Nightwater Guide

Oasis Minigame: Boons, Memories, and Upgrades

The Oasis is the desert minigame in Nightwater. It hides the Boon of Growth and a memory behind the third shop. Both require you to explore beyond the obvious paths.

Updated · By Rowan Vale · Sources and further reading: Steam, guides, updates

Nightwater gameplay screenshot from the Steam store page
Screenshots © the game's rights holders, shown for reference.
On this page
  1. Getting to the Oasis
  2. Boon of Growth Location
  3. Hidden Memory Behind Shop 3
  4. Upgrades and Currency
  5. Tips for Finding Hidden Items

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Getting to the Oasis

The Oasis minigame becomes available once you reach the desert island in the main game. You unlock it by manifesting the first desert island, which also places a memory called Demands adjacent to the central stone column on that island. The minigame itself is entered from the desert area, and it uses its own currency called coin. You earn coin by playing the Oasis rounds, and you spend it on upgrades inside the minigame. The developer's notes say that the Oasis minigame had spelling and icon fixes in patch 1.0.10, and the oasis multiplier bug that could drop to -1 was fixed in 1.0.13. Players report that the Oasis farming minigame gives a plant farmer speed buff, which is one of the more useful permanent upgrades for the main factory. The minigame has three shop areas, and the third shop is where the hidden memory is located.

Boon of Growth Location

The Boon of Growth is one of the boons you can find across the minigames. It lives in the Oasis, specifically in the second shop area. According to the community guide, you need to head to the second shop area and look behind where the autoplanter sits. There you will see a small purple arrow glowing on the ground. Walk close to it and press and hold the E key. Holding E is the key for many hidden interactions in Nightwater, not just this boon. The guide notes that the hint for this boon is: if it appears out of place, attempt to interact with it by holding E. Once you activate the arrow, the Boon of Growth is added to your collection. Boons are tracked on a shelf in the underground room you start in, labeled Boons. The Boon of Growth effect is not described in the guide, but the shelf shows which boons you have unlocked. If you lose boons after loading a save, players report you can return to the original spots and pick them up again. Patch 1.0.13 fixed a bug where some boons would reset after loading the game.

Hidden Memory Behind Shop 3

The Oasis also contains a memory called Dust, which is one of the minigame memories. The community guide says you need to unlock the third area in the Oasis first. Once you have the third area, go behind the third shop. The memory is hidden there. The hint in the guide is: a healthy mind needs water, and you will need some coin to complete this. That means you must progress far enough in the Oasis to afford unlocking the third area, which likely costs a significant amount of coin. The memory will appear as a glowing object you can interact with. Collecting it adds it to the memory table in your spawn room. The memory table lists memories in the order found, and missing ones show as question marks. Prior to patch 1.0.13, ending memories did not show on the table, but that was fixed. The Dust memory is not an ending memory, so it should appear normally once collected.

Upgrades and Currency

Inside the Oasis, you earn coin by completing rounds. You spend coin on upgrades that improve your farming efficiency, such as plant farmer speed. The minigame has its own progression loop with items and upgrades that unlock buildings and buffs usable outside the minigame. The developer's patch notes mention that the infinity upgrade gold amount in the oasis minigame was increased in 1.0.13, and the oasis multiplier bug that could go to -1 was fixed. Players have noted that the Oasis minigame is one of the more useful ones for permanent buffs, especially the plant farmer speed. Unlike the mine minigame, which has a rare resource called Dusk Gold, the Oasis does not have a similar bottleneck according to the community guide. The guide does not list any specific upgrade costs or numbers, so you will need to check your own build for exact prices. The minigame is optional for finishing the game, but it is required for 100% achievements.

Tips for Finding Hidden Items

When exploring the Oasis, look for anything that seems out of place. For the Boon of Growth, that is the purple arrow in the second shop area. For the memory, it is behind the third shop. Both require you to hold E when close to the interactable. The community guide also notes that holding E for a few seconds is a general tip for many hidden items in Nightwater, not just these two. If you are having trouble finding the third shop, you may need to spend more coin to unlock it. The guide does not specify how much coin is needed. Also, remember that boons and memories are tracked separately. Boons appear on the shelf in the spawn room, and memories appear at the memory table. If you collect the Boon of Growth but later find it missing from your list, check the original location again, as players have reported that boons can disappear after loading a save, but they can be re-collected. Patch 1.0.13 fixed the reset bug, but if you are on an older build, you may still encounter it.

Last updated: . Game builds change; cross-check details with your installed version.