It Steals – Tips & Tricks to Beat the Game Easily

A basic guide to start with the game!

Useful Tips and Tricks

All credit goes to Gaming Moment #45!

Part 1: Classic Mode

The first mode of the game. Pretty simple, but pretty confusing at first for many. Here are some advices on how to master this mode.

During gameplay, you will venture through an empty, isolated, claustrophobic checker maze. But beware, as Legs, the eponym character of the game, is coming for you.

• While roaming around, if you start hearing a weird, animal-esque grunt accompanied by footsteps, stop walking and look around you. If you see a pair of red eyes walking toward you, you better point your flashlight toward its face to make It flee, so it can leave you alone.

When such event happen, do not run, as it can anger the ferocious beast.

After encountering Legs, Two different scenarios can happen:

1. Legs will simply flee from your sight. When that happen, feel free to roam and run as you wish after it’s gone, as It won’t attack you for a little while.
2. Legs will stay still while emitting a bear-like grunt, while the text “RUN” pops up on screen. Despite being self explanatory, here is a tip: when Legs start behaving this way, start running immediately (duh). It will be relentless during Its chase and won’t let you breath.

To make the escaping easier, i recommend you to vary your movements. Go and keep going into left and right paths, as It will confuse Legs easily. As long as It sees you, It won’t give up.

• Many fake pair of eyes are painted on the maze’s walls, to give you the feeling that Legs is watching you. Do not fall into the trap! You can recognize Legs’ appearance by the audio cue It emits!
• During the game, after events like the escape, you might get lost easily. If so, use R to open up your personal radar, and check what route you should take.

But be careful, as this mechanic has its own defects!

1. The radar’s signal gets completely scrambled when you’re close to an evil entity (in that case, Legs). Open it when you feel like you’re safe and sound from the monster.
2. Even without the monster’s presence, the radar can get pretty messy! Pay attention as it will most of the time display fake walls and alleys that aren’t on the real maze. Don’t depend only on the radar. Use it to take in hand your directions!

This tip counts for all the modes. remember this!

By completing this mode, you will unlock the first trophy, “you’ve not seen the end of me”! Be proud, a trophy means always victory, rare or not!

If you feel like you wanna have some challenge, train yourself to beat this mode while not pressing W! You’ll eventually get the super-duper secret trophy “Bold”…or not…

(shoutouts to Mandarine and their guide for helping me complete this section a minimum! Be sure to check them too!)

Part 1.5: The Labyrinth

The Labyrinth is one of the 3 secret modes of the game. It is unlocked after beating Classic Mode. You can access it by clicking on the first white star on the bottom left.

This gamemode has the same goal and mechanics than Classic Mode. The only major difference is Legs’ behavior.

In this mode, Legs has gone completely mad. It is way less discreet and annnounce Its presence from a mile away. Here is what you should do:

• When you start hearing Leg’s howling noise, immediately put yourself into a wall corner, and start checking your lefts and rights. The big guy goes way faster so you’ll need to be extremely reactive when It comes. When It is here, flash It with your light.

But be aware, It is more persistent than before, and It will maybe reappear a second time. TL;DR: as long as you hear the loud, creepy howling sound, stay in a corner and stay focused.

• Legs’ “RUN” phase is in no way non-existent, and hell, i’d dare say that it’s even worse then before. Like in Classic Mode, run as soon as possible when you see the “RUN” text appear. Legs’ chase will be more longer than the previous mode, and along that, the maze will start rotating to confuse you even more, while the screen will darken more and more. Do not lose hope and keep going while variating your paths, left and right. It will eventually stop chasing you afterward.
• In this mode, when the monster isn’t nearby, it is recommended to always run, as the maze is 2x more huge and you could take too much time searching for the orbs. Well, that is what i personally feel about it.

After completing this mode, you will receive the trophy “The labyrinth”. Congrats!

Part 2: Shutter Mode

Shutter Mode is the second gamemode of the game. It’s Classic Mode, but even more dreadful and anxiety-filled.

You are back into the familiar little checker maze with your best legged-up friend. Only difference is that everything is completely drown in the heavy darkness, and you got only a small camera to defend yourself…have fun!

The game plays almost exactly like Classical Mode. “Almost” is the key word here. Allow me to explain.

• Legs’ presence can be only defined by Its sound cue in this mode, and not by Its glowing eyes. If you hear footsteps and animal grunts, immediately face the way the sounds come from and flash the bastard out! (by using right click). It should eventually run away…or make YOU run away!
• When Legs goes into Its iconic “Run” mode, run away immediately, and get ready to flash It. Legs has completely lost Its patience in this mode and will run even faster than you. The only way to slow It down is by stunning It thanks to your camera flash. While It is stunned, run quickly and remember to vary your paths, as I’ve said many times. Left and right, never straight forward! Repeat the stunning process if It keeps running at you.
• So far, all of this sounds easy, right? Well yes, it is! …But it isn’t. Your camera has limited batteries, so it would be pretty clumsy of you to waste all of that sweet tasty battery juice…when you lose all of it, Legs will go ballistic and run toward you at high speed while screeching like a child using vc on a Team Fortress minecraft trade server, and eventually kill you.

There is a solution for that problem, though. Orbs also act as batteries! You still have a possibilty to survive…

After beating this mode up, you’ll get the trophy “you will miss me”. Despite its name, Legs is coming back very soon for one last deadly game!

