◆ Stage 1 — Scotland · Artifact 2 / 3 in Loch Ness

Sputnik Artifact — Where It Hides in Loch Ness

A polished metal sphere bristling with antennas, sitting on a cliff ledge deep in Loch Ness — the second artifact in the opening world, and the one most players swim straight past.

▶ TL;DR

Sputnik is the second of three Loch Ness artifacts in Scale the Depths — a little Soviet-satellite replica tucked onto a rocky cliff ledge well below the kelp canopy. MrLeLedg's 100% walkthrough hooks it at the 2:50 mark, after Nessie (1:20) and just before the legendary-fish prep. Descend past the kelp-canopy pillars, look for the yellow flag on the ruined wall to the right, and the antenna-studded sphere is sitting on the cliff ledge to the left. Hook it and retract — no fight, no scaling.

▶ Clip2:50 – 3:00 (10s)·Video by MrLeLedg·Watch on YouTube ↗

◇ Step-by-step pickup

  1. Continue your Loch Ness dive past Nessie.

    Sputnik is deeper than Nessie in the same opening world, so grab Nessie first if you're going for 100%. You still don't need any line upgrades — Sputnik is reachable on a standard Loch Ness run.

  2. Drop through the open mid-water and find the kelp canopy.

    Below the sunlit surface stretch, the loch narrows into a forest of kelp-canopy pillars — mushroom-shaped weed platforms balanced on tall stalks. This is the landmark in frame 2 above. Steer the line straight down between two of the pillars.

  3. Spot the yellow flag on the ruined wall.

    As you descend past the kelp, a sunken stone ruin opens up. A tattered yellow flag is planted on the wall to the right — that's your confirmation you're at the right depth. Sputnik sits on the opposite side, on the rocky cliff to the left.

  4. Aim for the cliff ledge on the left.

    The left wall is a brown rock cliff with a flat shelf jutting out. The Sputnik sphere rests on that shelf, half-tucked into a clump of green weed. It's small and grey, so it reads as part of the rock until you're close.

  5. Hook the antenna-studded sphere.

    This is the moment in frame 4 above. It's a static object — no struggle bar, no scaling. Drift the hook onto the sphere and the 'Artifact' counter in the top-left ticks up immediately. The four little antennas are the giveaway that you've got the right object.

  6. Retract (R) up and to the right.

    The return path climbs back up past the ruin, where a red fish and more shoal fish drift. Artifacts only bank when you successfully resurface — don't snap your line on a fish on the way up, or Sputnik resets to the ledge.

◐ Walkthrough Keyframes

Drop your line into the open mid-water stretch. The sunlit surface and the scatter of fish markers tell you you're still above the kelp layer — Sputnik is well below this.
2:50Drop your line into the open mid-water stretch. The sunlit surface and the scatter of fish markers tell you you're still above the kelp layer — Sputnik is well below this.
Descend between the kelp-canopy pillars — the mushroom-shaped weed platforms on tall stalks. Thread the line straight down between them; the ruin opens up below.
2:53Descend between the kelp-canopy pillars — the mushroom-shaped weed platforms on tall stalks. Thread the line straight down between them; the ruin opens up below.
Your landmark: a tattered yellow flag planted on the ruined wall to the right. When you can see the flag, the Sputnik ledge is on the rocky cliff to your left.
2:56Your landmark: a tattered yellow flag planted on the ruined wall to the right. When you can see the flag, the Sputnik ledge is on the rocky cliff to your left.
There it is — the grey antenna-studded sphere sitting on the cliff ledge, nestled in a tuft of green weed. Drift the hook onto it to trigger the pickup.
2:58There it is — the grey antenna-studded sphere sitting on the cliff ledge, nestled in a tuft of green weed. Drift the hook onto it to trigger the pickup.
Hook engaged on the satellite. The artifact counter ticks up the instant the line touches it — now retract up and right, past the red fish, back toward the surface.
3:00Hook engaged on the satellite. The artifact counter ticks up the instant the line touches it — now retract up and right, past the red fish, back toward the surface.

