R.E.P.O. Controls — Complete Keybinds & How to Play Guide
R.E.P.O. drops you into a haunted warehouse with nothing but a list of valuables to steal and no tutorial beyond a few on-screen prompts. If you died to the first monster because you couldn't figure out how to drop a heavy vase, you're not alone. Here is the complete R.E.P.O. controls list, including the hidden binds the game doesn't tell you about.
R.E.P.O. Basic Controls
Movement is the easy part. The rest of R.E.P.O.'s controls are built around one mechanic: grabbing and carrying physics objects without breaking them.
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Move | WASD |
| Look / Aim | Mouse |
| Jump | Spacebar |
| Sprint | Left Shift |
| Crouch | Left Ctrl or C |
| Interact / Pick up | E |
| Grab / Carry | Left Mouse Button |
| Throw | Right Mouse Button (or Left Mouse while holding) |
| Rotate held item | Mouse wheel or Q / E |
| Drop item | G |
| Inventory / Quota list | Tab |
| Push-to-talk | V |
How Grabbing Actually Works
The single most important R.E.P.O. control to master is grabbing. You press E to pick up small items, and you hold the Left Mouse Button to grab and drag larger objects like vases, boxes, and heavy furniture. The trick is that physics objects have momentum — swing a heavy vase too fast and it flies out of your hands, or worse, shatters on the floor and costs you the quota.
To move heavy items safely, grab with left click, then walk slowly and keep the object close to your body. Rotate it with the mouse wheel before you set it down so it lands flat. Dropping a crystal vase on its edge is the fastest way to fail a run.
Throwing and Stacking
Throwing is how you get valuables into the extraction zone without walking them one by one. Hold an item, aim with the mouse, and right-click to toss it. The throw arc depends on how fast you were moving when you let go, so a running start adds distance. For fragile items, don't throw at all — carry them.
Stacking matters for the quota. Small items can be piled onto larger objects and carried as a group. Grab a box, then have a teammate drop smaller items on top of it. One person carries the box, and you move an entire haul in a single trip.
Hidden Controls New Players Miss
These aren't shown in the on-screen prompts but they change how the game feels.
- Crouch under obstacles. Some extraction paths are blocked by low beams. Crouching (Ctrl) gets you and your carried item under them.
- Drop quietly. The G key drops whatever you're holding. Use it instead of throwing when you need to set something down without breaking it.
- Push-to-talk. R.E.P.O. has proximity voice chat. Push-to-talk (V) keeps you from giving away your position to monsters that react to sound.
- Sprint management. Sprinting makes noise and drains stamina. In a monster's aggro range, walk instead of sprint, or the thing will hear you coming.
How to Survive Your First Heist
Controls are half the battle. The other half is knowing when to be quiet. R.E.P.O.'s monsters hunt by sound and line of sight, so your movement keys are as much a stealth tool as a way to get around. Move slow when a monster is near, use crouch to break line of sight behind cover, and never sprint with a fragile item.
The quota matters more than the loot. Check Tab often to see what's still needed, and prioritize the high-value items over filling your hands with junk. One intact crystal vase is worth more than a full inventory of broken plates.
Once you have the controls down, the game clicks. You stop fighting the physics and start planning routes, splitting loot with your team, and baiting monsters away from the extraction zone. That's the real game — and the controls are just the entry ticket.