It Steals: The (Mostly Complete) Guide to Survival and Completion

A mostly complete guide by me, who has 100%'d the achievements and thinks he has a slight idea of the game's mechanics (wrong)

Introduction

Welcome! If you're reading this, you've most likely either just picked up the game and have no idea what you're doing or you want a better idea of how the game works. Well, look no further! I've spent quite some time playing the game and have developed a relative idea of each monster's movement patterns, behaviors, and bits of information to help myself (and maybe you) to get through without too much trouble. Do be aware though that there are guides built into the game itself, which don't reveal too much about each level, just enough to figure out the basics. I've not taken too much care to trim spoilers. This is everything I know.

Oh, and a reminder that this game does what it advertises, and does it very well. The antagonist of each level has several hidden secrets and inner workings to the point that I can say with a high level of confidence that I will never completely understand what makes it work, nor will anyone who hasn't explicitly checked and understood the game's code. Therefore, this guide will be updated often with new things I and other people have learned about the game. If you see something I missed, let me know, and I'll try to include it.

Classic Mode

You begin in the middle of a sprawling labyrinth almost completely empty, save for some furniture, the precious blue glowing orbs, and the monster, whose name is Legs.

You have two tools at your disposal: Your flashlight, and the Radar. So lets talk about those :

The flashlight is exactly what it sounds like. There are next to no lights in the maze, so it is almost necessary for navigation. If pointed at the monster, it will scare him away, at least most of the time. More on that later.

The radar serves as a sort of map. Up on the radar is forward, and it can be rotated. It shows the location of orbs, yourself, and occasionally shows the position of Legs. The radar has a tendency to show passages and walls that aren't really there, but it does not lie about the orb positions. Use it to find them.

Your goal is to find and collect all 14 blue orbs scattered around the maze. The orbs will emit a high pitched sound that indicates their presence, so listen for this noise to find them. Once you collect 2 orbs, the game will tell you that you must collect 200 orbs. This is not the case; the last two orbs hold the key to your escape.

Running is optional, but not recommended. Doing so alerts Legs to your position. Only run if you have to!

Legs is no ordinary horror game creature. He is afraid of your flashlight, and will run away if he is flashed. He will never attack you from a set position, instead stalking you on your trip through the maze. He will always try not to come at you from a direction you are looking at, though you may still intercept him through the corridors in front of you on occasion. Listen for him, as he makes noises when he gets close, and his eyes glow faintly at the ends of the checkered halls. If he reaches you without being flashed, blood will appear on your screen, and if he reaches you again, it's game over. After roughly three times being flashed by your flashlight, Legs will stay completely still and flash a prompt on your screen that says RUN. You have about 4 seconds to make distance before he charges you.

This enraged phase of Leg's isn't much to worry about. His running speed is close to yours, so he cannot meaningfully catch up to you unless you make a mistake. Watch out for dead ends! In the event of reaching a dead end in this phase, always try to escape; it's a better option to losing, by a long shot. This phase is life or death, as he can instant kill you if he reaches you. When the chase music stops playing, the game will resume as normal.

If you run into a wall with an X on it, keep running towards it. It will vanish and the maze will laugh, and you will be saved.

You will only ever survive one enraged phase. The second enraged phase makes him go berserk, running much faster than you, unrelenting in his chase. Listen for his howl and find the last orbs as quick as you can!

That isn't it though, as legs has a few behaviors to keep you on your toes. Once you are down to at least 6 orbs, his red eyes can flash blue and he will play the sound that indicates that an orb is near. If the blue light moves, it is not an orb. He is not guaranteed to do this every game, but the chance of him doing it increases slightly for every orb collected. It mostly only happens around 1-3 orbs remaining. Keep your eyes open.

Once 1 orb is left, glowing red eyes can appear on every wall, imitating his own. Once again, this is not guaranteed to do this. He can use this ability in conjunction with his orb mimicking behavior as well. This can also rarely happen at the start of the game.

