Movement

Slugcats exhibit a wide variety of movement abilities. Besides the basic controls taught in the tutorial, there are several hidden moves that can be discovered through some experimentation.

## Basic Movement

On most surfaces, there are two types of lateral movement that the slugcat can use: crawling and standing.

### Standing

If it is standing, holding the directional keys will simply make it run left and right. If it encounters a ledge shorter than itself it will initially bend over the corner, then crawl up the ledge and stand upright again. Pressing the jump button while standing will result in a hop that can be used to traverse terrain but provides little horizontal or vertical mobility.

While the slugcat is running, quickly pressing the opposite direction will engage the "sliding" animation, indicated by watery particles shooting away from the player. At the beginning of this animation, pressing the jump button will cause the slugcat to perform a fluid backflip, which provides in roughly twice the jump height. This is a very useful mobility tool, but given the setup required in order to perform the sliding animation it may be difficult to use on small surfaces. It is best used to backflip over lizards that cannot climb on background walls.

Note that if the player does not engage the backflip within its window, but jumps during while the sliding animation is still active, they can harness some of the increased momentum provided by this animation and jump a little further laterally. This speed can be continued by bunny hopping. This is most likely not a direct intended behavior, and since it is fairly difficult to maintain the speed for only a small increase it does not have much practical use.

One last mobility option while running is pressing down and jump while running, which will result in the slugcat performing a quick forward slide. The best use for this is to quickly enter floor-level tunnels.

### Crawling

Pressing the down button while standing will cause the slugcat to crouch down into a crawling position. From this position, the player has several options. Pressing up will return the slugcat to the standing position; pressing left or right will cause the slugcat to move in that direction at about half the running speed. Note that in order to turn around while crawling, the slugcat will stand and immediately crouch back down in the other direction. This may result in the player falling off small platforms if they are not careful.

While crouching, the player can execute a very short hop, which is essentially only useful for entering tubes at head level while remaining crouched. However, if they hold the jump button down, the slugcat will raise its haunches after a few moments. If the player lets go of the jump button the slugcat will perform a long jump. This jump is useful for traversing wide gaps or quickly jumping past the effective range of an enemy, but it does not provide much vertical range.

While crouched, the player can also hold the down key and move backwards to roll backwards. This seems to be very similar to the rolling animation resulting from jumping down from a large height while holding the down key. Jumping while rolling while provide a shorter, but slightly higher version of the long pounce, and is most useful for maintaining momentum after falling off small heights.

## Interacting With Poles

Aside from solid platforms, the most common platforming element in the game is the pole. There are two types of poles: vertical and horizontal. In either case, holding up during freefall will automatically catch any pole the player passes. Holding items in the slugcat's hands will not affect its ability to climb poles, but holding a creature will weigh it down to varying degrees. Pressing jump while hanging onto a pole will release the pole.

### Horizontal Poles

Catching a horizontal pole will result in the slugcat hanging down from it with its arms over its head. The player can shuffle left or right like this, or press jump or up to climb onto it and balance on it. From here they can jump off it, with about the same momentum as a regular jump. If the player moves off the end of a pole in either direction they will simply fall.

### Vertical Poles

The slugcat will hang on to vertical poles on a side. The side of the pole on which the slugcat is hanging indicates which direction it is facing (and the direction in which items will be thrown). Holding a side and pressing the jump button will result in a jump towards that direction, with about 50% more force than a standing jump. In addition to climbing a vertical pole, the slugcat can hang from underneath it; from this position it can swing its lower body, though the momentum gained from doing this is negligible compared to a jump from the middle of a pole. Lastly, the player can balance on top of a pole. If no inputs are made for a few seconds, the slugcat will balance itself and its arms will recede. The player can also sway the slugcat from side to side; moving it too far will cause it to fall, but this can be used to get a little closer to a jump from the top of a pole.

Tapping up as the slugcat falls towards the top of a vertical pole will allow the slugcat to immediately balance on top of it.

## Tunnels, Pipes, and Shortcuts

The slugcat, along with most creatures about its size, can use the tunnels and shortcuts that pervade Rain World.

### Tunnels (Crawlspaces)

In many parts of Rain World levels, there are crawlspaces one unit wide that creatures can enter. In these crawl spaces, movement is significantly reduced; the slugcat essentially controls like Pac-man. There are a few options for the player while crawling in these tunnels. The first is the jump boost. Upon pressing the jump button, the player will perform a small boost in the direction they are facing, which will be followed by a short period of slowness. This can be useful for escaping lizards about to bite at the player's tail, but the slow period will most likely let the enemy catch up; the best use is therefore to exit tunnels more quickly. If this move is used while moving upwards, the slugcat will fall down the tunnel even further than where the move started, so it is not useful there. However, if the player presses down and jump in a vertical tunnel, the slugcat will let itself fall down, which is incredibly useful if they are going downwards.

### Pipes and Shortcuts

The main mechanism used to switch rooms is the pipe, marked by three bars parallel to the pipe's entrance. These pipes are preceded by a short crawlspace, so it is best to treat them as such when considering how to enter them. Moving further into the crawlspace will transport the slugcat to the other end on another screen. The other variant of these are shortcuts, which are pipes that have both ends in the same room. These are marked by a small triangular arrows.

## Advanced Movement

Slugcat is extremely acrobatic and can utilize these abilities to traverse difficult terrain or avoid the jaws of hungry predators.

## Aquatic Movement

Although rather poor at it compared to other creatures, slugcat can swim and is capable of diving for short periods of time.

### Swimming

When in water, the slugcat will remain upright (to the best of its ability: if the waters are rough because of enemy movement or one-direction water flow, it may go under occasionally) and will paddle around on the surface in the direction of the joystick. This is rather slow compared to Diving, and if the player is pressed for time or being pursued by an aquatic predator such as a Salamander or a Leviathan, it would be best to try and dive (seen below).

## Mobility Enhancing Creatures

Aside from the hazardous beasts, there are also helpful creatures that can greatly enhance slugcat's mobility, whether willingly or not.

### Squidcadas

These flying insects can be of great use to the slugcat, as their tentacles can be held onto when close and they provide a significant jump boost when doing so. This is especially useful for traversing Leech-infested waters or jumping over enemies, and is required to traverse the Sky Islands.

### Grapplegrubs

These worm like creatures have large tongues that can grab to walls and roofs in order to stick to them, they can be grabed occupying one hand slot, which gives the slugcat the ability to traverse the map with a rope-like tool activated by pressing jump while being in the air; they are similar to saints tongue but lack of the ability to contract the tongue to will. They are often found in places like the leg or the underhang (the exterior).