an even higher tunnel. You'll have to kill a few more enemies as you head to the right. Reach the end of the tunnel and you've completed this level.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Reactor Big Crane Room
The "BT-6 Reactor" mission will require you to move some Vehicles around a large, open chamber.

Day 43 - BT-6 Reactor

BT-6 Reactor is the final mission we'll tackle in this Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners. This one doesn't have quite the same challenges as the previous mission, but you'll learn to use two new Vehicles -- the Bridge Building Machine and the Dump Truck.

You'll begin with a Scout and an Engineer. Walk both of them into the elevator and head all the way to the bottom. This is the Supply Pit; you'll be bringing Stabiliser Blocks from other parts of the level to here.

Head back up to the middle level and go to the right with your Scout. You'll find a large room with a Crane and no evident way of controlling it. Shoot any enemies you can see, then move your Engineer to the edge. Your Engineer can control the crane remotely by holding R; you can stop controlling the Crane by tapping R.

Move your Scout onto the Crane and clear out the Crane Room of any enemies. Then, have the Engineer hop onto the Crane next to the Scout. (Remember to keep them both close to the middle so they don't accidentally fall off!) Head straight down one level where you'll find a Dump Truck and a Bridge Building Machine. Engage the magnet to lock the platform to the wall, then stop controlling the Crane. Have the Engineer get the Dump Truck and slowly drive it onto the platform. Then, exit the Dump Truck, assume control of the Crane again, and move to the top-right passage.

Have your Scout move down the tunnel to the right. You'll find quite a few flying enemies and Spiders within; kill them all. You can't climb over the Stabiliser Blocks, so use your Grappling Hook to hang from the ceiling and shoot the Spider(s) below with your pistol. Once you've cleared the area, move to the right to turn on the power.

Now that the power is on, have your Engineer slowly drive the Dump Truck off of the Crane and head to the right down the tunnel. Exit the Dump Truck in this second Crane Room and hold R to assume remote control of the Crane. Load up all three Stabiliser Blocks onto the Dump Truck.

With the Dump Truck loaded, it's time to head to the Supply Pit. Send your Scout back to the larger Crane room first and have him hop onto the Crane. Then, carefully load the Dump Truck onto the Crane. Don't drop it -- if you do and the Stabiliser Cubes fall off, you'll have no way to retrieve them and you'll have to restart the level.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Dumping
The Dump Truck is an ideal Vehicle for dumping things where you need them.

Take the platform Crane up to the top left. Have the Engineer drive off into the tunnel and onto the elevator. Once you're at the bottom, back up towards the Supply Pit and press left-click on the mouse to dump to the left. Then, move the Dump Truck forward and press the nearby button to drop the Stabiliser Blocks into the Supply Pit. If they get stuck, nudge them with your Dump Truck to make them fall in.

Take the Dump Truck back up the elevator to the middle level. Leave it in the tunnel and take the Engineer and Scout down one level to where you got the Dump Truck. Load the Bridge Building Machine onto the Crane, then carefully move towards the bottom right of the large Crane Room.

Unload the Bridge Building Machine and then press Space when you're near the gap to have it build a bridge. Once the bridge is finished, load the Bridge Building Machine back onto the Crane. Take it back into the large Crane Room and leave it on the ground. Then, retrieve the Dump Truck from the top left and bring it down to the bottom right tunnel in the Crane Room.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - Bridge Building Machine
The Bridge Building Machine is a machine that builds bridges. (Man, whoever named this thing nailed it on the first try.)

You'll find a sliding elevator at the right side of this bottom tunnel. Load the Dump Truck (with your Engineer inside) and the Scout onto this elevator. Take the elevator down.

Once you're at the bottom, send the Scout to the right to clear out this third Crane room of enemies. Then, head down the ladder below and turn on the Power. Use the Engineer to load up the Dump Truck with at least one Stabiliser Block, although it can't hurt to take all three just to be safe. (Remember, you need a total of 4 Stabiliser Blocks to complete your objective!)

With the Dump Truck loaded once again, head back up the sliding elevator to the platform Crane. Travel back up to the top left, then take the Dump Truck back down to the Supply Pit. Dump in the Stabiliser Blocks as you have before. Dumping the fourth block into the Supply Pit completes this mission.

Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners - No Power
There are plenty more challenging missions ahead to explore!

Continuing Your Adventure

That's it for the Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners, but your adventure is far from over! These first few levels helped you learn some basic mechanics like how to use the Grappling Hook, how to control multiple characters, and how to use Vehicles.

Going forward, you're going to face even more challenging puzzles and deadly enemies. There's a lot to explore -- hopefully, our Hidden Deep Guide for Beginners has equipped you with what you need to know to succeed!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


A photograph of TechRaptor Senior Writer Robert N. Adams.
| Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N