Once you've created and named your character, the scene shifts to Desperation Street, and your house at the end of it. This introductory section will be overseen by a disembodied narrator who will give you guidance through most of the challenges in the area.
Desperation St[edit]
5
First of all, pick up the rake by your house and then interact with the leaves on your lawn. You'll start raking them, only to be interrupted by a giant steam-powered robot which crushes your house. As you stand in disbelief, two men run past, in pursuit of the mechanical destroyer.
Once you're back in control, head to the right. You'll see, and have to fight, a pair of Fruit Fucker (Mark I) enemies, which serves as an introduction to the basics of combat. Wait for the attack gauge - the middle one - to fill, then attack each of the robots in turn. At this early stage of the game you'll need to hit each of the miniature robots twice to destroy them.
Once they're defeated, continue until the narrator points out the cat. Speak to it, and select "Pet the cat" or "Meow convincingly" followed by "Purr gently" to have T. Kemper join your party as a support character. His special move, Grooming (or Dooming) has a 1 in 2,104,294 chance of coughing up a devastating furball, but the rest of the time will deal only 1 HP damage to all enemies on screen.
There are another couple of Fruit Fucker (Mark I) enemies to fight on this panel as an introduction to the use of support characters; when you're done with them and have investigated everything, continue to the next panel, The Old Orange Tree.
As you pass the orange tree, the narrator will point it you and you'll automatically walk over to it. Click on the orange to pick it up, then walk towards the next pair of Fruit Fuckers to start another battle that instructs you on how to use Items. Throw an orange, and the robots will be distracted by it; one of them will get to interact directly, and the other will also lose interest in you momentarily. Attack the robot who's not using the orange first, as that will allow you to destroy one robot while the other is preoccupied.
After this fight you should have enough experience to level up and learn your first Special Attack, Grand Slam. You've also got an opportunity to try it out on another pair of Fruit Fuckers a little bit further down the street.
On the next panel, Desperation Elementary, walk over and talk to either Gabe or Tycho to have them join your party, after a brief introductory discussion; your dialogue options have little effect on the flow of the conversation. Gabe's first Special Attack, Unsporting Conduct is unlocked automatically. Fight some more Fruit Fuckers for an introduction to Team-Up attacks - your gauges and Gabe's are all filled when the fight starts - then pass onto the final frame of Desperation Street, Desperation's End.
There are quite a few Fruit Fucker (Mark I) enemies in this area; head over to the ones at the gas station to fight them. This is the first battle with a Roll For Initiative: every character on the battlefield rolls a d20, and the highest-scoring player receives a bonus. If one of your characters rolls a natural 20, all three of their action gauges will be filled immediately.
Additionally, this fight lasts significantly longer than your previous encounters and has your party facing off against a large number of enemies; this is the first fight where you should be keeping an eye on your own health and practicing your blocking.
Once you've killed all six of the Mark I robots, a Fruit Fucker (Mark II) will join the battle. With 50 HP he's a bit tougher than the previous enemies you've faced, but still shouldn't provide too much of a challenge so long as you watch your health.
Once the Mark II has been defeated, you'll have another conversation with Gabe and Tycho; insist on joining them in the hunt for the giant robot that destroyed your home and they'll gladly accept you onto the team. This will open the first case, Case 1: Up, From The Ashes and unlocks a new map location, Anne-Claire's Room.
The map is accessed by pressing 
or clicking on the 
icon in the top right, and selecting the Map from the Startling Developments screen.