The Crooked Man: A Complete Walkthrough - Walkthrough Wizard (2025)

Who IsThe Crooked Man?

The Crooked Manis the first game in indie game developer Uri Games’sThe Strange Manseries, and if you like horror games with a retro art style, aSilent Hill-esque sense of atmosphere, and a dark, enthralling story to slowly unwrap, you’ll love this game.

The story follows a young man named David Hoover, who’s recently moved into a new apartment that his friends Paul and Marion found for him. However, strange things begin to occur, and David becomes entangled in the mystery of the apartment’s previous tenant, following clues to discover his fate …

This walkthrough will help you assist David on his journey, with minimal spoilers, so you can thoroughly enjoy the game’s plot. Only a couple of the scares are hinted at. Have fun!

“There was a crooked man,

and he walked a crooked mile.

He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.

He bought a crooked cat,

which caught a crooked mouse,

and they all lived together

in a little crooked house.”

Prologue: David’s Room

• After you finish watching the intro, pick up the license on the table.
• Then, head to the front door by going down to the hallway and then down again.
• Go straight to bed and get the “Just Let Me Sleep!” achievement if you’re playing on Steam.
• Answer the phone.
• Attempt to sleep again.
• Go out in the apartment hallway and talk to the neighbor in room 201, furthest to the right.
• Go back to your apartment. This time, go to your bathroom on the right and check the sink.
• Look under the bed, then go back to sleep.
• Answer the phone.
• Leave your apartment.
• Head to the hospital room furthest on the right, and talk to the lady inside.
• Talk to the doctor in the hallway.
• Enter your apartment, and go to the office on the left.
• Check the desk drawers on the right.
• Answer the phone in the main room.
• Try to go to sleep.
• Check the TV.
• Inspect the kitchen sink.
• Make another attempt at sweet blissful slumber.
• Look around outside the apartment.
• Go back inside and head to the main room and look at the cup of coffee.
• Answer the phone.
• Talk to the landlady. She’s on the first floor of the apartment building, in the apartment furthest to the left.
• Go back into your apartment and follow the footprints.
• Go to sleep in yourobviouslyhaunted apartment.
• Go to the office and look in the closet.
• Go back to the main room, and watch things play out to get the “Just Getting Started” achievement. On to the next chapter!

Scene 1: Hotel Ruhenheim

• Enter Hotel Ruhenheim, and read the sign if you like. It’s all lies.
• Go to the lower-left hallway and enter room 104.
• Grab the sparkly thing on the shelf. It’s a map!
• Go back to the lobby and head up the stairs on the right, and go through the door left of that staircase to enter the Cafeteria.
• Go to the top right corner of the top right table, and look under the table. There’s a gold key under there.
• Leave the Cafeteria and go to the upper left hallway, where you’ll enter room 203.
• Look at the note on the dresser.
• Walk away from the dresser.
• Leave room 203 and go to the library at the end of the hallway. Use the gold key on the door.
• Grab the key to room 108 on the table on the left, and then read the book on the table on the right to get the “Screams of the Sightless” achievement.
• Walk to the back shelves.
• Go back out into the hallway to investigate.
• Head to room 108 in the lower right hallway.
• Move a chair to the dresser to grab what’s on top of it. You now have some wire cutters.
• As you leave the room, you’ll hear someone playing a piano. To find them, go to the main lobby, then head upstairs and enter the door on the left (the rec room).
• After you’re done in the rec room, go back to the lobby and use your wire cutters on the door behind the counter. Enter the staff room.
• Read the book on the table to get the key to room 106. Before you leave this room, check the door in the back. It has no knob, but room 106 is having knob trouble. Go to room 106 in the lower left hallway.
• Enter the bathroom in room 106 and pick up the doorknob.
• Go back to the staffroom and install the doorknob, then enter the owner’s room.
• Stomp on the weird outlined tile in the corner. This will unlock the trapdoor.
• Open the trapdoor and head down into the creepy basement.
• Open your inventory and use your lighter.
• Talk to the man in the basement.
• Run for your life.
• Push Z to shake it off, Taylor Swift style. After this, you should get the “Survivor” achievement.
• Go check on Sissi in the upper left hallway. She’s in room 203.
• Go back to the staff room again, go into the owner’s room, and climb back down into the basement. Relight your lighter.
• By the boxes on the left, you’ll find a bronze key. Leave the basement and head back to the lobby.
• From the lobby, go to the upper right hallway and enter the bar by using your bronze key. Read the journal on the table.
• Go to the owner’s room and read his bulletin board to find the book of the month.
• Go to the library in the upper left hallway and find the book in the “T” section. The password you need is the number of the book’s missing chapters in order. Now leave the library so you can go enter the password.
• Enter room 203 and quickly click on the giant hole.
• Go to the lower left hallway and put in your passcode (3679) on the food storage door, then go inside.
• Move the ladder by the door over to the crates to grab the key to room 209 off the top. Head to room 209 in the upper right hallway.
• Inspect the weird thing on the ground.
• Leave the room and walk down the hallway. Enter the bar.
• Read the red message on the floor.
• Grab the bottles on the table to your left.
• Use your lighter.
• Go back to the food storage room in the lower left hallway, and grab a knife.
• Follow the trail of blood to the lower right hallway, and enter room 112. Talk to Sissi.
• Use your new key on the door next to the staff room door in the lobby. Grab the shiny in the fountain.
• Go back to room 112 to show Sissi what you found.
• Go to the rec room. Use Z to attack, and don’t let the monster touch you, or he’ll hurt you. It will take 15 hits to defeat him. If you survive untouched, you’ll receive the “Uncrooked Man“ achievement. If you die once, however, you’ll get the “Game Over” achievement, and if you die 5 times, you’ll get the “Come to Me” achievement.
• Talk to Sissi. If you choose “Please, don’t cry…”, you’ll get the “What a Sissy” achievement. If you choose “What’s wrong with being a wimp?”, you’ll finish Scene 1 (netting you the Scene 1 achievement) and move on to the next chapter.

