Sigh of the Abyss: Shadow Bonds Walkthrough Guide and Tips

This is a handy walkthrough for the game Sigh of the Abyss: Shadow Bonds on Steam. Hope you enjoy it!

Sigh of the Abyss: Shadow Bonds Walkthrough

1. Options and settings

You can customise and change your main character’s name at any time.

You can also choose whether your character romances men only, women only, or men and women.

Click on the settings icon (gear picture) to change your character’s name, strengths and weaknesses (in skill points) in physical strength and magic.

Click on the save icon (the picture of the floppy disk) to save your progress in the game. If you’re using a newer laptop, you can even use your fingers to touch the computer screen to do this. There’s a limited number of save slots, so only save at sections that are important to you (this can be love interest cut scenes, action scenes, or endings).

There’s a skip icon (small picture with two arrows) to skip dialogue to reach choices. I found this handy when replaying the game to see the outcomes of different choices.

Customising your character’s strengths and weaknesses will affect which characters can become a potential love interest, and what powers you have to make certain choices in breaking a curse or fending off attackers. I think this option is clever.

2. Love interest routes and choices

Choices fall into the four temperaments: sanguine (happy and carefree), phlegmatic (thoughtful and reserved), melancholic (polite and sad), and choleric (brave and loyal, but blunt).

Sanguine choices are marked by the tornado icon, phlegmatic choices are shown by the water drop icon, melancholic choices are represented by the rock icon, and choleric choices are marked with the fire icon.

Sanguine choices are shown at the top, phlegmatic choices are on the right, melancholic choices are on the left, and choleric choices are on the bottom.

The male renegade mage you run into is not a love interest, but he can become a friend depending on your choices. If you stick to mainly sanguine or phlegmatic choices he will become friends with you.

Alpheon – the handsome bisexual minstrel (lute player). You run into him quite often at the local tavern. Alpheon is a fun character, and responds well to sanguine or phlegmatic choices.

To win the ending with Alpheon, keep clicking on his icon (the tiny picture of his head and upper body) on the map whenever the map appears in the story. Agree to let him kiss your hand and escort you back home.

Choose the choices where the main character agrees to go and sit by the water with Alpheon and swims with him, and select the choice where she asks him if they can be more than friends. This will show his ending. (Content warning for partial nudity in the end scene, but the writing is sweet).

Sylas – the awesome asexual thief. She responds well to sanguine, phlegmatic or choleric choices. You don’t have to pick choleric choices to win her over. I won her over with sanguine and phlegmatic choices, and a few melancholic choices. The way to win her over is to keep on clicking on her character icon on the map.

The other way to run into her is to adjust your character statistics (strengths and weaknesses) in the settings section (shown by the gear icon) to a maximum strength (على الأقل 4 أو 5 out of 7) and minimal skills in magic or mind control (1 ل 3 out of 7).

Malec – the kind and melancholy artist. You meet him in his shop. The best way to win him over is picking mainly melancholy choices, but picking sanguine and phlegmatic choices is fine too. The key to impressing him as a love interest is to pick kind and tactful options, and choosing to take his arm and kiss him near the end.

You need to keep clicking on his icon whenever it appears on the map, to see the ending with him. The map will appear constantly throughout the game, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting w
hen the map will appear.

It’s easier to run into Malec if your stats are maximum mind control or shadow magic (على الأقل 4 ل 5 out of 7).

Marane – the beautiful and diplomatic mage. 🙂 You cannot run into her unless you adjust your character stats correctly. Set your character stats to maximum shadow magic (على الأقل 4 أو 5 out of 7), and minimal skills in physical strength or mind control.

You don’t have to pick all sanguine choices, but picking most of them should be fine. Just don’t pick choleric choices or she’ll be upset.

3. Codex

The codex is information about the world and characters of Sigh of the Abyss. Each section is listed by number. Don’t be scared off by the word NO at the top of the page, it’s just an abbreviation for the word number. Just left click your computer mouse cursor (arrow) on the number on the left to read facts about each character, location or fact about the world building.

Each section of the codex will appear when you come across a certain character or part of the city.

4. Choices and the four temperaments – how much do your choices really matter?

Choices determine how much other characters like you, not just how your potential love interest character feels about you. If you choose melancholy choices you should be fine, but characters are happiest if you choose the sanguine (happy and carefree) and phlegmatic (calm and thoughtful) choices.

Some of the choleric choices are brave and loyal, while other choleric choices can come off as blunt or rude to other characters. Only use choleric choices if you are romancing Sylas, or if you’re defending someone from an attack.

5. Why do some choices get greyed out depending on what choices I make?

Some of the choices you can make are greyed out, meaning you can’t select them. لا تقلق, this doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong, and it’s not a glitch in the game. It just means that due to your character’s strengths and limitations (in physical strength, magic or mind control) you can’t make certain choices. هذا كل شيء. It’s still possible to achieve a happy ending with your favourite character of choice regardless of whether choices are greyed out.

6. How do I use the map?

Basically you use the map to see certain characters to progress in the story. Left click your computer mouse cursor on an icon (small picture of a character) on a map to see the character more often and ask them for advice.

The Fallen Admiral character Atri is not romanceable as far as I know. But she’s still pretty awesome.

The map is not open world, so while there is less exploration, you can’t get lost either, which is a plus.

7. Winning the game

You can win the game whether you pick a love interest or choose to stay single. The important thing is to choose choices that avoid despair.

If you choose to break the curse by seeking Atri’s help, obey her instructions to strangle and break the chain.

If you ask Alpheon’s help to break the curse, choose choices that say “I can do this!” and choices that focus on images of healing, not images of scabs.

If you ask Marane for help, follow her advice. Choose choices to strangle or break the chain.

SPOILER: You can also win the game by choosing to ask the renegade mage to kill you. Your main character will come back to life.