PERISH – Technical FAQ

Let’s get you up and running!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PERISH single-player or co-operative?

• Both! You can play alone or with up to 3 additional players in both public and private sessions.

Multiplayer sessions can only be joined when all players are in Pantheon, the starting area and hubworld. If the host is playing through any levels, you cannot join that session.

PERISH is a co-op PvE campaign for 1-4 players with two distinct endings. Your objective is to survive and journey through a series of increasingly challenging environments to reach Elysium.

How do I join a private session?

• At the main menu, you will be logged into Steam. A dialogue box at the top-right of the screen will confirm if this is the case.

Press “Join Game” in the main menu. Get the host to tell you the 6-digit room code, then enter the 6-digit number into the “room code” input box and click the “join via room code” button. If successful, you will start joining the host in a private multiplayer session as a client.

How do I host a private session?

• Press “Host Game” in the main menu. Click “Private”. You will see a brief cutscene before entering Pantheon.

Press ESC to view the main menu. At the top right, you will see a 6-digit “Room Code”. Present that room code to your friends; a maximum of 3 players can join your session.

How do I crossplay with GOG or EGS?

• PERISH uses Epic Online Services as its multiplayer backend. This means that players on EGS or with DRM-free copies on GOG can join the multiplayer session of a Steam player and vice versa.

You do not have to log into EGS to host or join a session, but you can if you want to. We recommend using the room code system above to join all game sessions.

I cannot join my friend’s session, or they cannot join me. What should I do?

• First, check you are both on the same Game Version. You can check this at the bottom right of the main menu.

If you cannot join a session, make sure the host is in Pantheon, the hubworld.

If you still cannot join, the host may have to exit to the main menu and rehost the session. Ask for the room code again and try joining once more.

If you still cannot join, get each player to quit the game and open it again. This will completely refresh each game instance and potentially iron out any hanging issues. The host should now create a new Private Game. Get the room code and try again.

When I click the “go online” button, nothing happens. What should I do?

• If you find you can’t login even when clicking the “Go Online” button, try restarting PERISH. If after a restart you still can’t go online, join our Discord and we may be able to help you further.

I am experiencing stutters, what can I do?

• Some players may experience some brief stutters when encountering initialising shaders in-game for the first time. It is now a well-known issue in the gaming community and for good reason.

There is no easy fix for this issue because asynchronous loading is problematic itself but we are looking into generating a different “Pipeline State Object” (PSO) cache and other solutions as a top priority in the days post-release.

I keep dying and starting again! Can I save my progress?

• Our game loop is about dying and starting the journey anew until you make it to Elysium. That being said, there is a way to skip levels you’ve already completed.

Once you kill the final boss of each Dread Realm, you will unlock an “Obol Crown” for each (there are 3 Obol Crowns). Purchase and equip these Crowns at the Pantheon Altar (the shop in the hubworld).

With an Obol Crown equipped, next time you activate the stone priestess in the first level, you will skip all the previous levels and enter the new levels.

The game is too punishing, what can I do?

• PERISH has 3 difficulty presets: Punishing (hard), Tough (medium) and Forgiving (easy). You can change the difficulty preset at any time. There is no penalty for playing a lower difficulty level.

To select a preset, navigate to the “Options” section of the main menu and select “Gameplay”. There, you can select a difficulty preset. You can also make your own granular adjustments to the difficulty within the Gameplay panel.

In co-op sessions, difficulty is set by the host player. If your settings are on Punishing and the host’s are on Forgiving, the host’s settings will take priority in that co-op session.

I can’t pause the game while in a level, why is that?

• PERISH was designed to be relatively seamless between co-op and singleplayer. The downside is that you cannot currently pause mid-level if playing in singleplayer. This is a non-trivial issue to solve and we continue to look into it.

A “safehouse” (called “Idryma” in-game) between levels is the best place to rest between levels.