Replaced: Chapter 1 Walkthrough and Early Tips – Complete Guide

Chapter 1 Overview: Structure, Difficulty, and What This Guide Covers

Chapter 1 of Replaced is a compact but dense introduction to the game’s movement, combat, and stealth systems. It takes place across several distinct segments: the prologue lab escape, the sewers, the outside-the-wall forest, Termite Camp, the South Labor District, and the Library / Tempest encounter. Expect 60-90 minutes for a first run, longer if you are scanning everything.

This guide breaks Chapter 1 into clear sections:

• Exact navigation for the main path, without optional backtracking.
• Where and how the game teaches core mechanics (movement, halt-run jumps, dodging, countering, stealth).
• Early combat principles for Termite Camp so later fights feel predictable instead of chaotic.
• Stealth and route choices through the South Labor District.
• Collectible awareness, including representative examples like Survivor’s Memoirs and Preacher’s Diary.

Core Mechanics to Internalize Before You Push Forward

Chapter 1 is tuned as a systems tutorial disguised as a cinematic opening. Understanding these mechanics early makes later segments in the chapter significantly safer.

Movement and Halt-Run Jumps

Replaced has a deceptively simple movement set. The nuance is in how momentum is handled:

• Basic run: Hold your run input (e.g., left stick fully tilted + run modifier if configured).
• Halt-run jump: While running, briefly release your movement input, then tap your Jump button at the edge. This “halt then jump” produces a noticeably higher and longer jump.
• Context-sensitive vaults: Approaching low obstacles or ledges at speed will trigger vaults and grabs with the standard jump.

Halt-run jumps are already required in the lab escape and the sniper segments in Chapter 1, so it is efficient to start deliberately practicing them as soon as you gain control.

Combat: Dodging, Countering, and Stringing Attacks

Termite Camp is the point where the game tests whether you understand melee combat fundamentals:

• Light attacks: Fast, chainable; use them to open and maintain combos.
• Heavy attacks: Slower but useful for breaking guard and ending combos with knockdowns.
• Dodge: A directional dodge that gives a brief window of invulnerability; key for surviving gang fights.
• Counter: Time your counter input when enemies flash or wind up specific attacks; this instantly turns defense into damage.

Treat every early fight as a timing exercise. Do not mash. Instead, identify the enemy’s pre-attack animation, then test how late you can safely dodge or counter. The rest of Chapter 1’s fights become routine once you “feel” the window.

Scanning and Collectibles

Chapter 1 contains a cluster of lore scans and a few upgrades, including examples such as Survivor’s Memoirs, The Catastrophe: 20 Years Later, Board Game Box, Goodbye Letter, Eviction Notice, Pawn Shopkeeper’s Note, and Preacher’s Diary. 100% runs show that all Chapter 1 collectibles are reachable on the first playthrough, although different guides disagree slightly on the exact total count. The important practical rule is:

• Whenever the environment widens, check both horizontal directions before advancing the main path.
• Look for subtle glows or interaction prompts near benches, desks, and dead ends.
• Use scan prompts on anything that stands out visually (papers, posters, unusual objects).

Prologue: Destroyed Laboratory Escape

The opening sequence introduces Warren Marsh, with the AI R.E.A.C.H. in control, in a collapsing laboratory. The game wants you to move forward with minimal hesitation while learning how the environment behaves under stress.

• Initial corridor: Move right, staying slightly ahead of falling debris. This is mostly linear; ignore minor background details and prioritize forward motion.
• First jumps: You will be asked to jump gaps and ledges while debris falls. Use normal jumps here; the timing is forgiving.
• Window exit: Follow the prompts to approach and jump through a broken window to the exterior scaffolding.
• Vertical pathing: You will navigate up and down scaffolding frames. Look for white-painted or otherwise highlighted ledges; those almost always mark the intended route.
• Elevator segment: You reach an elevator that functions as both set-piece and loading space. Use the interaction prompt to continue downward.

