What the sources establish
The launch announcement names the Playcare School experiments: Boogie Bot, Bunzo Bunny and CatBee as smaller experiments and Miss Delight as the Bigger Body experiment, and says one more of each type, not seen in the open beta, may appear. Patch 2 changed how CatNap pursues players. The developer has not yet published its promised encyclopedia of experiments and tools.
Launch announcement · 21 Oct 2026 ↗Official Patch 2 release notes · 28 Oct 2026; checked 30 Oct ↗Sourced details and our suggested next steps follow. Linked reports are observations, not verified fixes.
01 Miss Delight: keep her in view and in the light
Official: Miss Delight is the Bigger Body experiment in the Playcare School. Player guides agree on how she behaves: you can hear her heels before you see her, she kills a Critter she catches, and she stops moving while you keep her in view and in your flashlight beam. When you look away or move the light off her, she can rush you. Guides differ on whether looking is enough: one detailed guide says staring holds her until she causes a blackout, after which only the flashlight works until the blackout ends; two others say looking alone does not stop her. Use the light either way. Two guides mention Flares: one says a lit Flare keeps her back, the other found that inconsistent.
- When you hear heels, quietly warn the team and find her before moving on.
- Face her and keep the flashlight on her face.
- Back away toward a doorway, passage or elevator rather than a dead end (one guide's advice).
- Watch your battery: the flashlight drains while it is on.
Sources:
Launch announcement · 21 Oct 2026 ↗
Press hands-on (open beta) · 1 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
OSLink player guide · 24 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
02 Boogie Bot: stay out of its light, then throw something
Official: Boogie Bot is a smaller experiment. On 23 October the developer called him tough and balanced him, and its pinned community post quoted player reports asking why there are so many Boogie Bots. Player guides agree that it patrols, and when it spots you it sounds an alarm, charges and explodes. A thrown object that hits it before it spots you shuts it down briefly. Its blast can hurt players standing near the target, so do not bunch up during a chase. One guide adds that a direct blast is fatal and that the explosion carries through walls.
- Keep out of its line of sight and use furniture or walls as cover.
- If it has not seen you yet, throw an item at it to disable it briefly.
- If the alarm sounds, get distance and spread out.
Sources:
Launch announcement · 21 Oct 2026 ↗
Developer release update · 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Historical developer status; superseded by Patch 2 · 24 Oct 2026; checked 25 Oct ↗
Press hands-on (open beta) · 1 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Player guide (playtest build) · 22 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
OSLink player guide · 24 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
03 Bunzo Bunny: look up
Official: Bunzo Bunny is a smaller experiment. Player guides agree that it waits on the ceiling and grabs a Critter who walks underneath, and that a teammate can free the grabbed player by throwing an item at it. One guide says it only appears from Shift 4.
- Check ceilings before walking under them.
- Keep a throwable item so you can free a grabbed teammate.
- Call out a Bunzo you spot so others avoid that spot.
Sources:
Launch announcement · 21 Oct 2026 ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Player guide (playtest build) · 22 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
OSLink player guide · 24 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
04 CatBee: knock it off and cure the poison
Official: CatBee is a smaller experiment, and the 23 October plan says smaller experiments will scale with party size, with “no more CatBee swarms in a two player lobby”. That is a plan, not a shipped change. Player guides agree that CatBee buzzes around, latches on and poisons you, and that a thrown object knocks it off. A teammate can do it, and two guides say you can also free yourself by throwing an item up or at your own feet. Player guides agree that an Antidote cures the poison.
- Steer around a buzzing CatBee instead of walking into it.
- If one latches on, throw an item to knock it off, or ask a teammate to.
- Use an Antidote to cure the poison.
Sources:
Launch announcement · 21 Oct 2026 ↗
Developer release update · 23 Oct 2026 ↗
Press hands-on (open beta) · 1 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
OSLink player guide · 24 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
05 CatNap and the red gas: leave before the timer ends
Official: the 8 October update said red lights would flash when the red gas is released. Patch 2 changed CatNap so he keeps pursuing players affected by his gas even when they are unreachable, acquires his target earlier in his attack, and no longer loses sight of players on higher ground. Player guides agree that the red gas starts when the shift timer runs out and that you should be on your way out before then. One guide says it also starts as soon as anyone takes an exit. The launch announcement also lists CatNap as one of the four starting playable Critters; the Patch 2 changes refer to CatNap as a threat.
- Watch the shift timer on the HUD; it turns red under one minute.
- Head for the exit before the timer ends; the 8 October plan said red lights would flash once the gas is released, so by then it is already coming.
- Do not wait on high ground: Patch 2 says CatNap no longer loses sight of you there.
Sources:
Launch announcement · 21 Oct 2026 ↗
Developer update · 8 Oct 2026 ↗
Official Patch 2 release notes · 28 Oct 2026; checked 30 Oct ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Player guide (playtest build) · 22 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
06 Candy Cat: on the roadmap, behaviour disputed
Official: the Steam store roadmap lists a “Candy Cat Update” in its first-month column. Player guides agree that you can hear her wheels rattling or squeaking, but they disagree about what she does. One says she mostly leaves players alone and eats loot left on the floor. Another says she appears from Shift 5, fires a gumball that stops you moving and then bites; it says a thrown item stuns her and a teammate can free a gummed player. The roadmap lists a Candy Cat update, so her behaviour may change.
- Deliver loot to Barry regularly instead of leaving it on the floor.
- If you are stuck in place, ask a teammate to free you.
Sources:
Official store · Checked 1 Nov 2026 ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
07 Strikes: what happens when a shift fails
Official: the 8 October update said “demerits” would be renamed “strikes”, the term most player guides now use. Player guides agree that missing the quota earns a strike and that strikes reset after a successful shift. They disagree about three strikes: two guides, one written against the playtest build, describe a pit challenge where you climb while red gas rises; another says three strikes end the run. Check what your build does before assuming either.
Sources:
Developer update · 8 Oct 2026 ↗
VGTimes player guide · 29 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Player guide (playtest build) · 22 Oct 2026; read 1 Nov ↗
Steam player guide · Posted 25 Oct 2026, updated 31 Oct; read 1 Nov ↗
Limits of this guide
The developer has not published monster stats or its promised encyclopedia. Tactics come from player guides and one press hands-on, read on 1 November 2026; some were written against the open beta or playtest. We list a tactic as agreed only when at least two independent guides say it, and we mark single-guide claims and disagreements. Balance patches can change behaviour. We have not tested these encounters ourselves.