“Facade” is one of the most iconic narrative-driven games ever created, developed by Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern. Unlike traditional action or adventure titles, Facade is an interactive drama where the main gameplay revolves around natural conversation, emotional decision-making, and branching storylines. Players enter the apartment of Grace and Trip, a married couple, and witness the unraveling of their troubled relationship. Every word you type, every interaction, and every pause can change the outcome.
This guide offers a complete Facade walkthrough with tips for dialogue choices, strategies to unlock every possible ending, and detailed steps on how to navigate conversations. Whether you’re new to narrative-driven games or a returning player curious about hidden outcomes, this guide ensures you experience all of Facade’s branching narratives.
1. Getting Started with Facade
Before diving into the story, you need to understand the basic mechanics of Facade:
- Platform: Originally released for PC (Windows/Mac).
- Controls: Players interact by typing free-form text or selecting commands. Movement is handled with the arrow keys.
- Goal: The central objective is to influence Grace and Trip’s relationship – either reconciling them, breaking them apart, or even being kicked out.
How to Install and Launch Facade
- Download the game from the official site or verified archives.
- Extract and run the installer.
- Launch the game and enter your player name. This determines how Grace and Trip will address you in dialogue.
- Once inside, you will find yourself outside their apartment door.
2. Entering Grace and Trip’s Apartment
- You begin at the hallway outside their apartment.
- Press the doorbell.
- Trip usually greets you first. Pay attention to his tone—it can range from warm to slightly strained depending on the random starting state of their relationship.
- Enter the apartment and greet both Grace and Trip.
Pro tip: Starting the game with a friendly greeting such as “Hi, it’s great to see you” often leads to smoother conversations. Avoid insults or silence at the beginning if you want to reach deeper story outcomes.
3. Understanding the Core Gameplay – Conversations Drive Everything
Unlike action games, Facade is entirely dialogue-driven gameplay. The game uses natural language processing to interpret your text responses. While it may not understand every phrase perfectly, it reacts strongly to keywords and emotional tones.
Important Conversation Mechanics:
- Compliments: Complimenting Grace or Trip can either ease tension or create jealousy.
- Criticism: Criticizing one of them often escalates conflict.
- Neutral Small Talk: Keeps the conversation calm but can lead to being ignored.
- Taking Sides: Choosing between Grace or Trip is the fastest way to push the story toward a breakup or reconciliation.
4. Step-by-Step Gameplay Walkthrough
Here’s a detailed step-by-step walkthrough of Facade’s narrative flow.
Step 1: First Impressions
- Greet Trip warmly. Example: “Trip, it’s so good to see you.”
- Grace may appear slightly cold or conflicted. Say hello and compliment her appearance in a neutral way, e.g., “Grace, you look great tonight.”
Avoid: Overly flirtatious comments early on, which can trigger immediate suspicion.
Step 2: Settling In
- Trip will offer you a drink. You can:
- Accept wine/cocktail → shows agreement with Trip’s hospitality.
- Decline politely → Grace often approves, saying Trip can be too controlling.
- Request something simple (like water) → can highlight their disagreement about lifestyle.
This moment sets the stage for choosing sides subtly.
Step 3: Small Talk and Hidden Tensions
- Trip often brags about his decorating skills or expensive apartment. Grace may counter with dissatisfaction.
- Complimenting the apartment boosts Trip’s ego but frustrates Grace.
- Saying you prefer Grace’s decorating taste will upset Trip but warm Grace.
At this point, decide who you want to side with.
Step 4: The First Conflict Emerges
- Grace often expresses unhappiness about her career and the pressure Trip puts on her.
- Trip insists their life is perfect.
- If you encourage Grace’s independence, she opens up more.
- If you defend Trip, he’ll be grateful but Grace may distance herself.
Step 5: The Big Argument
Eventually, no matter what you do, Grace and Trip fall into a heated argument. Your role is to either:
- Mediate neutrally → Try to calm them both.
- Take Grace’s side → Leads to potential Trip meltdown.
- Take Trip’s side → Grace may accuse you of being just like him.
- Escalate conflict → Insults or flirting can get you thrown out.
Step 6: The Climax – Truth Revealed
This phase reveals secrets:
- Trip may confess his insecurity and controlling behavior.
- Grace may admit feelings of emptiness and regret in their marriage.
- Your responses determine whether they confront their issues honestly or collapse entirely.
Step 7: Endings and Outcomes
Facade has multiple possible endings, depending on your choices:
- Reconciliation Ending If you encourage both Grace and Trip to admit their flaws and express love, they reconcile. Example dialogue: “You both still love each other. You just need to listen.”
- Separation Ending If you push them to confront irreconcilable differences, they decide to split. Example: “Maybe it’s time to move on and stop pretending.”
- Player Gets Kicked Out If you antagonize too much (flirt, insult, or stay silent), they will ask you to leave.
- Grace Leaves, Trip Stays If you support Grace strongly, she may walk out, leaving Trip behind.
- Trip Leaves, Grace Stays Supporting Grace’s independence sometimes causes Trip to storm out.
Each ending reflects the branching narrative power of this interactive drama.
5. Tips and Tricks for Success
- Be Direct: The game understands strong keywords like love, trust, cheating, marriage, divorce.
- Stay Calm: Avoid random typing—coherent sentences improve engagement.
- Experiment: Replay with different tones (kind, sarcastic, confrontational) to unlock all endings.
- Replayability: Since Facade is short (15–20 minutes per session), replaying helps uncover hidden dialogue.
6. How to Unlock All Endings – Detailed Guide
Reconciliation Strategy:
- Compliment both equally.
- Encourage open communication.
- Avoid taking strong sides early.
- Key phrase: “You both love each other.”
Separation Strategy:
- Point out contradictions in their relationship.
- Support honesty over comfort.
- Key phrase: “You can’t keep pretending this is fine.”
Getting Thrown Out:
- Flirt with Grace or Trip.
- Insult their marriage.
- Stay silent too long.
Unique Walkouts:
- Strongly side with Grace → Trip leaves.
- Strongly side with Trip → Grace leaves.
7. Why Facade is Still Popular in 2025
Despite being released in 2005, Facade remains a timeless narrative-driven game because:
- It pioneered interactive drama gameplay.
- Every playthrough feels unique.
- It inspired modern narrative-driven titles like Detroit: Become Human, Life is Strange, and Until Dawn.
- It is free-to-play and widely available online.
Conclusion
Playing Facade is less about “winning” and more about experiencing different narrative-driven outcomes. This guide covered the complete Facade walkthrough, step-by-step instructions, conversation tips, and strategies to unlock all endings.
If you’re passionate about narrative-driven games and love interactive drama where words matter more than weapons, Facade is a must-play experience. By experimenting with different dialogue choices, you can shape the destiny of Grace and Trip’s marriage in ways that feel personal and unique.
Whether you want to reconcile the couple, break them apart, or explore every hidden outcome, this Facade walkthrough ensures you won’t miss a single possibility.
