Stay Out of the House

***Stay Out of the House*** is a 2022 stealth survival horror game developed by Puppet Combo. In 2018, it received a short prelude called *Night Shift*.

The game was first released in 2018 into early access. The full game's original release date was slated for July 2022, though this release date ended up being pushed back several times due to delays in development, first to October 6, 2022, though then it was announced that a slightly longer delay of "less than 3 days" would be required to implement last minute technical improvements and bug fixes. The fully complete game was made available for purchase on Steam on October 14, 2022, and on Gog.com on October 27, 2022.

On June 16th, 2023, the game was released on Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles.

On December 20th, 2023, the game was released on iOS and Android devices.

## Summary

Welcome to the home of THE BUTCHER. Welcome to YOUR new home. Why are you here? Why has this madman chosen you, and what are his plans for you? How will you escape? Can you even escape? All of these questions have answers, but can you seek them out? Do you want to? If only you’d heeded their warning to STAY OUT OF THE HOUSE.

## Characters

### Main

* Roxanne (voiced by Autumn Ivy) - The female protagonist of *Stay Out of the House.*
* Night Shift Abductor - Also known as "the Butcher". He is a cannibalistic serial killer and the main antagonist of *Stay Out of the House*.

### Supporting

* Debra Kopiske (voiced by Suzi The Sphere Hunter) - The employee of the Ecoo gas station and the main protagonist of the prelude *Night Shift*. Later appears as a captive of the Butcher and potential ally.
* Brendan (voiced by Eric Navarro) - Roxanne's boyfriend.
* Wheelchair Lady - The Butcher's decrepit mother and one of the antagonists.
* The Baby - The Butcher's malformed relative and one of the antagonists.
* Demon Dog - The Butcher's ferocious pet and one of the antagonists.
* Stranger - (voiced by Corpse Husband) The Butcher's accomplice and one of the antagonists.
* Evelyn (voiced by Victoria Capone) - A captive of the Butcher and potential ally.
* Hank (voiced by Jorge Hernandez) - A captive of the Butcher and potential ally.
* Kyle (voiced by J Fiene) - A captive of the Butcher and potential ally.
* Dog - A stray farm dog who only appears in the second chapter.

### Others

* Amber (voiced by Diamond Vasquez) - Debra's friend.
* Katz (voiced by PhuCat103) - Debra's co-worker at the Ecoo gas station.
* Jeff (voiced by Adam Woolley) - A trucker buying gasoline.
* Heather (voiced by Autumn Ivy) - A woman buying cigarettes.
* Injured Woman (voiced by 02Rainer) - A captive of the Butcher, who was crippled during her torture and asks Roxanne for food.
* Dying Man (voiced by Reece Bridger) - A mortally wounded man found in the underground CFV facility, who provides Roxanne with instructions of how to blow up the building along with the Butcher.
* Nurse (voiced by 02Rainer) - A nurse present when Roxanne wakes up at the hospital.
* Doctor (voiced by Eddy Yeung) - A doctor present when Roxanne wakes up at the hospital.
* Loudspeaker (voiced by Tomie Milos) - A pre-recorded emergency alarm signalling the self-destruct sequence of the CFV facility.
* Preacher 1 (voiced by Stuart K Reilly) - The presumed "Father" of the Church of the Father's Vision, seen and heard on most TV sets in the House.
* Preacher 2 (voiced by Lee "PopsArcade" Parker) - A second CFV-affiliated sermonizer heard on the radio and TV in the kitchen.
* Food Bucket Sales Man (voiced by Mathew Rivera) - A man who sells the Food Bucket over the radio.
* Food Bucket Sales Man #2 (voiced by Mike Rider) - Another man who sells the Food Bucket over the radio.

## Story

### Chapter 2: Prologue

Roxanne and Brendan are passing through rural Oklahoma during a long road trip. When Brendan stops the car for a bathroom break and doesn't return, Roxanne goes to investigate. Behind the pit stop, she finds a dog that leads her through an abandoned town into an old, seemingly abandoned house in a cornfield. Inside, her search for Brendan is cut short when she finds herself locked in, with a seemingly dead woman in a wheelchair emerging from the upper floor shortly after, letting out a harrowing scream before a masked man barges in and knocks Roxanne out.

### Chapter 3: The House

Hours later, she wakes up imprisoned inside of the house. In spite of her stomach pain, she manages to tear down the flimsy wire mesh of her cage and must now explore the house to find the necessary tools to escape, uncovering its hidden history and still-buried secrets through notes along the way, all the while avoiding being caught by the owner, who is hiding something horrifying underneath his house.

### Chapter 4: Bunker

Putting in the code for the basement unlocks an extended cellar area. Using the vents or being captured in this area will unlock a massive underground complex to explore and the option to put an end to the madness once and for all.

## Endings

### Ending A: Rebirth

Roxanne manages to gain access to the bunker and finds a corridor lined in blood, leading to a red-lighted door. If she opens it she is ambushed and knocked out by the Butcher as she opens the final door. When she comes back to her senses, she finds herself tied-up in a gore-covered room with the Butcher silently standing next to an animate, monstrous mass of flesh. Roxanne can only watch as a protuberance extends out of the creature's maw and seemingly examines her with its own mouth. As she fearfully begs for her life, the limb abruptly descends upon Roxanne, presumably devouring her.

### Ending B: Escape

Roxanne is able to unlock the front door and escapes outside. Upon exiting the cornfield, the Butcher suddenly appears from the side, revving a chainsaw. She runs into the nearby scrubland, eventually finding a trailer park. Her pursuer having disappeared from sight, Roxanne bangs on a random door, being greeted by the Stranger, who ignores her panicked state and asks her if she would like to come inside. Roxanne then suddenly experiences abdominal pains and again begs the stranger to help her before she begins to spit up blood, a worm-like creature wriggling its way out of her mouth.