Scene 2: Julius Stone Law School

• Enter the school and go upstairs to the third floor. Go inside John Keith’s office.
• Grab the sparkling key on the desk, then leave the room.
• Go into Franz Moore’s office on the third floor, right hallway, all the way to the right. Once inside, read the red book on his desk, and you’ll get the “Self-Loathing” achievement.
• Head down to the first floor and go down the hallway on the right to find the faculty room. Inside, grab the key to the Infirmary on the leftmost desk. You can also read the note in the back of the faculty room for a hint on where all the keys are.
• Unlock the infirmary on the left side of the first-floor hallway. Check the drawers, and you’ll find the parlor key.
• The parlor is on the second floor left hallway, furthest left. Look at the wire art on the desk for a clue on where to head next.
• Ray Twain’s room is on the third floor, the first door to the right. Look at the shelves, and you’ll get a hint for your puzzle. The sculpture is in binary. It reads 2515, in case you don’t want to go back. Use the code to unlock Ray’s lockbox.
• Head downstairs to go to the reference room. Open the door.
• Look at the painting on the back wall. You will need a screwdriver to remove it. Head to Leftie Lewis’s room on the second floor, right hallway, and you’ll find a lock box on the left with tools inside.
• Go back to the painting and use the screwdriver in your inventory to remove it. The code is 1647. If this doesn’t work, go read the book in John Keith’s office on the third floor, and now you should be able to do it.
• Go back to John Keith’s office on the third floor, and use the code you just found in the lockbox. Now that you have the lecture hall key, you should leave the room.
• Lock the door quickly from the outside with the room key in your inventory.
• Go down to the first floor and open the lecture hall. Enter the rightmost room and talk to D.
• Look at the bulletin board in the back of the room. Make note of Michel’s birthday: 06/19.
• Head upstairs to the second floor of the lecture hall and read the note on the floor.
• The article on the bulletin board talked about Cyndi Peterson. Her office is on the third floor, the first door on the left. If you read the book on the table, you’ll learn that Michel and Cyndi share the same birthday (they were close), and she uses it as her password for her security box. Open it to get a key to the lecture rooms.
• Go back down to the lecture halls and unlock lecture room 3. Read the sparkling note on the chalkboard, then pick up the note on the floor.
• Go to the infirmary and take a nap. If you forgot, it’s in the left hallway on the first floor.
• After your nap, go to the reference room and read a book on the shelf on the bottom row, second from the right. The code 9981 is in the book.
• Find Franz Moore’s office on the third floor, right hallway. He was the one who misplaced his code in the reference room. Open his box to get the key to the computer room.
• The computer room is to the left of the reference room. Dig through the trash, and you’ll find Andrew Robinson’s ID number, which is also the passcode for his door: 144246.
• Attempt to leave the computer room. After the scene, drink an energy drink to get your health back up, or don’t use it for the rest of the game to get an achievement, “Precious Drink.”
• Andrew Robinson’s office is on the third floor left hallway. Use the passcode to enter. Read the book in the back.
• Time to go into the basement. Once you’re downstairs, enter the room on the left. D will join your party.
• If you want the “Gas Chamber” achievement, let the timer run out. If not, grab the iron pipe on your left and then move the upper shelf on the right wall. Use your hammer to break through the wall.
• In the next room, quickly pry the elevator doors open with your crowbar. Go through here, and then climb up the boxes to the next area.
• From here, climb up the ladder in the elevator shaft to reach the next area and escape the basement. If you’ve done this all within a minute, you’ll get the “Speed Runner” achievement.
• In the infirmary, climb into D’s bed for the “BL?!” achievement, or climb into the one next to him for the “Sick Leave” achievement. Once you’re done fooling around, attempt to leave the room.
• Follow D to the second floor of the lecture hall and enter the auditorium. If you want the “Never, Ever Give Up” achievement, tell D that he shouldn’t give up. If you want to finish this chapter and move on to the next one, say, “That’s life, isn’t it?” However, you’ll have to battle the Crooked Man first. It will take 20 hits to beat him this time. Kite him around the outside edges of the room and time your hits so you can avoid his charges. If you beat him without getting hit, you’ll get the achievement “Flight school isn’t just for show.” Now you’re done with the school section of the game, and you’ve earned the Scene 2 achievement!

