Walkthrough

The Walkthrough is a guide for Minotaur Hotel (Visual Novel). Though the adaptation has its changes, most choices for The Friendly Master Route (which the document focuses on), seem to be based off the ones that appear in Minotaur Hotel (Quest). Members of the game's development team assisted in the construction of the Walkthrough.

Foreword

This official walkthrough is meant to help players going on their second playthrough and later, who want help to figure out what they can do to see all the content in the game.
Keep in mind that Minotaur Hotel is best played blind. If this is your first time playing, relying on this walkthrough will worsen your experience.
For the sake of brevity, this walkthrough will not cover all possible choices the player can make. We will explain and discuss the ones with the greater impact and general guidelines.

First third

The first third of the game comprises chapters 1 to 12 (builds 0.1 to 0.3). This is the introduction to the story. If the player doesn't respect Asterion and goes against his wishes, the game will split off on chapter 12.

Prologue

In the Prologue you'll be asked to type in your name and select a background.

There is no canonical or predetermined name to your character. As for the backgrounds, they are as follows:

• Humanities: Associated with human and social sciences. Players who pick this background will enjoy a greater familiarity with public speaking, persuasion, negotiation and experience with laws and contracts.
• Leader: A natural leader, players who pick this background display a particularly high confidence and are talented with managing conflict resolution.
• Arts: Experienced with many forms of art, ranging from literature, cinema, music and art history. This background confers a greater familiarity with architecture as well, which allows for more renovations to the Hotel which increase how often you recruit new staff members.
• Technology: Associated with engineering, IT and other tech-related expertises, which grants bonuses on Research & Development.
• Maths: A highly insightful mathematical savant. This background displays extra information on the Exploration screen.
• Speedrunner: A joke background. Characters will have a very low opinion of you, and you may be a tad cringe-worthy. However, with this background your expeditions to the valley with a high Danger stat have a chance to give you double the loot. Not recommended for your first playthrough.

There is no correct choice, pick whatever you prefer or identify yourself with. Do note, however, that the Speedrunner background leads to a "joke route" where most characters will have a very low opinion of you.

Chapter 1

In this Chapter you'll find the Hotel and start exploring it.

First you'll investigate a room where you pick what you search first — you'll examine all documents regardless of your choice.

After you enter the cold room you'll be given a number of choices on how to treat the injured minotaur. If you want Asterion to like you, make sure to try and help him a few times — at least 4 should be enough. That said, don't go overboard. Proposing to help him shower can make him uncomfortable.

Chapter 2

Start the Chapter by greeting Asterion, then ask where you can find the wine.

When you go to the storage you can examine some of the trinkets lying around. Each background has different content in this scene.

Later in the chapter, suggest that Asterion use a glass.

Chapter 3

Asterion starts wearing his old clothes, but you can give him a different shirt. Each background gets a unique design. If you don't get the shirt now you will get it later down the road, so feel free to go with whichever choice you like the most.

Afterward you'll go to the valley to meet Argos Panoptes. At first, you'll have to choose whether or not to send Asterion to the Valley.

Sending him out will cause a significant amount of distress and reduce his trust in you — which will have irreversible and long-lasting effects going forward. If you do send him out, however, you'll get the Mirror of Hestia without having to bargain with Argos.

If you don't send Asterion out, then you'll have to negotiate. Players with the Humanities and Leader background can leverage their experience to trick Argos early on. This leads to the player getting the Mirror of Hestia without signing the contract.

The remaining players will have to analyze the contract offered by Argos. One article has a catch: it's the one that mentions the rights to inspect the Foreman's home, which applies symmetrically — which means that Argos would be authorized to enter the Hotel.

Picking a "Route"

Roughly speaking, the events of Minotaur Hotel can unfold in three main ways:

• Asterion and the Master will develop a bond so close it eventually becomes romantic;
• Asterion and the Master only go as far as becoming good friends, and
• The Master follows the example of Clément and becomes abusive.

This walkthrough will focus on the first option. We may publish additional versions focusing on how to access the other two.

Until we do so, however, if you want to access the second route then be lukewarm towards Asterion and send him to the Valley once. In the aftermath of these events try to redeem yourself.

If you want the third option, then send Asterion to the Valley two or more times.

