The two endings in [Stories to Tell] The Stoneville Incident split at one late decision. After you restore power for the second time, entering the newly accessible room below the basement gives the True Ending; leaving the basement and escaping through the upstairs bedroom window gives the Escape Ending. Finish the True Ending first, choose Save Point on its result screen, then reverse that decision for the second ending. That route also collects all five Steam achievements without replaying the house tour.
This walkthrough follows a verified PC playthrough showing Version 1.1 on the title screen. The developer’s Steam hotfix notes say 1.1 corrected a problem that could stop some players from completing the game, so update before troubleshooting a route that refuses to advance. The game is short, but its objective changes are driven by narration and room triggers rather than a persistent quest marker.
The ending decision happens after the second blackout
There is no early dialogue choice and no item you must preserve for an ending. Both routes share the house tour, the first blackout, the officer’s visit, the camera sequence, and the final trip to the electrical panel. Your only ending commitment is what you do immediately after that last panel interaction.
- True Ending: restore power, stay below, pass through the inner basement doorway, and approach the captive figure.
- Escape Ending: restore power, turn back toward the stairs instead of entering that room, survive the chase, and interact with the bedroom window.
Do not restart from the main menu after the first ending. The result screen has a Save Point option that returns you to the final-night sequence before the route splits. This is the practical cleanup path for the other ending and its achievement.
Clear the four-room vlog and read the police report
The opening vlog asks you to show four parts of the house: Kitchen, Room, Toilet, and Basement. The labels remain visible as a checklist, so an empty box tells you exactly which trigger did not register. A reliable circuit is kitchen first, basement second, then the upstairs bedroom for the checklist’s “Room,” followed by the toilet.
- Kitchen: walk fully into the room and let the vlog line finish. Read the paper report while you are here. The interaction awards They’re Watching; the report concerns the officer who disappeared after responding to this house.
- Basement: descend until the protagonist comments that it is too dark. Use F to toggle the PC build’s night vision, continue far enough for Basement to check off, and return upstairs.
- Room: go upstairs and cross into the bedroom. Do not assume looking through its doorway is enough—wait for the checklist mark.
- Toilet: enter the upstairs bathroom and wait for the last room trigger.
Completing the last unchecked location finishes the tour and awards Welcome Home. If the story does not move on, stop searching for a key or code. One of the four location boxes is still open; revisit that actual room and cross farther inside. The basement is the easiest trigger to cut short because the darkness encourages an immediate retreat.
Let the first night lead you back to the panel
Once the tour is complete, follow the protagonist’s spoken transitions rather than trying to force the front door or basement early. The kitchen and food sequence, the bathroom/shower sequence, and going to bed are story gates. Interact with the object the current narration calls out, then allow the scene change to complete before moving away.
The first power failure is paired with a knock at the front door. Answer it. A police officer explains that you are the new owner, warns that the area has caused trouble, and refers to a missing officer. Let the porch conversation end and the officer leave; the protagonist then identifies the electrical panel as the next task.
Go down the basement stairs, toggle night vision with F if needed, and interact with the wall-mounted electrical panel. Restoring the lights here is still part of the shared route; it does not select an ending. Return upstairs and follow the next sleep transition.
The blood outside is your camera checkpoint
On the next night, inspect the disturbance outside the front of the house. The protagonist notices blood and decides it must be recorded. That spoken decision changes the useful interaction upstairs: return to the bedroom and take the camera from the desk area. Picking it up awards Keep Recording.
If the camera does not respond, the outside observation has not registered. Go back to the porch/front-window side, center the suspicious mark, and wait for the line about getting the camera. Merely visiting the bedroom before that line does not advance the sequence.
Continue the recording sequence until the lights fail again. This second blackout is the real branch checkpoint. Head to the same basement panel, use night vision to keep the stairs and wall readable, and restore power one more time.
