Madam Koi Koi · Guide

How to survive Ikenga Memorial

Habits and tactics for staying alive, without spoiling the story or the endings. The numbers are for Normal difficulty.

The first minutes

She gives you a moment
For the first few seconds after you arrive she isn't moving yet. Use them to get your bearings in the main hallway, not to sprint into the dark.
Read everything
Every letter, memo and register goes into your journal (J). You need all of the evidence before the gate will open, so check desks, floors and corners.
The keys move
The three staff keys turn up in different places every game. A guide that tells you where they are is wrong half the time.

Listen before you move
Her heels tell you where she is and which way she's walking. Slow, even steps mean she's patrolling. Faster steps mean she's heard something.
Know what's loud
Sprinting carries furthest, around nine metres. Picking things up, opening doors and clicking your flashlight carry about five or six. Walking is quiet; crouch-walking is quieter.
Hold your breath, briefly
Hold C to hold your breath. On Normal you get about six seconds. Run out and you gasp, which is loud. Let go before that happens.
Wear headphones
Her footsteps are positional. In stereo you can tell left from right, and near from far.

Your light shows you, and her
With the flashlight on she notices you from about twice as far away. Switch it off when you hear her close, and on again to read and search.
Watch the battery
A full battery lasts around three minutes of use on Normal. Each spare battery you find adds a big chunk back. The beam dims when it's getting low and flickers when it's nearly gone.
The dark gets to you
Stay in the dark too long and your hands start to shake. Find light before it gets bad.
If someone is standing in a corner
Shine your light on it.

Don't stare
Looking straight at her for more than about two seconds is fatal. Glance, then look away. On Easy you get longer.
You're faster, for a while
At a full sprint you can outrun her when she hunts you. Break her line of sight, take a corner, put a door between you, then hide.
She doesn't give up straight away
When she loses you, she searches where you were and where you were heading. Sometimes she doubles back without a sound, or waits in a doorway. Don't leave a hiding place the moment her steps fade.

Pick your spot
Lockers, wardrobes, under a bunk, beneath a desk. Press E to get in and out.
She checks
A few seconds after you hide in a room, she may come in to search it, stopping at each hiding place in turn.
Light off inside
Leave your flashlight on while you're hidden and she sees the glow from across the room, then drags you out.

Easy isn't cheating
Easy makes her slower and less observant, lets you look longer, makes your battery last longer and lets you hold your breath longer. The story is the same.
Turn on sound subtitles
If you can't use headphones, Subtitles for sounds tells you when her heels are near.
Too dark to see?
Raise Brightness in Settings → Picture. Don't just turn your monitor up.
Save often
The game autosaves at checkpoints. Pause (Esc) to use your three manual slots before you try anything risky.

Drop to Easy in Settings → Game. The story and both endings are the same on every difficulty.