Hint-based route guide

Big Bad Dogs Walkthrough - Route Guide, True Ending & All Endings

A hint-based route guide for Big Bad Dogs. Read this before your second run. Covers 14 endings across the route map, the route to the true ending, and the kind of choices that tend to push the late game one way or another. Includes the route to the true ending — The Store Closes For Good. The full build is on the play page.

Play Big Bad Dogs Jump to Routes

This is a fan-built companion page for Big Bad Dogs. The walkthrough is hint-based - it explains how the routes split and what each route tends toward, without writing out step-by-step choices. The playable build itself is loaded from the developer's mirror at https://s.bigbaddogs.org/games/big-bad-dogs/index.html.

Big Bad Dogs Route Overview

Below is the route map for Big Bad Dogs. Endings are grouped by tag-class (True / Good / Escape / Neutral / Bad / Other) so you can see the shape of the late game at a glance. The exact ending you land on within a group depends on the small choices you make in the scenes that lead into the late game.

True Ending 1 ending

The endings tagged `End` are the route the game considers its canonical close. These endings tend to be locked behind a specific pattern of choices in the late game and usually require a clean run to unlock.

  • The Store Closes For Good (End)

Trust / Good Endings 2 endings

The `Trust`-tagged endings are the routes where the protagonist leans toward connection. These endings tend to land softer than the average horror VN close, but the softness is part of the dread.

  • Lane Stays For The Second Shift (Trust)
  • BB Takes Off The Helmet (Trust)

Escape Endings 1 ending

The `Escape`-tagged endings are the routes where the protagonist finds a way out. The escape is rarely a clean win.

  • The Shift Ends And You Walk Home (Escape)

Remember / Loop 3 endings

The `Remember` and `Loop`-tagged endings keep the late game open. The route closes, but the room does not.

  • Amelia Stays On The Line (Remember)
  • The Cooler Stays On (Routine)
  • The Store Stays Open (Loop)

Forget / Loss Endings 7 endings

The `Forget` and `Yield`-tagged endings are the routes where the protagonist lets something go. The route reads quieter than it should.

  • The Shift Does Not End (Yield)
  • Lane Leaves Before Closing (Resist)
  • BB Never Takes Off The Helmet (Resist)
  • Amelia Stops Calling (Forget)
  • The Cooler Goes Quiet (Glitch)
  • The Door Chimes After Closing (Yield)
  • The Door Stays Locked (Resist)

How to read this page. Each route group above contains endings that share a similar shape - the same kind of choice at a similar moment in the story. The endings within a group are not identical; they are the endings that tend to read similarly on the page. The exact ending you land on depends on the small choices you make in the scenes that lead into the late game. The endings tracker below lets you tick off each ending as you find it.

All Big Bad Dogs Endings - Tracker

Tick off each ending as you find it. Progress is saved to your browser separately from the play page tracker, so you can use both side by side without one overwriting the other.

0 / 14 unlocked

How To Think About The True Ending

The true ending of Big Bad Dogs is The Store Closes For Good. It is locked behind a specific route that the late game does not signpost for you.

You will not see the true ending on a clean first run unless you consistently choose one direction in the late-game scenes. The endings tracker below marks it with the End tag — when you unlock it, the tracker will record the unlock and reset the progress bar accordingly.

Most players find the true ending on their second or third run, after they have seen at least one of the other endings and have read the late-game scenes with the route shape in mind. There is no minimum chapter count for the true ending to unlock; the route is what unlocks it.

A clean first run will not see every ending. The endings tracker below is the most reliable way to keep track of which endings you have found and which routes are still ahead of you.

Key Choice Types That Shape The Route

The endings of Big Bad Dogs are not determined by a single choice — they are determined by a pattern of choices across the build. The features below are the parts of the game that most reliably shape that pattern.

Late-Night Convenience Store Horror

Big Bad Dogs is set in a 2009 Mad Dog Convenience store on the night shift. The dread is in the routine, the chime of the door, and the regulars who know your shift. Watch how this feature responds to your choices in the late game; it is part of what determines the route.

