Walkthrough
Use this guide as a route-first walkthrough. Because the official jam page notes that rules are randomly picked at the start of each level and are not explained, the safest guide is built around objective, active rule, route, mistake, and recovery patterns.
Evidence Status
No-spoiler quick hint
Do not touch the objective until you know your return route. Most deaths happen after the pickup, not before it.
Evidence screenshots
Read the active rule as a route command. If the sentence changes, your old safe lane may be wrong.
Do not cross open space until Cobb is offset and you already know the return path.
Treat switches, pickups, furnace steps, and exit triggers as state changes, not simple errands.
When reach, smell, duplicate, or restored senses are active, nearby hiding becomes a failure point.
General room route
Objective: Trigger the visible objective, then leave through the pre-planned exit lane.
Safe lane: Use the outside lane first, then cross only when Cobb is offset.
Failure point: Touching the objective before you know where to retreat.
The marked danger cells represent sight, smell, reach, duplicate pressure, or any lane Cobb currently owns.
Full solution format
Level objective: Learn the room language and confirm how Cobb reacts before the rules stack.
Active rules: Usually one active danger at a time, centered on movement and basic pursuit.
Safe route: Start by circling the outside edge, identify the exit, then touch the objective only after you know where you will retreat.
Common mistakes: Sprinting as soon as the level begins or backing into a corner while watching Cobb.
Recovery plan: Reset to the nearest open lane, widen the loop, and let Cobb follow the long side of the room.
These rooms teach the most important late-game habit: the shortest path is often the trap.
Level objective: Complete the required interaction while avoiding line-of-sight and noise punishment.
Active rules: Cobb Can See and Cobb Can Hear are the key search terms players struggle with.
Safe route: Use corners as checkpoints. Move from cover to cover, pause before a long crossing, then complete the interaction in one clean pass.
Common mistakes: Crossing open space because Cobb looks far away, or moving constantly after Cobb has reacted.
Recovery plan: Break visual contact first. If sound pulls Cobb, stop making direct progress and re-establish distance.
Once these two rules stack, survival depends more on timing than raw movement.
Level objective: Touch the room objective without letting Cobb's invisible range punish a close pass.
Active rules: Cobb Can Smell and Cobb Can Reach change what counts as safe distance.
Safe route: Choose the wide loop even if it is slower. Approach objectives from the side that leaves a long escape lane.
Common mistakes: Hiding one wall away, squeezing between Cobb and furniture, or assuming the sprite edge is the danger edge.
Recovery plan: If Cobb cuts you off, rotate around the room perimeter instead of reversing through the same tight path.
These rooms are why many players describe hiding itself as a risk later in the game.
Level objective: Finish the objective while more than one Cobb can affect route safety.
Active rules: Cobb Can Duplicate makes one-exit routing fail.
Safe route: Before touching anything, name two exits. Use the first route only if the second route stays open.
Common mistakes: Waiting in a corner, using a hallway with no branch, or committing to an objective when both threats are converging.
Recovery plan: Abandon the objective, pull the threats apart, then return from the wider side.
The duplicate rule is memorable because it punishes confident routes, not just slow reactions.
Level objective: Complete a multi-step room while old rules return or overlap.
Active rules: Move, see, hear, smell, reach, duplicate, and restored senses can all matter.
Safe route: Treat each pickup or switch as a new mini-level. Stop, re-read the current danger, then move to the next objective.
Common mistakes: Playing from memory, assuming the previous safe route still works, or trying to finish all steps in one rush.
Recovery plan: After any mistake, rebuild distance first. Objectives can wait; a closed route cannot.
The final rooms are less about a secret trick and more about remembering every lesson at once.
Spoiler control
Do not touch the objective until you can name the return route and one backup lane.
Play each room as objective -> rule -> safe lane -> backup lane -> recovery. If a state changes, stop and solve the new room before moving.
The final stretch is a memory test: earlier Cobb abilities can matter again, so a route that was safe before a pickup may become unsafe after it.
