Krampus Kills

Krampus Kills is a horror shooter about Finley, a 10-year-old boy in the northern town of Oakville. On Christmas Eve, as he waits for Santa with his parents, the ancient demon Krampus comes for his soul. You explore the town and try to avoid Krampus, who tracks your footsteps in the snow and smashes through walls. The main story takes about 2–3 hours for casual players.

Story and setting

Krampus is described as Santa Claus’s shadow, a powerful demon who takes naughty children’s souls to the underworld. As you explore, you can discover ancient scrolls containing lore about him. The story also uses lore elements to explain the Krampus myth.

Locations include the corridors of Finley’s parents’ 5,000-square-foot New England home, the sewers beneath it and the haunted forest around Oakville. The game features multiple locations, hidden memes and jokes, challenging puzzles, jumpscares and horrifying monsters.

Enemies and combat

Krampus raises the dead on the night he arrives. His demonic elves charge at you as cannon fodder, snowmen attack from afar with icy artillery, and zombies lurk around corners and swarm. Krampus pursues you through the town, and his aggressive AI can be challenging to learn to avoid.

Your primary weapon is a double-barrel shotgun. Gameplay alternates between sneaking through tight corridors and running and gunning in the sewers and forest.

Game modes

Hide and Seek is available from the start. In its open forest map, you must sneak around while Krampus is loose and destroy three grandfather clocks to escape. Item locations are randomized each time you play, and completing the mode earns an achievement.

Beating the main game unlocks two modes:

• Nightmare Mode: face completely new enemy spawns and discover a secret ending.
• Survival Mode: endure endless waves of enemies for as long as you can. Surviving for 15 minutes unlocks an achievement.

Difficulty and replaying

The game has four difficulty settings: Nice, Normal, Naughty and Nightmare. A hidden dynamic difficulty system also adjusts the challenge based on how well you play. Different paths, a secret ending and unlockable cheats provide reasons to replay.

The game includes achievements, ending rankings and completion times for speedrunners.