Looking for secrets or hunting achievements? This illustrated guide has you covered. Because Traverser is a relatively short game with a unique signature mechanic, it can be easy to get frustrated when playing. Even if you like to figure things out for yourself, having the answers at hand can help you focus on Valerie's story and get the most out of the game.

It's good to have an overview of specific game mechanics, and a point of reference when you've looked everywhere for that last collectible. If you've got a better way to do something or have a question about something you think should be covered here, please leave a comment below.

There are a couple of things that may be useful to know before playing Traverser.

• If ignoring collectibles the game is relatively short (2-3 hours). Getting collectibles will add an hour or two.
  
• After earning your Gravity Glove, all collectibles will be immediately accessible; there are no future upgrades that will make collection any easier.
  
• Achievement hunters should read all achievement descriptions before beginning the game, as there are certain things you will or won't want to do.
  
• Your combat ability will never improve beyond hit-enemy-with-box; this is a stealth game and besides temporarily stunning enemies, you will never have a way to actually defend yourself aside from throwing boxes.
  
• You may not revisit areas once you've left for the purpose of collectibles. The final exit for each zone is usually labelled "Exit Area."
  
• Dying will always return you to the last saved checkpoint. When possible, try to do your most difficult tasks first in case you need to start over.
  
• Although there is no penalty for throwing random junk off of the edges, it is wise to hang onto things as you may need them later.
  
• Most of the random houses you can enter (including the train station in the first area and fridges you can open) don't have any purpose aside from lending to the game's atmosphere.
  
• Use your Journal (default key: J) to keep track of your progress in a level or note how many collectibles may be available.
  
• Fast-forward dialogue by holding down the interact key (default keys: E or F).

Traverser does not offer any option to save your game, so you will be reliant on autosave checkpoints throughout to manage your progress. All checkpoints are saved indefinitely for you to revisit later.

None of your actions in the game have any consequences: beating up NPCs with trash or destroying people's houses has no effect except for their immediate dialogue in that first example. If you meticulously pick up everything you knock over or carefully distribute oxygen tanks to every beggar, the only person patting you on the back will be yourself.

Your only defense is stealth. Your only offense is throwing boxes or other objects to temporarily stun a guard or break a PK-bot. Guards have an annoyingly huge line-of-sight, and will break the barrel or open the cupboard you're hiding in if they detect you by sight or sound. Thankfully, you should never have guards after you at a checkpoint, so you'll always be able to try again until you get it right. Almost all of the actual combat that you will be engaged in will be boss fights with unique but relatively straightforward mechanics.

Fully rotating objects with your mouse can be frustrating, but the mechanics are quite simple. Hold down the right mouse button while rotating. Move your mouse left/right to rotate the object clockwise/counterclockwise, and up/down to tilt the object forward/backward. It may take some getting used to, but there is only one puzzle in the game that requires any level of precision.

All collectibles are unique to each level. Levels cannot be revisited if you miss something, even if you do eventually return to the same area later in the game.

You can't collect any Tracebots until you receive your gravity glove. Collect a Tracebot by catching it and holding it for a second or two.

4 Secrets / 3 Tracebots

Secrets

1. On the roof of Hotel Korpen.
   
2. After moving some crates you can jump down to this area.
   
3. After returning home with your Gravity Glove this note will be left next to your broken TV.
   
4. Jump to the left of the spiky fence (shown near the top of the screenshot) to reach this area.

Tracebots

1. In the alcove with the game board.
   
2. Just to the left of the Raven Corp HQ doors
   
3. Just south of your front door. This one is hard to catch, and if it flies away you can leave this area and come back to get it to respawn.

2 Secrets / 2 Tracebots

Secrets

1. In the SE area after jumping across some floating platforms.
   
2. Under some barrels on the NW side of the central area.

Tracebots

1. In the SE area after jumping across some floating platforms.
   
2. On the roof S of the central area. Climb the spiral staircase and jump across to it.

2 Secrets / 3 Tracebots

Secrets

1. In the very first tunnel S of the furnace there will be a fan to your left with the secret behind it, but you will need to come back for it later after you find the Dynamite.
   
2. Due south of the whirlpool.

Tracebots

1. After using the boulder to gain entrance to the next area, head N and around the curves.
   
2. Flying around the whirlpool. If you're going for the Whirlpool achievement, you'll want to do that first and then grab the Tracebot.
   
3. On the other side of the Plumbing puzzle.

3 Secrets / 3 Tracebots

Secrets

1. At the end of the dark mine N of where you enter the area. You can open the gate by using the torch at the beginning of the cave to light the torches on either side of the gate.
   
2. In the "Defy Gravity" garbage dump, use the 3 loose boards to build bridges to get to the Secret.
   
3. On the roof just before crossing to the warehouse.

Tracebots

1. Release the first Tracebot by bringing one O2 container to the merchant so you can catch it.
   
2. Below the warehouse balcony.
   
3. In the warehouse after jumping across the boxes (or before crawling in the vent).

0 Secrets / 3 Tracebots

Tracebots

1. Near the mansion's front door.
   
2. In the mansion's cellar beside a gate.
   
3. Use some loose boards in an attic to fall into this room.

4 Secrets / 3 Tracebots

Secrets

1. NW corner of the generator room.
   
2. NE corner of the generator room.
   
3. In the left of two cupboards in the shower room.
   
4. Hidden out-of-sight behind some shelves on your way to get the mask; you can also get it on your way back.

Tracebots

1. On the S end of the shower room.
   
2. At the end of the turret area accessed by crawling through a vent in the storage room.
   
3. In the security center furthest W.

2 Secrets / 1 Tracebot

Secrets

1. This one sucks! I recommend coming for this one after turning on the power to the flip plate as it will be tricky to do after alerting the guards. One thing that worked for me was leaving the barrel near the lasers and just running for it while the guards shot at me. I used the shipping containers for cover while I grabbed the secret, ran out the way I had come, jumped back in the barrel to make it through the lasers, dropped the barrel, and then ran for the flip machine.
   