Scene 3: Central Hospital Part 1

• Enter the abandoned hospital. Go behind the reception desk on the left and enter the room behind it.
• Try to open the lockers on the back wall. There’s one locker that you can’t get into yet, but it’ll be important later.
• Then go to the lockbox on the right wall. Hit the middle square, then each of the four corners to open it. You’ll get the cafeteria key and the elevator trunk key.
• Unlock the cafeteria first. It’s on the second floor in the center. Examine the cans, and you’ll get a piece of wire.
• Go back to the locker, and use the wire to open the door. You’ll get a note about a number lock. It reads 4489, and it opens the outpatient clinic. However, there’s some stuff you need to do in the main building first.
• On the second floor, you’ll find a door in the upper left corner with blood outside it. Open the curtain on the left and read the message on the bed.
• Next, go to the dayroom (center of 3F), and read the book on the table for the “Emily’s Poem” achievement. Leave the room and head left.
• Enter the lower left hallway and interact with the cat. Take the key from it.
• Ascend to the fourth floor and find the room with the puddle of vomit outside (how fun). Enter and grab the piece of paper on the floor.
• Go to the fourth-floor elevator in the upper left corner and use your key to open the elevator trunk. Collect the AED.
• Go down to the third floor and enter the day room to find the source of the eerie singing.
• Head back down to the first floor and examine the bottom door, then use the AED to take its battery out. Put in the code you got earlier (4489) to open the outpatient clinic.
• Since the outpatient clinic is huge and chock-full of stuff, let’s clear it one floor at a time for now. Start with the staff room right in front of you. Grab the counseling room key on the desk.
• Enter the director’s room next door. Read the book on the table to get a scrap of paper with hints. There are some letter puzzle pieces you will need to collect to open his lockbox.
• Your first letter piece, “Y,” is in the flowers on the table in the director’s room.
• On the second floor, enter the pediatrics room and talk to Fluffy to recruit him to your party.
• Go up to the third floor and examine the phone on the left to receive an “F.”
• Also, on this floor, go to the maternity and gynecology room, and take the key on the shelf.
• Open the women’s bathroom in front of the maternity and gynecology room. Inspect the sink for an “A“ piece.
• After the scene, go back into the women’s bathroom and look at the wall south of the pieces of concrete on the ground.
• Go to the first floor of the outpatient clinic and go to the staff room. Pick up the hammer on the table. Head back to the women’s bathroom and break the wall.
• Open the stall on the left.
• Now you’ll need to go all the way back to the fourth floor of the main hospital, so go all the way down through the outpatient clinic and all the way back up the main building. Enter the counseling room in the center. Check the cabinet on the left to get a key to the psychiatry room.
• Head to the cafeteria and interact with the teacup to receive an “L“ puzzle piece.
• Go back to the room behind the reception desk and look in the cardboard box on the right to dig through the lost and found. Inside is the ”I” piece.
• Go up to the fourth floor of the outpatient clinic and grab a paper on the floor in the hallway. Then, enter the psychiatry room on the right side of the hallway. Look at the bulletin board to receive a clue on where to go next. There are operating rooms on the right side (bottom door) of each floor in a vertical hallway, and once you get a number from each floor, you’ll have the code you need for the next step.
• Starting on the second floor, enter the middle operating room. Look under the bed to find a 7 written on the floor.
• On the third floor, enter the top operating room, and turn over the trashcan to find the number 1.
• For the number on the fourth floor, head down to the bottom operating room. Look at the bullet board and tear off the papers to find the number 6.
