Strange Antiquities review

Occult following

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Iceberg Interactive

A shopkeeping puzzle game that’s even denser and more satisfying to master than its predecessor, Strange Horticulture.

• Developer: Bad Viking
• Publisher: Iceberg Interactive
• Release: September 17th 2025
• On: Windows
• From: Steam
• Price: £14.99/$17.99/€17.49
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, Windows 11

During my first two hours serving Strange Antiquities ’ customers, I tugged the bronze pendulum of an ornate clock at least a dozen times, wondering what the resulting spin and settle of its hands meant. I checked my occult encyclopaedia’s index for mentions of time and compared the clock face to shapes in a book of hermetic symbols. Each time I drew a blank I yanked the pendulum a few more times, just in case.

This follow-up to the joyous 2022 puzzler Strange Horticulture is packed with these promises of future puzzles: a locked cabinet with no key, a sliding-door cupboard with no clear purpose, three empty plinths beneath your shop counter, an engraved desk with four missing chunks. I knew they were all clues, I just couldn’t tell what for.

Until, in a series of glorious moments, I could.

When I realised how the clock fit into a multi-part puzzle that revealed a new area of my shop, I genuinely chuckled with delight, and that feeling repeated several times during my 10-hour playthrough. This is a longer and more uneven puzzle game than Strange Horticulture, but also more ambitious, and just as beguiling.

The general concept remains the same. Customers come to your shop for a specific named item. Your encyclopaedia holds clues for each one, from the concrete – like the shape or material – to the more abstract, such as the feeling it evokes when you hold it, or the fact it’s used to draw blood in an initiation ritual. You touch, listen to, and smell the objects on your shelves, and if you pick the right one you can strike it from your long list. Outside, a story of curses and cults unfolds, and some of the decisions you make, such as which of two items to give a particular customer, can change the outcome.

The objects are imaginative: carved totems with unfamiliar symbols, bejewelled boxes that catch spirits, medallions designed in the image of a snake god, a blood-stained stone held by an eagle’s talons. They all look wonderful on your shelves, however you choose to arrange them. Descriptions are evocative, sometimes with double meanings that made me want to decipher them even more. Does this necklace give me goosebumps because it’s cold or because it’s creepy? Which of these wooden objects could conceivably be described as a “finger”?

At the start, simply knowing that an object is made of bronze with a single gemstone is enough to identify it, but soon the puzzles become tricky, layered challenges. Alongside your encyclopaedia you get a book on gems, a book of symbols, and a book of curses, and you’ll often need to flip between them multiple times to identify a single object. A simple example: if somebody comes in for a curse cure, you’ll first read your curse book to identify their malady, find that curse in your encyclopaedia’s index, and then read all the related entries to identify the object you need.

I was regularly stumped, but every time I split the puzzle into small chunks I could whittle down the possible answers. The hint system points you vaguely in the right direction without outright telling you the answer, which I like, but you can ask for multiple hints at once. When you solve a puzzle you’re handily told which clues were relevant – sometimes these were details I hadn’t even noticed, and that gave me new ideas for solving future puzzles.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Iceberg Interactive

I love the feeling of mastery it builds. When you get a new encyclopaedia entry it flashes on screen. You can ignore it, but the key information often stuck in my mind. I lost count of the times I later thought “Wait, I know that name” , and it’s satisfying to use knowledge you didn’t even realise you had. The way encyclopaedia entries flow from one another encourages you to follow your trail of thought, and before you know it you’ve identified three or four objects, rather than just the one. By the end of the game I’d become a proper expert shopkeeper: I knew, without thinking, which gemstone meant death and which meant fire, which symbol meant summer, and which winter. Sometimes I could pick the right object without consulting my books, which felt fantastic.

Its best moments – like with the clock’s pendulum – are not when you’re identifying objects, but when you’re poking around your shop, discovering puzzles hidden in plain sight. To open the locked cabinet in one corner I had to manipulate an object in a way that I hadn’t initially thought was possible, and that empty cupboard I mentioned earlier proved instrumental in a way I won’t spoil, but was equally delightful. The game’s scope constantly surprised me, and it delivers on every one of the promises it teases.

Even the game’s collectible maps conceal secrets of their own. Click on a location and you get a story vignette, often ending with the discovery of a new object. The clues to find these locations – riddles, matching shapes, pattern recognition – are simpler but no less engrossing, and later, you get a device you have to place over one of your maps to find the right spots. I felt like a genius when I figured it out.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Iceberg Interactive

In a game with so many puzzles, and so many different types of puzzle, a few duds are inevitable. I gave up identifying a particular medallion only for the hint system to tell me I had to first solve another puzzle I’d picked up (and put down) much earlier in the game, in what seemed like an arbitrary process. On another, I narrowed it down to two possible objects and simply had to guess - even when I saw the correct solution, the other object appeared to fit as well. Still, Strange Antiquities’ density and consistent generosity make it easy to forgive these small missteps.

It helped that I enjoyed simply inhabiting the shop, listening to the rain and thunder outside. I petted my cat every morning until he purred, and stuffed my papers in their drawers every night. After the first customer of every day I reshuffled my shelves to match my mood. Early on I arranged medallions by material – bronze, gold, wood, tin – with a separate section for items that looked particularly arcane. Later, I moved all my identified objects to a separate shelf and sorted medallions by the colour of their gemstone. This isn’t busywork - it’s flexibility that makes the shop feel like a deeply personal space.

I wish it was slightly easier to navigate with my mouse, though. When several objects seemed to fit the clues, I liked to stack them on the desk below my counter, a book open next to them, so I could better compare their markings and gems. To move an object from your shelves to this desk you have to grab each one, hold it at the bottom of the screen until the desk appears, and then drop it - an annoyingly fiddly procedure when it involves shifting four or five items in a row. It is, admittedly, easier if you use the keyboard too, but if ever there was a game designed for a mouse in one hand, coffee in the other, this is it. I also found it too easy to zoom in on a book (double click) when I simply meant to open it (single click).

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Iceberg Interactive

My enthusiasm for the puzzles also waned in the final hours, partly because its best challenges are all in the middle, and partly because I didn’t care about what was happening outside the shop. The town’s tale of curses, death, betrayal, and rival factions is, like all the words in Strange Antiquities, finely written, direct, and concise. Mildly poetic, even. But because you spend so much time buried in your books and staring at artefacts, it’s easy to forget what the last plot development was. And even if you keep track, the story loses its momentum about two-thirds of the way through, delaying and delaying what feels like an inevitable conclusion.

Even so, the satisfaction of a fully-ticked list kept me going to the end, and I happily lingered for a few more hours to identify objects I’d missed. The highs of Strange Antiquities – and there are many – match those of anything else I’ve played this year, and surely put it up there with Blue Prince among the best puzzle games of 2025. It is fiendish and delightful, and hopefully, one of many more Strange games to come.

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Strange Antiquities

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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