The Casting of Frank Stoneopens withpolice officer Sam Green inspecting the Cedar Steel Corp in 1963amidst a string of disappearances in the region. He bumps into a drunkard called Tom, who has let his dog run amuck to patrol the area for him—this is the prologue, setting the stage for the horrors that are about to unfold.

It’s a fairly clear cut, linear chapter, but there are a few collectibles you won’t wanna miss. We’ll walk you through where to find them and some of the important decisions you’ll be making.

The Casting of Frank Stone Cedar Lakes poster on the wall at night

Meeting Tom

How To Make Your First Discovery

The first scene is fairly straightforward—you talk to Tom and, no matter what, enter the mill. But youcan make a discovery hereif you choose the right dialogue options.

First, selectseriousto ask Tom about the “missing boy”. Next,choose the curious promptto check the mills' records, and you’ll find out that someone has been faking the entries.Select accusatoryfor a hidden interaction in which Tom reveals that he’s covering for some of the workers, “Hank” or “Fred” something, i.e. the titular Frank Stone.

The Casting of Frank Stone Sam Green in the dark inspecting the mill

Inspecting The Mill

After you meet Tom to ask if you can take a look around, you’ll enter the mill proper and begin your investigation. The first thing you’ll want to do isfind the barbed wire fence with a gap in itnext to some red barrels. Squeeze through this gap and you’ll find theIridescent Kingtrinket, your first of 12.

Once you’ve gotten the collectible,look for an open window marked by yellow towels—these always indicate something you can climb. Pull yourself through the window and squeeze through a crevice in the next room until you reach a small office with a red palette blocking the exit.

The Casting of Frank Stone Sam holding the Employee Personnel Record

Before pulling it aside to leave, interact with the filing cabinet by the door to find the employee’s personnel record—your first Champion artifact.There are some other flavour items here, like a Friday the 13th note, but otherwise, you can leave and enter the next area.

Reunite With Tom & Meet Merlin

Push forward, vault over some crates, and you’llreunite with Tomwho is looking for his dog Merlin. A cutscene will ensue as you find a bloody heap on the floor which you haphazardly pull an ear from.

you may find your first toolbox nearby which shows how many trinkets you’ve found.

The Casting of Frank Stone dog snarling at the camera with blood around its mouth

Quickly moving on from the human kibble and outside into the next area, you’ll be tasked withopening a grate on the ground.

Opening The Grate

Where To Find The Crowbar

To open the grate,you’ll need to find a crowbar. Luckily, there’s a bunch of tools nearby. You should seea fenced in little alcove with a yellow towlover one side where the barbed wire has come loose—vault over and pick up the crowbar.

Head back and use your trusty new tool to kill some headcrabs, I mean pry open the grate.

The Casting of Frank Stone Sam standing in the dark by a grate in the ground

If you fail the QTE, the crowbar breaks and Tom will help you open the grate instead. But the crowbar is useful later on.

Before heading down into the dank depths below the mill, Sam asks Tom to go get the sheriff and make sure the police are kept in the loop.But Tom will say that he wants a pick me up.You can either try to persuade him or be frustrated with him—this doesn’t have any major ramifications on the story, but if you’re friendly and convince him not to drown his sorrows, you can earn a trophy later on.

The Casting of Frank Stone Sam Greene underground in the dark looking at a sign that says Furnace Access

The Underground Maze

The next part is pretty simple—follow the furnace access signs and you’ll reach the furnace. But ignore them for now.

Instead,inspect the symbol by the first furnace access sign for your second Champion Artifact. Afterwards, go back to where you fell, now marked by your now filthy police hat, and keep going in the opposite direction of the signs until you turn left into a new tunnel.

The Casting of Frank Stone Sam inspecting the Wooden Horse trinket

There’ll bea door to your immediate right, go through andopen the box on the floor for the Wooden Horse trinket. Now, turn back around andfollow the furnace access signs.

At the second set of stairs you come across, you’ll see an arched hole in the wall that you can crawl through. Don’t go there just yet, turn right, climb over some pipes, and pick upyour firstDead by Daylightdoll—the Hillbilly.

The Casting of Frank Stone Sam inspecting a Dead by Daylight Hillbilly doll

You can nowcrawl under the archand take a right tosqueeze through a hole in the wall. A pipe will explode, prompting a QTE, but don’t worry if you fail it. Take a left, climb the ladder, and you’ll be at the furnace.

The Furnace

Should You Use The Ramp Or Ladder?

Upon entering the furnace, you’ll see a baby crying by the fire on a precarious walkway. A prompt will appear—you can eithergo up the ramp or climb the ladder.

This is your first big choice in the game, butboth lead to the same outcome. Regardless of what you do, Sam will reach the same walkway and fight Frank Stone.

The Casting of Frank Stone, Sam Green entering the furnace room which is lit a dark red

Sam can’t die in this section, but fail enough QTEs and he’ll lose his right eye, permanently damage his shoulder, and even get the baby killed.

With the prologue done, we jump to 2024 with Madison’s ominous nightmare sequence.