For a joke to work, both the setup and the punchline have to be delivered perfectly. If you can do that, not only can everyone enjoy the joke, but it becomes possible to keep it going. This is what happened with West Of Loathing, a game that is one big joke that is entertaining to explore to the fullest.
Playing as a stick figure in the Old West, you’ll have a destination and a companion with their own goals to complete. The journey will take you to some very odd and interesting places such as an Abandoned Pickle Factory, where puzzles and mystery await.
What Is The Abandoned Pickle Factory?
West Of Loathing is divided between wandering around a map screen to different locations and contained areas of the locations themselves. As you play through the game, locations will unlock naturally, but others will only appear if certain conditions are met. This is the case for the Abandoned Pickle Factory which can be found East Of The Mountains. To get it to appear, you’ll need to read the Wanted Poster in Dirtwater that describes criminals known as the Gherkin Brothers.
The Factory itself is pretty simple, made up of the main area and several rooms. Each room contains a mechanism related to the pickle-making process as well as several ghosts. The ghosts’ unfinished business involves getting the machines to work properly. Do this and not only will get what you need to complete the bounty but also some ghostly gear and three ghost pickles that can render you temporarily immune to damage.
Solving The Factory Puzzles
Each of the main rooms involves a different kind of procedure and inputs to get it to work. You’ll be given measurements that you’ll need to match for them and here’s how to do just that. Starting in the Cukes Room, there will be three vats that have to be arranged so that they all have the same amount. You can do this by pulling the nearby levers. To solve it quickly, pull levers one and two until the vat on the far right reads one. Then, alternate those levers to get the first two vats up to 16. Once that’s done, pull the lever on the far right five times to get each vat to the same reading.
In the Salt Room, the mixture needs to be set so that the salinity is 976 per thousand. You can use the levers nearby to set the values of each number (hundreds, tens, ones). This one is very easy, and you just need to count with the levers until the reading is 976.
In the Vinegar Room, the puzzle revolves around temperature. It starts at 93 degrees, and you need to raise it to 190 degrees. You’ll have to use the steam valve to lower the temperature and shovel coal into the bellows to raise it. To solve this, use the valve until the temperature drops to 70 degrees. Then, shovel in 50 pieces of coal into the bellows to get to 175 degrees. Finally, add three more pieces and use the bellows again to reach 190 degrees.
After you’ve solved all the puzzles, return to the Main Room and use the control switch to get your reward.
Read Next
About The Author
