It Steals

OVERVIEW

It Steals is a first-person indie horror developed and published digitally by Zeekerss for PC on July 22, 2020.

Described as an experiment around stealthy monsters in survival horror, It Steals is a collection of 5 game modes where players must navigate a maze and collect orbs, playing against various AI designed to react unpredictably to the player's actions. The game utilizes a low resolution art style.

GAMEPLAY

MAIN MODES

The player always has the ability to sprint and use the radar to find orbs. The player's other abilities are only available depending on which game mode is being played. In each game mode, the antagonist behaves differently. The five game modes are "Classic Mode", "Shutter Mode", "Hide And Seek", "Living Halls", and "The Phantom".

• CLASSIC MODE: The player has no extra abilities and carries a flashlight. The monster tries to sneak behind the player, making small stepping noises. However, attempting to run will cause the monster to become extremely aggressive and overtake the player immediately; it must instead be scared away by the player's flashlight. After being scared away a certain amount of times, the monster will become "enraged" for about 12 seconds, during which it chases the player relentlessly and cannot be scared off. If the monster gets enraged a second time, it becomes ridiculously fast and unavoidable, effectively acting as a time limit.

• SHUTTER MODE: Instead of carrying a flashlight, the player holds a camera with limited batteries. The player must use the camera to flash the monster while conserving batteries, which can be replenished by getting orbs. When the player flashes the monster too many times, it becomes enraged; unlike in Classic Mode, however, the player must stun the monster by flashing the camera, as it's too fast to run from.

• HIDE AND SEEK: The player carries a flashlight but is also able to toggle it and crouch. The monster pretends to hide from the player as if in a game of Hide And Seek; if it senses it's been found, it jumps up and begins to count from 5 before beginning to search for the player. During this time the player must hide from the monster while collecting orbs. When it finds the player, for ten seconds the monster will blast through walls to catch the player, and if successful, finally cause a game over.

• LIVING HALLS: The player is equipped with a clock on their wrist which doubles as a sensor to help them detect the multiple monsters scattered across the maze. The spider-like monsters disguise themselves as walls and only move towards the player when not in sight. If the player lets them come too close, they will initiate a short chase. When the player's clock reaches zero, the wall monsters will become enraged and chase the player from wherever they are on the map without stopping; the player must close themselves in one of the three vaults found around the maze and wait until the clock restarts. Using a vault once renders it unusable for the rest of the game.

• THE PHANTOM: The monster is invisible but makes its presence known by shifting furniture as it moves. The player must stand still and hold their breath to avoid alerting it. The player is also equipped with two devices that can be placed on the floor; if the monster finds the player, it will suddenly become visible and begin a chase in which it slowly grows faster until it either catches the player or is led to an active device, which will stun it out from a chase. The devices take a considerable time to charge, meaning that the player must place them preemptively.

SECRET MODES

There are multiple secret modes which can be accessed only after the player has unlocked certain stars by beating the main modes. These act as remixes of the base game modes. The two secret modes are "Shudder Mode" and "The Junkyard."

• SHUDDER MODE: A remix of Shutter Mode, the player is again equipped with a camera to flash the monster. Unlike in Shutter Mode, the monster is extremely fast and attacks in broad daylight. If the player takes too long, the sun slowly sets.

• THE JUNKYARD: A remix of Hide And Seek where instead of a maze full of walls, the player must navigate an open field of boxes and other furniture. When the monster finds the player, rather than breaking through walls, the monster is absurdly fast but has little traction. This mode has a reactive day/night cycle which changes based on whether the player is hiding or seeking.