Shutter Mode

Shutter mode is very similar to classic mode, yet much higher in difficulty. Although you must only collect 9 orbs to win compared to classic mode's 14, the difficulty is heightened by the removal of the flashlight. You are instead armed with a camera.

The camera can be used to scare the monster away, as the flashlight does. It can also be used to completely illuminate a room. Its main drawback is batteries. The camera is charged to maximum at the beginning, leaving exactly 10 camera uses before batteries run out. The battery meter on the side of the screen will turn red when one charge remains. At all costs, do not use the camera when one charge remains, as Legs will become enraged and you will have no method to fend him off.

Collecting orbs recharges the batteries by one charge, meaning you have a maximum of 19 charges in the level. Do not use them unnecessarily. The batteries may not be a problem for you, seeing as on a normal level it tends to never drop below three charges.

As previously stated, Legs behaves differently in this level. He is slightly more aggressive and hunts you from the start. Do not open the radar until you have flashed him once, or he will catch you early. Because sight is decreased, Legs will still approach from angles you are looking at, though note that his eyes are not illuminated unless he is close to you. Because of the lack of light, Legs will be much louder to aid you in flashing him before he finds you. Headphones recommended, because the audio is directional.

The enraged mode in this level is different and more difficult to identify. The RUN prompt does not appear. Instead, he just stands completely still, with the usual timer before he charges and his signature growl. Do not underestimate this phase. In shutter mode, he is now significantly faster than you while chasing. Make distance and flash the camera on him to stun him. This will usually need to be done 3-4 times before he looses interest and the chase ends. As with classic mode, chase 2 is death. The camera will not help you.

As the only illumination other than the camera is a small circle of light around you, stay close to the walls. This will help you navigate easier and can limit the angles from which Legs can attack you. Again, running is not recommended, but doable if you're careful. Run and listen for it.

Hide And Seek

This mode is, again, very different from classic mode. The monster in this mode is unnamed (at least judging from the information given to us) so for the purpose of this guide we will refer to him as Edward.

This mode gives us a few new abilities. For one, we are now able to crouch, and we are able to turn off our flashlight.

Edward hides as a black and white lump, pictured here:

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1821155945555370933/B41F4A8FA20CB54BB55C56B098C9D2730DB3CCE2/?imw=256&&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false

This is Edward's hiding form. There are two conditions to the activation of this form:

- Looking at it from afar for an extended period of time while your flashlight is on will cause it to activate. If your flashlight is off, this condition is ignored for the most part.
-Coming too close to it will cause it to activate. This distance is similar to that of the natural illumination in Shutter Mode.

Note that in his hiding phase, he will constantly reposition himself, so memorizing his position is a waste of time. His repositioning will become more frequent until found. Do not find him, at all costs.

Position swapping is largely dependent on your position. Chances are if you move, he's also moved. That doesn't make the room safe though, because he will move back after detecting you're in the proximity for him to do so. This can sometimes lead to being trapped inside certain corridors on the map, risking activating his second phase on the way out.

When found, phase 2 of the Hide and Seek mode will begin. Now Edward is "It," and he will give you five seconds to find a hiding place. Make as much distance as you can in this time. Crouch to make less noise. You can keep your flashlight on, unless you can hear him close to you, indicated by the siren noise. If you hear this, find somewhere to hide, crouch and turn your flashlight off. Do not stay in this position for too long. As soon as he leaves, depart in the opposite direction, if any.

Because of the way the radar works, the light Edward produces is able to be seen by the radar in phase 2, indicated by a red glowing circle. You can crouch while using the radar, so use this to your advantage to look out for him in the early parts of phase 2. Do note that the radar's distance is quite exaggerated. He is always closer than he looks.

