Controls

Slugcat's controls feature a variety of advanced movements, mostly unexplained in-game. This page exists to detail the variety of moves slugcat can perform, and how to do them.

Buttons and basics

 * Up: Grabs onto poles and climbs up them. Causes slugcat to climb up small ledges and reorient in midair. Also causes slugcat to rise up onto two feet when crawling.
 * Down: Causes slugcat to duck down and crawl on all fours. When on a vertical pole, causes slugcat to crawl down it. When on a horizontal pole or the bottom of a vertical pole, causes slugcat to drop off of it. Also causes slugcat to drop off of corners.
 * Left/Right: The basic horizontal movement of the game. Also used to cause slugcat to grab onto a wall and slide down it.
 * Jump: A basic jump allowing slugcat to climb over obstacles, reach poles and leap across gaps.
 * Grab: Picks up an object or grabs certain creatures. If slugcat's left hand is free, they will always grab objects with that hand first.
 * Throw: Throws held objects, often with considerable force. If slugcat is holding two objects, the object in their left 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 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 slugcat's memory. 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 slugcat to eat any food they are holding. If slugcat is holding food in both hands, they will eat the food in their left hand first. If 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 slugcat to gently drop an item rather than throw it. Like throwing, slugcat will drop the item in their left hand first. This can be very useful when the player wants to grab hold of something else without wasting objects such as spears or explosives, or when attempting to appear nonthreatening around neutral creatures.
 * Swap: Double-tapping grab will cause 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 (due to not holding any food or being full), slugcat will instead swallow an object they're holding. This object can then be regurgitated later on by holding grab again. As long as slugcat is not in a tunnel, the object will be regurgitated into one of 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.



Movement

 * Longjump: If slugcat is crouching and holds jump for a short time without moving, their back will visibly arc slightly. Releasing jump will then cause slugcat to leap a considerably longer distance than a jump alone would do. Note that slugcat will not jump as high, however.
 * Walljump: If slugcat is pressed up against a wall, pressing the jump button will cause slugcat to jump off of it. By default slugcat cannot walljump up a single wall, but if two walls are close enough to each other, slugcat can gain height by walljumping back and forth. Note that if slugcat is up against a corner, slugcat will instead climb up it.Shelterboost.gif
 * Dash reversal: When slugcat is running in one direction, quickly turning around will cause slugcat to dash the other way, going slightly faster than usual for a short time.
 * Tunnel-dashing: When crawling in a tunnel, slugcat can briefly boost their speed by pressing jump. This will cause slugcat to lose their grip for a short time, and as a result is slower in upwards and horizontal crawling, but lets slugcat quickly descend tunnels and gain a burst of speed when exiting one. This can also be used when exiting a pipe, including pipes between rooms.
 * Corner-boosting: Pressing jump immediately after rounding a corner in a tunnel results in a much greater burst of speed with no slowdown penalty, as slugcat pushes off from the wall behind.Downthrow.gif
 * Tunnel-turning: If slugcat is crawling backwards in a tunnel, their speed is greatly decreased. This can be fixed by pressing jump and the direction you wish to turn, causing slugcat to take a moment and reorient in that direction.
 * Backflip: If slugcat is running one direction, then turns around and jumps, they will backflip in that direction. The jump will reach slightly higher than a usual jump, but slugcat will be upside down at the apex, making it difficult to grab anything higher than usual.
 * Throwing downwards: Slugcat can throw items downwards, mid-backflip, by holding down and pressing throw without holding left or right. Spears thrown this way will embed as short poles, and can be climbed.

Water
When in water, slugcat will move in the direction the player pushes using up/down/left/right. Diving downwards is significantly slower than going upwards. As slugcat loses breath, slugcat will rush upwards and begin ignoring inputs to go downwards, eventually only allowing the player to lightly steer their ascent. If slugcat runs out of breath, they will eventually begin drifting limply, and will die if they do not resurface immediately after.
 * Water Dash: If the player presses the jump button while slugcat is submerged, they will dash along at an increased speed. Doing so takes off a significant amount of breath, and should generally only be used to evade predators or to quickly move horizontally near the water's surface.
 * Turn Boost: Slugcat accelerates slightly whenever they turn in the water, in order to be able to turn around at a reasonable speed. By wiggling back and forth, the player can swim slightly faster than slugcat's normal speed.

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.

Slides

 * Bellyslide: An advanced move performed by pressing down and jump simultaneously while running, causing slugcat to shoot forward along the ground for a short time.
 * Slidejump: Pressing jump mid-bellyslide converts a bellyslide into a long jump, allowing for rapid forward movement.
 * Slideflip: Pressing jump and back mid-bellyslide converts a bellyslide into a long backwards flip.
 * Slidespear: Sliding towards an approaching lizard and spearing just before contact will stab said lizard in the mouth, stunning for longer and doing much more damage than a regular spear. This can be used to great effect with red lizards.
 * Backwards slidespear: While in middle of a slide with a creature behind you, press the opposite facing button and throw your object. This increases the slide's range dramatically.

Other

 * Dash Hopping: Rapidly jumping after a dash reversal allows slugcat to maintain their momentum, allowing faster movement than usual.
 * Somersaulting: Holding down when falling from a height greater than an average jump will result in slugcat rolling along the ground. Pressing jump during this converts into a long jump, which can be done the moment slugcat hits the ground. Jumping at the very end of the roll gives a high arc, which allows for a chain of roll jumps.
 * Throw Boosting: By throwing an object at the apex of slugcat's jump, the player can extend their jump slightly farther than usual.
 * Pole Hopping: By jumping onto a horizontal pole and pressing jump just before touching, the player can perform a small hop, which can be chained with other hops to cross gaps with greater speed. This can also be done from a pounce.
 * Water Skipping: Skipping off the surface of water is possible after a pounce by holding up, forward, and pressing jump as slugcat hits the surface. The timing for this is very precise. It has been noted that throw boosting during the pounce makes performing the skip more reliable.
 * Instant-roll: When backing out of a crawlspace, holding down in addition with the direction key will cause the player to immediately roll from a one-tile height.



Miscellaneous

 * Pole Balancing: After hopping vertically from the top of a pole, slugcat can land on top again in the balancing position. This is done by pressing instead of holding up, just as slugcat's feet reach the tip of the pole.


 * Pole Backflip: Slugcat can backflip off of poles, both horizontal and vertical, by grabbing and climbing up the pole immediately after turning around (when jump would normally be pressed to perform a backflip). This stores the backflip until jumping from a balancing position.


 * Ledge Holding: Slugcat can hold onto ledges indefinitely by releasing forward/up mid pull-up.


 * Ledge Falling: When in the ledge hold position, pressing backwards will cause slugcat to fall down at a much higher speed than usual.