- Games
- PANICORE
PANICORE
Search abandoned buildings with friends and escape creatures that listen to your footsteps and voices.
Online co-op for up to 10 players.
- 10 online
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op10 players
- Local co-opNot confirmed
- Not confirmedFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- Not confirmedA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- Not confirmedFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckPlayableValve's own rating
About the game
You enter abandoned buildings as an urban explorer, then find yourself locked in with something hunting you. You search rooms for items, work out how they fit an escape route, and hide when the creature comes close. Footsteps, dropped objects and speech can draw its attention. Finding a needed part means little if you cannot carry out the escape.
You play online with friends and share information about items and danger. One person can distract the creature while others search or help a fallen teammate. Normal groups have up to five players, with an optional host setting for ten on PC. Repeated attempts mix scares with the trouble your own group causes.
How it feels
Kind of game
A group of friends, loose goals and a lot of messing around. Failing is part of the fun, and the best moments are the ones nobody planned.
- At its heart
- A big part
- Now and then
- Story
- Time to hang out
- Unlocks and progress
- Planning ahead
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- About
- Monsters
Rated on our own feel scale. 3 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked PANICORE
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
Labyrinthine
Why it scores 96%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Chaotic friend hangout
- Core to both
- Fear
- About
- Monsters
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Puzzles and figuring out, Working in sync, Exploring, Tension and danger, Getting better
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- 8 online
- Crossplay
Both are chaotic hangouts for a group of friends. Both are often scary. Both are about monsters that hunt you.
No big difference from PANICORE.
Backrooms: Escape Together
Why it scores 94%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Chaotic friend hangout
- Core to both
- Fear
- About
- Monsters
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Puzzles and figuring out, Working in sync, Exploring, Tension and danger, Getting better
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- Early access
- 6 online
- Crossplay
Both are chaotic hangouts for a group of friends. Both get loud and silly when plans go wrong. Both are often scary.
No big difference from PANICORE.
Lunch Lady
Why it scores 92%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Chaotic friend hangout
- Core to both
- Fear
- About
- Monsters
- Notable in both
- Laughter and chaos, Working in sync, Exploring, Tension and danger
- Sessions
- Repeatable runs
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Lunch Lady differs
- Less figuring things out than PANICORE
- Fits a smaller group than PANICORE
- 4 online
Both are chaotic hangouts for a group of friends. Both are often scary. Both are about monsters that hunt you.
But less figuring things out than PANICORE.
All co-op facts
Last checked 24 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Local co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Not confirmed
- Split or shared screen
- Not confirmed
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 1
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay
- Not confirmed
- Crossplay between
- Not confirmed
- Friends can join mid-game
- Not confirmed
- Only one of you needs to buy it
- Not confirmed
- Voice chat by distance
- Not confirmed
Sources
7 pages
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, About, Fear, Genres, Release date, Free base co-op.
- Online co-op: The maker describes cooperative escape play, and Steam lists online co-op.
- About: A creature hunts the explorers while they gather escape items.
- Fear: The maker calls this survival horror and describes hiding from a pursuing monster.
- Genres: The maker calls the game survival horror in its own short description.
- Release date: The released full-game product explicitly displays May 31, 2024. This agrees with Steam data but is the same storefront authority.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Platforms, Release status, Release date.
- Steam app ID: The response identifies app 2695940 as PANICORE.
- Platforms: Steam lists a Windows build and no Mac or Linux build. Console announcement pages do not confirm released versions.
- Release status: Steam lists the game as available to play. The listing does not mark it as Early Access.
- Release date: The response explicitly gives May 31, 2024, matching the Steam product page. The Prima review publication date is not a separate launch-date statement.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Playable on Steam Deck.
steamcommunity.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Most players online, Unlocks and progress, Planning ahead.
- Most players online: The shipped version 1.4 notes let a Steam host unlock ten-player lobbies behind a warning. Normal design is one to five. The older Steam description and announced console pages still say five.
- Unlocks and progress: Version 1.4 fixes saved purchases of maps and skins. These are lasting unlocks rather than a character build.
- Planning ahead: Version 1.4 adds radios that can distract a creature once. Quiet movement and choosing cover also matter before acting.
primagames.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Kind of game, Sessions, Laughter and chaos, Tension and danger, Story, Working in sync, Exploring, Puzzles and figuring out, Time to hang out, Getting better.
- Kind of game: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Friends can lure the creature toward each other and turn fear into shared laughter.
- Sessions: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Random item positions and different exits support repeated escape attempts.
- Laughter and chaos: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Distracting a creature can save the group or put a friend in trouble.
- Tension and danger: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. The creature hunts while players search for needed parts, sometimes for a long time.
- Story: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Collectible files and a short radio introduction provide thin narrative context.
- Working in sync: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Partners share a search and bait the creature away from one another.
- Exploring: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Large buildings and randomly placed items require room searches.
- Puzzles and figuring out: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Each exit requires a different set of parts, with little instruction.
- Time to hang out: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Long searches leave occasional room to talk, but avoiding detection remains the task.
- Getting better: Prima Games, 2024-05-31. Players learn routes, item needs and how to distract the creature.
store.playstation.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Online co-op.
- Online co-op: This is an announced PS5 wishlist for the exact game, advertising a five-player online format. It does not establish current console availability or change the shipped optional Windows ceiling of ten.
xbox.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Online co-op.
- Online co-op: The browser-checked Xbox product offers a wishlist and code redemption, not an established released purchase. It advertises two to five online. The age-locked gallery was not entered.