The Posthumous Investigation Walkthrough
Phase 1 — Reconnaissance & First Evidence
Phase 1 covers Loops 1–10 of The Posthumous Investigation walkthrough. This phase establishes the full investigation foundation: mapping all 14 suspects, collecting the first evidence across all time-window locations, and building your initial Thinking Board chains. By Loop 10, you will have your first accusation attempt.
Full Location & Schedule Mapping
Objective: Map all accessible locations and all 14 suspect starting positions. Do NOT attempt any deep conversations — this is pure reconnaissance.
📋 Steps
- Start at your starting location (07:00). Note the time.
- Move through every accessible area in a clockwise pattern, noting the name and layout of each location.
- When you encounter any of the 14 suspects, note their name, current location, and approximate time.
- Speak only enough to get an introduction — do not exhaust any dialogue tree yet.
- Document transit times between locations: note how many in-game minutes each path takes.
- At 16:00, assess whether any locations are newly accessible in the evening — attempt the port area.
- Do NOT attempt the study visit yet (it is blocked until 10:00 by a specific character).
- Continue until 20:00, then manually reset from the menu.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Full map of accessible locations
- All 14 suspects' morning positions
- Approximate transit times between key locations
- First hint that the port is inaccessible during daytime hours
📌 Thinking Board Action
No Thinking Board additions needed this loop. Focus entirely on observation.
Initial Dialogue Pass — All 14 Suspects
Objective: Speak to every suspect using every available dialogue topic. Your knowledge base is small, so many branches will be locked — that's normal.
📋 Steps
- Begin the loop and immediately start your planned route from Loop 1.
- Visit every suspect in order of location proximity — cluster nearby suspects.
- For each suspect: exhaust every available dialogue option, including all greetings and topic branches.
- Note any topic that is greyed out (locked) — these require knowledge you don't yet have.
- Note any suspect who is notably evasive, hostile, or unusually friendly without reason.
- Pay attention to how each suspect describes their relationship with Brás Cubas.
- At 12:00, move toward the café — note who is there.
- At end of day, do a board pass: add any significant testimony nodes you've just collected.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- First testimony nodes for most suspects
- Initial relationship web between suspects and victim
- Identification of which suspects are being evasive about specific topics
- First hint of the financial dispute thread
📌 Thinking Board Action
Add 6–8 testimony nodes from the most significant dialogue exchanges. Do not connect them yet.
If a suspect refuses to discuss a specific topic entirely, mark that topic as suspicious. Refusal is as informative as disclosure.
First Contradiction Identification
Objective: Find the first direct contradiction between two suspects' accounts of the same event. This is the foundation of the investigation.
📋 Steps
- Review your Thinking Board before starting. Note any two testimony nodes that seem to conflict.
- Target the two suspects whose accounts diverge — speak to each of them again about the conflicting topic.
- Introduce information from one suspect's account into the other's dialogue. Note the reaction.
- Move to any physical location relevant to the disputed event — look for an object or document that corroborates one account.
- At 10:00, attempt the study visit — a previously blocking character should now be absent.
- Examine everything in the study. Note any document or object that relates to the financial thread.
- Add the newly discovered evidence to the Thinking Board and attempt your first connection between an Evidence node and a Testimony node.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- First confirmed contradiction between two suspect testimonies
- Study access confirmed for 10:00+ window
- First documentary evidence node
- Initial link in the Motive chain
📌 Thinking Board Action
Draw your first connection: link the documentary evidence node to one of the financial testimony nodes. This is your first Motive chain segment.
Evidence Collection — Accessible Day Locations
Objective: Systematically collect every Evidence node available from locations accessible during standard daytime hours (08:00–17:00).
📋 Steps
- Plan your route to hit every location with a known or suspected Evidence node during their accessible windows.
- Re-examine all interactive objects in previously visited locations — some only become interactive after prior dialogue has been completed.
- For any object that generates a new node, immediately open the board and attempt to connect it to existing nodes.
- At 12:15, be at the café — observe who is present and note any unusual interaction.
- Note the exact time that specific characters leave certain locations — this data is crucial for the evening window in Loop 8.
- Attempt to trigger the second bedroom examination if you have enough prior dialogue completed.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- 3–5 new Evidence nodes from daytime locations
- Second bedroom visit possibility confirmed
- Café midday dynamics observed
- Means chain first evidence segment identified
📌 Thinking Board Action
Connect any new Evidence nodes to existing chains. The Motive chain should now have 2 nodes. Begin placing the first Means chain Evidence node.
Study Document (10:00+) + First Board Build
Objective: Confirm the study document access and begin serious board construction.
📋 Steps
- Start at 07:00. Route directly to the study but do NOT enter until exactly 10:00.
- At 09:45, position yourself outside the study. At 10:00, enter and examine the locked drawer.
- The financial document inside connects two suspects' Motive nodes — add it immediately.
- After the study, route to the café area — confirm the 12:15 window exists but do not stay for it today (save for Loop 6).
- Visit the garden at 07:00–07:30 in this loop BEFORE going to the study — it's on the way.
- Spend the afternoon connecting board nodes. Attempt the first full Motive chain trace.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Study financial document — critical Motive chain anchor
- Dawn garden first visit — observe the rambling character
- Motive chain connection between two suspects confirmed
📌 Thinking Board Action
This loop should complete the Motive chain's minimum requirement (2 nodes + 1 Evidence anchor). Draw the Motive chain connection for the first time.
The study financial document is the single most important Evidence node in the game. Do not miss it.
