Darkness is a separate problem from Cartman. Time in the dark raises insanity. High insanity adds jump scares, blurred light, and Cartman-like shapes that can trick you into wasting a trap or fried chicken.
Flashlight
You start with a flashlight and batteries. The tutorial's only Ike rule is DON'T SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON IKE. The results screen counts Ike screamed at you on its own line, so a scream is Ike, not a failed key delivery.
- The beam flickers when the charge is low. Treat flicker as the cue to swap a battery or recharge before the next dark stretch.
- Spare batteries are locker loot. Pick them up while you search instead of waiting until the light dies.
- On easy difficulty, the flashlight can be recharged by holding B to crank it. That control is documented for easy, not as a universal bind. Read the prompt on your screen.
- Recharging gives you light for the next hallway. It is not described as clearing insanity effects that are already on screen.
- NightVisionGoggles is a separate game pass, listed at 99 Robux, that grants permanent night-vision goggles. Learn one round on the normal flashlight before you spend Robux. Prices on a store page can change.
When the school goes dark
A blackout has its own objective: restore power at the fuse box in the basement. Tell the group you are going back so the key search does not stop. Staying in a dark wing to finish a bell or a locker row is how insanity climbs.
Do not spend items on a hallucination
Before you throw fried chicken or drop a bear trap, check that a real Cartman is in the hall and that you still have a route out. A scare with no escape plan leaves you empty-handed for the actual charge. Alarm clocks belong on a path you are about to leave, not at your feet.
Why the route matters
Getting lost keeps you in the dark longer. Learn the walk from your search room back to the glowing basement door before you push into a new wing. The theater means you are opposite the exit. The red-lit maintenance room is both a landmark and a door you can close.