amphigeum semi-official strategy guide

hello and welcome to the spoiler-free semi-official guide to bored paramecium's nerd ass puzzle dungeon crawler amphigeum (2025)! semi-official because while i'm technically part of development (i made the ost ^_^ please linger where music plays so you can hear the tracks in full!) this is 100% from my playthrough. it's also based on watching a second playtester's struggles lol.

this guide is split in two parts. the question arcs are general hints as well as umineko style red truths — facts about the game meant to nudge you in the right direction, possibly changing your assumptions, building upon each other. read them slowly. the white space in this page formatting is deliberate. the answer arcs are straightforward walkthroughs (hover to reveal spoilers). only read them if you really must.

at the bottom there's a little extra stuff like game reccs and stuff. just so it doesn't end super abruptly.

question arcs

these are the main game verbs to me (no red because it's my opinion): walking, waiting, looking, mapping. reading and thinking helps too. fighting is much less important.
the game has 3.5 endings. two are what you'd expect, one is a secret. the .5 is a modifier for the first two endings.

no endings reached

there are 36 rooms in the dungeon. just draw a damn paper map. drawing a map is fun as hell. it's an intended game mechanic.
you can visit every room except 4 with an empty inventory.
read the game text.
there are breakable walls.
the big stone snakes have a fairly small aggro range. you can usually chill safely within their rooms.

bound ending reached

i think you know what to do now.
npcs have new dialogue once you've successfully used their hints.

becoming a big brain Gamer

the secret ending can be reached with an empty inventory. but that's not necessary to reach it, and it'll be faster / easier with one or two of them.
the secret ending doesn't require any new game verbs.
the amphisbaena can be killed without you ever dying.
the npcs never lie. when hunting for secrets, write down what they say.

answer arcs

map

this isn't a real map lmao you still have to draw your own! but i'll refer to rooms by their coordinates. the columns are A-F and the rows 1-6. like so:

    A B C D E F 
1  |_|_|_|_|_|_|
2  |_|_|_|_|_|_|
3  |_|_|_|_|_|_|
4  |_|_|_|_|_|_|
5  |_|_|_|_|_|_|
6  |_|_|_|_|_|_|

no endings reached

bound ending walkthrough

i'll start off with the bound ending — beating the amphisbaena in 2B while being bound to the dungeon with the rope. this is the easiest / default ending since you literally cannot die.

you get it by chilling in 4D until the big stone snake completes its path.
this means you can head to the "beach where the world begins" (1A) and let the statue kill you ("one bound to the dungeon").
with the rapier in hands, you can finally kill the enemy on the C3 straight corridor and head to the amphisbaena.

bound ending reached

unbound ending walkthrough

you know what you need to do. you get this by defeating the amphisbaena while not bound to the dungeon. the easiest way to achieve this is by getting the rapier "normally" and then breaking the rope with the chisel on 4A. it's not the only way. you don't need to pick up the rope to begin with.

if you don't kill the amphisbaena first try, it might be worth poking around for helpful secrets instead of trying to brute force things... after all, you walk real slow and have to start from scratch every time.

the .5 ending(s)

walkthrough

so these are just achieving either ending with the jade beads. this is how you get them:

get the stone idol by completing the 4F and 5F puzzles.
there's a big stone snake in the 4C grid room.
with the idol, you can copy its path in the empty grid room (2E). it's accessible from the north and south.

"it's not the only way"

the secret method

we're back to being cryptic and using red truths for a bit!

there are 5 eyeless paths you can see.
the bell in 6B has a purpose.
when in doubt you can always check back on the spawn room (3D).
you are not the only one bound to this dungeon.
"willingly break" is a bit misleading. you have to act.

full spoiler method

the eyeless path in 1F teaches you that circling the bottom of some pillars teleports you to the spawn room and back.
that same npc also tells you someone bound to the dungeon must be killed: that means the respawning stone snakes count.
ring the 6B bell to respawn the snake in the spawn room, then have it walk the invisible path around the top left pillar so it gets transported to 1A. the idol is optional for this; it can help because you move around faster, but you can teleport before leading the snake, which is annoying.
go to 1A and kill the snake yourself (it can't really move to the statue) to get the rapier.

becoming a big brain Gamer

you know everything you need to know. reevaluate your assumptions and read through this whole guide again if you don't know how to begin.

starting the journey

can you take snakes anywhere else?

full spoiler method

take the spawn room snake to 1F via the top right pillar.
talk to the npc to start the route and get your riddle.
the npc will only give you the hint once, so jot it down.
you need to take the snake to 1F to start the route. yes it's annoying. maybe don't close the game until you solve it lol.

getting to the end

it's pretty clear who the "four of us" in the riddle are. visit those four rooms (1F, 1D, 6A and 6E is the fastest route ime). screenshots help you see everything at once.
a sound plays when each code is obeyed.
once you know which room has no code, figuring out the last step isn't too tricky. but if you're stuck, take a walk to think. it's a good idea to go through 4A in your route.
"free" doesn't just mean empty.

full spoiler method

the three rooms with codes are the ones with rugs (1F, 1D and 6A).
the rugs hold the code. while in each room, input the code with the arrow keys (left-right, top-bottom). the direction of the hilbert curve motif tells you the way.
after inputing the three codes, head over to the last room, 6E. enter from the north.
walk onto the free tile. it's the one under the rightmost chain.
rejoice! you are a true Gamer!

extra stuff

thank you for reading and thank you for playing my friend's game! hope you had a good time and that the guide was helpful! ^_^

if you liked amphigeum, be sure to play the amazing sylvie rpg: 7 elf apocalypse and ufo 50's instant classic barbuta. synthesis: sylvie's video barbuta: a guided tour.

and don't forget to read his postmortem: how to kill an amphisbaena / em português!

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