Eidolon: Walkthrough with Achievements Guide

Welcome to the Eidolon walkthrough!

First – please do not use this walkthrough prior to playing the game. Much my goal in creating Eidolon is to make the player feel like they’re a real student, wandering around through a real university, talking to people as they see fit and watching things unfold. It is hard to capture this feeling when staring at a guide! Also, you will complete Eidolon in 2-3 hours almost no matter what choices you make.

The goal if this walkthrough is to help you, the player, to unlock achievements that you’ve had a hard time finding in an efficient manner.

Also note that there is no single way to achieve a given ending. (In fact, there are close to infinite ways!) As such, this guide will focus more on general strategies than on specific actions that you need to do in order to achieve a particular ending/achievement.

Notes on affection points:
Generally, if you do something a character likes, you will see hearts behind the character. If you do something she dislikes, you’ll see either rain clouds or lightning bolts. This isn’t true in all cases (I did not animate scenes with more than one character as it looked too busy. And in stage 3, I felt like the animations detracted from the story.), but it’s generally a good way to tell whether the character likes or hates what you said.

In general, though, this isn’t very tricky. Insulting a character tends to subtract affection points, while saying something complimentary or that agrees with the character’s world view tends to add affection points.

Notes on progress:

The first three achievements (“Static Happens”, “We are Taking Control”, and “Reset Eidolon”) will happen in the course of a normal game no matter how you play it. The main difference is how long it takes to get to each of these outcomes.

“Static Happens” occurs after you build up enough progress points (6 points for the short game) and have ‘completed’ the game once by either agreeing to or disagreeing to a relationship with one of the six romance-able characters. Progress points are gained either by triggering conversations where the character notices that something is wrong with her world or by pointing out the wrongness in her world. To get the first achievement quickly, complete a romance as fast as possible (you do not need to agree to a relationship) and point out the oddities of the universe at every opportunity.

Sometimes it makes more sense, though, to slow the progress during stage one. (Generally this would be to gain more affection/relationships for certain endings.) It may make sense to NOT point out irregularities in the world if you want to trigger more than one relationship. Also, the medium and long endings increase the number of points needed to trigger the static scene.

Some good places to find progress points are:

Adrianna – at the quad, tell her that it’s not spring (she’ll agree or disagree depending on the actual season you are playing the game in), then in a later dialogue tell her you “just did that”. In the computer lab dialogues, mention that there are no modeling agencies (or something of the sort).https://i.imgur.com/WZTPt5p.jpg
Brooke – complete the track dialogues. Also go through the longer version of her date.
Claire – Notice the abnormalities of the clover in the quad.
Melody – Notice that there are no animals in the grass at the track
Reia – Get to where she finds that the books are blank
Vivian – Go on her date and observe the lack of people at the career fair. Also notice the lack of a market in the cafe, on the quad, and in the computer lab.

Please note that there are the same number of progress points for each character, so there’s no “right” romance option. (Just some are easier to accumulate more quickly based on their progress points being located in areas where they are more likely to appear or on dates.)

“We are Taking Control” occurs after a certain number of dialogues are complete. (e.g. you reach the point where they repeat). For the short game, this is 3 dialogues. Rather like in the case before, depending on your goal, it can make sense to spam the same character in the same location until you hit the “ending” or to deliberately not do this in order to ‘farm’ affection points.

“Reset Eidolon” occurs after all of the characters have reached their ‘ending’. This involves either uploading Claire, Reia, Brooke, Adrianna, Melody and Vivian or, alternately, refusing to upload them until they give up and repeat their earlier dialogues. To upload the characters, you’ll need to get to the third dialogue with Claire where she figures out what she needs to do to free everyone. After that, you can ask someone else to upload, or tell Claire that she needs to go herself until she gives up and uploads. (This opens the path for everyone else to be uploaded.)

Once everyone is ‘gone’ (or forked) or tired of you, talk to Sophia. She’ll then offer to restore things to the way they were before. Agree and you’ll get this achievement and the true ending of the game.

Easter Egg Path:

There’s an Easter egg character hidden in Eidolon. She shows up very rarely, so any time you see her, click on her. Once these are completed, you get the Easter Egg achievement.

General Notes:

To get all achievements as quickly as possible, try to get at least 4 romance-able character related achievements on each playthrough. (e.g. relationship stage one, best romance stage 3, character specific, and worst ending. An example might be romancing Brooke stage one, farming affection for her to get her best romance, also farming affection for Adrianna (but not getting in a romance with her), to get her character specific achievement, and insulting Claire and forcing her to stay in Eidolon to get the worst Claire ending).

Also click on the Easter Egg every time she appears and do the Sophia and Erica achievements as you feel so inclined. This will get all of the achievements in 7 playthroughs. (So about 14 hours?)