Psychological Romance, Not Supernatural

The threat is human. Lane is irritating, BB is calm, and the question of which one of them you trust more is the question the game keeps asking. Watch how this feature responds to your choices in the late game; it is part of what determines the route.

Three Routes, Multiple Endings

Endings land on different registers. The `Trust`/`Settle` routes read warmer; the `Forget`/`Yield` routes read quieter; the `End`-tagged routes read final. The exact tone depends on the small choices you make in the scenes that lead into the late game. Watch how this feature responds to your choices in the late game; it is part of what determines the route.

SHIFT 3 Story Content

Big Bad Dogs SHIFT 3 is the major story expansion returning players search for, with more route scenes, more choices, and more reason to revisit the store. Watch how this feature responds to your choices in the late game; it is part of what determines the route.

How The Branches Tend To Behave

Big Bad Dogs tracks 14 distinct endings across its routes. The branches are not all signposted — the late game tends to commit you to a route based on the small choices you make in the first half, and the route you take in the second half is the route you took in the first half.

There is a true ending — The Store Closes For Good — that is locked behind a specific route. You will not see it on a clean first run. The endings you can see in a single run depend on the late-game choices you make. Most players see 1-3 endings per run; covering all 14 usually takes 3-5 runs.

The endings tracker below is the most reliable way to keep track of what you have found. The tracker saves your progress in your browser, so you can come back to it across sessions.

Advice Before You Start Looking For Endings

  1. Play your first run on the route the game suggests. The point of a first run is to see what the game does, not to chase a checklist.
  2. Save manually at the obvious branch points. The route you take in the first half tends to constrain the route you can take in the second half.
  3. Read the late-game scenes at the pace the game is written for. The horror is in the small choices, and rushing them removes the build.
  4. Use the endings tracker below to mark what you have seen. The tracker is saved in your browser; you can reset it if you want to start fresh.
  5. Treat this page as a map of the territory, not as a script. The endings you find will land differently depending on how you read the game.

Walkthrough Questions

This page is a hint-based walkthrough for Big Bad Dogs. It explains how the routes split, what each route tends to land on, and how to think about unlocking the true ending — without writing out step-by-step choices. The full build is on the play page.

Big Bad Dogs has 14 tracked endings: The Shift Ends And You Walk Home; The Shift Does Not End; Lane Stays For The Second Shift; Lane Leaves Before Closing; BB Takes Off The Helmet; BB Never Takes Off The Helmet; Amelia Stays On The Line; Amelia Stops Calling; The Cooler Stays On; The Cooler Goes Quiet; The Door Chimes After Closing; The Door Stays Locked; The Store Closes For Good; The Store Stays Open. Most players see 1-3 endings per run; covering all 14 usually takes 3-5 runs.

Yes. The true ending is The Store Closes For Good, and it is locked behind a specific route. You will not see it on a clean first run unless the late-game choices line up. Most players find it on the second or third run.

The true ending is locked behind a specific route. Most players find it by playing through the late game with one direction in mind, then replaying after they have seen at least one of the other endings. The endings tracker below marks which endings you have found; the End-tagged ending is the true one.

Yes. Most players see 1-3 endings per run, and covering every ending usually takes 3-5 runs. The endings tracker saves your progress across runs in your browser.

No. The branches are not all signposted, and the late game commits you to a route based on the small choices you make in the first half. Replay is part of how the game is designed to be played.

The endings tagged Escape and Remember are usually the most reachable on a first run. The endings tagged End (the true ending) and Yield are usually the hardest to reach without planning.

No ending in Big Bad Dogs is permanently missable. The endings you do not see on one run are still reachable on subsequent runs; the endings tracker below is the most reliable way to keep track of which ones you have left to find.

Now go play Big Bad Dogs

The full build of Big Bad Dogs is on the play page. The walkthrough is the map; the play page is the territory.

Open Big Bad Dogs in your browser