Using the radar also becomes riskier as phase 2 progresses, but then again, so does everything else. As the phase goes on, Edward will become faster and more impatient. This is indicated by his footsteps getting faster. This is probably the best time to stay put. He becomes more sensitive to sound, the use of the radar will draw him to your position, and he will relentlessly check the area he thinks you are in, checking more carefully each time he does.

This checking behavior can often lead to a behavior pattern in which Edward will narrow your position down into the map border and eventually the corner, so try to stay in the middle of the map. It's hard to tell on the radar, and once he starts doing this the radar won't be doing you any favors, so a big priority should be to locate the center as soon as you can.

Phase 3 of this level begins when Edward finds you, emitting a victory screech and flashing the prompt THERE YOU ARE! on the screen. As soon as he does this, make as much distance as you can. Edward can occasionally burst through walls, indicated by a banging sound, so always try to run a straight path to prevent him from making distance in this way. Do not slow down.

As previously stated, Edward basically runs in a straight line towards you, politely telling every wall in his way to kindly shove off. In this phase its probably beneficial to be on the sides of the map, as long corridors of sorts connect the corners. Also worth noting that the demolished walls do stay demolished. Some of you might be able to take advantage of that.

When the music stops playing, you have become "It" again, and Edward begins to hide once again.

It is also worth noting that while phase 3 Edward is visible on the radar, using the radar is this phase is not recommended.

The safety of using the radar is conditional. Phase 1 is the safest to do so, since he's not looking for you or anything. Phase 2 shows him on the radar, but can also reveal your position to him in the later stages. In phase 3 you can just forget about it.

The radar can also help find alternative ways through an area where Edward is hiding. Alternatively, to get through an area where he is, turn off your flashlight and walk close to the wall of the room until you reach the exit, if possible.

In the endgame, Edward often hides next to orbs to make you find him. In the event that this happens, you can either try to collect the orb with your back to him, or wander far away from the orb to bait him into switching spots.

If you somehow manage to get through the game without finding him at all, at 1-3 orbs he will jump up from his current hiding place and flash the prompt PLAY WITH ME! BAD SEEKER! This will skip from phase 1 into a more intense phase 3. Advice for that phase applies here. Make distance and do not stop.

Living Halls

Possibly the most difficult game mode in the game is living halls, combining several mechanics into a very challenging experience. There is no longer just one monster, there are several, blending perfectly into the wall. Along with your flashlight and radar, you are armed with a new tool, the sensor, which can be used by pressing the space bar.

The sensor is the most valuable tool, as it does two very important things :

- It acts as a timer, displaying 120 seconds until 0. It is useful to keep track of this time, because at 0 you need to be hiding inside of a vault to live. At ~30 seconds remaining the flashlight will break and begin to dim. At 0 most wall monsters will enrage and begin to chase you.

- It also, as the name implies, acts as a sensor for the many creatures in the wall. By default the screen is black and faintly green. It will become dull green if there is a dormant creature detected, and bright green if a creature likely to attack is detected. It will beep if it detects an attacker, and beep faster depending on proximity.

There are three vaults : Vault A, Vault B, and Vault C, all placed at a mostly equal distance from each other on the map. You will always begin inside of a vault, though which vault you spawn in is random. After the vault has been used once, it will die, indicated by the sounds of it shutting down. A dead vault's door will not be able to be closed again, and the creatures will still be able to enter.

You must be inside of a vault when the sensor's clock hits 0:00, or most wall monsters will enrage and lock on to your position. You can still get inside of the vaults at this point but it is quite difficult. Do not open the door until the clock starts counting down again, no matter what they tell you.

The clock will take about 5-15 seconds on average to reset. This can vary, however, as some random events can happen while you wait inside the vaults. These include

- Ominous messages which play the CORRUPTED SIGNAL sound as it is referred to in the sound test. These say things like "WE KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE COME OUT AND BECOME A PART OF THE MAZE," "LET US IN,' "COME OUT IT'S SAFE COME OUT IT'S SAFE." This is sort of the monster's way of communicating with you in a similar manner to Legs and Edward flashing text in the center of the screen.