• Now that you have all of the numbers go to the operating room hallway on the third floor, and enter the code 716 into the door.
• Ascend to the top of the emergency stairs. Unfortunately, wire is wrapped around the door handles. You’ll need a way to cut it.
• Go back down to the staff room on the first floor and unlock the cabinet to get the chemical closet key.
• The chemical closet is the first room in the basement of the outpatient clinic. Open it and read the book on the table. The chemical you need is on the upper leftmost shelf. Grab it and head back upstairs to the emergency stairs roof door. Pour the chemical on the wire to dissolve it, and step out onto the roof.
• After the scene, read the newspaper, and then go to the right and climb the ladder to get your last piece, the letter “M.” Leave the rooftop and go back to the third floor. Save your game here because it’s about to get real.
• Enter the maternity and gynecology room. After the scene, leave the room and go upstairs to the fourth floor. Note the fire extinguisher by the stairs; you’ll need it very soon.
• Walk down the hallway, and after the scene, quickly grab the fire extinguisher.
• After this scene, go back down to the director’s room on the first floor. Go to the box and spell family to open it. Now you have a safe key. Unlock the safe, and you’ll find a revolver and ammo inside.
• For your final confrontation with the Crooked Man in this chapter, go to the rooftop, but make sure you save your game first. It’s time to use that revolver you found.
• To use the gun, turn David in the direction you want to shoot in and click the Z button to fire. If you shoot Fluffy, you’ll get the “Oops …” achievement, but you’ll also get a game over. If the Crooked Man touches you once, it’s also a game over. This can be hard because both of them are constantly moving, with Fluffy trying to get to you and the Crooked Man trying to get Fluffy. Be careful where you fire, and the Crooked Man will go down in ten hits. If you don’t miss any of your shots, you’ll get the “Sniper” achievement.
• Attempt to leave the hospital.
• Follow the noises to the basement of the clinic. Enter the door that‘s cracked open and watch the ending of this section to earn your Scene 3 achievement. On to scene 4!

Scene 4: Central Hospital Part 2

• After the scene, enter the hospital. Climb the stairs up to the fourth floor of the main building.
• Go back downstairs and head to the outpatient clinic.
• Go up to the third floor of the outpatient clinic.
• Take the emergency stairs to the rooftop. Save your game. Open the door.
• Watch the cutscene. Now, you are presented with three choices. Pick “Persuade” or “Take The Gun,” and you’ll get an achievement for each. “Persuade” gets you “Goodbye, My Friend!” and “Take The Gun” gets you “Not Your Fault, David!”. Pick “Punch” to continue to the final chapter and earn the Scene 4 achievement.

Final Scene: “Home Sweet Home”

• Enter the house using the key you got from the cat in the hospital.
• Go to the second door on the right and pick up the note on the floor.
• Go upstairs. Enter the first room on the right and get another note.
• Grab the note in the hallway, and then enter the room it was blocking. Pick up the notebook on the bed.
• Go back out in the hallway and save your game. Enter the room on the left for your final confrontation with the Crooked Man. It’s the same idea as the other battles, kite him around the furniture and be careful not to get too close. Here, once he grabs you, he’ll latch on and drain your health, so don’t play too risky. It takes around 25-30 shots to finish him off (I lost count because this battle was pretty hard).
• After you finish the battle, ascend the attic stairs and enjoy the ending. If this is your first play-through, you’ll get the “Bye-Bye Black Bird” achievement. If you are beating the game a second time, you’ll get the “See you later, Duke” achievement. Congratulations on finishing the game!

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