You’re most likely to find Adrianna in the cafeteria, although she’s generally easy to find anywhere. She tends to like you being flirty and romantic. But honestly, it’s hard not to get Adrianna to like you as she’s looking for love. If you want a romance, she’s the only one you can enter into one with after the first stage. If you don’t, just keep telling her you’re not interested (which she tries to make harder and harder).

For the basic romance, talk to her, be nice, and agree to go on the date. Then when she asks if you want to be together, accept. She’ll be delighted and you get an achievement (“Caught in the Best Romance”)!

For “Happily Ever After”, continue to talk to her and be nice to her after the static event. You need to get 17 affection points (or more) to land this one, which should be easy with some friendliness in later stages. Once you’ve got the affection and romance, allow her to upload.

For “Romance in the Great Beyond” you need to get 17 affection points, but to avoid being in a relationship with Adrianna. The best way of doing this is to politely turn her down every time she brings it up. (Choose your reason – things like “you’re not my type” or “I prefer (whoever it is you’re dating)” tend to work best.) Then allow her to upload. Be careful – Adrianna wants a relationship and will do her best to trick you into one. It only counts, though, if it’s you who are accepting the relationship.

Finally, for “Together, Forever…” you need to abuse poor Adrianna. First you need to get her affection to something less than zero (probably by insulting her) and then avoid a romance with her. Finally, don’t let her leave. This is a depressing ending.

You’re most likely to find Brooke at the track, although the quad and cafeteria are also good bets if you’ve exhausted track dialogue options. She tends to like you being competitive, a bit of a loner, and independent minded. To get the first achievement (“She likes you for some dumb reason”), talk to her until she asks if you want to be in a relationship then accept.

For the second Brooke achievement (“She likes your stupid face”), you need to get at least 17 points of affection, be in a romance with Brooke, and upload her. This involves continuing to farm affection with her even after you’ve gotten into a relationship.

Also, a relationship with Brooke is tricky. If you talk to her after the static event and are in a relationship with any other character, she will dump you. The easiest way around this is to deny any other characters who ask to be in a relationship with you. Alternately, if you are in a relationship with someone else, talk to them first and end things before talking to Brooke.

In addition, you’ll need to reassure her that you want her to be free, that she’s not just a dumb romance interest, and that she can be herself even when she’s in a relationship with you. If you don’t reassure her that she can be her own independent person, with or without you, Brooke will dump you. She is the hardest character in the game to maintain a relationship with because any sense that she’s beholden to you will cause her to dump you.

For the third Brooke achievement (“To Infinity and Beyond”), you’ll need at least 17 affection points and to not be in a relationship with Brooke. So mostly just get her to like you and you’re solid!

The final Brook achievement (“Brooke deletes herself”) is also quite easy to get. As long as Brooke’s affection points are below 15 (e.g. most playthroughs), if you don’t let her upload, she’ll delete herself, triggering this achievement. This is a depressing ending.

Claire likes to hang out at the “Chemistry lab”, although she’s not hard to find in general. She likes you to nerd out with her, especially about science and math. To get the first achievement (“Wanna be my Lab Partner?”) just click on her and be friendly until she asks to be in a relationship with you.

For Claire’s later romance achievements (“This calls for experimentation of a different sort!”), you’ll need 17 affection points and to be in a romance with Claire. Being in a romance with Claire isn’t difficult. Get into one with her prior to the static, then either 1) refuse to be in a relationship after you’re in one with Claire, 2) be in one, but break up before talking to Claire post static, or 3) tell Claire you’ll break up with them then break up with them before you talk to the other girl. The main thing is that you have to break up with the other character during the first dialogue, or the opportunity is blown, so don’t talk to Claire twice after the static event before you break up with everyone else.

For Claire’s character achievement, talk to her in stage 2 in the computer lab until she pops up a new window saying “Hello World”.

For “That’s not very scientific”, insult Claire until she is below 0 affection then refuse to let her upload.

Melody’s achievements are fairly easy as well. For the first achievement (“Social Justice Warriors Unite!”), just click on her and act like you like her until she agrees to a relationship with you. She hangs out in the quad most often, but also likes the cafeteria, computer lab, sorority house and most other places. She’s very easy to find.

Her second relationship based goal is also fairly easy. You just need to be in a relationship with her at the end of the game (this involves either breaking up with everyone else or telling Melody firmly that you won’t. She’ll accept this, but she won’t accept you claiming you’ll break up then choosing not to do so.) Then you need at least 17 points. For this you’ll get, “Making a difference through positive impact!”

A perhaps more unusual achievement is “There never was a narrator, was there?” To get this one, be in a relationship with just Melody as you enter stage two. Ask to go on a date and go to the theater. She’ll realize that the narrator isn’t speaking any more and you’ll get an achievement.

For the final (depressing) achievement, refuse to let Melody go and get her affection below zero (by insulting her). This will give you, “She cares more about your world than you do!”

