Play the game blind.
Do not consult walkthroughs or Let’s Plays on YouTube. Every first playthrough of Refind Self should be gone into totally blind so you can get the best results.
Okay, now that that’s out of the way, welcome to this “guide” (and I use that term loosely) to Refind Self. Refind Self is a data-science game that’s been making waves lately, for good reason. It’s not a game as much as it is a long and detailed personality quiz that will examine your values, what you prize, and what you can live without.
In Refind Self, you play as Utsuwa, an android exploring her memories of her creator. What actions you take in the game are reflective of your own personality, and how you choose to guide Utsuwa on her journey – what is important, what can be discarded, and what can be tailored to fit the new self – will ultimately allow the game to paint a portrait of your personality based on your play style. Refind Self is available on both the Google Play Store and the App Store, as well as on PC via Steam. Note that Refind Self is a paid game!
As Refind Self is a game where you are heavily encouraged to play your way to discover your unique personality, I use the word “guide” loosely. Rather than telling you where to go and what to do, I’ll instead focus on presenting the many options you have so that you can better communicate to the game what your personality is – what you do with those is up to you.
Along the way, I’ll add screenshots of my own playthrough and the final personality evaluation I got at the end, though I’ll refrain from posting my own choices as much as possible. Remember – everyone’s first run of Refind Self is their own story, so don’t be afraid to plunge straight in.
If you’re afraid of running into spoilers (which I’ve tried my hardest to keep away from this guide), you can peruse the “Quick Tips” part of each section so you can get a quick rundown of what to expect from the game with minimal contextual knowledge.
A Question of Personality
Refind Self’s gameplay revolves around the android Utsuwa, who, at the beginning of the game, is at the grave of her creator, Dr. Kusunoki. As Utsuwa rises to her feet, the question hangs heavy in the air – what does she do now?
Quick Tips:
- Each playthrough lasts for roughly 100 actions. Every action that fills personality adds to the heart gauge at the upper left. At 100%, the game ends, and Utsuwa will fulfill whatever you’ve decided to do during the course of your playthrough.
- There are ways of delaying your heart gauge gain.
- You can interact with a lot more things than it may first seem. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
- Refind Self tracks a lot of things you wouldn’t expect it to; it may be more accurate to say it tracks everything about how you play the game. As such, be yourself when playing the game to get an accurate appraisal of your personality.
Data Limits
Each run in Refind Self lasts for roughly 100 actions. These actions are indicated by the heart gauge at the upper right of the screen.
Each action you take that builds Utsuwa’s personality blocks slightly fills up the heart. At 100%, you’ll be prompted to take one final action before Utsuwa’s personality is set and she carries out whatever resolutions you may have made during your playtime.
Note that there are ways to delay filling up the bar to 100% – especially important on your next playthroughs – though I won’t say more about that.
Don’t Be Afraid to Interact
Personality blocks are built by interacting with the world. Conversing with the doctor’s other creations, helping them, refusing to help, giving nonsensical answers, picking things up from the ground, smelling garbage, cleaning sewers, making shady deals, indulging in food and drink – all of these are important bits of data that will help create Utsuwa’s final personality and show you where you place in Refind Self’s multiple personality archetypes.
One thing new players should note is that while it may not be immediately evident, you can interact with a lot more things than may be clear at first sight. Don’t be afraid to experiment if the mood strikes you; remember, there are no game overs nor bad endings!
What Does the Game Track?
The game’s premise may lead you to ask, “What exactly does the game track with regard to determining my personality?” The answer? Everything.
From the actions you take to the actions you don’t take, to double-takes, returning to a previous location, the very last action you take, and even the time it takes for you to make your choices, the game tracks it all. As Refind Self succinctly puts it, every action, no matter how minute, is indicative of an individual’s personality. Don’t be afraid to act as you would in real life, whether that’s simply choosing whatever comes to mind first or taking the time to evaluate the repercussions of each choice.
Note that the game also tracks how many people chose what response at what junction. This may give you a deeper insight into your own personality – think of why you chose that response and what the implications of your choice are.
Exploring The Island
Of course, the sheer vastness of your task can be overwhelming at the start. With so many places to explore and so few actions that you can take, where do you spend this time? This section will talk about the various places you can go to on the doctor’s island, and I’ll indicate spoilers by marking them as [Spoilers].
Quick Tips:
- I’ve added a screenshot of the in-game map. You can consult if you need to know where to go. Spoilers will only be added in the main section of each location.
- I strongly urge you to use spoilers only once you’ve completed the game once.
- Take note that my spoilers aren’t exhaustive! There’s plenty to explore in the game and I’d rather you experience it blind!
Island Map
Here’s a map of the island, which you can use to get your bearings:
The locations are as follows (note that these aren’t official names):
- The Lighthouse
- The Path
- The Shrine
- The Great Tree and Lab Town
- Dr. Kusonoki’s Lab
- The Cave
- The Coast
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is where you begin, and Dr. Kusonoki’s grave is on the cliff. You can dig for scrap to sell here.
