Cartman is the hunter the tutorial names. He patrols, then charges. A catch costs one life and drops a carried key. Ike is not that chase. Ike is the flashlight scream tracked on its own results line.
What to do when he charges
Pick the defense that matches where you are.
- If a green locker shows HIDING PLACE and he did not see you enter, press E Hide and click the shrinking circles until he walks past. A clean hide in the recorded Medium run ended with him passing the locker.
- If you are next to the red-lit maintenance room, go inside and press E Close. A charging Cartman stopped at that closed door and the player took no damage. The tutorial's SAFE ROOMS card says the basement and the safe room are places he cannot enter.
- If you are holding a key and neither option is close, remember the drop. Banking the key at the exit door removes that extra loss before you explore again.
Do not climb into a locker while he is watching. Reports say he can pull you out. One co-op session also said lockers did not work, and another blamed a failed hide on breathing. Use the locker as the tutorial's tool, not as a guaranteed shield.
Noise
The game text flags three ways he finds you: running is loud, walking on glass is loud, and he can hear your mic. A recorded duo session had an accidental whistle pull him in. Keep callouts short.
The experience description says the game is best with headphones and voice chat on. A 12 November 2026 listing snapshot also marked Voice Chat as not supported. If your session has a mic, treat it as something he can hear. If the client has no voice, the mic line cannot apply until voice is actually on.
Traps and lures
A hallway locker can give a trap: You found a trap! Take it out (5), aim at the floor and click to place it. Slot 5 is the trap slot. The reference results screen recorded Cartman in your traps: 1. The basement safe room rejects a trap because he does not enter it. Place traps in the hallway, including just outside that red room.
Alarm clocks are aimed and clicked. Reports give them a short delay and a 10-second ring that draws him toward the clock. Put the clock off the path you want to run. Fried chicken is a separate lure. High insanity can show false Cartman shapes, so do not spend chicken or a trap on a scare you have not confirmed.
After the fourth key
The red RUN screen says nowhere is safe. That is the point where waiting in the basement or the maintenance room stops being the plan the game is asking for. Run the corridors and the gym, turn the last lock, and press E Escape. The drop rule still applies on that sprint.
A recorded escape still succeeded with one catch, one hide, one trap, and one Ike scream. Getting caught is a counted cost, not an automatic failed ending.