Darkenstein 3D hides a surprising number of secret rooms, bonus items, and hidden pickups across its episodes. Many of these secrets offer meaningful advantages, including Permanent Health upgrades, Extra Lives, early weapons, and even a few quirky Easter eggs. This guide walks you through every secret discovered so far, in clear level-by-level order.
If you’re aiming to optimise your run or unlock every hidden collectable, this Darkenstein 3D Beginner Guide and walkthrough ensures you don’t miss any of the essentials.
Darkenstein 3D Beginner Guide Wiki – Secret Locations
Act 1 – Episode 1 (Level 1)
1. Kick down the first wooden barrier and check the right-hand side for a switch. It opens a hidden wall opposite the entrance, revealing an Extra Life.
2. Drop through the hole and crawl under the furniture. Leave the room and break the planked door ahead. There’s a switch at the far left end of the room. Return to the hallway and head left into the newly opened room.
3. Continue to the chamber with the red button. The swastika painting on the right conceals a secret area.
4. In the room with the submachine gun by the doorway, head to the far right corner. Push against the wall to open a secret leading to a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
Act 1 – Episode 2 (Level 2)
1. Exit the starting corridor and turn left into the planked-off room. Shoot the red barrel inside to blow away a painting and expose a hidden cache.
2. Break the wooden door to progress. Inside, enter the room halfway down the right wall. A switch at the back opens a nearby secret wall with an Extra Life.
3. At the locked gate, move left, continue forward, then turn right. Press against the wall beside the cages to open a concealed path.
4. At the table with mouse traps, face left. The wall with the low gap hides a secret containing a Shotgun.
5. Before passing through the iron gates, push into the wall on the right to reveal a hidden pickup.
Act 1 – Episode 3 (Level 3)
1. Hug the left wall from the start until you reach the “Achtung” warning signs. Inside, a switch on the left lowers a platform. Ride it up and press the red button to unlock a visible wall behind you. Enter, keep right, and feel for a wall with a different texture to reveal a Godlike Flashlight.
2. In the red key room, the first right-hand pillar has a switch that opens a nearby secret. Inside is an Extra Life, though be ready to fight a blue-white skeleton and a large dancing enemy.
3. From the start, follow the right wall to the checkpoint star. Behind it is a small nook with a switch that lowers a pillar containing a Bazooka.
Act 1 – Episode 4 (Level 4)
1. Walk straight into the wall directly ahead at the start. It has no collision and leads into a chain of hidden walls. This route grants an Extra Life and unlocks the “Swim, Swim, Hungry” achievement.
2. After using the switch behind the stacked boxes, climb the first slope. In the corner is a narrow, easy-to-miss path. Clear the enemies and grab the Bazooka. Four more enemies will spawn. One corner hides a switch that opens a nearby wall with a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
3. Upon entering the boss room, turn right. A narrow side route beside the electric device leads to a hidden Godlike Flashlight and a safe vantage point for the fight.
4. Later, you’ll ascend spiral stairs into a barrel-filled room. A switch at the far end opens a previously locked door behind you containing a Permanent +5 Health upgrade and a Bazooka.
Act 2 – Episode 1 (Level 5)
Missable: Cell 2C contains an Extra Life, but it’s inaccessible early on. Return after the gates explode to collect it.
1. You’ll reach a corridor with electric flooring. Break the wooden barriers and either risk the short shock or return later once power is restored. The room holds a Permanent +5 Health upgrade and a Bazooka.
2. Opposite the electricity, break through more wooden barriers. On the right between them is a switch that opens a room behind you containing a Godlike Flashlight.
3. Within that secret, press the wall ahead to enter a Shadow Warrior homage area.
4. In the area with the swastika flag, go through the first door on the right to find a Ouija board. Interact and wait. After the ritual, a wall opens, a bat attacks, and collecting the gold registers the secret.
5. After unlocking the path to the exit, head through the door and check left before the stairs. A low crawlspace hides the final secret.