The dotted line in the Lighthouse [Spoilers:] indicates a shortcut that can be built if you ask the ladder in Lab Town to sacrifice itself to make a shortcut.
Also, [Spoilers:] you can enter the top floor of the Lighthouse once you have the key. The key is found in a shack in Lab Town.
And [Spoilers:] one of the sheep for Inori’s quest is here.
The Path
The path leading up to the Lighthouse is filled with small houses for housing the doctor’s creations.
Examine them – maybe you’ll find something of use. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend!
[Spoilers:] This is where you do the battery quest – whoever you don’t give the battery to dies.
[Spoilers:] Later on, Kibou will fall out of the sky to assist you here. She can give you money, move speed, or “affection”.
The torii (gate) in the middle of the Path leads to the Shrine.
The Shrine
A quiet shrine on the mountain path.
And [Spoilers:] one of the sheep for Inori’s quest is here.
There’s also a shed here, as well as an altar to pray if you believe it to be worth your time.
The Great Tree and Lab Town
Most of Dr. Kusonoki’s creations settled down here, creating a bustling community. Her death has, however, put a damper on many of the robots. To the left of the screen, a great tree rises above the island. [Spoilers:] Inori is located inside the tree. Walk into it to get the quest to touch sheep. One of the sheep is located just outside the tree, where the transition to The Path is. The other two are in The Shrine and The Lighthouse.
There are three stores here. The first will trade Scrap for coins. If you get Golden Scrap, you can trade that in for a large amount of coins – 100, I believe. As Scrap doesn’t really have much of a use, you may as well trade it in.
The second store is a ladder robot. You can ask it to create a shortcut or help you reach somewhere inaccessible. However, note that this is a one-time thing and will result in the death of the ladder bot. [Spoilers:] Asking it to create a shortcut will cause it to set itself up at The Lighthouse, creating a shortcut to The Coast. Asking it to reach somewhere inaccessible allows you to climb the Great Tree to retrieve the key, which opens the shed in The Shrine.
The third store sells 3 different kinds of ramen for 20 coins each.
There’s also a fourth merchant, the Informant. It will sell you 3 pieces of info for 60 coins, 2 pieces for slightly less (30, if I remember correctly), or 1 piece of info for free. The information you’ll get is:
[Spoilers:]
- The ladder can be used to create a shortcut to the coast.
- A nanomachine plague is wiping out humanity.
- The basement of Doctor Kusonoki’s lab is still functional. There, you’ll be able to see your current personality progress.
Further to the right, there will be a cat blocking the entrance of a house. [Spoilers:] The house contains the key to the top of The Lighthouse. You can move the cat to get the key early. The cat will also move on its own later, though I still haven’t determined exactly what event causes it to go away.
The exit to the lab is beyond the gate on the right side. There’s also a beggar there, who you can give coins to. Or take coins from if that’s your thing.
Dr. Kusonoki’s Lab
The second half of Lab Town contains Dr. Kusonoki’s lab, a café, and a casino. The lab is located all the way to the left of the screen.
[Spoilers:] The lab’s basement is where Dr. Kusonoki did most of her work. You’ll learn some important things about Utsuwa’s history here, and you can check the computer to see your current personality progress.
The second floor has an arcade and will reveal some backstory when you enter it, giving you a better idea of the state of the world. There’s also a safe here.
The third floor is a library and smoking room. You can read some of the doctor’s papers and research notes here, which should further augment your understanding of how things came to be [Spoilers:] as well as the doctor’s 100-year plan and how EAI units such as Utsuwa work.
The roof has a nice view of the island. [Spoilers:] You can climb further up using the ladders to get a fragment of the doctor’s diary.
The café outside lets you buy drinks. You can also volunteer to help for a while. There’s also an arcade machine here.
To the right is a cigarette vendor, who’ll sell you three types of smokes. If you decide to buy a pack, note that the smoking area is to the right of the vendor. Further to the right is a casino, where you can play slots, a crane game, or High-Low (guess if the number the dealer will draw next is higher or lower than the current number) that requires 300 coins to play.
The Cave
The cave is found to the east of Dr. Kusonoki’s lab. Here you’ll find pots that you can break, as well as two merchants.
The first merchant is a lonely toy-type robot. It will ask you to sell it some of your memories. [Spoiler:] Utsuwa will back up her memory if you do so, and you’ll still get paid, though as with all things, your choice will affect your final results.
The second merchant will offer you three items: sneakers that boost your move speed by a good amount, a fishing rod, or a wrapped present. You can only buy 1 of these things per playthrough – the merchant will refuse to sell you anything else after you’ve bought something. Each of these items will set you back a hefty 100 coins.
