In preparation for the second season of the hit TV series, Stranger Things: The Game has just been released for Android and iOS players to enjoy. The story of this game comes after the end of the show’s first season. Will and the other kids have all gone missing, and it will be up to Jim Hopper to comb through the entire town of Hawking to find them. The game takes you through an 8-bit version of the town where you can visit pixel versions of popular locations from the show, including Mirkwood and Hawkins Lab. You will need to solve puzzles using the special abilities of the different characters in order to progress in the game. There’s no better way to psych yourself up for the show. Of course, if you get stuck in the game, you can always rely on our Stranger Things: The Game ultimate strategy guide to save the day!
1. Choose Your Difficulty Level
Stranger Things: The Game offers two difficulty levels, Normal and Classic. The Normal mode is less difficult but by no means is it a walk in the park. The game developers proudly say that the Classic mode follows the difficulty standards of 1984 games. In layman’s terms, that means it will be nearly impossible to beat. Feel free to choose either difficulty according to your preference.
2. Don’t Forget The Side Quests
The main quests of the game mostly involve conquering dungeons and earning Eggos. Side quests are usually about finding certain items in the game. While you can still complete the game without doing any of the side quests, they can definitely make your life easier. For example, if you complete the side quest for finding the man’s camera lens, you will be able to increase Lucas’ number of rocks.
3. Double Back After Unlocking Characters
As you explore the town, you will probably notice a few areas that seem like they can lead to new locations. These can usually be accessed if you use the abilities of specific characters. That is why you should always go back to previous locations whenever you unlock a new character. For example, Nancy can get rid of the logs with cracks using her bat in order to open up new areas for you to explore.
4. Go Shopping
The grocery store becomes available after you defeat the second dungeon. You can purchase most of the common items from here such as rocks for Lucas. Aside from that, there are also a few quest and side quest items that can be found in the grocery store. Make sure you grab these to help you progress in the game. Quest items normally cost 100 coins so be prepared to spend quite a bit.
More tips and tricks: Stranger Things: The Game: How to Find All Eggos, Lawn Gnomes and VHS Tapes
5. Where To Get All Hearts
The health point system uses hearts similar to that of Zelda games. Naturally, you would want to have more hearts so you can survive longer. The only way to increase your maximum health, however, is to collect the heart pieces that are scattered throughout the game. Every four heart pieces will add one full heart. There are forty heart pieces hidden in the game and we have listed their locations below.
Heart Piece #1
This is located in the Hawkins National Laboratory. You will need Nancy and Lucas to access this. Just go up twice from the entry room, then head left to the room with a crack on the wall. Use Nancy to break open the wall then use Lucas to shoot all the laser control panels except for the one on the bottom right. This will let you access the treasure box that contains the heart piece.
Heart Piece #2
Use Lucas and Hopper to break the five laser eyes on the wall of Hawkins National Laboratory.
Heart Piece #3
Open the treasure box in the forest that is located just west of Hopper’s house.
Heart Piece #4
Return to the northern woods once you have Dustin. Look for the path being blocked by a bear. Use Dustin to throw a pudding at the open space in front of the bear to lure it away from the path. Head up the path to find a treasure box containing the heart piece.
Heart Piece #5
Go back to Mirkwood forest once you have Nancy. Look for the path blocked by a log just west of Castle Byers. Use Nancy to break the log so you can proceed. Head north to find another treasure box with a heart piece inside.
Heart Piece #6
Look for the handcuffs in the northern forest. You can find it west of where you found Heart Piece# 4. Once you have it, give it to Powell in exchange for another heart piece.
Heart Piece #7
When you unlock Will, go to the corn maze on the west side of town. Use his skill to break the bush then follow the path to a treasure box with the next heart piece.
Heart Piece #8
Look for the Teacher’s Edition book inside the Middle School. Just head up into the second room from the entrance, then go left into the large locker room. Open the second locker from the right to find the book. You may need to open all the lockers since the book sometimes changes location. Hand it over to Mr. Clarke to get a heart piece.
Heart Piece #9
Head to the Librarian’s house with Mike. You will need Will to enter the pipe north of the Florist’s shop to find the Librarian’s house. Once you find it, look for the ramp and use Mike to jump over the river to reach the treasure box with a heart piece.
Heart Piece #10
Go to the fourth level of the underground Laboratory Bunker. Look for the room with the pipe maze. Go to the first room to the north then enter the second pipe. Next, enter the third pipe then go to the room to the left. Once there, take the pipe on the left to emerge in the sewer area. Get past the rats and lasers to find a keycard. Continue heading east until you come across a hazmat enemy. Enter the pipe to the north of this room to reach the treasure chest.
Heart Piece #11
Go back to the Sewer with Will and Nancy in tow. Find the center room with the three clockwise currents. Head to the room to the north then use Nancy to break the wall. Use Will to go into the pipe in the next room then head down. Climb the ladder to a small gated area to find the treasure chest containing a heart piece.
