Should you pick the Drug Store or Curiosity Shop in The Casting of Frank Stone?
We explain the big main difference between choosing the drug store or curiosity shop in The Casting of Frank Stone.
There are multiple choices throughout the entirety of The Casting of Frank Stone, but the choice to choose between the drug store or the curiosity shop has more layers than you might expect – even from a narrative and choice-heavy developer like Supermassive Games.
The choice between the drug store or the curiosity shop occurs in Chapter 3: A Curiosity on Main Street. You’ll be playing as Chris, alongside Jaime and Linda, with all three on the hunt for something, someone, and somewhere to fix their camera.
While it may not seem like a big deal to pick one or the other, things can play out very differently depending on which location the player chooses to go to first. So, which one is better, and why?
Drug Store, then Curiosity Shop
If you decide to go to the drug store first, Chris must convince Jaime to speak to the clerk. Jaime is a very charming character, but is also introverted compared to Chris. After a quick choice on whether to tease or not tease Jaime, he’ll eventually go to the clerk and ask if the camera can be fixed.
In the meantime, you take control of Chris and can explore the drug store. There are several collectibles in here, and even a neat little arcade machine right at the back where you can play Space Invaders.
Once you’re done exploring, you speak to Linda about your relationship with Jaime. Robert, a friend of the groups, also pops up during this section. Shortly after, Jaime returns bad news that the clerk can’t fix the camera. However, it isn’t all bad news as Robert lets them know of a different way to get into the Cedar steel mill and promises to help them with their movie if they can get their camera fixed.
Depending on how much money Bonnie gives in the previous scene, Jaime will also buy some firecrackers that can prove pivotal for future chapters.
After finishing up with the drug store, the group heads over to the curiosity shop. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like anyone is inside, and Chris will suggest that you steal a camera instead of buying one – with a mixed reaction from Jaime and Linda.
With no storekeeper around, you have little choice but to examine the store and see if anything might help. Like the drug store, there are several collectibles for you to find.
It’s only after you try and pick up a film reel that the storekeeper, an elderly woman, appears and offers assistance. She eventually finds you a camera, and the chapter ends there.
Curiosity Shop, then Drug Store
If you decide to go to the Curiosity Shop (named Endless Curiosities) first, Chris, Jaime, and Linda will encounter the storekeeper outside instead of being jump-scared by her later on. During this scene, you are immediately told that she has a camera that would work for the inspiring movie creators, but that she needs to go back and find it.
With you having the time to explore and find collectibles, it’s only when you talk to Linda about the camera does the storekeeper return. This scene plays out exactly as if you’d gone to the drug store first, with no notable difference.
However, instead of the chapter ending there, Chris will remember that she has to fetch milk for her mom and head to the drug store. Unlike before, Chris is the only one who heads inside, and the clerk who was there before is replaced by Robert. With this turn of events, we learn more about Robert’s love for all things horror and the weight that has been on his shoulders with his dad. Like in the other choice, Robert lets Chris know that he does know of another way into the Cedar steel mill and can show the others. Chris invites him onto the team and they celebrate, briefly, before they are interrupted by the arrival of Robert’s dad, Sam.
Sam apologizes to Chris for being so hard on them before and breaking their camera. There’s a moment when it seems he knows Chris and the others will try to return to the steel mill, but Sam doesn’t comment. Chris, Robert and Sam part ways and the chapter ends.
It should be noted that you can’t get the firecrackers in this version of events, as you’ve used up all your money for the camera in the curiosity shop.
Conclusion
In terms of trinkets and collectibles, it doesn’t really matter which of the two locations you pick first. However, if we were to pick depending on which scenario of events make more sense and contribute to the story, we would say to the drug store first, and then the curiosity shop second.