True Ending: enter the room revealed below the house
For the True Ending, do not climb back to the living area after the final panel interaction. Look toward the inner part of the basement. With power restored, the previously unusable way below is now open or clearly revealed. Pass through it and continue into the lower room.
Approach the bound figure rather than backing away at the doorway. The scene takes control as the attacker catches the protagonist. Let the ending text and result screen appear; this awards The Stoneville Incident for reaching the True Ending.
The important success signal is the named result screen, not merely seeing the hidden room. If you can still walk freely, continue toward the victim until the attack sequence triggers. Once the result screen appears, select Save Point, not Main Menu, to prepare the Escape Ending with the shared route already complete.
Escape Ending: reject the basement and use the bedroom window
From the restored save point, repeat the short final-night chain: inspect the blood, retrieve the camera if the checkpoint places you before it, follow the sequence into the second power failure, and restore the basement panel. This time, turn away from the revealed lower room and head for the basement stairs.
The attacker appears as you retreat. Keep moving upward and follow the on-screen run input; stopping to inspect the figure only sacrifices the distance the game gives you. Your destination is not the front door. Continue to the upper floor, enter the bedroom used during the opening tour, and interact with its window.
The window action completes the escape sequence. Wait for the result screen to confirm Escape Ending and award the Escape achievement. If you reach the upstairs hall but no ending fires, you have not finished the route—the bedroom window, rather than the room threshold, is the final interaction.
All five achievements in route order
| Achievement | Verified trigger | Missable? |
|---|---|---|
| They’re Watching | Read the report about the missing police officer during the opening house tour. | Yes; read it before leaving the tour behind. |
| Welcome Home | Check off Kitchen, Room, Toilet, and Basement. | No on a normal completion; the tour must finish to advance. |
| Keep Recording | After inspecting the blood outside, retrieve the camera from the upstairs bedroom. | No on the verified route; it is part of the late story chain. |
| The Stoneville Incident | Enter the revealed lower room after the final power restoration and complete the True Ending. | Branch-specific. |
| Escape | Leave the basement after restoring final power, outrun the attacker, and use the upstairs bedroom window. | Branch-specific. |
The first three achievements belong to the shared route. Only the two ending achievements require different actions, and Save Point keeps that replay focused on the final sequence. Steam lists five achievements in total, so those five popups account for the full set rather than a partial route.
Use the checkpoint itself to diagnose a stalled run
A room label remains unchecked: enter that room again and wait for the protagonist’s vlog line. For Basement, turn on night vision and go beyond the first dark steps. The checklist—not your memory of visiting the doorway—is the reliable test.
The bedroom camera cannot be taken: return to the front of the house and complete the blood observation. The camera becomes the task only after the protagonist says it should be recorded.
The hidden basement route is absent: confirm this is the second blackout and that you interacted with the panel after the camera sequence. The panel visit following the officer is earlier and cannot open the ending branch.
The chase ends without an escape: run upstairs to the bedroom window. The front door and simply reaching the upper floor do not satisfy the Escape route.
The game never advances despite the correct trigger: verify your installed build is current. Hotfix 1.1 specifically addressed a completion-blocking issue. The supplied community post about an Unreal Engine “Fatal error” contained no confirmed cause or remedy, so this guide does not turn that report into an unsupported fix.
Verified two-ending video route
The embedded run is by Ultimate Gamerz. Its title, channel attribution, 16:46 duration, and relevance were independently matched through YouTube metadata, and the local 720p file supplied for this guide has the same title and runtime. It shows the True Ending first, uses Save Point, and then completes the Escape Ending.
Official game and update references
[Stories to Tell] The Stoneville Incident is a free Windows game by zebaxx, released on July 14, 2026. Its official description presents it as a 15–20 minute first-person psychological horror story built around vlogs, exploration, and a VHS/found-footage look. Check the official Steam page, the developer’s itch.io page, and the Steam 1.1 hotfix notice for the current build boundary and official media credits.