Chapter 4

At the start of the Chapter you can promise Asterion you'll never send him to the Valley. This will significantly raise his trust in you, but if you break your promise it'll make him trust you a lot less down the road. Comfort him to help him calm down.

In the Lounge you can choose how you'd like the place to be. This choice has an important effect in the story:

• If you pick "Classy and scenic, but strict" then your first guest will be Kota, the dragon from the East, and he'll become the manager of the lounge.
• If you pick "Fun and rowdy... perhaps even horny" then Luke will be the first guest, and he'll be the lounge manager.

This choice affects a number of scenes going forward. Keep in mind, however, that they are equally as good — none brings a gameplay advantage over the other, and there's no punishment for picking any of them. In other words, pick whatever you want.

When you start discussing some topics with Asterion there are a few noteworthy points:

• If you have the Arts background you'll get an extra option after you pick the first topic — you'll end up discussing the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which will make you connect with Asterion a bit more.
• Regardless, in the first conversation you can push Asterion to talk a bit more, which he will appreciate.

Chapter 5

Here you'll be able to pick how Asterion dresses. If you want him to like you, make sure he's dressing appropriately.

Pushing him to wear only a loincloth will make him wary of you. Trying to get him naked will fail, as he's not allowed to expose himself to the guests in this way.

After breakfast, go along with him to the reception.

Making Asterion Wear the Loincloth

If you push Asterion to wear only his loincloth in public, eventually he'll come and talk with you about the reactions he's been getting. You can double down on your lie or come clean. Insisting on it will make Asterion trust you less and less.

Luke and Kota's Introduction

The next segment will show you either Luke or Kota, depending on the choice you made in Chapter 4.

Kota's introduction has no choices. Luke's, however, has: if you pick "Avert your eyes" you won't see the sex scene. This option is the only one available if you are playing with Safe for Work Mode turned on.

If you picked the Speedrunner background there's some special dialogue if you picked "Avert your eyes".

Chapters 6 & 7

The choices in Chapter 6 do not affect anything.

In Chapter 7 Asterion will become uncomfortable the more you ask and pry for the reason as to why the Master can control his appearance.

Asking him what color he wants will make him trust you more. If you have been treating Asterion particularly well so far, after you pick that option you'll get the choice to tell him "I won't hurt you," which leads to you petting him.

For now you can pick white, brown or black fur and they are all equally good.

Chapter 8

Asterion will appreciate it if you intervene during Luke's and Kota's confrontation. He will also appreciate it if, afterwards, you call him "Our fine host" or "A man."

Chapter 9

If you are on your way towards the romance route with Asterion, Chapter 9 should have no significant choices. However, if you sent Asterion to the Valley he will have a panic attack here.

If you allow Luke to deal with it the outcome will be better. Doing it yourself may lead to a very uncomfortable situation.

Chapter 10

During breakfast you can either make a sandwich or tell cow puns, which leads to two very different scenes. There's also a variation if you are playing as a Speedrunner.

In the Bedrock you can give Asterion a neckerchief or a wristband, pick whichever you prefer. Then you'll be introduced to the Research & Development mechanic. For now all you can do is assign both Asterion and your lounge manager to R&D.

Later you'll meet Ismael and you can talk about anime. That night you'll talk with Greta. She asks what you plan to do with the Hotel, pick whatever option you think is best.

Later that night Asterion will have a conversation with whichever character was the second to arrive at the Hotel.

Lounge Manager

Your lounge manager is either Luke or Kota, whoever arrived at the Hotel first. For details on this check the section on Chapter 4.

At the start of Chapter 10 the other guest will be unavailable, and at the end of it Asterion will have a conversation with said guest which reveals a reasonable amount of their past.

Chapter 11

You'll meet Argos again. The way he treats you varies greatly depending on the outcome of your first interaction with him. There are five ways it might have gone:

• You sent Asterion to the Valley;
• You tricked Argos with a Humanities or Leader perk;
• You accepted the contract without contesting it;
• You contested the wrong article, and
• You contested the right article.

Each one of those leads to different dialogue. And later, if you picked the Leader background you can negotiate with Argos to have five chances at interrogating him instead of three.

Question the 6th statement to get a bonus item later, when you explore the Valley, and investigate the 9th to unlock a different outcome to this quest.

Now you must juggle two projects: exploring the valley to get Argos' wine and research how to get Internet to the Hotel. Luke and Kota aren't in good terms so they can't work on the same project yet. If you want Asterion to like you, don't send him to the Valley.

