Nightwater: All 15 Memory Locations
Nightwater has 15 memories to collect, and the memory table in the spawn room tracks all of them (the ending memories only appear there from version 1.0.13 onward). Six are main story memories (five of them on the islands), five are hidden inside the minigames, and four are tied to the game’s endings. This page gives the location of every one, in the same order the memory table lists them.
The short version: Welcome is given to you at the start, and for the other five story memories you manifest each island and walk to the spot listed below. Three of the five minigame memories hide behind a wall or rock you can walk straight through. Each ending memory needs the ending before it.
Spoiler warning: the ending sections below name the endings and explain how each one is triggered.
All memories at a glance
| # | Memory | Group | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome | Main story | Spawn room, given automatically |
| 2 | Loop | Main story | First Mountain island |
| 3 | Demands | Main story | First Desert island |
| 4 | Success | Main story | Snowy Hills island |
| 5 | Choices | Main story | Far left Volcano island |
| 6 | Lighthouse | Main story | Last Starlight Fields island |
| 7 | Useless | Minigame | Dark Thicket (Forest) |
| 8 | More | Minigame | The Mine |
| 9 | Dust | Minigame | Oasis (Desert) |
| 10 | Contract | Minigame | Fuel Shortage (Snow) |
| 11 | Exchange | Minigame | Data Rush (speedrun) |
| 12 | Moving on | Ending | First ending (see below) |
| 13 | Nothing more | Ending | Second ending (see below) |
| 14 | Fear | Ending | Third ending (see below) |
| 15 | Acceptance | Ending | Fourth ending (see below) |
Memories 1 to 11 can be picked up in any order. Any memory you have not found yet shows as ”???” on the memory table, so you can check the table at any point to see which ones are still missing.
Main story memories
Apart from Welcome, these sit out in the open on the islands.
Welcome
You get Welcome in the spawn room the moment you start a new game. There is nothing to do for it and no way to miss it.
Loop
Loop is on the first Mountain island. Manifest it and the memory is waiting in the middle of the island.
Demands
Demands is on the first Desert island. Manifest it and look beside the stone pillar in the centre.
Success
Success is on the Snowy Hills island. After you manifest it, go to the middle and climb to the upper area, where the memory sits.
Choices
Choices is on the Volcano island furthest to the left. Manifest that one and head to its far left edge. The memory is in front of a stack of five shipping containers.
Lighthouse
The Lighthouse memory is on the last Starlight Fields island. It sits right in front of the lighthouse itself.
Minigame memories
Each of the five minigames hides one memory. Three of them are behind a wall or rock that looks solid but lets you walk through it.
Useless (Dark Thicket)
Useless is in Dark Thicket, the Forest minigame. As soon as you enter, turn to your right and find the stack of logs. Walk into the rock just to the right of those logs. You pass straight through it into a hidden area with the memory.
More (The Mine)
More is in The Mine minigame. Dig all the way to the bottom and clear out every corner. At the bottom, one of the walls beside a corner has dark cracks on it. Walk into that cracked wall to pass through it and reach the memory.
Dust (Oasis)
Dust is in the Oasis, the Desert minigame, and it costs coins to reach. Buy your way into the third area of the Oasis, then look behind the third shop for the memory.
Contract (Fuel Shortage)
Contract is in Fuel Shortage, the Snow minigame. Any loadout works. Find the building with a stack of logs beside it, which is usually straight ahead of you when you spawn. The memory is behind those logs.
Touching it there does not give you the memory straight away. Leave the minigame first. The memory then appears above the campfire you use to enter Fuel Shortage, and you have to jump to grab it.
Exchange (Data Rush)
Exchange is in Data Rush, the speedrun minigame, on its second level. You need blue platforms unlocked to reach it, and double jump makes it easier.
At the start of the level, jump onto the moving platform on your left. Look low on the wall above the lava, between the two wall run pads. A small hidden platform sticks out from the bottom of the wall there. Jump onto it and you pass through the wall to the memory. Remember this spot, because the Acceptance ending brings you back here.
Ending memories
The last four memories come from the endings. Collecting the final three also changes the lighthouse shown behind the main menu.
| Memory | Ending | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Moving on | First | Every island manifested, the red and blue keys done, Satisfaction taken from the lighthouse basement, then the hole behind spawn |
| Nothing more | Second | Moving on finished and every unlock completed, then the same finish again |
| Fear | Third | Nothing more finished, the six new torches spread across the map lit, then the maze |
| Acceptance | Fourth | Fear finished, then the door on the second Data Rush level |
Moving on
Moving on is the first ending, and the memory you get for finishing the game normally.
- Manifest every island.
- Complete the red and blue keys to open the lighthouse.
- Go inside the lighthouse, down to the basement, and take Satisfaction.
- Return to spawn. The door behind the spawn point is now open.
- Drop down the hole behind that door. You are teleported to a final area where the memory waits.
Nothing more
Nothing more is the second ending. On top of finishing Moving on, you need every entry in the Unlocks tab completed. Press X, or use a research table, to check your progress. The totals per area are:
| Area | Unlocks needed |
|---|---|
| Forest | 23 |
| Mountain | 23 |
| Desert | 17 |
| Snowy Hills | 24 |
| Volcano | 14 |
| Starlight Fields | 14 |
When the last one is done, the six stone torches on the ground at the start area light up. That is your sign it worked. Then finish the game the same way as before: lighthouse basement, grab Satisfaction, back to spawn, and down the hole. This time it triggers the second ending and the memory.
Fear
Fear is the third ending. After you finish Nothing more, a new set of stone torches spawns across the map, one in each of the six areas below. These are not the torches at the start area that lit up for Nothing more. To light a torch, hold E for five seconds next to it.
| Area | Torch location |
|---|---|
| Forest | Left of the entrance to Dark Thicket |
| Mountain | Inside the rightmost cave, on its left side, beside the way into the middle cave |
| Desert | At the top of the stairs on the two storey house |
| Snowy Hills | On the far right side, down behind the two tents (not the ones with the fire) |
| Volcano | Middle island, rear right corner: look beneath the tilted shipping container propped against a second one |
| Starlight Fields | Behind the lighthouse |
Once all six torches are lit you are teleported into a maze, starting on a block in its centre. The Fear memory and the third ending are at the end of the maze. We do not have a reliable route through it to give here, so you will need to work the maze out yourself.
Acceptance
Acceptance is the fourth ending.
Go back to where you found the Exchange memory: the second level of Data Rush, the moving platform on the left, and the hidden platform between the wall run pads just above the lava. A door there has been shut all game. It is now open. Walk through it and you are teleported to the last memory and the game’s final ending.