Café Meeting Window (12:15–12:45)
Objective: Be at the café from 12:15 to 12:45 to overhear the private suspect meeting. This is a 30-minute window — the only time both suspects are present.
📋 Steps
- Plan your morning to arrive at the café by 12:10 at the latest.
- Do not speak to either suspect before the meeting — speaking to them before 12:15 causes them to leave early.
- Observe the meeting in full. The overheard testimony is added automatically.
- After the meeting (12:45+), both suspects are separately available for confrontation with the new information.
- Confront each suspect about the meeting content — this unlocks cross-character knowledge branches.
- Spend the rest of the loop following up on leads revealed during the café meeting.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Critical café meeting testimony node
- Cross-character knowledge unlock for both meeting participants
- New branch in extended Motive chain for True Ending
📌 Thinking Board Action
Add the café testimony node. Attempt to connect it to the financial document via a Deduction node. This is the second segment of the True Ending's extended Motive chain.
⚠️ Arriving after 12:15 or speaking to either suspect before 12:15 will cause the meeting to be cancelled for this loop. If missed, reset and try again next loop.
Second Suspect Tier — Cross-Character Knowledge
Objective: Use all knowledge gathered in Loops 1–6 to unlock the second tier of dialogue branches across all suspects. This loop is a full dialogue sweep with maximum knowledge.
📋 Steps
- Open your Thinking Board before starting. Note every testimony node that is still isolated (unconnected).
- For each isolated testimony: identify which suspect gave it and which other suspect it contradicts.
- Systematically visit every suspect and introduce cross-character knowledge into their dialogue.
- Note every new branch that opens — add testimony nodes as you collect them.
- Pay special attention to any suspect who becomes hostile when confronted with another suspect's testimony. Hostility = evidence of guilt or complicity.
- By end of day, every testimony node on the board should be connected to at least one other node.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Multiple second-tier testimony nodes
- First identification of a tertiary suspect (not the primary murderer but complicit)
- All Opportunity chain testimony elements identified
📌 Thinking Board Action
Major board update: connect all testimony nodes. The Opportunity chain should now have all its testimony elements — only the alibi contradiction evidence is missing.
Port District Evening Window (18:00+)
Objective: Access the Port District after 18:00 for the physical Evidence node critical to the True Ending's extended Means chain.
📋 Steps
- Spend the morning on any remaining daytime tasks (do not neglect the dawn garden if not already done).
- At 17:30, begin transit toward the Port District — arrival must be before 19:00.
- The blocking NPC from daytime should now be absent. Enter the port area.
- Examine the specific physical object in the port — it generates a high-priority Evidence node.
- If two suspects are present at the port, observe their interaction — do not interrupt.
- If the private interaction is present, wait and observe. This is a second 'meeting' discovery similar to the café.
- Stay until 21:00 for any additional port evidence, then reset.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Port physical Evidence node — critical for True Ending Means chain
- Possible private port meeting between two suspects
- Evening-state character emotional behavior (different from daytime)
📌 Thinking Board Action
Add the port Evidence node. Connect to the Means chain. If the port meeting testimony was observed, add it as a secondary node connected to the café meeting testimony.
⚠️ The port closes at 22:00. Arrive before 19:00 to have enough time to collect everything.
Bedroom Second Visit + Dawn Garden
Objective: Complete the bedroom second examination and the dawn garden observation — both require specific timing.
📋 Steps
- Start at 07:00. Go immediately to the garden — the dawn-exclusive character is only present until 07:45.
- Observe the full garden monologue — do not speak, just observe. The testimony is added automatically.
- After garden, route to the victim's bedroom. Confirm you've spoken to the required trigger character in a prior loop (this is the prerequisite for the second examination).
- Enter the bedroom and examine it a second time — a previously undetectable detail is now highlighted.
- The bedroom's second evidence item is a Means chain shortcut — it connects physical means to suspect directly.
- Spend the rest of the loop completing any remaining daytime evidence collection.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Dawn garden alibi contradiction testimony
- Bedroom second evidence item — Means chain shortcut
- All major evidence locations now accessed at least once
📌 Thinking Board Action
Final Loop 9 board should have all three chains substantially built. Attempt a full chain trace: Accusation node → each of the three chains → physical evidence anchors. Identify any remaining gaps.
⚠️ The dawn garden window is 07:00–07:45 ONLY. Missing it means resetting and trying again next loop.
Motive Chain Completion + Phase 1 Assessment
Objective: Complete the Motive chain and assess overall board readiness. Prepare for Phase 2 deep investigation.
📋 Steps
- Open the board at start of loop and trace all three chains completely.
- The Motive chain should be completable this loop — identify the missing element and pursue it first.
- After completing Motive, do a cross-reference of all testimony nodes against available evidence.
- Identify which suspects still have unexplored dialogue branches (these are Phase 2 targets).
- Attempt the Standard Ending accusation if all three chains appear complete — this is a test run.
- If rejected, note which chain is deficient. This is your Phase 2 starting point.
🔍 Key Discoveries
- Motive chain complete (or near-complete)
- Identification of remaining gaps in Means and Opportunity chains
- First accusation attempt result
📌 Thinking Board Action
Attempt first accusation. If accepted → Standard Ending achieved. If rejected → note which chain failed and enter Phase 2 with a clear target.
✅ End of Phase 1 — What You Should Have
If all boxes are checked, proceed to Phase 2 →. If you're missing items, use the loop guides above to collect them before advancing.