Chapter 12

If you questioned Argos' 9th statement you should be able to find a loophole to his quest in this Chapter. You can make a sacrifice either to Hestia, Hades or Hermes. Since Asterion will be busy conducting the ceremony, he won't be available in the management screen but as of this Chapter Luke and Kota can work together.

If you were successful in the sacrifice, Argos will give you the Wine Bottle. Otherwise, Luke or Kota will punch him and grab the bottle, leaving Argos to mess with a creature of the valley.

If you managed to catch Argos' two charades (the contract and the sacrifice) he will become enthusiastic with your wits and hug you.

If the player acted abusive towards Asterion, you will land on the Ruthless route instead.

Second third

The second third of the game comprises chapters 13 to 18, including the 5 Hinterlands chapters. The game truly opens up here with the introduction of the daily agenda, which lets players decide what content to see outside of the linear portions. The game becomes difficult to write a guide for with all the variation that can happen depending on your choices and what activities you choose to do but I'll make my best attempt to cover the most important ones.

Chapter 13

Each background gets an unique choice when teaching Asterion how to use the Internet. When given the chance, hold his hand.

Hinterlands 1

This is a straightforward chapter with no player choice.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 has 5 in-game days for the player to manage his teams or do side quests.

The only side quest available at the start is hanging out with Luke or Kota. As of 0.6.0, Kota's route is the only completed one, with Luke's route being incomplete and with a major rewrite pending.

Starting on the 4th day of the chapter, Asterion's project is unlocked as a side quest for the MC to do. Completing the project takes up 9 in-game days, and is recommended to be done bit by bit throughout the whole playthrough. As of 0.6.0 it's possible to complete it but it means missing out on all the other sidequests.

Hinterlands 2

Another straightforward chapter with no choices.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 has 4 in-game management sections.

At the start of the chapter, Robert and Jean are introduced to the player. There are a series of choices during the dinner scene that give players who put together Jean's identity a chance to spell it out. Namely, point out that Jean looks odd to you and that his attitude is mercurial.

On the following day, Jean asks the player if there are roles needed that he can help fill. You get three choices, which unlock a new character on the second day of the chapter:

• Requesting an accountant will make Themba find the hotel. Themba unlocks a daily task that lets players generate more raw materials.
• Requesting the cook will make Khenbish find the hotel. Khenbish unlocks a daily task what lets players cook for other guests to improve their performance momentarily.
• Requesting security will make Wolf find the hotel. Wolf will become unavailable on his first day, and then join the hotel staff proper on his second day.

Jean will give you his phone to write your contact. This is an opportunity for players to reveal his identity if they figured it out early. Some names will prompt a different response from him. For example "apotheosis" and "chaoskampf" set Themba's color to brown or gray respectively.

The first day of chapter 15 unlocks a sidequest that lets players recruit Robert. You need to spend four days with him and he will join the hotel staff.

On day 3 the player will bump into Argos again. This scene will play out differently if the player circumvented the sacrifice in chapter 12, and either tricked Argos the first time they met or contested the correct article. If the conditions are met, the player will get a page off of Argos' diary and unlock an R&D project to translate it.

Hinterlands 3

You will be given 7 in-game days to explore the Hinterlands. There are two main quests to complete:

• Colonel's quest: You will need to visit the tailor first to get Storm a better set of clothes. If you get the overalls, it won't spend a full day. Go to the Colonel's Estate first, then the flooded town, and then the memorial of the 12.
• Skinless God quest: Go to the salt plains first, then the flooded town, and then the salt plains again.

There are other secrets in this chapter but I won't spoil them here.

P can also get more affection from Storm by visiting the following spots:

• The tailor (get the jacket)
• The archeological site (visit the diner)
• Storm's home
• P's family home (requires visiting Storm's home first)
• The library (visit the fiction section)
• The pond (talk to Storm)
• The second church
• The town plaza (spend time with Storm).

Since September 7th is Brazil's Independence day, some of the town shops will be closed on the 7th day.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 has 2 in-game management sections. The player will be busy during the second one.

After a flashback and intimate moment with Asterion, the player and Asterion will renovate the hotel's reception. Players who have the Arts background can select an option to add further decorations. These decorations unlock one of the two missing guests:

• The Zulu vase unlocks Themba.
• The Mongolian rug unlocks Khenbish.
• The painting unlocks Wolf.