✦ Tips

  • Sputnik is reachable on the starting line — no upgrades needed. If you're doing a clean Loch Ness 100% run, grab Nessie at 1:20 first, then continue down to Sputnik.
  • The yellow flag on the right-hand ruin wall is the single most reliable landmark. If you can see the flag, stop descending and look left for the cliff ledge.
  • Hold L (mouse-lock) for the final approach. The sphere is small and grey against grey rock, so a locked, steady line lands the pickup far more reliably than free-drifting at it.

⚠ Warnings

  • The Sputnik sphere is grey on grey rock and easy to mistake for part of the cliff. Look for the four thin antennas poking up out of the weed — that silhouette is the artifact.
  • Don't chase the red fish near the ledge before you've banked Sputnik. Hooking a fight fish here risks snapping the line and resetting the artifact.
  • Retracting before the 'Artifact' counter changes counts as a miss. Watch the top-left counter tick up, then pull the line up.

⌕ Common Questions

I found Nessie but I can't find the second Loch Ness artifact.
That's Sputnik, and it's deeper than Nessie. Keep descending past the kelp-canopy pillars until you see the yellow flag on the right-hand ruin wall, then look at the cliff ledge on the left. The grey sphere with antennas is the one you want.
I see a grey lump on the ledge but my hook won't pick it up.
Make sure you're touching the sphere itself, not the weed or rock beside it. The pickup box is tight — hold L to lock the line and nudge the hook directly onto the antenna cluster, then watch the 'Artifact' counter.
Do I need to get Sputnik in the same dive as Nessie?
No. Loch Ness artifacts don't have to be collected in one run — each banks independently toward the Stage 1 count. But since both are on the starting line with no upgrade needed, most players grab Nessie then Sputnik on the same descent to save a trip.

★ What you get

Completion
Counts toward the Loch Ness 100% Secrets achievement — the second artifact tick in the run.
Endgame impact
Combined with Nessie and the third Loch Ness artifact, completes the Stage 1 secrets set.
Sells for
Sputnik cannot be sold. Artifacts exist for lore and 100% completion only.

✎ What Players Are Asking

Real questions from Steam Community discussions, archived as they appeared.

  • “4 distinct locations inspired by real-world places: Loch Ness, Huatulco, the Outer Banks, and Point Nemo.”
    — GamesPress (launch coverage)·Press coverage·2026-05-28

    Why this matters: Loch Ness is the first of the game's four real-world-inspired stages. Its artifacts mix the local legend (Nessie) with out-of-place curiosities like Sputnik — which is exactly why collectors come looking for a checklist of what's actually down there.

⌬ Related Secrets

Artifact 1 of 3 in Loch Ness — grab this one first, higher up the loch
Nessie — the first Loch Ness artifact →
1:20 in the Loch Ness walkthrough
Full world breakdown — every Loch Ness artifact, switch and secret
Loch Ness — Stage 1 Overview →
Index of every Stage 1 secret
The master index across all four worlds
All Secrets — Every World →
Loch Ness → Huatulco → Outer Banks → Point Nemo
The other 'salvaged sphere' artifact, in the endgame world
Loaded Support Sphere — Point Nemo →
1:15 in the Point Nemo walkthrough
Why there's a Soviet satellite at the bottom of Loch Ness

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 — a polished metal sphere just 58 cm across with four trailing radio antennas that beeped a signal any amateur operator could pick up. That single beep started the Space Age and triggered the Space Race. It only transmitted for three weeks before its batteries died, and burned up on re-entry on 4 January 1958, so no original ever survived. Dropping a replica into a Scottish loch is pure Glass Gecko mischief: the game's artifacts are a scrapbook of 20th-century myths and machines, and Sputnik is the machine that made everyone look up — parked at the bottom where everyone's looking down.