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PANICORE key art: a close-up of a terrified woman's eye with blood running down her face

Co-op and multiplayer horrorStealth horrorHorror escape

PANICORE

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They hear your steps and your voice. Find a way out.

Platforms
PC
Price
Paid
Rated
Mostly Positive on Steam (79% of 13,033 reviews)
Players
1 to 5 (online co-op)
Made by
ZTEK Studio
Released
2024
Get it on Steam

What frightens Urban explorers break into an abandoned place the authorities warn against and find themselves trapped inside with a monster that hears every footstep and every word you say into your microphone. With a flashlight and nothing to fight with, you hide in cabinets and shadows, hunt for the items that open a way out, and a death is permanent.

Content: uses your microphone, jumpscares, gore.

PANICORE is a first-person co-op horror game for up to five players from ZTEK Studio. As urban explorers trapped in an abandoned building, you search for the items that open one of several escape routes while an AI monster hunts you by the sound of your footsteps and your voice, and death is permanent.

About PANICORE

PANICORE came out on Steam for Windows in May 2024, made by ZTEK Studio. You play urban explorers who love lost places, and one day they enter a building that even the authorities say to stay out of. Something seals them in, unknown forces block the way out, and they realise they are not alone.

The monster is driven by AI and hunts by sound. It hears your steps, and it also hears your voice, so talking to your friends over the microphone can bring it to you. You cannot fight it. You hide in cabinets, under tables and in the shadows, and move through dark corridors by flashlight. Death is permanent for the run.

To escape, you find the right items scattered around the place, such as keys and fuel, and use them in the right spot. There are several distinct escape routes, so a group can split up or change plans when the monster closes in. Locations include a dark hospital, underground corridors and a helipad, and you can play alone or with up to four friends online.

It sits with co-op escape horror like Labyrinthine and Escape the Backrooms, and its voice-hearing monster makes it closest to games where talking is itself a risk. Steam players rate it Mostly Positive; it suits groups who enjoy loud panic and quiet hiding in turn.

How to play PANICORE

  1. Buy PANICORE on Steam for Windows and start a game alone or invite up to four friends.
  2. Explore the abandoned building with your flashlight and look for the items each escape route needs.
  3. Move carefully and keep your voice down: the monster hears footsteps and speech.
  4. When it comes near, hide in a cabinet, under a table or in the shadows until it passes.
  5. Use the items in the right places to open an exit and get out; a death is permanent.

Screenshots

Players flee down a dim hospital corridor as a pale, hunched monster charges after them
A flashlight lights a red-walled corridor with graffiti as a fleshy creature comes through a doorway
A flashlight beam picks out an open cabinet with a red item inside in a dark room
Players with headlamps around a body under a white sheet inside crime-scene tape

Tips

  • Agree on a plan before you go in, so you need to talk less inside.
  • Walk rather than run when the monster is near; it hears every step.
  • Learn the hiding spots near each objective before you need them.
  • Split up to search faster, but keep the escape route the group is working on in mind.

Questions

How many players can play PANICORE?

One to five, online. You can also play alone.

Does PANICORE use my microphone?

Yes. The monster hears your voice as well as your footsteps, so speaking can give you away.

Is PANICORE on PlayStation or Xbox?

A PlayStation 5 store page exists but says the release date is to be determined, so for now it is on Steam for Windows only.

Is PANICORE scary?

Steam players mention real tension and jump scares; much of it comes from hiding while a monster that can hear you searches the room.

  • first person
  • online co-op
  • 5 players
  • proximity chat
  • voice detection
  • permadeath
  • urban exploration
  • abandoned building
  • hide and seek
  • flashlight

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Guides with PANICORE

PANICORE is played on store.steampowered.com and its makers' stores; this page links to them and is not part of it. Pictures are from the game's own pages and remain its owner's. Terms and pictures.

Sources: store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, store.playstation.com