It is possible to win the secret trophy “Close call” if you find and use a battery while your camera is completely empty. Good luck for getting it!

Part 2.5: Shudder Mode

Shudder Mode is the second secret gamemode in the game. It is unlocked after beating Shutter Mode.

To access it, click on the second white star at the bottom left.

This is your last encounter with Legs, your last round. The warm summer sun sets, the wind whistle between the cold, black and white ceramic checkers, and your heart beats at the rythm of Legs’ inhumane speed!

Legs is back in action and It is even more lunatic than It was before! To the point that It starts sounding like a NASCAR speedster…

This mode seems hard at first, but once you get how it works, you can safely beat it.

In this mode, you are back in a maze similar to the maze from The Labyrinth: It is a large and complex maze located “outside”.

• As you start the game, a pop-up appear, announcing you to “run! the sun is setting”. Effectively, the maze is lightened up by the sun itself, and you’ll have to rush through the maze and get all the orbs before it’s gone. If it is gone, you’ll be completely surrounded by darkness and you won’t see anything anymore, not even Legs running at you, so you better rush.
• Legs will behave similarly as It did in The Labyrinth: It will emit a menacing, strident sound when near and go way faster than usual. If It is close, you better be prepared and stick yourself against a wall (not a pillar!!), to reduce the possibilities that It comes behind you. When Legs appears, flash it with your camera. Either It will run away for a short period or time or It gets mad and goes into Its “RUN” mode.
• When the latter happens, do as mentioned previously. Keep yourself away from Legs and be prepared to flash It again while he runs toward you at 600 km/hrs. This task will be even harder because most of the labyrinth’s hallways are straight and large, so Legs can find you more easily. You’ll have to be as precise and stealthy as much as you can and flash It at the right moments, in the right places.
• The camera battery doesn’t really matter anymore in this level, in my personal experience, so do not worry much about it. Just try to not take too many useless shots and you’ll be fine.
• The radar will be particulary of precious help in this mode, since you’ll have to speed things up before the sun sets, and the game ends.

If you beat this mode, you’ll win the trophy “In broad daylight”!

Part 3: Hide and Seek

Hide & Seek is the third gamemode available in the game.

You are back in the closed checker maze. Only two differences: The maze is full of props, and a new foe, way more unstable than Legs (let’s call It “Checkie” to make things easier), is awaiting for your arrival to play a simple game of hide & seek, like the old times.

This is probably the most anxious gamemode. You are in constant stress because you don’t want to find It, or hell, in the worse scenario, that It becomes…It. But maybe these tips can help make your life easier?

This gamemode is heavily different compared to Legs’ gamemodes. You now have the possibility to crouch (ctrl) and toggle your flashlight (F). These actions will be of great tool to confront and defeat Checkie in Its own game.

• When you start the game, you’re “it”. Do not panic nor fear bad encounters. As long as you do not see a suspicious creature with a checker skin doing the foetal pose in the middle of a room or hallway, you’re all fine.

While you haven’t awakened it, It won’t do anything. If you ever have to pass in front of It to collect an orb or just because you have/want to, make sure to not get TOO close, as Checkie will know you’re here. To help yourself, deactivate your flashlight and crouch. You’ll have more chances to not be detected.

• If Checkie finds out about you, Start running while It counts 5 to 0 and rush to a hiding spot (eg: behind boxes, metal shelves, etc). Memorizing the locations of the best hiding places is vital in this gamemode. Moving from spot to spot is ideal so your opponent will struggle even more to find you.

If it takes too much time to find you, Checkie will speed up Its research. Be careful!

• It is also important to not run while Checkie is It, as It will instantly guess your location and start pursuing you.
• While It’s “it”, use the radar to see where Checkie goes. The radar is a helpful tool if you want to plan to move to another hiding spot, as It showcase Checkie’s movements in live!
• Eventually, Checkie will find you at one point. In this case, do not panic and do not struggle to find a good hiding spot and simply run. Checkie is more neurotic compared to Legs, since It will literally break through walls just to catch you, WarioLand style.

During the chase, re-apply the left-right formula. It also works on Checkie.

After giving up on the chase, Checkie will go back to Its hiding state.

• If You find/tag Checkie for the third time, It won’t be playing hide & seek anymore, and will keep chasing you.
• If you have managed to not tag Checkie once during your game, and if there is only 2 or 3 orbs left, the latter will get mad at you, call you a bad seeker, and will start chasing you.
• All the lights in the maze go off when there are 15 orbs left.

After completing this mode, you’ll get the “won’t you play?” trophy!

Part 3.5: The Junkyard

The Junkyard is the third and final secret gamemode in the game. It is unlocked after beating Hide & Seek and accessed by clicking on the third white star on the bottom left of the main menu.

You find yourself in a huge junkyard, full of props. Checkie is back too, to play a last party of hide & seek.

This mode is way more chill than the previous one and can be completed in only one try… if you are attentive enough!

• Checkie will behave the exact same as It did in Hide & Seek, so no need to go deeper with that.
• If you want to beat this mode easily, you’ll have to open up your eyes to locate Checkie’s spot. It will keep respawning close to your location so be always cautious.

You can beat the game while running. Just stay attentive to Its location, as said previously.

When completing this gamemode, you’ll win the trophy “the junkyard”!