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To protect progress in Everything, open the game’s save-selection screen, save or select the current slot, verify that it has updated, and quit normally. If the game leaves you stuck, the official FAQ recommends saving and reloading first, then using Settings → Restart Area to respawn as a new thing in the same area.

New animals, objects, plants, planets and other forms are unlocked through interaction rather than a fixed quest order: find a thing, inhabit or encounter it, move or sing until you bond with it, and confirm that it appears in the encyclopedia. Completing that encyclopedia unlocks a New Game Plus-type mode that begins from a random object.

The safest way to save in Everything

Everything does not have a published, universal button sequence for a manual save on every platform. The interface archive records a Select save screen in the game’s Menu/Stats area, so the most reliable procedure is to use that screen, confirm the active slot, and check that the slot has changed before leaving the game.

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  1. Open the in-game menu. Look for the Menu area that contains Stats and the Select save screen. Exact button names and controller prompts can vary between PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch editions.
  2. Open Select save. Choose the slot you want to use, or select the current slot if the game presents an explicit save choice. Do not assume that closing the menu alone has committed the latest discovery.
  3. Wait for the slot to update. Check for the game’s confirmation, changed slot information or other visible indication that the selection has been accepted. If nothing changes, remain in the screen and try the platform’s confirm button again rather than immediately quitting.
  4. Quit through the game’s normal command. Use the title’s own quit or return-to-title option instead of forcing the application closed. A normal exit gives the game the best opportunity to finish writing the selected save.
  5. Test the save when the progress matters. Reload the game and verify that your current form, encyclopedia entry or location is still present. This is especially useful after completing a rare bond or before attempting a reset.

The official Everything FAQ, written by David O’Reilly, gives the practical rule: “99% of problems are solved by saving & reloading into your game.” That advice is about recovery as well as preservation. When a form, area or interaction appears to be behaving incorrectly, save, reload and check again before trying more drastic measures.

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Does Everything autosave?

Public documentation does not state a save frequency, an autosave interval or a platform-independent rule for when every action is written. It is therefore safer not to treat a newly discovered form as permanently protected until you have used the save-selection screen and confirmed the slot.

The absence of a published interval does not prove that the game never writes automatically; it means that the available documentation is not precise enough to promise when an automatic write occurs. If you have just bonded with a form, changed an important location or finished a long session, perform the explicit save-selection check and then exit normally.

Saving on PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch

The official game page lists PC, Mac, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch editions. The in-game procedure is the appropriate choice on all of them, but the recovery options differ:

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Platform Recommended way to preserve progress What is documented
Windows, macOS or Linux PC Use the in-game Select save screen, verify the slot, then quit normally. For extra protection, copy the save-data folder while the game is closed. SteamDB lists platform-specific save-data locations (shown below).
PlayStation Use the game’s save-selection screen and normal quit command. Use the console’s own backup facilities if you need a second copy. No public, platform-specific manual-save button sequence is established.
Nintendo Switch Use the game’s save-selection screen and normal quit command. Do not power off while the game is writing. No public, platform-specific manual-save button sequence is established.

On consoles, players generally cannot browse the game’s internal save directory as they can on a computer. That makes the in-game confirmation especially important. If a console session is interrupted, restart the game and verify the encyclopedia and current form rather than assuming the last interaction was recorded.

Where are the PC save files?

SteamDB lists the following Everything save-data directory for the PC editions. These paths are useful for making a backup or diagnosing a damaged save; they are not a substitute for the in-game save command.

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Windows %USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/David OReilly/Everything/Save Data
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/David OReilly/Everything/Save Data
Linux ~/.config/unity3d/David OReilly/Everything/Save Data

How to make a safe PC backup

  1. Exit Everything through its normal command and wait for the application to close.
  2. Open the folder for your operating system from the table.
  3. Copy the entire Save Data folder to another drive or a clearly named backup folder. Include the date in the backup name so you know which encyclopedia state it contains.
  4. Keep the original folder untouched. If you later need to restore, close the game first and preserve the current folder before replacing it with the backup.

Do not edit individual files unless you have a specific, tested recovery reason. The documented paths establish where the data is stored, not which files are safe to modify or how the game validates them. A manual edit can make a previously usable save unreadable.

How to unlock animals, objects and other forms

Form unlocking is based on bonding, not on completing a conventional mission chain. The core loop is:

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  1. Find a thing. Explore until you encounter an animal, object, plant, geological feature, planet or another available entity.
  2. Inhabit or engage with it. Take control of the thing when the game allows it, or remain with it as an encountered form.
  3. Move or sing. The documented bonding behavior is to move or sing while controlling or encountering the form. Continue the interaction long enough for the game to register the bond.
  4. Check the encyclopedia. A successful bond adds the form to the in-game encyclopedia. Treat that entry as the confirmation that the discovery has become part of your progression.
  5. Save. Use Select save and verify the slot before leaving, particularly if the form was difficult to find.

There is no documented fixed order in which you must unlock forms. You do not need to follow a numbered animal-to-object quest line, and the game’s design does not make scores or required tasks the central progress system. Exploration and transformation are the organizing principles.

Why a new form may not be available immediately

If you cannot change into something you just encountered, first distinguish discovery from bonding. Seeing a thing is not the same as having its encyclopedia entry recorded. Return to it, inhabit or stay with it, and move or sing again. Then open the encyclopedia to check whether the entry exists.