During the second day of chapter 16, the player and Asterion venture into the deep labyrinth. You can send characters to R&D and exploration, but can't do any daily tasks.

Hinterlands 4

Another straightforward chapter with no player choices. The scene will play out differently depending on Pedro's actions in Hinterlands 3, most notably how close he is to Oscar.

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 has 3 in-game management sections.

At the start of the chapter the player will meet Argos again. If the player completed the project to translate the pages, he can confront Argos and force him to reveal who he is early. The player will also comment on Jean's true identity if he has identified it, or get one last guess. The player gets the option to forgive Argos, refuse, or leave it up to Asterion.

Asterion will be absent from management for the second day, remodelling the hotel exterior.

If the player got the page from Argos, a scene will happen on the second night, where Asterion goes out to meet Argos. If the player translated the page and revealed Argos' identity but did not forgive him, Argos will not come. Otherwise, he will appear, and play a duet with Asterion. The scene depends on your choices regarding Argos up to this point.

The third day has two events in the morning:

• If Khenbish has joined the hotel, you get the opportunity to cook a special regional meal for one of your staff members. This gives them a permanent stat boost and unlocks that recipe for Khenbish to cook. The regional recipes apply additional bonuses to characters that belong to that region.
• If the player hung out with Kota 5 times and gave him a day to rest, a special event will play throughout the day, completing his route. As of 0.6 this is the only day where the event can play, but in future builds the event will play on the first day where the conditions are met in chapters 19 onwards as well.

The day ends with a drinking game scene. Your choices here are mostly to get insight on the characters and see their reactions. The scene will play out differently, of course, depending on whether Robert, Khenbish, Themba or Wolf are in the hotel.

Hinterlands 5

Like Hinterlands 4, the chapter has no choices and plays out differently depending on Pedro's actions in Hinterlands 3.

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 has no management sections, it caps the second third of the game.

The chapter opens with a scene with the player and Asterion finally sharing a kiss. The options here will be different depending on whether the player made choices throughout the game that brings out Asterion's submissiveness, among other factors.

The chapter will play out differently depending on a multitude of factors, including

• If you've been solving Argos' riddles and how you approach his true identity.
• P's actions during Hinterlands 3 (how many quests you completed and how close he grew to Oscar).
• If the player figured out Jean's identity or not.

Aside from condemning Argos (which only happens under the right circumstances) the main effect of your choices in the chapter is nudging you towards the Pedro or Nikos route.

At the end of the chapter you'll see either Pedro, Nikos, or neither of the two gazing at the stars outside the hotel.

• If Pedro is outside the hotel, Nikos will join the hotel in chapter 19.
• If Nikos is outside the hotel, Pedro will join the hotel in chapter 19.
• If neither is outside, the player will be able to choose one or the other in chapter 19.

Last third

The last third of the game (pending as of 0.6) will wrap up the story.

Chapter 19

Coming in build 0.7.

Ruthless route

The Ruthless route splits off on chapter 12 if the player sent Asterion to the valley twice, or just once but gave a flimsy excuse to do so when confronted by Argos and didn't make up for it with sufficient affection.

Act I

There are two choices in this chapter. First, the player can tell Argos he looks like shit, or show concern towards him.

The second choice is the most important of the route and part of what determines your ending:

• "Agree to the snake's plan"
• "Deceive the deceiver"
• "Make no promises"

Act II

Act II has no choices, and follows Argos' perspective of the events leading up to Act I.

Act III

The player can dress Asterion to humiliate him, as well as choosing to punish Asterion, or be firm but fair.

Which ending you get is determined by your second choice in Act I, and how abusive the main character has been in Acts I and III (telling Argos he looks like shit, removing Asterion's clothes, and punishing him) when the player gets to the pit.

• If you pick "Agree to the snake's plan" and the player was not abusive enough, you'll get the "Shackled" ending.
• If you pick "Deceive the deceiver" and the player was not abusive enough, you'll get the "Welcome to the Minotaur's Hotel" ending.
• If you pick "Make no promises" and the player was not abusive enough, you'll get the "As You Are, I Once Was" ending. There's a dialogue choice in this branch that can increase your abuse and change your ending.
• If you were abusive, the three endings will split to a separate branch that leads to the "Dust and Silence" ending.