Heart Piece #12
Find all five pairs of balloons in the Sewer and break them. Use Lucas to hit the ones in hard-to-reach places.
Heart Piece #13
Go back to the Forest Maze once you have Will. Find the westernmost room with a pipe and use Will to reach the next treasure box.
Heart Piece #14
Break the five red bells in the Middle School. Head two rooms up from the entrance then go left to find a Lawn Gnome and a heart piece.
Heart Piece #15
Destroy five bird houses in the Forest Maze.
Heart Piece #16
Pick up the five overdue books lying around the Public Library then return to the entrance to gain access to the treasure box containing the heart piece.
Heart Piece #17
Break five specimen jars in the underground Laboratory Bunker. They are located on different floors so you will need to find them.
Heart Piece #18
Use Nancy to gain access to the house with a brown roof southeast of the Middle School. Have her break the wall on the northwest corner of the house to find the Robot Toy. Give the toy to the clerk at Bradley’s Big Buy to get a heart piece.
Heart Piece #19
Head to the Sattler Quarry with Mike. Use him to jump over the water and head into the cave. Follow the path until you reach three entrances. Have Nancy break open a path for the entrance on the far right in order to reach a treasure box with the heart piece.
Heart Piece #20
Have Nancy break the log behind Steve’s house in order to get the Pocket Knife. Hand it over to Tommy who is hanging out in front of the High School to get the next heart piece.
Heart Piece #21
Go to the Dump with Mike and have him ramp inside through the dirt path. Head north to find the Bottle of Pop. Give this to Tommy to get another heart piece.
Heart Piece #22
Buy Hair Spray from Bradley’s Big Buy then go to the High School to give it to Carol in exchange for a heart piece.
Heart Piece #23
Go to the southwest corner of the Sewer with Will then have him go through the pipe to find the Lipstick. Give the Lipstick to Carol and you will receive another heart piece.
Heart Piece #24
Find the Keychain in Castle Byers and give it to Joyce to get a heart piece.
Heart Piece #25
Buy a phone from Melvald’s General Store and give it to Joyce for another heart piece.
Heart Piece #26
Go into the Middle School and head for the northeastern room with the ham radio. Open the locker near the radio to find the Cassette Tape. Give it to Jonathan who is in the woods south of the Forest Maze to get the next heart piece.
Heart Piece #27
Find the Game Cartridge under a pile of dirt in the northeast section of the Dump. Give it to the clerk at Bradley’s Big Buy to get a heart piece.
Heart Piece #28
Buy Milk from Bradley’s Big Buy then give it to Mrs. Wheeler to be rewarded with the next heart piece.
Heart Piece #29
Have Will enter the pipe south of Hopper’s house. Go east to find the pumpkin patch. Pick up a Pumpkin and hand it over to Mrs. Wheeler to get another heart piece.
Heart Piece #30
Pick up the Romance Novel in the last room of the Byers’ house. Give it to Flo at the Police Station to get another heart piece.
Heart Piece #31
Head south from the pumpkin patch, then head west, then north, to arrive at the cemetery. Get the Rubber Skeleton from the tombstone with a skeleton on it. Give the Rubber Skeleton to Flo.
Heart Piece #32
Go inside the cave south of the Quarry. Go through the cave until you emerge on the other side. Follow the path until you go past the bear then look for the log that Nancy can break. Head left to find the Badge. Give the Badge to Callahan at the Police Station.
Heart Piece #33
Head to Mirkwood and have Nancy break the log west of Castle Byers. Follow the path to pick up the Shop Ledger. Give the Shop Ledger to Melvald in exchange for a heart piece.
Heart Piece #34
Go to Jennifer’s house near the cemetery. Talk to her as Will and you will receive a heart piece.
Heart Piece #35
Head to the northern woods then look for the entrance that’s farther south of the Sewer entrance. Go in and keep going northwest until you reach the river. Have Mike ramp over to find the treasure box.
Heart Piece #36
Go to the northeast corner of the Middle School and have Nancy break open the cracked wall to find the Bag of Salt. Give it to the clerk at the Hunting and Camping store to get a heart piece.
Heart Piece #37
Find the sewer entrance south of Jennifer’s house to find a mini dungeon. Go through the mini dungeon to find the treasure chest containing Heart Piece# 37.
Heart Piece #38
Go to the southeast corner of the Dump with Mike and have him ramp to the small island to get to the treasure chest.
Heart Piece #39
Enter the brick house with a blue roof near the Librarian’s house. Inside, you will find a treasure chest containing a heart piece.
Heart Piece #40
Pick up the Movie Tickets in front of Theater 6 inside Hawk Theater. Give it to Steve to get the final heart piece.
Finishing Stranger Things: The Game is definitely a challenging task, but with the help of our ultimate strategy guide, you will be able to do it in no time!