Alien Invasyndrome Pause Menu, Language Switch, and Command List

Why pause and commands belong in Controls

Alien Invasyndrome (Steam app 4603980, Demo 4830300) is an 18+ stealth Demo on Atlas. Developer Mozu Field / 百舌鳥, publisher Shady Corner Games. Full release TBA. Players lose sessions not only to sight cones, but to not knowing the pause panel and the command list. This page documents those verbs as they appear in late Demo notes — especially v0.97 (command list moved to C) and v0.99 (pause button with language / BGM / title return). Adult scenes stay off-page; we stay mechanical.

Hub: Controls Hub. Title recall is different: Title Screen. Persistence honesty: Save and Progress. Platform filter: Platforms & APK.

Steam published the Demo as a store product on 24 July 2026. Content trackers still nickname the slice Demo 1.0 hotfix (5 May 2026). Verify glyphs on your install after every update (Changelog).

Language at boot — arrows before you nest

Developer notes for the Demo: the game defaults to Japanese. On the first screens, use the left and right arrow keys to switch language (English / Japanese). If text is missing or tiny on a non-Japanese Windows locale, that is the Locale Emulator problem, not a “broken pause menu.”

Do this before Kitchen greed:

1. Confirm you can read Confirm / Cancel / hide prompts (Keyboard Controls).
2. Switch language with arrows if you landed on the wrong default.
3. Only then start the larva loop on How to Play.

Pause button (v0.99-era notes)

Late Demo notes describe a pause control that lets you:

• Change language during play.
• Adjust BGM volume.
• Quit the game.
• Return to the title screen without using the OS kill switch.

That is a quality-of-life win for Atlas stealth. It is not a full RPG save menu. The same notes are explicit: save-data loading from pause was still unimplemented — you cannot treat pause as “resume exactly here after a title bounce.” If you return to title, assume you need Title Screen key 1 recall (when your build still offers it) plus a Save and Progress reload drill.

Pause hygiene

• Pause in a desk tile, not in a Cafeteria sight line.
• Do not pause-buffer through a Security gimmick and expect the boss room to forget you (Security Boss Prep).
• After pause → title, re-check nest and skills before a Security push (Nest Checklist, Skill Planner).
• If pause labels are garbage text, fix locale first — then rebind nothing mid-fight.

Command list — C key (moved from B)

v0.97 notes: the command list moved from B (described as X on some keyboard layouts in older text) to C. Open it when you need larva utilities that are not the hide verb.

Documented command-list job in that era: release a hypnotized NPC while you still have someone under control. That is a Control and Hypnosis identity tool, not a skip for detection minutes. After a release, you are back to scout → commit → hide like Stealth Actions.

Practical rules:

1. Learn C in a low-threat hall, not inside Security Room.
2. If an old video says B, trust the live Demo — label drift is normal (Version History).
3. Do not open the command list in a doorway during Kitchen Route patrols.
4. Hypnosis release is for identity play and crowding control, not for cancelling a spotting you already earned. Still wait ~1 minute after a clear spot (Detection Timer).

Trap skill MAX (v0.99 Demo note) vs pause

The same v0.99 notes set Trap skill to MAX from the start for that Demo drop while kitchen bugs were rebuilt. That is a build exception, not a promise that pause unlocked the whole tree. Plan spends with Trap Skill and Early Build, and expect later builds to gate Trap again. Pause does not grant points.

Kitchen was removed and rebuilt in that era because bugs piled up. If an old clip shows a different food-wing layout, believe Kitchen Route plus your live geometry.

Space zoom (v0.95) is not pause

Older notes add Space to zoom during certain scenes. That is a viewer control, not the pause panel, and not a stealth verb. Do not bind hide to the same mental slot as zoom. Keep hide boring on Keyboard Controls.

Charge unlock vs menus

v0.97 also made Charge Attack unavailable at start; you acquire it via a nest access event, with a Skill Tree that can show a WIP “learn again” bug. Open trees in cover. Charge timing still lives on Charge and Pounce — pause will not freeze a half-charged stealth bug for you.

Suggested 8-minute control drill

1. Boot, arrow-switch language if needed.
2. Confirm hide / interact on Keyboard Controls.
3. Open pause: glance language + BGM, then resume in place.
4. Open C command list once in a safe room; close it.
5. Softlock, wait a detection minute, leave hide.
6. Title bounce only after a nest bank — then test key 1.
7. Stop before Security Routes if pause→title dropped state.

Related pages

• Controls Hub
• Title Screen
• Keyboard Controls
• Stealth Actions
• Save and Progress
• Locale Emulator
• Changelog
• How to Play

Bottom line

Treat pause as language / BGM / title return, not as a checkpoint magician. Treat C as the command list (hypnosis release included), and treat leftover B videos as stale. Atlas still punishes players who menu in doorways. Learn the panels in a quiet hall, then go back to nesting.