FAQ / Common questions
PANICORE FAQ
Does it really hear us talking, what happens when someone dies, why can we not find the key, and the other questions that come up in the first few runs.
1
Getting started
Q. What am I supposed to be doing?
Escaping the building. You play an urban explorer inside an abandoned location, and getting out means finding the items a given exit requires while an AI monster searches for you. There is no combat objective and nothing to defend.
Q. What should I pick up first?
A brick. Every monster in the game can be countered with one, and on the hospital map a fire extinguisher works the same way. After that, a hammer, because you cannot open the red wall box without it.
Q. Who made it and when?
ZTEK Studio, released on 31 May 2024. Reception has been mostly positive, and reviews frequently reach for Resident Evil as a comparison point for the atmosphere.
2
Being detected
Q. Can it really hear us talking?
Yes. It hears footsteps and it hears your voice. This is the single most commonly missed rule and it undoes groups who are used to shouting across a map in other co-op horror games. Speak quietly, briefly, and preferably from cover.
Q. Sometimes it walks right past me. Is that a bug?
No. On certain levels the monster is effectively blind and nearly deaf, and as long as you do not run it will hardly register you. Working out which kind of threat a map has early tells you whether you can move at a normal pace or have to creep everywhere.
Q. Where do I hide?
Cabinets, under tables, and unlit areas all function as hiding places. Hiding is not the fallback when running fails, it is the main defensive tool, and reaching for it early is what separates long runs from short ones.
Q. It is chasing me. Should I run for the exit?
Break line of sight instead. Corners and doorways beat open distance, because running in a straight line keeps you both visible and audible. Use the brick if it closes on you, then get inside something and wait rather than continuing to move.
3
Dying
Q. What happens when I die?
Death is permanent for that run. There is no health to manage and no respawn to plan around, which is why the game rewards caution so heavily. Every decision should be weighed against the fact that being wrong once ends it.
Q. Can I play alone?
Yes, solo play is supported alongside co-op. Solo removes the noise other players make, which helps, but it also means nobody else is holding a door code or carrying the item you needed.
4
Getting out
Q. There seem to be two ways out. Does it matter which?
A great deal. Every map has two exits, each needs its own items, and the monster you have to deal with differs depending on which one you take. Half-collecting for both is the most common way a promising run gets wasted.
Q. I cannot find the Emergency Door Key. Where is it?
Inside a red box mounted on a wall, behind glass, which you break with a hammer. There is no fixed room for it, because the box can spawn on any wall. Scan for it continuously from the start rather than beginning the search when you need the key.
Q. How long are the door codes?
Between three and seven digits, and nothing records them for you. Note where a code is, then read it properly from a position where standing still is safe. Memorising seven digits in the open is asking to be found.
Q. How complicated do the escape requirements get?
More than you would expect. One route on the submarine map calls for a valve, three tanks, a gas can and a lighter, with the lighter locked behind a colour-code puzzle whose pieces sit at random spots around the level. Assume several distinct objectives per exit.
5
Playing with other people
Q. How many players?
Up to five in online co-op, with the demo limited to four. More players search faster but also generate more noise, so the advantage is smaller than it looks.
Q. Should we stick together or split up?
Pairs work best. Moving as one block is loud and slow and lets a single bad corner end several runs at once, while scattering completely means nobody can pass an item or a code to anybody. Two pairs covers ground without either problem.
Q. Our group keeps failing for no obvious reason. Why?
Two likely causes. Either nobody agreed which exit to use, so the group collected half of each list, or people are talking at normal volume and effectively broadcasting their positions. Both are fixed with one sentence before you split up.
6
Difficulty and progression
Q. Which difficulty should I start on?
Easy is genuinely easy and normal is a reasonable place to learn a map, while hard is a real step up. Learn the layout somewhere forgiving first, because map knowledge is what makes the higher settings survivable.
Q. What is PANICORE+?
The hardest difficulty with an additional enemy on top. That removes the option of tracking where the threat is and routing around it, since knowing one location tells you nothing about the other. Attempt it on maps you already know well.
Q. What is money for?
Buying new maps and costumes, which makes escaping the actual progression loop. Documents are separate and only feed achievements, so pick those up in passing and never take a risk for one.
Q. Is any monster easier than the others?
Players at the top difficulties consider the woman from the sanitarium the most manageable, on the grounds that she is the easiest to outrun even at the hardest settings. On PANICORE+ you get two of her rather than one.
Summary
Yes, it hears your voice as well as your footsteps, and that single rule explains most early deaths. Death is permanent, so hiding in cabinets and under tables is the primary defence rather than the fallback, and a brick counters every monster long enough to reach cover. Agree on one of the two exits before splitting up, because the item lists do not overlap.
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