Another possibility is that the form was bonded but the session was not saved. Save, reload and check the encyclopedia before searching for the thing again. If the entry is present after reloading, the bond is recorded even if the surrounding area has changed.

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Previously bonded forms can be selected again later. Their scale is adjusted to the current level, so a form may not appear at exactly the physical size you remember from the original encounter. That scaling behavior is normal and does not mean the game has forgotten the bond.

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What the encyclopedia tracks

The encyclopedia is the meaningful completion tracker in Everything. It records forms that you have successfully bonded with and provides a practical way to check whether an apparent discovery has become permanent progress.

  • Entry missing: the game has not registered a completed bond, or the progress was not saved.
  • Entry present: the form is available for later selection, with its scale adjusted to your current level.
  • Many entries but no new mode: continue filling the encyclopedia; the documented unlock is tied to completing it, not to reaching a stated score or a particular story chapter.

No authoritative source publishes a total number of forms or a guaranteed completion time. Because the game contains a broad range of things and does not expose a fixed quest order, completion length depends on how thoroughly you explore and how often you interact with unfamiliar forms.

What happens when you complete the encyclopedia?

Completing the encyclopedia unlocks a New Game Plus-type mode. Its defining difference is the starting point: instead of beginning with a predetermined opening form, the mode starts you as a random object.

This is a replay and exploration reward, not a requirement for ordinary form bonding. You can continue discovering and recording forms during a normal playthrough; the New Game Plus-type mode becomes relevant after the encyclopedia is complete.

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How to recover from a stuck area or broken-looking interaction

1. Save and reload first

Follow the official FAQ’s primary remedy. Open Select save, confirm the slot, quit normally, and launch the game again. Reloading can restore an interaction, refresh a form transition or place the game back into a consistent state without discarding the encyclopedia.

2. Restart the area

If reloading does not clear the problem, open Settings → Restart Area. The official FAQ says this restarts the current area and spawns you into a new thing in the same area. It is a reset-in-place option: use it when the immediate environment is the problem, not as a routine replacement for saving.

3. Check the encyclopedia after the reset

Before and after restarting, note whether the form you care about is already listed. An area reset changes your immediate situation; the encyclopedia is the better test of whether a bond has been recorded. If the entry remains, you do not need to repeat that discovery merely because the area was restarted.

4. Address low-frame-rate Disasters separately

The official FAQ warns that a low frame rate can create “Disasters.” These are a performance-related problem, not a progression mechanic and not a special way to unlock forms. If they appear, switch them off in Settings as the FAQ recommends. Saving and restarting the area address different problems, so do not rely on a Disaster setting as a save fix.

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Choosing the right protection for your goal

Goal Best first action Why
Resume a normal session Use Select save, verify the slot and quit normally. This is the least disruptive way to preserve the current run.
Fix a stuck area Save and reload; if necessary, use Settings → Restart Area. Reloading is the official first response, while Restart Area provides a documented in-place reset.
Protect a rare encyclopedia discovery on PC Save in game, quit, then copy the complete Save Data folder. The in-game save establishes the current state; the folder copy gives you a separate recovery point.
Confirm a newly unlocked form Move or sing to bond, check the encyclopedia, then save and reload once. The encyclopedia confirms registration and the reload verifies that it survived the session.
Start the replay mode Complete the encyclopedia first, then select the New Game Plus-type mode when it becomes available. The documented unlock is completion of the encyclopedia, with a random-object starting point.
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A practical completion routine

Players who want to fill the encyclopedia without losing discoveries can use this short loop whenever they meet an unfamiliar thing:

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  1. Approach the thing and determine whether you can inhabit it or interact with it as an encounter.
  2. Move or sing until the game has had an opportunity to bond with the form.
  3. Open the encyclopedia and look for the new entry.
  4. If the entry is absent, repeat the interaction rather than assuming the sighting counted.
  5. If the entry is present, open Select save and verify the slot.
  6. Continue exploring, using a normal quit after a substantial session or an important discovery.

This routine separates three events that are easy to confuse: seeing a form, bonding with it and saving the bond. Keeping those checks distinct makes it easier to diagnose why a form cannot be selected later.

Common questions about saving and forms

Can I unlock forms in any order?

Yes. The available documentation describes no fixed quest chain or required order. Find things through exploration and bond with them by moving or singing.

Will a bonded form keep the same size?

It remains selectable, but its scale is adjusted to the current level. A different size on a later selection is expected.

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Is Restart Area the same as deleting my save?

No. Restart Area is documented as restarting the current area and spawning you as a new thing there. It is an area reset, not a published instruction to erase your save data.

Can I restore a console save from a folder?

The documented filesystem locations apply to Windows, macOS and Linux PC installations. No equivalent console folder procedure is established, so use the platform’s in-game and system backup options.

Game context

Everything was created and self-funded by David O’Reilly over 3.5 years, according to his official page. Its progress systems reflect that design: the emphasis is on inhabiting and connecting with things rather than clearing a checklist of combat objectives. The official page quotes Alan Watts: “Whoever you are, whatever you are and where ever you are, you’re in the middle – that’s the game.” In practical terms, saving protects your place in that open-ended chain of transformations, while the encyclopedia records the forms you have made part of it.

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