The official survivor showcase for GRIMWORKS—an asymmetrical survival horror game created by developer puliltz on Roblox—reveals a tense 1-versus-8 structure inspired by the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. Playing exclusively from a locked first-person perspective, eight survivors must navigate pitch-black corridors, manage flashlight power, repair generators during blackouts, and survive until 6:00 AM against monstrous animatronic "Attractions" such as The Leader.
Footage from pre-alpha and alpha test sessions provides an in-depth look at how survivor resource management, team revives, escape routing, and map interactions function inside the pizzeria.
Core Survivor Objectives and Round Structure
A standard GRIMWORKS match pits eight human survivors against a single killer on servers accommodating up to nine players. The survivor team's primary goal is simple: survive from 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM. Unlike combat-oriented multiplayer games, survivors cannot fight back against the attraction and must rely strictly on evasion, stealth, and team coordination.
Survivors receive a 15-second head start at the beginning of the match before the killer is released. However, survival is interrupted midway through the game by scheduled power outages:
- Power Blackout: Halfway through the round, a facility blackout plunges the map into deep darkness and halts the match clock.
- Generator Repair Tasks: To restart the clock, survivors must locate the generator, find randomly spawned fuel cans, complete a pouring minigame, and retrieve wiring cables to reconnect the circuit.
- Security Door Failure: Facility doors cannot be powered while the generator is offline, giving the killer a significant tactical advantage.
- Last Man Standing (LMS): If only one survivor remains alive, the game automatically forces the power back on and fully restores the final player's health to ensure a balanced endgame chase.
Survivor HUD, Controls, and Resource Management
The user interface emphasizes claustrophobic resource tracking. The top of the screen displays the central clock alongside icons indicating each teammate's live health status. The bottom interface tracks personal survival stats, equipment charge, and inventory slots.
| Keybind / Control | Action | Function in Survivor Mode |
|---|---|---|
| W / A / S / D | Move | Standard directional navigation through hallways and rooms |
| SHIFT | Sprint | Consumes stamina to outrun killers or vault obstacles |
| CTRL | Crouch | Lowers player profile and allows entry into ventilation ducts |
| E | Interact | Recharges flashlights, fixes generators, and closes blast doors |
| F | Ability | Triggers character-specific abilities (in development) |
| M1 | Attack / Use | Interacts with minigames and activates held equipment |
| 1 and 2 | Item / Slot Hotkeys | Equips tools or items slotted into the survivor's two inventory slots |
Survival depends heavily on two meters:
- Stamina: Displayed subtly via an interface bar and a circular indicator in the center of the screen, sprinting and vaulting over objects such as cafeteria tables deplete stamina rapidly.
- Flashlight Battery: Because the pizzeria features minimal ambient lighting, flashlights are necessary to spot traps and navigate dark hallways. Flashlight battery drains continuously during use. When depleted, players must visit designated charging stations spread throughout the map. Recharging locks the survivor in place, leaving them completely vulnerable until the sequence finishes.
Map Defense: Security Doors and Ventilation Ducts
The showcase map—modeled after the classic FNAF pizzeria with elements inspired by the movie set—features iconic locations including the security office, Pirate Cove, the main stage, and multiple dining party rooms. To evade high-damage killer attacks, survivors can use two primary environmental mechanics:
Mechanical Security Doors
Certain rooms feature powered blast doors. Pressing the interaction button drops the door instantly to cut off a chasing animatronic. These doors stay shut for only a brief duration and enter an extended cooldown period before they can be used again. If a blackout is active, security doors lose power and cannot be operated.
Ventilation Ducts and Oxygen Meters
Survivors can crouch into low wall vents to bypass locked pathways or break line of sight during a chase. To prevent players from camping inside the ducts indefinitely, entering a vent activates an Oxygen (O2) gauge on the HUD. If a survivor stays in the crawlspace until the oxygen gauge runs out, they will suffocate and die. Available showcase footage indicates that standard large animatronics like The Leader cannot enter these compact vent shafts.
Downed State, Teammate Revives, and Spectating
Killers in GRIMWORKS deal substantial damage, capable of incapacitating a survivor in two to three hits. When reduced to zero health, survivors enter a downed state rather than dying immediately:
- Downed Countdown: A downed player collapses to the floor, displaying an emergency help icon and a timed countdown over their profile.
- Team Aura Tracking: Downed teammates emit an aura visible through walls, allowing nearby players to locate them for a revive. Killers can intentionally use this visibility to camp injured survivors.
- Revive Penalty: Successfully reviving an incapacitated teammate restores them to only 50% health. Players cannot heal back to full health through standard revives, effectively giving each survivor two chances per match.
- Spectator Camera: If a survivor bleeds out or is killed, static covers the screen alongside the word "DEAD." Defeated players enter a spectator system where they can cycle through surviving teammates.
Killer Threat Profile: The Leader
The survivor showcase primarily highlights encounters against The Leader, the game's flagship animatronic inspired by Freddy Fazbear. Official development details and gameplay footage outline several key abilities survivors must counter:
- Eternal Lullaby: The Leader plays an endoskeleton music box. When this ability triggers, survivors within its area of effect (AoE) suffer a movement speed penalty, marked visually by a magenta aura on the survivor's screen.
- After Hours: A stealth-oriented ability providing The Leader with a significant damage boost when ambushing unaware players. An eye icon appearing above a survivor signals whether they are actively looking at the killer (open eye) or facing away (closed eye).
- Audio Cues: A distinct laugh indicates when The Leader activates specific traits, often accompanied by altered movement speeds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GRIMWORKS locked to a first-person perspective?
Yes. Survivor gameplay is strictly first-person to preserve claustrophobia, darkness, and limited peripheral vision. Spectating after death switches between survivor viewpoints.
How many players can participate in a GRIMWORKS match?
A full match accommodates nine players: eight survivors working cooperatively against one killer.
How do survivors win a round in GRIMWORKS?
Survivors win by staying alive until the match clock reaches 6:00 AM. There is no physical exit gate to open; players must manage blackout generator repairs, use doors, and survive all chases until the night ends.
