The Drowned Archive – 4-Stage Cipher Puzzle

Halloween at the Portal. The Hollow, a haunted cipher maze, is free to play until 2 November. Enter The Hollow

🧭 This chain is also a 3D maze

The Drowned Archive is this same chain as a place you walk through. Each stage is a terminal beside a locked gate, and solving it opens the gate. The maze also hides data fragments with a bonus message you can only get there.

Your progress and score are the same either way, so you can start in one and finish in the other. If you want the maze to be a surprise, start there.

▶ Play it in the maze Solve it here as a page ↓

📜 Briefing

The archive went under a long time ago, shelves and all. Its keepers knew the water was coming and left directions for whoever dived after it, each one locked a little harder than the last.

Four gates. Each answer gives you what you need for the next, so watch "Keys you hold" at the top of each terminal. Mind the currents: they will carry you if you let them.

1 Gate One - The Ping
2 Gate Two - The Slate 🔒 opens with stage 1's answer
3 Gate Three - The Catalogue 🔒 opens with stage 2's answer
4 Gate Four - The Way Up 🔒 opens with stage 3's answer

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Scored puzzles need a free account: your time and hints are tracked by the server, points go on the leaderboard, and each answer unlocks the next stage.

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New here? The five tutorials need no account.