You can proceed to the coast by heading east.
The Coast
The coast is the site of an important event in Utsuwa and the doctor’s lives. Perhaps you should go dredge up old memories along the long and lonely coastline. Maybe you’ll learn something. Or maybe you’ll just drown in nostalgia.
[Spoilers:] Walking down the coast after completing the defense minigame will result in a space capsule crashing down, which you can examine. Walking beyond that sometimes triggers a JRPG-style battle against a failed prototype of yourself – I’m 100% sure what the trigger is or if it only happens on your first playthrough. Finally, if you decide to walk all the way down the coast (which takes around 10 minutes of real time), you’ll be given 999 coins for your determination. There’s nothing at the end of the beach – you’ll just run into an obstacle that impedes your progress.
Remember – the return trip is faster.
The Summation of the Self
Once you’ve completed your playthrough, Refind Self will evaluate your actions and assign you 3 personalities (more with subsequent playthroughs) based on how it believes you acted.
Quick Tips:
- Refind Self has 23 personality archetypes split across 5 traits: Passion, Moral, Method, Judgment, and Daring. This allows it to paint a broader picture of your personality rather than just giving you a single aspect to work with.
- If you want to share your code with your choices and personality stats, the game will give you a unique code once you’ve cleared it.
- Your first playthrough will only yield 3 of 5 personality types. You’ll need to play the game a second and third time to get the most accurate analysis of your personality.
The Archetypes
Refind Self has a total of 23 archetypes, which I’ll discuss in brief here:
- The Passion archetypes are: Adventurers, Researchers, Artisans, and Travelers.
- The Moral archetypes are: Butler, Leader, Judge, Clergy, and Pacifist.
- The Method archetypes are: Solo Player, Bancho, Runner, Challenger, and Planner.
- The Judgment archetypes are: Samurai, Philosopher, Martial Artist, and Clown.
- The Daring archetypes are: Sage, Hero, Gambler, Merchant, and Collector.
Note that you can have multiple personality types from the same archetype.
Traits
Each of these archetypes represents a particular trait of yours, with your personality in each determining your approach to life when asked several questions. By my interpretation, this is the question that each personality type aims to answer:
- Passion: How do you respond to new things? Do you plunge into them headlong, like an Adventurer? Or do you prefer the tried and true, like an Artisan?
- Moral: What guides your moral compass? Is it pure sincerity, like a Butler? Obligations and responsibilities, like a Leader? Or do you simply reject conflict and seek to remove all sources of it, like a Pacifist?
- Method: How do you navigate through life? Do you rely on your own strength, like a Solo Player? Choose whatever methods get the job done, like a Bancho? Or, like a Planner, do you like to take time to evaluate the situation before committing to a plan of action?
- Judgment: How do you make your decisions? Swiftly and decisively, like a Samurai? Slow and thoughtful, like a Philosopher? Or novel and empathetic, like a Clown?
- Daring: How do you handle difficult situations? Do you walk the path of prudence and caution, like a Sage? Do you charge into danger regardless of your fear, like a Hero? Or do you calculate the pros and cons and make the choice that best aligns with your interests and goals, like a merchant?
My Results
Of course, I followed my own advice and plunged into the game blindly. I made my choices and stayed true to my heart, simply picking what I think Utsuwa would have done if I were in her shoes. My result?
My dominant personality was Solo Player, my secondary was Leader, and my third was Samurai. Putting all these together, the game told me that I like to do things alone, though I can also work as a leader, and I don’t like agonizing over decisions, often picking the most straightforward and decisive path. As you can see, the game didn’t assign me a personality based on Passion or Daring. Yet. Is it an accurate assessment of my real life personality? Surprisingly, yes!
Note, too, that the game assigns you a unique code when you clear it. This will allow you to share your personality card, as well as the actions you took, with others!
Hidden Personalities
While looking at my card, you may have noticed some blank spots. There is indeed space for up to 5 personalities, and your first playthrough will only yield 3 of the potential 5.
Unlocking these last two personalities for your card will help you get an even clearer picture of where you fall among Refind Self’s many archetypes, with the fourth one being perhaps the least dominant of your forefront traits, while the fifth is the personality that’s your complete opposite and the one you’re furthest from. To get a clear grasp on the analysis of your personality, get ready for two more playthroughs – you’ll even get to see more of the story unfold before you!
Unique Permutations
No matter what choices your Utsuwa makes, know that your first playthrough is a unique and valuable experience. And if you decide to stick around, maybe you’ll learn a bit more – about the world of the game, sure, but more importantly, about yourself.
That ends my beginner’s “guide” to Refind Self, and I hope you’ll enjoy diving into the game, discovering new truths about yourself, and reinforcing your core beliefs. If you have any suggestions on how to improve this guide – such as things you believe that new players should know before jumping in (and no spoilers, please!) – make yourself heard in the comments section below!