Death diagnosis
Likely cause: Cobb can see
Fix: Break line of sight before crossing and move cover-to-cover.
Likely cause: Cobb can smell or reach
Fix: Stop camping close. Use the outer loop and add more distance.
Likely cause: Cobb can duplicate
Fix: Your route had one exit. Pull one threat away before touching the objective.
Likely cause: Rule state changed
Fix: Pause after each interaction and rebuild the active-rule list.
Likely cause: Restored senses
Fix: Treat every final-room action as a new mini-level.
Rule Stack Cheat Sheet
Do not stand still in open lanes. Break sight, then move.
Line-of-sight and panic movement both punish you. Use short bursts.
Noise pulls Cobb, close hiding finishes the job. Create distance first.
Close passes and one-exit loops both fail. Keep a second lane open.
Late-game routes must be rebuilt after every objective.
Objective path plus exit path. If you only know one, wait.
Video cross-check
Channel: BigGaming64
Date/duration: YouTube public video, checked May 24, 2026; Runtime not exposed by oEmbed
Use this as a visual cross-check for early room rhythm and the title's rule escalation.
Channel: Fort Kenmei
Date/duration: YouTube public video, checked May 24, 2026; Runtime not exposed by oEmbed
Useful for comparing conservative routing against a full public run.
Channel: gamaverse.online
Date/duration: YouTube public video, checked May 24, 2026; Runtime not exposed by oEmbed
Good reference for late-game pressure and how quickly routes collapse.
Community Difficulty Notes
Across public comments, players consistently describe the last rooms as tense because older rules return while the objective still demands movement.
Level 6 is a common search target because direct paths stop working. The answer is usually a wider loop, not faster input.
The duplicate rule is memorable because it attacks confidence: a route that worked with one Cobb can collapse with two threats.
Players often notice that hiding later feels unsafe. That is usually smell, reach, or restored senses punishing close-range camping.
Many reactions frame the game as brief, polished, and unusually tense for a browser jam entry, which is why guide intent clusters around completion.
The ending lands because it asks players to remember every previous rule instead of solving a completely new mechanic.
Page FAQ
Use a loop-first route: identify the objective, identify the exit, then touch the objective only when the return lane is still open.
Public no-commentary style runs are useful for timing checks, but this written guide focuses on objective, rule, route, mistake, and recovery so it still works when a rule roll changes.
A pickup or switch can effectively create a new room state. Pause, rebuild the active-rule list, and avoid sprinting through the route that was safe ten seconds earlier.
People Also Search
Sources checked
Use: Official facts: developer credits, platform, input support, rating signal, screenshots, downloadable/browser builds, tags, and current public game metadata.
Authority: Primary official source
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Use: Version check: v1.7 is a small balancing update affecting smell, long pursuit acceleration, and rock stun behavior.
Authority: Primary official version source
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Use: Awards and credibility: #1 Overall, #1 Concept, #2 Presentation, #2 Enjoyment, #6 Use of Limitation, ranked from 58 ratings.
Authority: Official jam listing
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Use: Audience signal only: confirms a major creator episode dated May 21, 2026 with a 35:34 runtime. Not used as gameplay authority.
Authority: Third-party popularity signal
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Use: Timing reference for early room rhythm and general route pressure. Not treated as official gameplay documentation.
Authority: Specific public gameplay video
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Use: Route comparison reference for longer progression and late-game pacing.
Authority: Specific public playthrough video
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Use: Visual reference for late-game pressure and route collapse patterns.
Authority: Specific public gameplay video
Status: Checked May 24, 2026
Changelog
Guide feedback
If a route changes, a new ending is verified, or a control prompt differs in the current build, send the page and what changed. This helps keep the guide source-based instead of rumor-based.
Report a correctionSources and uncertainty
Facts such as developer credits, platform, version status, jam rankings, and rating signals come from official itch.io pages, the official v1.7 devlog, and the official Major Jam listing. Route advice is written in original wording from current build observations, public video cross-checks, and aggregated community pain points, not copied comments.