Act 2 – Episode 2 (Level 6)
1. From the start, cross two rooms and turn right. A switch by a candle opens a previously locked door you passed.
2. Upstairs, follow the right wall past two bathrooms, a bedroom, and a locked door (remember this for later). In the next room, hit a switch behind the boxes to open a secret.
3. Inside the secret, interact with the bright yellow painting to unlock the earlier locked door. It contains an Extra Life.
4. To progress, enter the left of the two doors. Interact with the piano to reveal a crawlspace containing an Extra Life.
5. Carry on to a room with stacked boxes. Break them to access a crawlspace holding a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
Act 2 – Episode 3 (Level 7)
1. Upon reaching a large building, enter and go left to the edge. Drop onto the lower ledge for an Extra Life.
2. At the corridor with a fireplace ahead, enter the first room on the right and navigate the bookshelf maze. A switch opens a crawlspace next to the fireplace.
3. After passing a large statue, continue to the flickering lights and sparks. Break the wooden barrier on the right. Outside, use the red button to unlock the door behind you. The room contains a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
Act 2 – Episode 4 (Level 8)
1. Near the far end of the long corridor, a red button on the right wall opens a nearby door. Crawl through to a large secret zone (unlocks the “Aardwolf” achievement) with a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
2. Inside that same area, stick to the left wall to find two breakable armored statues. Push into the wall behind them for a second secret holding 2 Extra Lives.
3. To progress, climb the stairs and follow the right wall to a bathroom. Break the boxes to reach a crawlspace with an Extra Life.
Missable: A Permanent +5 Health lies directly outside this bathroom, near the source of the radio music.
Act 3 – Episode 1 (Level 9)
1. After exiting the air tram, head down the steps and break the wooden box ahead. Cross the planks to reach an Extra Life.
Missable: After crossing the wooden bridge later, detour left into the small building for a Permanent +5 Health.
Important Choice: When speaking to the Nazi soldier, select “Spare this nazi scum.” Killing him permanently locks you out of Secret 6.
2. After using the switch beyond the blue key door, check the stairs on the right for a hidden switch in the corner. It opens a door at the top of the stairs.
3. After the frozen water zone, duck under the stairs to find an Extra Life.
4. Cross the wooden bridge, turn left into the building, climb upstairs, and check the railing area for ammo. Drop to the platform below to find a hidden switch. Return to the building to access the newly opened wall.
5. In the tall building, go up three flights of stairs. A wooden box beside the stairs hides a red button. This opens a secret at the entrance with a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
6. After crossing the dam walkway, the red-key room has a second door. If you spared the soldier, it will now open, granting a Permanent +5 Health upgrade.
Act 3 – Episode 2 (Level 10)
1. Enter the first building on the right, exit through the back, and interact with the red button behind the oil pump to blast open a wall. Crawl through.
Progression Tip: To open the yellow gate with the car, climb the hill, enter the first building on the left, and press the red button inside.
Missable: Behind the yellow gate, turn left and follow the right wall past posters. Down the small stairs, a Permanent +5 Health sits between the cars.
2. From that health pickup, backtrack upstairs. Break the boxes to reveal a hidden switch that opens the poster wall from before.
Missable: After opening the red and blue key door, an Extra Life sits directly ahead.
3. Shortly after, enter the bathroom and break the grey box on the right. Crawl through for a secret area featuring two Coure songs.
4. After meeting the time-travelling character, check the wall between the last two flags on the left. It opens to a Permanent +5 Health.
Optional: After defeating the boss, claim the Extra Life at the far end of the arena that was previously shielded.
Act 4 – Episode 1 (Level 11)
1. When the gate opens at the start, search the boxes to the left before entering the large open space to find a secret.
Optional: An Extra Life sits in the middle of the arena.
2. After passing the water area, climb the stairs to the right. Head straight to the building topped with a large cat statue. Walk around its right side toward the wooden bridge near a checkpoint star and take the teleporter.
3. After obtaining the red key, locate the blue key and look down to spot a locked gate. Use the red key to enter the teleporter in that area. You’ll appear on a high ledge; follow it to collect an Extra Life.