What was once a vast desert is now a series of storm-ravaged remains in Vane. The game’s third act requires players to rally a group of children to push a glowing golden ball through the city ruins to reach a guarded tower. It’s easy to get stuck in this level, so we’ve created a step by step guide that will help you solve the golden ball puzzle and make your way through the city in Vane.
How to Solve the Golden Ball Puzzle
Shortly after finding your way out of the cave in Vane, Act 3 starts out by showing you where you need to go: a large, looming Tower. The beginning of this section sees a group of children pushing a ball into the Tower. Just as you try to run in behind them, the guardian at the gate stops you, causing you to transform back into a bird.
Push the Golden Ball
Now that you’re a bird, start flying around and look for a large vane off in the distance. It will have a light glowing up top, sort of resembling a lighthouse from far away. As you approach, you will see a large glowing orb in the middle of the bottom floor with several children standing nearby.
Approach the gold ball to transform back into a child, then hold Triangle to shout at the ball and cause it to break free. Now, start pushing the ball down the path, making sure to follow the lit areas if you aren’t sure where to go. The other children will follow suit and mimic what you do.
When you get close to the gap, step away from the ball and hold Triangle to shout at it once more. After a few bursts, this will cause a new path to form across the gap.
Open the Gates
Continue pushing the ball along the path until you reach a closed gate. Approaching the gate with the ball causes the gate to close up. To open the gate, keep the ball at a distance, then walk up to the gate to push and rotate it like a revolving door. The gate should lock into place once it is opened, allowing you and the children to push the ball through.
The next revolving gate that you encounter will not have a way to push it from the bottom like the first one did. Instead, what you’ll have to do is push the vane connected to the door up top. To reach the vane, push the ball so that it forms a staircase a short distance away from the gate. Run up the stairs and push the vane to open the gate.
Find More Children
Continue pushing the ball until it rolls into a trench. Ahead is a closed door with a vane on top. Rolling the gold ball toward the center of the area in front of the door causes a bridge to form when shouting at the ball, but you will need to gather more children to get enough power to build the full bridge.
The first set of children are found off to the left of where you entered the trench area. They will be standing in some puddles around a smaller orb. Approach the orb and shout using Triangle to break it apart and cause the children to walk toward the main gold ball.
The other set of children are a bit trickier to reach. You can fly there as a bird, but you will need to be a child to shout at the orb and set the kids free. To find the second set of children, roll the gold ball into the sand pit off to the side of the exit door. If you position it correctly, you can shout at the ball to have it form a bridge that leads up to a staircase with a tree up top. Run up the path and continue carefully walking along the narrow beams and walkways until you find the second group of children. Free them and return back to the main golden ball.
Open the Bridge Gate
Now you should have enough children to form the bridge. Roll the ball near the center of where the large bridge will be, then hold Triangle to begin the chanting. Once the bridge forms, go up the steps and run along the bridge to reach the vane atop the gate. Push the vane to topple it over and open the doorway.
Reach the Tower
Now you’re in the final stretch. Gather up the others and push the gold ball through the gate and across the sand dune in the next area. Push the ball off the ledge to the right and continue pushing it toward the large gateway ahead. Keep rolling across the bridge and into the Tower.
Once you get the ball inside the Tower, the game will save and the final stage will begin. Check out our other Vane walkthroughs for more gameplay tips.
