The Snail is a major character in Darkwood.
It appears as a giant snail-like being. Parts of a human skull can be seen underneath its flesh, and a slack human jaw can be seen loosely hanging from its head, and one deformed human arm holding a key is nearby. The snail comes across as confused and has difficulty talking properly Cottage Near The Junkyard, in the Swamp, in Chapter 2.
The Snail(s) are a replica of a man who lived within the cottage (which the Snail repeatedly refers to as his house) in the cottage by the junkyard, whose corpse can be found entwined in roots within, and whose diary states he had taken to eating snails shortly before his death by starvation. They (and their human predecessor) were very interested in radios and were fascinated by the broadcasts being emitted by the Radio Tower.
Their human predecessor had spotted the Outsiders on at least one occasion and were afraid of them. The man had presumably been living alone for some time (as his diary shows that he believes the ruins to be empty). He had lived in what was once a “pretty, wooded clearing” before the flood arrived. He appeared to be quite a clever and innovative individual, compiling a map of where objects of value were stored in the junkyard, completing crosswords at a rapid rate (perhaps out of boredom) as well as attempting to record the sound of Being using tapes he had found to try to figure out what it was and where it was coming from. He theorised the voice had to be coming from the nearby radio tower even though it had been knocked down for some years previously. He had seen (and been seen) by outsiders on at least one of his outings. It’s uncertain when he died, but a good guess would be between 1983-1986 (1-4 years prior to the start of the game; after the flooding had started). Towards the end he was starving, and had taken to eating snails and grass (according to his diary), and eventually he died and was encased in roots, and the cloning process began. The Snail is the largest and most comprehensive of this series of clones, having formed upon the roof of the cottage, its massive weight ended up crushing the roof and causing it to collapse, blocking the only way in. A series of lesser immobile clones somewhat capable of speech form a discontinuous chain outside of the cottage, and will attempt to speak to the Protagonist as one entity. He would eventually be reincarnated multiple times by the forest, as a mix of his last meal and himself, a snail and a man. The largest and most complete of these is the Snail himself, formed atop the roof of the house which then collapsed under his weight when he first tried to move. He appears to be both blunt and cowardly (hiding from the Protagonist when approached but not hesitating to insult his appearance or choices if the Protagonist indicates he is not headed for the Road Home).
Upon seeing the Protagonist, the Snail will retreat into his shell. The player will need to use a weapon on the cracked underside of the shell in order to enter.
The Snail speaks in a plain language and can be extensively gossiped with. It will give the player a few quests, and will casually remark on how ugly the Protagonist is. It is unaware of its horrific appearance and believes it is a normal human being that can't move for unknown reasons, it believes its legs and arms have gone numb from lying in the sun too long and will ask the player to set it free.
Its stomach may also be interacted with by examination; in doing so the Protagonist will note that it's rather brittle, and can quite possibly be opened with force.
Indeed, to enter the building the Snail sits on, the player has the choice of either: following the quest line of the Snail and in doing so, freeing it from captivity; or, the player can carve their way through the Snails stomach with a melee weapon. Afterward, they may enter the house.
Quests
Freedom:
The Snail tasks the player with freeing him from his bindings. After enjoying some time lying around, it finally wishes to leave and roam around. To do this, the Protagonist needs the Shed Key to unlock the door just outside, which must be open to go to solve the short puzzle-like blockade by a Growths. In this side path a cocoon-like object (also called 'Growths') can be found. When interacted with, the Protagonist notes that it's 'fragile.' It can be broken with a weapon, and doing so will free the Snail.
As a consequence, the Snail will leave the cottage and travel to the Radio Tower in the next day, where it can be found dead, mangled and filled with Banshees Babies. Its corpse blocks the entrance. However, there is an alternative path near the blocked entrance that lets the player go around the Snail's corpse.
Epilogue
If the Snail is not freed or carved up by the Protagonist, then it will perish in the flames burning down the forest or is consumed by crows.
- See Transcript
Dialogue
Greeting
- First Encounter
The snail's speech is extremely slow and slurry. He moves his jaw with great effort. It looks like it's about to fall off. His eyes sag from their sockets. They dangle from side to side, trying to keep me in their sight.
His right eye raises with great effort and wobbles.
The snail's jaw falls so low, it almost detaches itself from the rest of the body.
Suddenly, I feel a subtle shiver beneath my feet. The snail's body livens up.
The snail tucks his head inside his shell.
The snail falls silent for a longer moment. The inside of the shell is almost completely silent.
The snail's body suddenly leans forward. The wooden construction of the cottage creaks under his huge bulk. I barely keep my balance.
The snail falls silent. His enormous head slowly drops to the shell. Giant, gleaming drops of mucus appear on his slimy skin.
- Freedom
Showing Items
- Shake head
- Nod
Two teeth pop out of the snail's disfigured, open jaw and, together with a thick goo, flow down near my feet.
Gossip
- The amnesia
- The ugly
- The gumboots
Trivia
- The Snail is the only known clone/replica that is not immune to the call of the Being. It's not clear why this is, but perhaps this desire was inherited from its human predecessor who was obsessed with finding the source of the voice in the radio transmissions.
- The Snail will comment positively to the Protagonist presenting it with gum boots, but will not interact with them in any other way.
- The Snail appear to present a riddle of sorts in saying: "I woke up in front of the door, I took a step and fell down, I fell straight onto the roof." The most likely answer to what happened is this was the Snail's first thoughts upon gaining consciousness. It realised it was outside and believed it must be in front of its door. It attempted to move and its huge weight caused the roof to cave in..
- The Snail mentions a beautiful clearing that vanished after everything became flooded. This beautiful clearing, or rather a clone of it made by the Being, can be found in the area where Growths are found (that must be broken to free the snail). It is a beautiful clearing of oddly white grass, that once the Growths are destroyed, quickly fade into a black dead mass.
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Major characters | Bike Man • Chicken Lady • Child • Cripple • Doctor • Elephants • Mirror • Mushroom Granny • Musician • Piotrek • Protagonist • Snail • Talking Tree • The Three • Trader • Wolfman • The Being |
| Minor characters | Dial-eyed Man • Half-Dead Man • Half-Dead Woman • Hanuska • Infected Villager • Janek • Maciek • Madman • Man • Notable Villagers (Swamp) • Pig Farmer • Pretty Lady • Sleeper • Stasiek • Tunneler |