The First Request walkthrough
Talk to the characters first, open every container, finish the optional objective before the main item, and do a Juju lap last. 62.2% of players have this stage's 100% achievement.
The First Request is the first proper main-story request: the one that turns the office tutorial into an actual case. It is also where the game introduces the habit that decides whether a stage closes at 100% or stalls at ninety — checking the optional objective before you walk out.
On Steam, 62.2% of players have the 100% completion achievement for this stage. That is a high number for an early request, which tells you the stage itself is not a filter. If you are stuck here, the problem is almost certainly a missed interaction rather than a hard search.
What the request is
The client arrives at Goddess Mei's office with a lost item and a short story attached. Ducky takes the case, the scene opens, and the To-do panel lists the objectives: the main item, the secondary objects that belong to the same location, and one optional line that only appears once you trigger it.
Mechanically, this stage is the tutorial for three systems you will use for the next thirty requests:
- Object descriptions. Click a found object and it gives you a line of text in the owner's voice. Those lines often name a place, a person or a sequence, and they are the closest thing the game has to a hint you did not pay for.
- Juju. The grey, wobbling collectibles appear early. Community location maps for this stage list two, both off the main path — which is the point of the system: Juju are found by looking, not by following the objective.
- Side quests. The optional objective is a short chain rather than a single click, and it only exists after you touch its trigger.
A route that closes the stage in one pass
- Talk to every character before you search. Dialogue in this game is not decoration: a conversation can open a side quest, and a side quest that is not open cannot be completed. Two minutes of talking saves a full re-entry.
- Open every container on the first lap. Drawers, cupboards, boxes, the lids of things. Do not stop to solve anything; just open and move on. The first request is small enough that a full lap takes under a minute.
- Do the optional work before the main item. Picking up the main objective usually advances the dialogue, and advancing the dialogue can close the window for the optional chain. Finishing the side quest first avoids that entirely.
- Click the wall art. Patch 1.0.3 specifically updated the image on the wall in this stage, which means the wall is part of the scene rather than background decoration. If a prop got a patch note, it is interactive.
- Do a Juju lap at the end. The grey ghosts are the only thing in the stage that never appears on the To-do list, so they are the first thing players forget.
Before you leave: the checklist
| Check | How to confirm | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Main objective returned | The To-do line is ticked and the client dialogue plays | Advances the story |
| Secondary objects collected | Every non-optional To-do line is ticked | Required for the achievement |
| Side quest finished | The optional line clears | The usual reason a stage sits at 90% |
| Juju picked up | The Juju counter moves when you click a grey object | Currency for later hints |
| Instapix taken | The feed shows a new post | Some stages gate a reward behind it |
The side-quest line is the one to watch. A finished side quest clears its line; a side quest that is still open stays visible with an incomplete marker. If the line is there, the chain has another step.
Blockers and patch history
This stage has been stable since launch, but two launch-era bugs are worth knowing if you are on an older build:
- Characters could disappear. Patch 1.0.3 fixed a bug where key characters sometimes vanished if you exited the lobby or the game without speaking to them, which could block progression. On an old build, talk to everyone before quitting.
- Progress could fail to save. The same patch fixed a case where progress was not saved if you left the stage immediately after collecting an item. Give the game a second after a pickup before alt-tabbing out.
Neither bug exists on 1.2.1. They matter because some walkthroughs still present the workaround as if it were a game mechanic.
What the stage teaches you to expect
The First Request sets the template: a client, a location, a main item, a side quest. Challenge requests drop the client and keep the location and the objective. The Fall Update stages keep the template but stretch it across multiple rooms and a second act of dialogue.
That is why this page is worth reading even if you are already past it. The habits it teaches — talk first, open everything, finish the optional line, sweep for Juju last — are the habits that carry you through Apartment Apocalypse, The Missing Captain and Smoothie Showdown, the three requests the studio's player data ranked as hardest to clear.
What comes next
The next request depends on which clients your save has unlocked; the game does not present a numbered chapter list. If you want the stage the studio calls the easiest to 100%, go to Runaway Foxes. If you want the newest content, jump to Love After Life, which unlocks after Smoothie Showdown.
For the systems behind this page — hints, Juju and the To-do panel — read Juju and hints and Objective types.