2. Align the three orbs to make a hole in the wall, dispatch the PK-bots, and grab the Secret on the S end of the room.

Tracebots

1. Use the N elevator to reach the Tracebot hidden in an alcove.

1 Secret / 1 Tracebot

Secrets

1. You'll find this behind a small building just before leaving the area.

Tracebots

1. The only one that counts is the second one in the top row of the second section. If you get too close you may wait for them to roost again, or just disable them all.

3 Secrets / 2 Tracebots

Secrets

1. Just south of your front door where a Tracerbot used to be.
   
2. Near the front of the mansion.
   
3. Near the mansion's cellar door.

Tracebots

1. Just outside your front door.
   
2. Just outside the mansion gate.

Most of the achievements are especially straightforward, but PeaceKeeper will require special attention and an entire dedicated playthrough. If you can stand separate playthroughs, I suggest getting all collectibles on your first playthrough, giving Celine her book back for Paragon, and freeing the prisoners for the Queen of the Beggars achievement. In your second playthrough, go for PeaceKeeper, Renegade and Ghost Protocol.

You can earn both Paragon and Renegade in a single playthrough by reloading a save.

Use a flip machine 10 times in a row.
This can be completed on any flip pad. Simply interact with it 10 times and make those Teletubbies proud.

Jump and fall 20 m without dying.
You should get this at some point during normal gameplay.

Find all of the secret notes.
See above for locations. This must be completed within a single playthrough.

Find a way into the warehouse without any help.
Avoid giving O2 to the beggars (except for the one selling a trace bot) and you'll earn this achievement.

Release all of the oxygen in Phil Air’s house.
Bang each canister on the wall until it starts to leak. It may be easiest to discard spent canisters against the south side of the screen to avoid missing any.

Jump and squish 5 insects.
Squish insects by jumping on them or dropping objects onto them. Walking over them won't work.

Escape the prison without being seen.
This may take a couple of tries but can be quite easy. It is even possible to get all the collectibles and Queen of the Beggars achievement at the same time: so long as you hide out in the Barrel after freeing the prisoners and wait until the guards leave the room.

Watch all of the Raven Corporation broadcasts.
Make sure to click on any TVs you find.

Collect all 21 trace bots.
See above for locations. This must be completed within a single playthrough.

Prove your strength in the "High Striker" mini game in Lower City.
A rather large anvil can be found just east of the High Striker game. Grab the anvil and drop it onto the pressure pad to get the achievement.

Run a total of 15 km.
This achievement is just awful. You will want to earn it before the final fight, and frankly is best earned by setting up a macro to just run back and forth for an hour or so.

Slap a piece of meat on the chef's head.
Dodge the patrolling guard and retrieve a big hunk of meat from the storage freezer just NE of the chef's location. Hitting the chef anywhere (not just in the head) will be sufficient.

Bring Celine’s notebook back.
Celine is the Failed Traverser who appears in the SE part of the Upper City after you complete your Traverser exam. Get her book down from the roof with your new power and give it back to her.

Never destroy any PK-bots with the help of your gravity glove.
This achievement wants you to complete the game without ever using your powers to injure/destroy a PK-bot. This includes hitting them with boxes, blowing them up, or hitting them with splash damage from other projectiles. The only way to destroy the bots will be to get close enough that they stop to activate their self-destruct mechanism, and then back away while they blow up. You do not need to blow up or encounter all PK-bots to get this achievement, and friendly-fire kills from enemies will not count against you. The achievement should trigger just after defeating the final boss.

Pass 4,000 points playing Traverser Freddy: The Video Game.
You will have to hit at least 40 birds without missing more than 10. The pattern for this duck-hunt style game is different each time, so the best you can do is keep trying until you get lucky. Try and relax and remember that you can miss 1 in 5 of the first 50 birds.

Complete the plumbing puzzle with only 6 pipe pieces.
You will only need the 6 pipe pieces in the immediate room to complete this achievement. You will need 3 straight pipes + 1 curved pipe on the left side, and 2 curved pipes on the right. Take advantage of the fact that the pipes do not need to be straight to connect to one another.

Bust out the prison inmates.
If you are getting other achievements, you will want to do everything else in the prison before releasing the captives. Shortly after activating the switch, two guards will run into the room. Hiding in the nearby Barrel will be sufficient cover until they leave.

Throw Celine’s notebook away.
Celine is the Failed Traverser who appears in the SE part of the Upper City after you complete your Traverser exam. Get her book down from the roof with your new power and throw it over the edge of the city.

Stun 5 guards.
Use a box or other object to hit one or more guards. They will become momentarily stunned, with animated birds circling their head. You will need to wait until each guard recovers before stunning them again.

Get past the whirlpool in less than 15 seconds.
The clock seems to start when you jump onto your first object, and stops when you reach the tunnel on the other side. If you fail, keep trying from the checkpoint. You should see the achievement pop up shortly after landing on the far side, and if you don't you can jump in the water to try again.

All images in this guide contain content that is property of the publisher, Adult Swim Games. Their inclusion here is for reference only, and does not imply the developer's affiliation with or endorsement of this guide or its contents. This guide's contents may not be re-used elsewhere on or outside of Steam without consent from the author.