- Growling can be heard outside of the vaults. This can last for a little bit and lengthens the time it takes to reset the clock slightly longer.

- The monsters will begin to toy with the vault door. This will also lengthen the reset time slightly.

The sensor's sensing functionality won't be of much value to you, because any monster that intends on attacking you will awaken when you get close, and the sensor will quickly beep even when not being used if a would-be attacker is near. If it intends on attacking you, it will remove itself from the wall and begin to shuffle towards your position, making a great amount of noise while it does so. Think of it like SCP 176 or a weeping angel, freezing when looked at and moving forwards when your gaze is not focused upon it. Note that this effect is not present when it becomes enraged, indicated by red eyes revealed and a bright red light emanating from the creature(s).

Also note that multiple creatures can be enraged at once and they can corner you in this way, emphasizing the importance of keeping them at distance.

Running increases their chance to attack you, though it can be vital to save time. A big gamble to take, but one that could surely pay off. This becomes a riskier strategy for every orb you collect. There are 19 orbs in total.

The Phantom

The 5th and final gamemode features the Phantom, Presumably the creature at the end of Classic Mode, who has a whole new set of mechanics and is quite severe in difficulty.

The phantom is invisible, however to it you are also invisible. The maze is littered with furniture which it will toss around while navigating the maze looking for you. Press space to hold your breath to avoid detection. If it finds you, you can both see each other and it will lead to a fatal chase which ends only under one of two conditions: You finish the level or you catch it with a device.

Devices can be planted by left clicking. You only have two and they take a while to charge up, but when active can send the phantom to the other side of the maze while it is chasing you, disengaging the fatal chase mode. Use them sparingly! It helps to place one where you initially start off and save the other until you trap it with the first. Place the second in an area you often cross. At all costs, don't get lost.

Shuffling furniture around will make noise and attract the creature to you. Though inevitable most of the time, try to avoid doing so. Do not run at all unless being chased. It is faster then you are, even when not engaged.

In the event that it does notice you, it will play a low pitched beep indicating that it has heard you and is going to inspect that area. This sound is titled I HEARD THAT in the sound test screen.

Remember to always try to make use of the devices. If the monster begins to repeatedly checking the room which you are in, start making your way to the nearest one.

It helps to also play by sight. Since holding your breath is timed, do not do so unless you are certain it is in the room with you, indicated by the tossing of furniture.

Think like the phantom does. There are three questions you should ask yourself when entering a room:

1. Has it been in this room previously?

Look for out of place furniture. Because it usually stays in the middle of a room/hallway, furniture is usually moved to the side, creating a bread crumb trail of sorts. If it has been in this room, it may be close to you.

2. Is it near me?

Listen for it. Try to determine from the moved furniture or sounds where it went.

3. Is it in the room with me?

This can be easily confirmed. If the answer is yes. hold you breath until the answer is no.

Not really a whole lot of strategies for this one. You might get lucky once. Just play carefully and watch/listen for it.

Secret Game Modes

Because these are secret, I'll let you find out how to unlock them yourself (Unless you don't care, in which case, click the stars you've earned under the first three modes. Phantom and Living halls do not have one). The game also tells you how to do this after you beat all other modes, assuming you haven't attempted a secret mode already. Ideally, you'll want to have beaten everything else first, because these do require a lot of skill.

THE LABYRINTH

Hard mode version of classic mode. Legs is significantly more aggressive, the map is twice as big (and outside this time), and you must collect 40 orbs. Legs will spawn once you have collected 7, or 33 remaining. The radar gives you a full view of the map this time, not just the spots close to you, so use this to your advantage.

Also, forget everything I've previously said. Run everywhere. The maze is twice as big and, with his already irate AI in this mode the running aggro does not make much of a difference.