### Ending C: Mother

Roxanne gains access to the bunker and either finds a vent which ends at a strangely misplaced security room or is knocked out by the Butcher, this time waking up in a cage with mutant hogs feeding on human bodies. Either way, she will find her way further into the facility, all the while avoiding the Butcher and his mutated dog. She discovers that she is inside a research facility hidden below the house, plastered with CFV logos, with private logs revealing that the scientists there had been conducting experiments with radiation there for decades. Roxanne manages to activate the lab's self destruct system and goes for the exit where she is confronted by the Butcher with a chainsaw. She is able to fend him off as she clears the way out and escapes to safety before the entire area detonates, but falls unconscious. She is rescued afterwards and wakes up several days later in a hospital bed, surrounded by a nurse and a doctor, who are apparently unaware of the true nature of what they believe to have been an "accident" and ask her how she is feeling. Roxanne is unable to speak, so the doctor assures her that she'll be back on her feet in around a week and tells her to get some rest for her upcoming surgery tomorrow. That night, while Roxanne is watching TV, she suddenly starts to vomit blood, and a worm-like creature erupts from her mouth. Roxanne faints again and sometime later Roxanne, wakes up to find the whole hospital ward bathed in red and empty safe for a number of pulsating organic egg sacs sprouting on the ground, the beds, the walls, and on top of the ceiling. Roxanne reaches the exit door, at which point the credits roll.

### Game Over: Sacrifice

Upon being caught a third and final time, a short cutscene will play where Roxanne drowsily awakens in a laundry cart, pushed by the Butcher, as he takes her through a red corridor. The word "Sacrifice" will repeatedly appear on screen and once she reaches the door at the end of the hall, the cutscene will cut to black and screaming can be heard.

## Gameplay

The player is given 3 days (lives) to escape. The player wakes up in a cage and once escaped, the player has to get out of the house. The player can use a pistol to scare the killer, giving them more time. The player can also use a lighter to give the themselves some visibility in darker filter modes such as 1999. If the killer spots the player, they have to immediately run and hide. If hiding while in the view of the killer, he will flip the table or bed so that you will lose that hiding spot. The player has a radar to spot the killer only when he is moving. If he is near, the radar will make an alert sound. The player also has a sound meter, which indicates how loud their sounds are. The player has other items that are needed to solve puzzles in order to progress.

If the killer catches the player, they will end up in a different place. Each time is different.

For the first time, the killer puts the player in a room full of TVs. To escape, the player has to remove door pins. Once removed, the door falls which leads to a staircase. For the second time, he puts the player in a chair. To escape, the player needs to click the left mouse button repeatedly to break out of the chair. For the third time, the Game Over screen turns black with only one word: "***SACRIFICE".*** Afterwards, the killer will drag the player towards a red door in the basement bunker, leading to his secret, presumably killing the player.

### Items

Main article: *Items*

* Lighter
* Screwdriver
* Sound Meter
* Hammer
* Revolver
* Knife
* Radar
* Rocks
* Bandages
* Drain Cleaner
* Hex Key (Lock Picks)
* Rubbing Alcohol
* Wire Clipper
* Body Parts
* Backpack
* Wooden Plank
* Keys
* Pressure Valve
* Duct Tape
* C Battery
* Bullets
* Flashlight
* VHS Tapes

## Trivia

* The characters and the locations were heavily inspired by the original 1974 *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* and *The Hills Have Eyes*.
	+ The gameplay is openly inspired by *Granny*, a popular 2017 horror game.
* Stay Out of the House is the third Puppet Combo game that was released on Steam, the first one being Murder House, and the second one Christmas Massacre.
* The game has been in development since 2017 and was delayed many times.
	+ Indie developer lum, who made *Search Party*, helped with finishing *Stay Out of the House*.
	+ According to Puppet Combo, *Stay Out of the House* took longer to develop because of the poorly written code that was left over from early to mid-development.
* Stay Out of the House is the third Puppet Combo game that was released on consoles, the first one being Murder House, and the second one being Nun Massacre.
* According to Puppet Combo, the room made of flesh in the rebirth ending was the very first thing designed for the game. Puppet Combo randomly created it and then had to come up with a whole game to explain the room.
* The VHS Cover of Stay Out of the House was painted by Markus Bülow, who also painted some other covers such as The Night Ripper, Babysitter Bloodbath, and more.
* Stay Out of the House is the second Puppet Combo game that was released on mobile devices, the first one being Nun Massacre.

## Gallery

### Promotional material

Older promotional art.Full artworkBannerVHS
## Videos

STAY OUT OF THE HOUSE (2018) - Teaser TrailerTeaser trailerStay Out of The House Gameplay TrailerGameplay trailerStay Out Of The House - Slasher Horror Out on SteamLaunch trailer
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Puppet Combo Direct Show (33:36)
2. ↑ Puppet Combo delaying Stay Out of the House until October
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/1578057235040800769
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/1669692482001461249?cxt=HHwWgoCznemd-KsuAAAA
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/1737474238519353676
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNL1M9bo6TM
7. ↑ Puppet Combo saying it's inspired by Granny
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/1589426360896086016?cxt=HHwWgIDT3dS2444sAAAA
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/uberprawn/status/1576403969618116608?cxt=HHwWgIDU-dzDweArAAAA
10. ↑ https://www.relyonhorror.com/in-depth/interviews/interview-power-drill-massacre-dev-puppet-combo-talks-past-present-future-of-solo-horror-development/
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/1676677358307233795
12. ↑ http://markusbuelow.blogspot.com/
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo/status/951246284110868480