We Were Here Tomorrow Shrink Puzzle Guide: How to Solve It and Fix the Crouch Bug

The We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle turns you and your partner into pocket-sized explorers — and it's also home to one of the game's most dangerous bugs. Crouch while shrinking and, according to Total Mayhem Games' own support documentation, you may never grow back to normal size. That single mistake can softlock an entire co-op session, which is why so many players go hunting for a We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle fix instead of a walkthrough. This guide covers both: how the shrinking mechanic actually works, the exact trigger to avoid, and the developer-approved checkpoint reload that rescues a stuck run in minutes.

How the Shrink Puzzle Works in We Were Here Tomorrow

We Were Here Tomorrow is a two-player co-op puzzle adventure built entirely around communication. You and a partner talk through walkie-talkies, describe what each of you sees, and solve asymmetric challenges that neither of you can complete alone. The We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle is a standout example: your character can shrink down to a fraction of normal size, slip through gaps, and reach mechanisms your full-size explorer simply can't touch — then grow back to normal once the small-scale work is done.

That grow-back step is where the trouble starts, but before we get to the bug, a few design quirks are worth knowing. The developers confirm that most challenges have more than one valid solution: you might reach a platform with a tool, by climbing and jumping, or by solving a small side challenge that opens a new route. Temporal anomalies only respond when you're standing directly in front of them. Goop blocks stack into climbable towers, but you need open space on whichever side you attempt to scale.

One more quirk: proximity voice. You can hear your partner normally when you're standing close together, and the walkie-talkie interface only appears once distance makes direct hearing impossible. Knowing when that switchover happens saves a lot of "can you hear me now?" dead air in the middle of a timed puzzle.

The Crouch Bug: Why You're Stuck Small

Here's the single most important warning in this guide. Per Total Mayhem Games' official documentation, crouching while the shrinking effect is active can trigger a game-breaking bug: your character stays small and refuses to grow back to normal size. Once that happens, the We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle can't be completed, and your session is effectively softlocked.

To be clear, this is not a skill issue or a misread clue. It's a confirmed bug the developers have publicly acknowledged on their official known issues and solutions page, and they've stated it will be addressed in an upcoming patch. Until that patch arrives, the discipline is simple: keep your hands off the crouch button until the shrink animation fully resolves. Both players should know this rule before you start, because a softlock in a two-player game strands both of you at once.

Notice a pattern? Checkpoint reloads solve nearly everything. That's not a design flaw so much as the game's built-in recovery system — reloading pulls clean character and world data from the checkpoint itself.

How to Reload Your Checkpoint (The Developer-Approved Fix)

If the We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle leaves you stuck small — or any other bug halts progress — the official recovery method is a checkpoint reload. The menu path is slightly counterintuitive, so follow it exactly:

The reason this works is that the reload overwrites whatever broken state the bug created with fresh checkpoint data. Based on player experience, the whole process takes only a couple of minutes once you know the menu path — far faster than replaying an entire chapter. Make sure the host knows these steps before your session begins, because they can't re-select a checkpoint if they've already left the lobby.

Other Bugs That Masquerade as Puzzle Failures

Before you and your partner spend an hour convinced you're missing a clue, rule out the documented issues. Several known bugs look exactly like puzzle failures, and none of them are your fault:

Climbing deserves a special mention. Official notes confirm that climbing can feel inconsistent in places, but the developers state it should never block progression. If a climb won't register, try a different side of the platform, block, or terrain feature before assuming the game is broken. The same logic applies to Goop block stacks — insufficient clearance on one side is the usual culprit, not a glitch.

Communication Habits That Prevent Softlocks

The best fix for the We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle bug is never triggering it, and that starts with disciplined co-op habits. Two players who communicate clearly will finish puzzles faster and hit far fewer bugs than two players improvising.

Run through a quick pre-session checklist together:

• Confirm both players know the crouch rule and the reload steps
• Check that microphone input is detected and volumes are audible
• Set subtitles and spoken language to match, since mismatched settings can desync subtitle timing
• Decide who hosts, since only the host can re-select checkpoints

Audio settings deserve a final check, too. Players have reported that audio input settings don't always save when leaving the menu, that some voice lines and effects play too quietly, and that walkie-talkies occasionally vanish until a checkpoint reload. In a game where a missed callout can stall a puzzle just as effectively as any bug, a 60-second settings audit is cheap insurance.

FAQ

Why is my character stuck small in the We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle?

You've almost certainly hit the confirmed crouch bug. Crouching while the shrinking effect is active can leave you permanently small, and the developers have acknowledged it as game-breaking. The only current fix is to reload your checkpoint: main menu > Change > Start New Journey, then have the host re-select your last checkpoint. A patch addressing the bug is planned.

Does reloading a checkpoint erase my progress?

No. "Start New Journey" sounds final, but it simply returns you to the menu flow so the host can manually re-select your most recent checkpoint. You resume from that point with all earlier progress intact.

Is the shrink puzzle bug fixed yet?

As of the latest official support documentation, the crouch-while-shrinking bug tied to the We Were Here Tomorrow shrink puzzle is listed among known issues that will be addressed in an upcoming patch. Check the Total Mayhem Games support site for the current status before you play.

Can we finish the shrink puzzle if only one player is bugged?

Both players should reload together. Because the host re-selects the checkpoint for the entire session, a joint reload guarantees you both respawn in the same clean state — essential in a game where every puzzle requires two synchronized participants.