When you hear him, and you will definitely hear him, try to back yourself into a corner and point your flashlight in both directions he could potentially come from. If you spend slightly more time pointing in one direction, this will persuade him to enter through the other direction, allowing you to flash him there. Use the downtime to collect orbs before he goes into another temper tantrum, then simply rinse and repeat.

His enraged phase is brutal and unforgiving. His running speed is similar to yours again, but this time the whole maze darkens and your flashlight breaks. On the second enraged phase, he will not go berserk, but the labyrinth will begin to tilt. This can also happen on the subsequent chase phases, and there can be subsequent chase phases.

There's no general tips for the enraged phase other than try not to become disoriented. The best way to do this is to stay close to the wall while running from him so you can see where to turn. That flashlight ain't gonna last.

On occasion, instead of the game playing normally, the run phase will begin, Legs will spawn immediately, and the enraged phase will play similarly to the berserk phase from classic mode. It's only ever happened to me once so I'm not very sure how to deal with it, or if dealing with it is even plausible.

SHUDDER MODE

I'm just gonna put it out there: Shutter mode ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks. Be prepared to set aside time for this. You aren't going to have a high success rate, unless you use THE CHEESE STRAT (tm)

The level is larger than shutter mode normally is, and the orb count has doubled from 9 to 18. Legs will not spawn in until you have collected two orbs, or until you run out of batteries. This will become important information later.

Contrary to Shutter mode, the map is mostly comprised of large rooms, as opposed to claustrophobic hallways. Try to stay in these large rooms as much as possible, as Legs is at a large advantage when he is attacking you from these hallways.

Standing against a wall to fend him off is borderline necessary in most scenarios, however it will also get your ear nibbled on in most scenarios, so the best walls to choose are ones which are not connected to any entrances, and, ideally, facing any entrances Legs could potentially pass through while attempting a nibble. Once you find the spot you know the drill.

Other than that it's not much different than shutter mode.

Is this all too much ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ for you? Not to worry, my dear completionist, because I have the perfect solution for you: CHEESE

Recall that Legs only spawns on this mode once two orbs have been collected. While attempting this strategy, do your best to not collect ANY orbs until you've completed described setup. It doesn't make the glitch impossible but it does make it much more difficult attempting it while Legs does his best to be a pain in your ass.

First, start looking for one of those metal shelves. We're looking for one of, I believe three, specific ones. These are positioned in corners, in such a way as to allow you to enter, and disallow Legs from entering. Extremely convenient.

Get in the gap and start flashing your camera rapidly, as to deplete the batteries. This, as you may recall, will force spawn him and make him enrage instantly.

What you'll notice is that he can't get to you. What you'll also notice is that he will counterattack by defiling your ears in a most unholy manner, so, you know, turn that volume down.

He will glow red for a little while, until he doesn't. Once he stops glowing, go ahead and c o l l i d e with him. Once you have exited the spot, he will have fused with you, but you will not be taking damage. Now you are free to collect the orbs.


THE JUNKYARD

Hard mode Hide and seek. 52 orbs must be collected to win. The map is much larger, and instead of checkered halls, tons of furniture line the map and form a maze of their own. These are quite advantageous: Edward cannot break through these, and you can see over them. Because he produces light when looking for you, you can almost always tell his position.

The problem is that it is much harder to navigate. Edward favors hiding near orbs in this gamemode, so you may have to leave some behind.

I honestly find this mode easier than Hide and Seek, simply because he's easier to see before you go somewhere because of the light. It's not going to be difficult to not find him for the whole game, but you'd better hope you don't, because his chase phase is, say it with me, much more unforgiving.

The third phase is interesting. a much higher speed than you, but cannot burst through furniture like he would burst through walls in normal hide and seek mode. His pathfinding is mediocre and his movement is clumsy, so do try to run a complex path from him. This phase will only end if he is close to you, for about 10 seconds at a time. It'll also kill you if it gets too close, so don't go trying to forcibly end the phase. He'll catch up eventually. Because there are no repercussions for doing so, feel free to run around the maze and collect as many orbs as you can in this time. He finds it especially hard to get around to you on the borders of the map, so the orbs at the outer edges are easy pickings

The second phase 3 is much more brutal than the first. Keep your wits about you and DO NOT STOP MOVING.

