Chapter 5, Challenge 6: destroy any police car before you escape
Chapter 5, challenge 6. So, destroy any police car before you escape.
It is the last of Chapter 5’s six challenges and the one most often called broken, almost always for a reason that is not a bug.
Also on the developers’ list
This is the last of the four story challenges IllFonic singles out as a consistent source of trouble. About all four, IllFonic says:
“Our team is investigating potential adjustments to make those specific challenges easier for players to overcome in future updates.”
Patches 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 did not change it, so the challenge still works as described here. Most of the trouble is the late tick rather than the task itself.
Why nothing pops when the car dies
The challenge checks at the end of the level, not at the moment the car is destroyed. That is why runs look broken: you wreck a car, nothing appears, you smash a second one looking for a pop-up that was never going to come, and then it completes on the escape. It does not show as completed until you are out.
Finding a car to wreck
There is no marked spawn. The suburb has several police cars, and you do not have to hunt for a specific one.
Parked
Cars sit around the streets. One is parked by the basketball court, in front of a house.
Driving
Some are in motion. Walk up to a moving car and start hitting it, and the officers pile out.
Summoned
Getting spotted brings the police, and with them a car. A wasted stealth run can be turned into this challenge.
Occasionally a run turns up no car at all before the exit. If that happens, it is the map and not you; try again on the next attempt at the chapter.
What actually breaks a car
Hit it until the hood pops up, and keep swinging until it smokes to be sure it is fully destroyed. There is no set number of hits.
- Bare hands are enough. A plain melee attack with nothing equipped wrecks a car.
- A thrown weapon should work too.
- You do not need the knife. Some players swear by it after a failed run, and using it costs nothing, but cars break without it.
- Some cars cannot be attacked at all. If a car gives you no prompt and takes no damage, walk away and find another rather than emptying a run into it.
When it really does not count
Two failures survive the “wait for the exit” explanation.
A finished run that still does not award it
Wreck every car you pass, so one car that did not register does not cost you the whole run. It is not a guarantee: a two-car run can fail where a one-car run works, and there is no known rule behind it. Treat extra cars as cheap insurance rather than a requirement.
Completions that do not survive the level
If the chapter reloads instead of completing, the challenges ticked in that run are not saved. Patch 1.0.4 fixed crashes after completing a story mission; if a chapter still restarts, see the story-mode note and keep your own record on the challenge tracker.
Loomis is the real cost
Smashing a car is loud. Police react, and the noise often pulls Loomis in, sometimes into an outright chase. If Challenge 5, escaping without Loomis detecting you, is still open, do not try to bank both in one attempt. Wreck cars in a loud run, then go back in for a quiet one.
Watch it register at the exit
Car wrecked, then the tick at the exit
Chapter 5 Challenge 6 Guide in Halloween The Game
JA Guides Gaming
Ninety seconds, and the last thirty are the part that matters: the car is already destroyed, the challenge is still unticked, and it completes on the escape.
Common questions
Chapter 5 Challenge 6 is not working. Is it bugged?
Usually not. The challenge does not tick when the car is destroyed; it ticks when the level ends. The normal sequence is car wrecked, no pop-up, escape, challenge complete. Keep playing to the exit before deciding it failed.
How many police cars do you have to destroy?
One, as far as the challenge text goes. Runs sometimes end without the tick, so wrecking every car you pass is cheap insurance. It is not a guarantee, though: a two-car run can fail where a one-car run works.
Where is the police car in Chapter 5?
There is no fixed spot. Several sit around the suburb, some are driving, and getting spotted sends the police out with another. The basketball court is a good place to look first.
Does the knife matter?
No. Bare hands break a car. Using the knife costs nothing if you want to be safe, but it is not required.
Can you do this in the same run as escaping undetected by Loomis?
You can try, but wrecking a car makes noise, the police react, and Loomis often arrives because of it. The cheaper plan is a car-smashing run and a separate quiet run for the Loomis challenge.
Keep going
All six Chapter 5 challenges
The pitchfork, the two flashlights, the officer in the Wallace House and the Loomis escape.
Chapter 2, Challenge 6
The alert-nobody challenge, and the on-screen word that decides whether a kill counted.
Challenge tracker
Tick all 36 off in your browser when the game forgets which ones you finished.