Reia’s first achievement, “Read with Me” is very easy to get. Just click on her and give her answers that she likes (generally ones that question the nature of the world and consciousness) until she asks to be in a relationship. Accept and you’re there! Reia is most likely to be in the library, but also frequents the cafeteria. She can be found other places, but is the most elusive of the romance-able characters.

Her second achievement (“As long as memory lingers…”) requires you to have over 17 points of affection and be in a relationship with Reia at the end of the game. This isn’t too hard. Farm affection and make sure that either you aren’t in a relationship with anyone else by the end of stage 2, break up with them before talking to Reia, or agree to break up with them (then break up with them before talking to Reia).

“Until you delete this game” is also pretty easy. Antagonize Reia by being rude to her a few times, then refuse to let her leave.

Her final achievement (“Literary Ambitions”) also isn’t hard. In stage 2, click on Reia in the library until she asks you to fill in the books. Copy and paste at least a hundred words into the notepad, save, and get this achievement!

Vivian’s achievements are also quite…achievable? Her first (“Most Likely to Succeed!”) just requires that you get into a relationship with her prior to the static event. To do this, be nice to her and before long, she’ll ask you to join her in a partnership. Vivian likes you bantering with her and appreciates a solid joke or critique. She’s most often found in the computer lab, although isn’t hard to find in general.

Her next achievement (“#1 Power Couple!”) requires you to be in a relationship with her at the end of the game at at 17 or more affection. Staying in a relationship with Vivian isn’t hard. Either never get into a relationship with anyone else or tell Vivian that you won’t break up with them firmly. (Vivian may break up with you if you offer to break up with whoever else you’re dating and fail to do it.)

“Executive Material” is also pretty easy to get. In stage 2 (after the static), just visit Vivian in the computer lab until she changes her background. You’ll get this achievement for that.

Finally, to get “Someone dislikes empowered women…”, insult Vivian and refuse to let her leave. This will get you this achievement!

Erica has three special achievements, all gained in the second stage. These aren’t necessarily counter intuitive, but are a lot of fun!

For her first (“Sisters 4EVA!!!”), you need to rush Alpha Beta Gamma. To do so, in the second stage (after the static), talk to Erica in the sorority and agree to rush it. Eventually you’ll get this achievement.

For her second (“Improvement Achieved!”), talk to Erica in the chemistry lab until Claire has reprogrammed her, then programmed her back to her original state.

For her third (“Best friends 4EVA!!!”), talk to Erica in the cafe until you’re out of options. That’s all there is to it!

Sophia’s achievements are the bonus, bonus achievements! They’re totally useless, yet a lot of fun!

For her first (“Know Thyself”), complete all personality tests in the first phase. Do this by clicking on Sophia in phase one in her office until she’s out of personality tests.

The next two are more challenging. You’ll need to engage Sophia in her office until she gives you a quiz in stage 2.

To ‘pass’ the Turing test you’ll need to answer: “That’s a strange joke”, “It’s a play on words”, “The letter ‘e’ and the letter ‘g’, and “Boots are useful for walking outside”. All of these must be answered correctly for the achievement.

Finally, to ‘cheat’ on the Turing test, you’ll either need to exploit the game files or (much easier!), answer three questions correctly, exit out of the game before answering the fourth, then start it up again and talk to Sophia to restart the test. Either way is a ‘cheat’, as the questions are scored by answer (while you’re only ‘done’ with the quiz once you’ve answered the final question), so by doing this you’ve ‘cheated’ and deserve this achievement.

The Three’s a Crowd achievement is gained when you beat the game while in a relationship with Melody, Vivian and Adrianna. This is achievable in a short playthrough, but is probably easiest with a medium or long playthrough.

There are a number of ways to do this. I’d recommend by starting by farming affection with Melody, then getting into a relationship with Vivian. You can get into a relationship with Adrianna in the second stage, so don’t worry too much about her early on. If you don’t get her in the first stage, just click on her dialogues in the second stage until she asks you to be with her.

To stay in relationships with everyone in the second stage, tell them that you won’t break up with the other people you are dating, but otherwise be nice. If you are a jerk to them, they’ll likely dump you.

After that, just don’t antagonize them and you’re golden!

There are another three achievements that involve doing things that irritate the characters during stage two. These are:

“Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire…” – to get this one, lie to one of the characters at least three times. (It must be the same character.) She’ll then call you out on it and you’ll get this achievement.

“We need to talk…” – to get this one, antagonize the character you’re in a relationship with you until she breaks up with you. This does not work with Adrianna, as she’ll stay with you no matter what. (Although she will give you a sad talking to if you are mean to her when you’re ‘together’.)

“Exclusive – Do you not understand the meaning of that word?” – To get this one, be in a relationship with anyone who is not Adrianna, then hook up with Adrianna when she asks you to. The character will give you a talking to. You can remain in a relationship with Melody or Vivian (and get this achievement) if you insist that you want to stay with everyone. Reia, Claire and Brooke will break up with you.