During this section you can see police violence below as part of the environmental storytelling. There are no true fail-state combat encounters here; the hazard is misreading jumps during timed collapses. If you are unsure, line up at the absolute edge before jumping. This becomes a useful habit for later platforming segments.

Sewers: Basic Controls, Early Hazards, and “Lab Rat”

After the lab sequence, Warren wakes in the sewers, accompanied by the track “Lab Rat.” This is where the game slows down and quietly teaches its baseline control scheme.

Navigation Through the Sewers

The sewer layout is straightforward but peppered with small teaching moments:

• Move right through shallow water and broken platforms; pay attention to differences in depth and how they affect jump distance.
• The first real gaps that require a halt-run jump appear here. Build speed, briefly release your direction, then press Jump at the edge. The game subtly punishes simple “run and mash jump” by giving you just-short trajectories without the halt.
• You will occasionally see moving threats and minor environmental hazards. These are designed so that a single, well-timed dodge or jump will carry you through.

Early Scans and Optional Exploration

While the main sewer path is linear, there are small side recesses that hide early scan items. Because collectible lists vary slightly across guides, use the following principles rather than memorize positions:

• Whenever the foreground path forks (upper and lower route), check the non-obvious branch first; it often holds a lore item or early upgrade.
• If you see a dead-end platform just off the main route that requires a clean halt-run jump, it is usually worth the risk for a collectible.
• Interact with anything that highlights when you approach; Chapter 1 repeatedly uses this pattern to teach you to scan the environment for story fragments.

Exiting the sewers transitions you toward the forested area outside Phoenix City’s walls.

Forest and Hangar: Platforming Before Civilisation

The forest stretch between the sewers and Phoenix City serves as a controlled space to reinforce your movement skills before combat becomes central.

• Forest traversal: Expect a mixture of ground-level running and simple platforming. The camera framing generally points at the intended path, but watch for foreground silhouettes that might hide ladders or ledges.
• First sense of pursuit: There are moments of implied chasing or urgency. These are mostly scripted; focus on clean inputs rather than speed-running.
• Hangar approach: As you near constructed spaces again, explore any accessible upper beams or back corners. These often contain early narrative objects.

By the time you pass through the hangar-like structures and nearer the outskirts of Phoenix City, you should be comfortable with halt-run jumps and reading the environment for climbable geometry. That is the intended preparation for the first serious combat space: Termite Camp.

Termite Camp: How to Survive Early Gang Fights

Termite Camp is the first area where mistakes get punished consistently. You will be facing groups of enemies, and the game assumes you understand dodging and basic combo structure.

Reading Enemy Telegraphs

Most basic enemies in Termite Camp share a similar pattern:

• A short step or shuffle toward you.
• A wind-up animation (arm pulled back, weapon drawn back).
• A brief flash or subtle visual cue right before the strike.

Your goal is to treat each telegraph as an audio-visual “button press” cue. Wait for the wind-up, then either:

• Dodge through the enemy, ending up behind them and starting a light-attack combo.
• Time a counter if the attack is parryable, turning their aggression into immediate damage.

Positioning and Crowd Control

Fighting in the center of the arena exposes you to flanks. A more stable method in Termite Camp is:

• Drift toward one side of the arena before the fight escalates.
• Force enemies to line up on a horizontal axis, making it easier to see incoming attacks.
• Use dodges that move you through enemies rather than away from them; this repositions you to their backline and keeps the group compact.
• Finish combos with heavy attacks only when you are sure there is no incoming telegraph from off-screen.

Collectibles and Upgrades in Termite Camp

Termite Camp contains several notable scans and at least one health-related upgrade. Walkthroughs commonly highlight items such as:

• Survivor’s Memoirs
• The Catastrophe: 20 Years Later (scanable in this broader section of the chapter)
• Board Game Box
• Goodbye Letter
• Health Upgrade pickup

Routes and exact positions vary slightly by guide and recording, but the practical approach is consistent:

• After each combat encounter, sweep the edges of the area before exiting through marked doors.
• Check behind temporary obstacles like crates, makeshift walls, and tents; the designers frequently place lore in visually “quiet” corners.
• Interact with glowing notes or objects on tables immediately; later access to Termite Camp is limited, so Chapter 1 is the efficient time to collect these.