The Three Last Achievements

Three achievements remain :

CLOSE CALL

Replenish your batteries after running out of batteries in Shutter Mode

You could probably get this achievement by chance, but the best way to do it is to purposely run out of batteries on the last two orbs. Or the beginning, if you enjoy a challenge run.

Worth noting that you'll still get the achievement if you die. This is the only achievement that works that way if I recall.

BOLD

Beat Classic mode without walking forward

The game refers to this achievement as the backwards achievement, but you're better off crab walking down the halls. Make use of A and D. Basic rules for Classic apply.

DEAF

Beat the phantom with the in game volume set to 0

The most challenging achievement by far. Play this mode like classic mode, always look for it. Make sure it has exited the room before continuing about your business. PLACE THE DEVICES! Check the room for out of place furniture. If the lamps or chairs are flipped over, it's been somewhere. Be cautious.

I find this one to be pretty luck based. Just keep at it.

Also the only valid way to play it is to listen to the ghostbuster's theme in the background

Secret Spider

MASSIVE EDIT TO THIS SECTION BECAUSE I'M A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ IDIOT

The "Secret Spider" is a, well, secret monster that spawns in the Hide And Seek level. To find it, you must get to 4 orbs without triggering a chase sequence. You know, the part where he finds you and runs you out of the maze? Yeah, don't do that. If successful, there is about a 3% chance that it will spawn in.

Yeah, the odds suck, and it doesn't really do anything. Wouldn't reccomend going after it unless you REALLY need to squeeze hours out of the game. I got it last year, thought it was cool, wasn't particularly going for it.

[UnjoGratisTheForbiddenMonkeyGod]

Awesome, thanks for the guide!

[p4ncak3_1]

also for anyone trying the C H E E S E strat in shudder mode, you are supposed to get knocked back to the wall the first time you try to collide with him, and the 2nd time you try, you will collide with him

[^w gamer geb]

something weird happened to me while doing the C H E E S E for the secret shudder mode, i did everything you said but when i tried to collide with him after he stopped glowing i took damage and was pushed back into the corner, now he started gllowing again and wont stop glowing, do ii wait more time or have i already fucked up?

[Kiesley]

One VERY useful trick to beat "Deaf" is that the radar automatically closes if the Phantom is near. So you can just sit in your radar then when it closes you immediately start holding your breath and see where he goes. You can also do this near doorways that are blocked and basically wait for him to pass through eventually and clear everything out for you.

[Ducky]

in it steals, the vault level, sometimes there's a creepy smile face. super rare.

[The Snakeman]

@THE UNDER TAKER I know about the ceiling fans, I meant that there is very little lighting in the maze, not 0.

And the eye color changing is not only triggered at two orbs. I've personally seen it as high as 4, and a friend of mine got it at 6.

[Pikmew]

You actually had 2 things wrong about Classic, there are actually working lights in the classic maze. They are futuristic ceiling fans that have lights added to them.

As for Legs, from what I learned. He actually changes eye colours when you have 2 orbs left, he also emits the exact same sound a orb would make. And emit blue eyes to fool you into thinking hes a orb, you can detect him in the radar all the time at this point.

[The Snakeman]

@Ducky What do you think I've missed? I could include it if you would provide me with the details

[Ducky]

you missed a secret

[moon_lord25]

Great guide, like seriously nice job. Seriously sad though that we will not be getting any updates ever for this game again, however I hope the dev pulls a Christmas, Halloween or April fools thing on us as I would love that, or at least a minigame / secret mode for "living halls" and "phantom" once again great guide and great help. Thanks.