Penumbra: Black Plague walkthrough
Submitted by Joey Ratz
Revision: March 2, 2008

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Disclaimer
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All information contained herein is free and intended for educational 
purposes only. Credit goes out to all who have contributed towards the 
creation of this document.

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Introduction
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Penumbra: BP is a horror survival adventure game with no emphasis on 
combat whatsoever. The game runs in 3D with a working real world 
physics system. This guide will get you through the game from point A 
to Z, I have not included the locations of Notes or Artifacts nor am I 
planning to.

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General FAQ
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-There are hostile NPCs in the game; they are easily avoidable by 
sneaking around or running to load-point doors and entering a different 
section. Some “boss” hostiles need to be defeated by using your 
surroundings.
-If the game is too dark and your head hurts from having to focus too 
hard, increase the brightness on your monitor or the gamma level in the 
graphics settings.
-Make sure you search each room thoroughly as there well hidden items 
in drawers and racks.
-To enjoy the game at it’s fullest; play with the lights off with 
headphones.

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Walkthrough
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Starting cell:
Look around in the drawers, grab the goodies, mainly light stick and 
coin, put the coin in the workbench's pressure crusher and turn the 
wheel. Pick up the now flattened coin, there's a vent on the wall, use 
the flattened coin on the screws holding up the vent.

Vents:
Go through the first vent section and come out, put the coin in the 
soda machine, grab the soda. (You can also get the soda can from the 
machine by grabbing a rock and throwing it at the machine) Continue 
your vent exploring on the other side of the collapsed potion. There's 
a tricky part here as part of the vent will break if you walk on it, 
instant death. Grab a piece of wood from the debris and lay it on the 
weak portion, continue to the Freezer. In the Freezer, use the soda on 
the thermostat, which will disable the steam and open up the rest of 
the vent passage, get back in the vents and continue through the now 
open passage.

Foyer and storage rooms:
There are lasers protecting 2 sets of doors here and a dead body. Grab 
the 2 barrels on the right side and pile them, jump over the lasers. 
Clear the rubble on the right hand side of room and go through the 
door, go straight ahead and enter the first room, grab the stuff 
scattered around the room, make sure you get the alcohol, get the tape 
and listen to it. go further down the hall, there an fuse box, just 
behind you there’s a small pile of rubble, grab a piece and smash it 
against the box, it opens it up. Pull the wires, it shuts off the power 
and opens the storage locker room. Go in the room, grab the syringe and 
crouch behind the table, an infected will come, stay where you are and 
listen until the infected does his rounds and leaves. Leg it back to 
the foyer.

You might need to turn off the lasers here, unless you want to pile 
some stuff and jump over them. To turn off the lasers, fob the C4 box, 
a panel will come up, you need to set all nodes to red symbol, click 
around and you'll eventually get it. Combine the alcohol with the 
syringe to clean it then use the syringe on the dead body. Then use the 
syringe on the door with the biometric scanner. Presto you're in.

Mess Hall:
Turn right and go into the room, drag the heavy barrel in front of the 
open fuse box and throw the switch, the sparks will light the barrel, 
drag the barrel under one of the sprinklers on the ceiling, the fire 
alarm will go off and you can enter the locked door ahead. There is a 
welcome CD to grab on one of the tables. Continue straight and go left, 
open the door and save your game, use the CD on the computer, read the 
text files and run the door un-locker file and unlock the door. Go 
through the drawers and grab the flash light and batteries.
Go back into the mess hall and open the previously locked door on your 
left. Move the box and go underground. Go straight until the drainage 
room, turn the valve.

Dream Sequence:
Move the chest under the table; put the soup can on the shelf. The room 
will change; move the egg into the right place on the picture on the 
table. It will pop open and a spider will come out, then flames in the 
grate turn into the dog, put the dead dog on the open hands, go through 
the warp-hole.
Puzzle room #1
Fob the arms on the walls so the ones you “activated” continue to 
flame, it’s easy to figure out the combo that will open the door.
Puzzle room #2
Move all the barrels to cover the same number of matching colored 
lights, flip the switch.
Puzzle room #3
Go up the ladder, flip the switch, go back down the ladder and look up, 
flip that switch, door opens.
Puzzle room #4
Jump on the moving platforms to make it to the other side, get in and 
shut the door, pile up barrels to make it across the barriers. Leave 
the room.




