"You haven't unlocked all of the achievements. Please restart the game"
The Pipes are a location in the game IMSCARED. They first debuted in the Steam release of IMSCARED. The Pipes are the near-final levels of the game. It follows the basement, and precedes the Door Room and Final Begin.
Appearance[]
The Pipes are a collection of tunnels with a big pipe system in the center. The walls are made from red bricks, and the walls and ceiling are also red. Occasionally you will see fans and conveyor belts too. Some pipes are broken, causing them to drip water slightly. In many areas, the player walks on brown grates, supported by beams and rails.
The Pipes consist of three sub-levels and one lobby. The lobby has an elevator type of system, which sends the player to the door room, where the player chooses whether to end the game or reset all progress. However, all three valves must be collected in order for the elevator to work. The player must also acquire 10 of the 11 achievements of the game (because you get the 11th achievement there), in order to enter through the door.
The Pipes contain three sub-levels, called "Pipes A", "Pipes B", and "Pipes C". Each sub-level contains a puzzle that the player has to solve, in order to get the valves. To get to a sub-level, the player must go through one of the three gates in the lobby. Each sub-level also contains a map of the area, which is especially useful in Pipes B, as it shows the directions of the conveyor belts (The map isn't perfectly detailed, as the conveyor belts can change direction).
Lobby[]
The lobby serves as the main lobby of accessing all 3 sub-levels. The player must attach all of the collected valves onto the metal pillar located in the center of the room. Once all valves are put in place, flip the generator switch near the pillar, and enter into the elevator that rises from the floor to finish the game. NOTE: If you do not have all of the achievements, you cannot enter through the door. Fortunately, the game does let the player easily access previous levels, so they can get the achievements.
To get to each sub-level the player must do them in order, and go through the three gates in the lobby.
Pipes A[]
Pipes A is the most simple out of the 3. It consists of 2 hallways connected to each other. This level will grant the player Valve A. Pipes A appears to contain a ventilation system, as there is steam blocking the second hallway, and there are multiple fans on the walls.
Walkthrough[]
To get through this level, go directly forwards and flip the switch. This will activate the fans, which will blow away the steam, allowing the player to access the second hallway. Going into this hallway, you will see a valve. Pick it up, and go back to the lobby. Attempting to go back, a brick wall has suddenly appeared in front of the player. Go back to the end of the hallway and look through the fan. You should see White Face in the distance. He will say: "Do you" "Do you want to", and then
You will be teleported to a dark snowy open area, similar to the Cold map. Out of the dark fog, HER will slowly approach the player while waving and breathing heavily. HER has a big hole in the head. Before she reaches them, the player will be teleported back. Multiple White Face variations will pop up for a split second around the player along with a strange sound effect playing. After this, the player gets teleported back to the regular area. |
Now go back to the lobby with the valve, and place it into the pillar.
Pipes B[]
Pipes B introduces conveyor belts for the first time. The map consists of a big conveyor belt maze. The player must go through the right path to get Valve B. There is a map showing the directions of the conveyor belts, as well as the switches.
Walkthrough[]
There are multiple switches around the maze the player must flip to change the direction the conveyor belts are going. However, you can cheese this puzzle by strafing while running. Strafing while moving forwards makes the player move slightly faster. Get Valve B, and return to the lobby.
There are many hanging paintings of White Face around parts of the map that are all located just behind the railing. One of them can "jumpscare" the player, which is located in one of the "safe zones" of the maze. When you get close to this specific painting, White Face will come out of it, and slowly move forwards. He will disappear after a few seconds. If White Face touches the player, it will
Cause a fake BSoD and enabe texture filtering for some time, making the textures look blurry instead of crisp. The geometry of the map will also look corrupted, although this is only a visual effect. Text will appear on the screen saying: "You broke it". Cause a fake BSoD and crash the game like usual. |
Go back to the lobby with the valve, and place it into the pillar.
Pipes C[]
Pipes C consists entirely of a big obstacle course. The player will go through familiar areas, while looking for keys, all the while White Face is chasing the player. The player must get through the obstacle course to get Valve C. The entire map is a chase sequence, where the player has to act quick in order to outrun White Face.
Walkthrough[]
Right when you spawn in, you will see a sign which says: "I AM BEHIND YOU", however, the chase sequence will only trigger once the player passes the sign. White Face will start chasing the player, and even though he is very slow, you cannot run for most of Pipes C - "your SHIFT key is broken". Follow the grate, and you will come across a locked door. There is a key you must collect near the chair and bookshelf. Move through the door with the key and keep going until you see another key. Pick it up and use it to unlock the next locked door. You will now arrive at a small replica of the Car Park. Just like in the Car Park, the player must step on all of the arrows on the floor to open the door. Once all arrows are triggered, a sound cue will play. Move quickly through the door. You will come across yet another locked door. This time, the area will be similar to the House map, except it's only a small replica as well. The key to open it is on the left side of the table. Once you open the door, keep going and you will eventually see a broken platform ahead. Standing on it for a second will cause it to collapse. Move through the path, and collect Valve C. The chase sequence will stop once the player collects the valve, so there is no need to worry. Climb up the ladder after picking up Valve C.
Finally, head back to the lobby with Valve C, and place the valve into the pillar. If you completed the sub-levels in order, you can now activate the ending elevator and finish the game (assuming you have the required achievements).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Pipes C, White Face's size depends on the version of the game you are playing - if you are playing the original 2016 version, White Face will be massive, but in the 2022 Update, White Face will be about medium sized.
- There is a strange bug, where if you collect Valve C in a weird way, your movement speed will decrease. Going up the ladder will softlock the game. This was seen in Markiplier's playthrough of the 2016 version of IMSCARED.
- In Pipes B, White Face will start whistling the main theme of IMSCARED (the one you hear in the menu). Shortly after, there will be a quick distortion in the audio. This is also a track in the Original Soundtrack.
- Including all of the sub-levels, the Pipes is the biggest area of the game (Not including the ending of the game, where the player is able to explore the entire game again in daylight, as the sub-areas will be closed off).
- Once you beat the game, only the lobby will be accessible to the player. The player is unable to explore the sub-levels in daylight.
- The Pipes have been widely criticised due to the game forcing the player to collect all achievements, when achievements are usually optional in video games.
- In case the player exits the game in the lobby, they will be transported back to Begin, however, the game will leave the Oxidized Key on the floor of the basement, so the player can access the Pipes without having to type in "take me to the door" every time.
- The conveyor belts have invisible barriers that prevent the player from strafe-running against them. These only appear when a conveyor belt is connected to another.
- The Pipes uses the track "Pipes".