This DREADMOOR walkthrough covers the October 2026 demo, starting at the abandoned house and following its main progression toward The Throat. It does not describe the unreleased full game's complete story. The broad route is to reach the traders, complete their fishing work, unlock the dry dock and improve the boat before attempting the exit machinery.
Leave the house and reach Betsy and Sons
Search the opening house for supplies and collect the Axe. The radio call is your direction out of the area: tune the radio until you establish contact, then follow the instruction to sail west toward the trading post.
Moor at the trading-post dock and enter Betsy and Sons. Gill and Bozur offer Essence to relieve the Blight, but the treatment creates a debt. Their work requests provide the next part of the demo's progression.
Take the Bunkhouse key and move your personal chest from the pier into the lodging. Repair the opening in the wall before sleeping. The wall repair is an objective in its own right, rather than an optional decoration.
After resting, collect the Simple Rod from the Bunkhouse. The next assignment takes you to the platform behind the dry dock.
Complete the first fishing contract
Gill and Bozur ask for five Snappers. The nearby fishing spot and ordinary Earthworms provide the opening assignment; you do not need to solve a later bait contract first.
Keep the contract catch available for handover. Processing fish or selling them for another purpose before delivery can leave you without what the active assignment needs. Speak to the traders after completing the catch rather than assuming the next objective will trigger while you remain on the water.
The traders then direct you to John the Fifth, the engineer who has the Dry Dock Key. Reaching the dry dock building is not enough: the key is tied to John's own request.
Repair John's Moonshine Still
Visit John and inspect the broken Still. Remove the prosthetic leg obstructing the equipment, then check its repair requirements. The material search includes Coral Fiber, Bug Slime and Metal Plates.
John points you toward Angler's Island for coral. Use the Axe on harvestable growths there. The small blue creatures near the trading-post rocks provide adhesive slime, while suitable barrels and salvage provide metal. The Grappling Hook Gun helps retrieve objects from the water.
Collect the quantities shown by the repair interaction in your build. A container count is not a material count, and not every salvage object yields the same resource. Finish the repair and speak to John again to receive the key.
This is also the point where fuel production becomes part of the route. Follow the traders' instruction to process fish into meat and feed the Fuel Larva. Filling the boat is a separate action: use the Fuel Gun and check the tank before departing. Feeding the creature does not automatically refuel the vessel.
Restore dry-dock power and clean the boat
Enter the dry dock with John's key. Repair the damaged electrical connection, then operate the separate power switch. The building's working equipment depends on that sequence.
Bring the boat inside and position it on the lift. Follow the lift objective for maintenance access. Pressurize the cleaning equipment and use the Water Cannon to remove the Polyps attached to the hull.
Cleaning reveals the damage; it does not repair it. Load Bug Slime into the Repair Gun and work on the damaged hull sections. Inspect the remaining sections if one repaired slot reports that it is already in good condition while the objective is still active.
Report back to John when the boat repair is complete. His next requirement concerns reinforcement, so do not confuse a clean hull with a reinforced one.
Cleaning the hull is separate from repairing its damaged sections.
Obtain scales and research the boat upgrades
Return to Gill and Bozur for the Wind-Up Tin blueprint and the assignment to catch three Softgrazers. Process the required fish in the Thresher to obtain Chromatic Scales, then take the scales to John.
John supplies Scraps of Knowledge and directs you to research Weak Hull Protection and the Upgraded Engine. Learning a blueprint and crafting its component are different stages. Unlocking the research does not automatically install equipment on the boat.
Use John's Lathe for the required protection modules, collect the finished components and install them in the appropriate mounting positions. If a completed craft is not in your carried inventory, check the module-storage area before spending resources on another copy.
Complete the reinforcement objective and speak to John. He explains that the engine replacement requires a Carburetor, which is now with the traders.
Complete the Harpooner contract and replace the engine
Gill and Bozur request three Harpooners before making the Carburetor available. Follow their predatory-fish bait instruction and keep the catch for the contract.
After delivering the fish, speak to the traders and obtain the Carburetor through their shop. Completing the fishing task and purchasing the component are separate actions; the contract does not automatically place the part in your inventory.
Return to the dry dock and prepare the boat for engine work. Remove the Standard Engine and place it in Module Storage. Craft the Upgraded Engine using the learned blueprint and the required components, then collect and install the replacement.
Speak to John after installation. The route onward leads to The Throat. This engine work belongs to the demo's main progression; it should not be confused with the separate afterburner feature described for boat upgrades.
Restore The Throat machinery and leave
Check the boat's fuel and condition before sailing to The Throat. At the complex, restore generator power, inspect the damaged machinery and complete its repair interactions. After the repairs, route water so that both wheels turn, then use the gate control.
Treat those as separate objective states. A running generator does not mean that every machine is repaired, and one turning wheel does not satisfy the requirement for both wheels. Follow the current journal objective to identify which stage remains.
There is no dependable fixed switch combination given here. Earlier previews show a different gate encounter, and their control sequence should not be copied onto the October demo's Throat machinery. Use the state of the actual channels and both wheels rather than an unsupported universal red-and-green pattern.
When the gate opens and the objective advances to Set Out, return to the boat and sail through the newly available passage. The demo's route ends beyond this exit; it is not a walkthrough of every region planned for the main game.