Sewers:
Jump in the water and move the boxes to form a walkway, climb the 
ladder and go to the other side, pile up some boxes to reach the sewer 
exit on the ceiling.

The Facility:
You end up in the sleeping quarter. Swap the fuse in the box ahead of 
you to be able to boot the computer, use the computer and listen to the 
video message, leave this room and pass by the Infirmary and examine 
the door to read the door code. Head for Armory and grab the saw then 
run to Computer Central, because there’s a infected on patrol now.

Computer Central:
Grab the manuals. Put the saw in the drawer next to the locked door 
near where you came in. An infected will break out. Run like hell to 
the back of the room and open the server room door, let the infected 
follow you inside, get out and close the door. Look around the room 
where the infected was and grab all 3 circuit boards. Head back to the 
back of the room and start programming the cards. Here is the list…

blue: 
Antivirus 
Firewall 
Socket Protocol 
Circuit Setup 
Net Locator 
 
green:
Admin Tools 
File Streamer 
CMD Interface 
Circuit Setup 
 
red: 
Disk Info Setup 
Hardware Locator
Circuit setup

When you’re done, use the cards on the mainframe machine in room just 
behind you, then use the computer console in the room you freed the 
zombie from and unlock the infirmary door. (The specific door code is 
in your “To Do” list. it will not show up in your "to do” list until 
you examine the door first.) Now leg it to the Storage Room.

Storage Room:
Disable the lasers, stack boxes on the scale beneath the big metal 
crate, the crate will crash down, stack items to be able to jump on top 
of the crate, go in the room and grab the gas mask. Get out of the 
storage room and run to the Machine Room.

Machine Room:
Put on the gas mask, follow the corridor, grab the metal bar from 
behind the barrels, break open the metal door using the bar, keep 
following the corridor, go in room and use the computer, run the valve 
control app to set one of the valves to manual control and disable it. 
Go back and shut off the valve, you can remove the mask now. Go back 
further into the machine room and open the shut door with the biometric 
scanner, a worm will start breaking holes in the wall, avoid it by 
hiding around the power transformer wait for the right moment as the 
worm chews through the holes, hit the switch, it will get electrocuted 
and spit out a hand: Grab it and leg it to the Infirmary!

Infirmary:
Grab the wrist strap from the couch on the left side, rummage the 
rooms, grab the unknown chemical and mix it in the syringe, use the 
wrist strap and use the syringe, use the hand scanner, the cryo chamber 
will open up, go in and flip the switch on the left, a container will 
open up, rip out the head from it and collect it. Now you are ready to 
go to the library, GO! Use the head and hand on the library’s biometric 
scanner to open the door.

The Library & Outside:
Crouch and turn left, look on the book shelves on the left and you will 
notice a book sticking out, “pull” it and a secret room will open, grab 
the items and use the switch. Proceed into the door the switch just 
unlocked, you will enter a large cavern,

There's a switch to lower the ladder, hidden behind a tin board. There 
are two ways, one is the way the devs intended, and the other one is a 
quicker one. Pick up the wooden board and throw its top onto the 
'floor' (where the switch is - there is only one 'floor', so you can't 
miss it. It's right in front of the large concrete pipe), creating a 
path upwards. 
 
The other way is to put the wooden board onto the concrete pipe and 
stack boxes on one end of the wooden board. 
 
Get up to the ladder until you get to where it's broken. Turn away from 
the ladder; click the right mouse button while holding W. This way, 
you'll jump off the lader forth and land on the rocky cliff (from where 
the corpse fell).

