Controls

The Slugcat's controls feature a variety of advanced movements, mostly unexplained in-game. This page exists to detail the variety of moves the Slugcat can perform, and how to do them. Many don't do much on their own and are very situational, but they can be mixed together to save your life many times! It is always good to have even the most useless tricks in your arsenal.

Buttons and basics

 * Up: Grabs onto poles and climbs up them. Causes the Slugcat to climb up small ledges and reorient in midair. Also causes the Slugcat to rise up onto two feet when crawling.
 * Down: Causes the Slugcat to duck down and crawl on all fours. When on a vertical pole, causes the Slugcat to crawl down it. When on a horizontal pole or the bottom of a vertical pole, causes the Slugcat to drop off of it. Also causes the Slugcat to drop off of corners.
 * Left/Right: The basic horizontal movement of the game. Also used to cause the Slugcat to grab onto a wall and slide down it.
 * Jump: A basic jump allowing the Slugcat to climb over obstacles, reach poles and leap across gaps.
 * Grab: Picks up an object or grabs certain creatures. If the Slugcat's left hand is free, they will always grab objects with that hand first.
 * Throw: Throws held objects, often with considerable force. If the Slugcat is holding two objects, the object in their right hand will be thrown first. Some objects will have an effect when thrown, and others are thrown a much shorter distance.
 * Map: When tapped, briefly pulls up the HUD showing the Slugcat's karma level and hunger. When held slightly longer, brings up a timer depicting how soon the next rain will come. When held down for about a second, brings up a map from the Slugcat's memory. The Slugcat cannot move while remembering the map, and this will not pause the game.
 * Pause: Opens up the pause menu.
 * Restart: Only usable from the Slugcat selection screen, if held down will allow for starting a new game with that Slugcat, deleting prior progress (besides Arena mode unlocks). Automatically bound to the 'R' key on the keyboard.

Object management

 * Eat: Holding grab will cause the Slugcat to eat any food they are holding. If the Slugcat is holding food in both hands, they will eat the food in their right hand first. If the Slugcat is already full, they will not eat any more food. Certain food, such as popcorn plants, are eaten as soon as they are grabbed.
 * Drop: Pressing down and grab at the same time will cause the Slugcat to gently drop an item rather than throw it. Like throwing, the Slugcat will drop the item in their right hand first. This can be very useful when the player wants to grab hold of something else without wasting objects in hand such as spears or explosives, or when attempting to appear unthreatening around neutral creatures.
 * Swap: Double-tapping grab will cause the Slugcat to swap the items held in their left and right hands, letting them throw or drop a different item first.
 * Item Storage/Regurgitation: If the player holds down grab, as if to eat, and is unable to eat the item (due to not holding a consumable item or being full), the Slugcat will instead swallow the object they're holding. If they are holding items in both hands, they will store the item in their right hand first. This object can then be regurgitated later on by holding grab again. As long as the Slugcat is not in a tunnel, the object will be regurgitated into one of the Slugcat's hands if they have an empty one. If not, the object will be spat on the ground. Food and spears cannot be stored this way, and the Slugcat can only store one item in them at a time.

Pulling up onto ledge
When hitting a wall just below a ledge, holding forwards and pressing jump allows the Slugcat to climb up.



Wall-jumping
The Slugcat will slide down walls when holding into the wall.



Wall-jumping is performed by pressing jump while sliding down a wall (holding into the wall), immediately switching holding direction to the other wall and tapping jump as soon as the Slugcat comes into contact with that wall.

Note: It’s important to switch holding direction as soon as possible after jumping. The aim is to jump as soon as possible while holding into the wall, to minimise height lost to sliding, then immediately hold away from the wall to minimise negative aerial drift.



Coyote jump
It is still possible to jump a few frames after running off an edge. This can be used to maximise horizontal jump distance, or safeguard against tight jumps.



Pole coyote jump
This can also be done off of poles.



Charge-pouncing
Entering the crouching position and holding jump until the Slugcat’s back is arched, then releasing, allows for a charge-pounce. For almost all pounces the Slugcat is subject to aerial drift, and so holding forwards mid-pounce allows the player to maximise the Slugcat's horizontal range whenever jumping or pouncing.



Crouching to safely position on edges
This gif shows the farthest the Slugcat can extend over a ledge while crouched, useful for maximising charge-pounce distance.



Landing upright out of charge-pounce
Tapping up immediately after charge-pouncing puts the Slugcat in an upright position, giving it more height. This can help grab ledges upon landing.



Throw-boosting
Throwing rocks or spears during a jump or pounce increases horizontal velocity, allowing the Slugcat to travel further than normal jumps and pounces. This is most effective when done at the start of a jump.

Note: Throw-boosting can be used at the start of any aerial move to increase speed / range.



Optimal throw-boosting
This can be done with two objects to further increase speed, optimally either out of a charge-pounce or max length roll-pounce (Explained later in guide).



Backflipping
Backflips are performed by jumping immediately after turning around. Note that the rightwards press near the end of the move is only to prevent the Slugcat from falling off the platform.



Turn-hopping
Turn-hopping involves repeatedly jumping after turning to conserve turn momentum and cover ground quickly. Momentum conserved this way only depletes when in contact with the ground, so will last longer with more precise and better timed jumps.



Tunnel Movement
Main article: Tunnel Movement

Slides
Main article: Slides

Rolls
Main article: Rolls

Pole Movement
Main article: Pole Movement

Combat
Main article: Combat

Swimming
Main article: Swimming

Situational controls
The Five Pebbles region features unique controls, which for the sake of spoilers are not listed here. Info on the controls can be found on the page for the region.

Source
More detailed gifs and more complete move information can be found on the Rain World Movement Guide