South Labor District: First Real Stealth Test

After the open aggression of Termite Camp, the South Labor District shifts emphasis to stealth and infiltration. Direct confrontation is rarely optimal here, and in several sequences it is essentially a soft failure state that complicates progress.

Basic Stealth Principles in This Area

The district layout guides you through patrol routes and line-of-sight puzzles:

• Stick to the background/foreground layers when available. Many routes let you drop into a layer that bypasses patrolling enemies completely.
• Use cover edges to pause and read patrol timing rather than immediately moving. The game gives you enough time in most loops to fully observe at least one full cycle.
• Prioritize avoiding detection over speed. Getting spotted usually leads to messy fights with poor sightlines, whereas staying hidden maintains control.

Environmental Awareness

South Labor District also continues the pattern of hiding lore items at the edges of the path:

• Check doorways or stairwells that are not directly on the highlighted route.
• Look for interactable notes on building exteriors and walls; Chapter 1 items like Eviction Notice and Pawn Shopkeeper’s Note fit naturally here.
• Maintain stealth first, then sweep small offshoots once patrols move away.

Efficient players use this section to refine a disciplined approach: observe, plot a route, then execute clean movement. That mindset carries well into later chapters.

Library and First Tempest Encounter

The chapter concludes with the Library segment and your first proper interaction with Tempest, wrapping up the mission “Non Standard Task.” There is less mechanical challenge here than in Termite Camp or the South Labor District, but it is still worth treating systematically.

Final Navigation and Sniper Evade

Before fully reaching the Library, there is a notable sniper sequence (linked back thematically to earlier long-range threats). The key mechanics are:

• Use visual and audio cues to time your dashes between cover objects.
• Rely again on halt-run jumps where large gaps are combined with pressure from above.
• Do not linger in open spaces; plan your next piece of cover before leaving the current one.

Once inside safer interiors, the intensity decreases. This is a good moment to do one last sweep for scan prompts; several chapter guides mark lore objects like Preacher’s Diary in this broader late-Chapter-1 window.

Meeting Tempest and Chapter Wrap-Up

Your first encounter with Tempest is primarily narrative. As of the latest information up through April 2026, no patches have significantly altered the flow or branching of this chapter-ending sequence. Choices here are more about flavor and context than immediate gameplay divergence, so focus on paying attention to the dialogue and implications; they set up threads that later content and potential DLC builds on.

Key Early Lessons from Chapter 1

Across the entire chapter, the same underlying principles repeat in different forms. Applying them consistently makes the rest of the game more manageable:

• Master halt-run jumps early. The “run, halt briefly, then jump” technique is not optional flavor; it is required for multiple platforming checks starting as early as the sewers and sniper segments.
• Treat combat as timing, not button-mashing. In Termite Camp, success comes from reading telegraphs, dodging through enemies, and countering, not from spamming light attacks.
• Favour positioning that narrows angles. Whether in fights or stealth, hugging one side of an arena or route simplifies your tactical picture.
• Scan proactively. Collectibles such as Survivor’s Memoirs, Goodbye Letter, and Preacher’s Diary are easy to miss if you only ever follow the brightest objective marker. Explore small dead ends whenever the layout allows.
• Use Chapter 1 as a controlled practice field. The game deliberately introduces platforming, combat, and stealth in a ramped order: lab escape → sewers → forest/hangar → Termite Camp → South Labor District → Library. Treat each segment as a focused drill on one or two mechanics.

With those fundamentals stable by the end of Chapter 1, later chapters feel like natural escalations rather than difficulty spikes, and reruns of this opening segment-for 100% collectible completion or higher difficulty attempts-become efficient and predictable.