Go outside and look around the shacks; you will need to find these 3 
items: lighter, spray can and cloth the snow bridge will collapse so 
use the rocks on the ledge of the wall to make it back. Use the lighter 
on the barrel in the shack to warm up otherwise you die from cold. 
Combine the lighter with the spray can and use it on the bridge control 
lever. Continue to the other side, move one of the barrels in front of 
the blocked door, use the cloth on the barrel and use the lighter on 
the cloth, run to a safe distance. Go into the opening to the second 
part of the facility.

Facility Part 2:
Head down straight, this has a few infected patrols, I prefer to just 
run past them. Head to the Kennels.

Kennels:
Go right, grab the metal boxes and stack them in front of the 2 dug 
openings on the walls, go into the control room on the left and fob the 
switch on the wall. Go back near the entrance and continue to the left 
wing of the kennels, notice the lights cycle, time your run and stay 
under the lit lights until you get to the end of the room, grab the Key 
Card from the dead body and make your trip back the same way. Leave the 
Kennels, there is a new patrol up the stairs, make it past him and head 
for the Research Room.

Research Room:
Go into the first door ahead, an infected will chase you around the 
room, on the right side corner of the room there’s a switch and valve, 
spin the valve and distract the infected until she’s under the box and 
pull the lever, the box will fall and kill it. Grab the key and use it 
on the locked room, use the computer and unlock the chemical room 
airlock. Now head to the chemical room.

Chemical Room:
Put on the gas mask, use a rock to break the rusty pipes, replace the 
pipes with the good ones scattered around the room go into the airlock. 
Take a right, there’s an infected that just stands around here, go grab 
a barrel and toss it to distract him so the infected moves a bit then  
you can hit the switch he’s standing next to. Run to the door that just 
got unlocked.

The next section is protected by green light security cameras, the idea 
is to find a switch and use it to open the next set of locked doors. If 
you get caught you need to go back and enable the switch again. It’s 
easy to get past this section; there are 2 sets of rooms like this. 
After the 2nd room, leg it past the hallway and block the door by moving 
the big rack on the left in front of it. Grab the empty container from 
the floor and insert it on the left corner of the protected chemical 
container. Use the control levers to move the mechanical arm to grab 
the chemical and move it to the furthest left corner, drop it in the 
container and add it to your inventory. Use the lever on the right side 
of the room to open the airlock on the left side, run out and negotiate 
yourself through the steam releases, engage the valve and head straight 
out to the Examination Room.

Examination Room:
Rummage this room for the required chemicals, there are five of them 
scattered everywhere in racks and in shelves. Move the picture frame to 
gain access to the vents. Once you have collected the chemicals, use 
them all in the mixer; use the research chemical you got from the 
chemical room in the bottom left side. Mix the chemicals in this order:
214653. Keep in mind the bottom mixer row buttons are reversed.

You need to leave this room now, go back in the vents a dead body will 
revive and chase you around, you are safe in the vents, wait until the 
zombie goes into the adjacent room to make your exit, sneak out and 
displace the metal box blocking the door, you may need to make two 
trips for this as he might catch you if you are not fast enough.

Trial room #1
Move the stone on the bottom of the wall to your left, grab the metal 
bar and use it on the opening, in a moment the door will open go out.

Trial room #2
Follow the maze to the end wooden door, take a right, use the switch, 
the bell will ring and the NPC will break it down, go through it.

Trial room #3
Go straight then left, grab the stone and bring it back to your 
starting point, put it on the marker on the floor marked “I” go in the 
room that just opened, use the switch, drag the stone into this room 
and put it on the marking on the floor marked “O”. Continue walking 
through the maze and go straight through the fire trap. When you are 
revived, continue going through the doors, the trials end.

Examination Room redux:
Use the computer to write the letter, when he cannot finish the letter, 
examine (default key: right click) the objects on all four sides of the 
room, the walls will start disappearing and the game will end.

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Kudos
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Thanks to the exceptional team at Frictional Games for creating an 
excellent game (and releasing it on target too!). Looking forward to 
more games from you guys!

Thanks to the good folks at Gamespot forums for contributing.

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Contact: PM me in Gamespot/GameFAQs / user id: “p00pz”
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