How to recognise each one on sight — and what they carry
Named NPCs arrive at the same window as your patients, so the first job is telling them apart from the queue. Ratthew is the one that catches people out: he stares at the security cameras, which is a genuine anomaly tell, and he is still explicitly not an anomaly. Barney is the reverse: he passes as an ordinary visitor right up until the photo that shows his true form, and he is a neutral anomaly the entire time.
| Character | What you're looking at | What they carry |
|---|
| 🐈 Liz | Caracal-like creature: light-brown fur, dark downturned ears | Her UV camera — handed to you for one specific photo, and taken back if you waste it |
| 🐰 Barney | White rabbit-like creature: black slit eyes, mustache, brown hat, plaid pants | A kitchen knife, and later a red briefcase he leaves in your care |
| 🐭 Ratthew | Small black rat: white muzzle, buck teeth, curled pink tail | A key to the Room 5 safe, plus a note — handed over on his final visit |
| 🦌 Dr. Harlow | Light-orange muntjac deer: blue scrubs, white coat, stethoscope, head mirror | A black suitcase stamped TOP SECRET in red |
Frequency is worth knowing too, because it changes how much patience each one deserves. Barney gets up to three visits in a single shift across Shifts 2–7. Ratthew is far rarer — roughly five visits across an entire run, starting somewhere in Shifts 2–4. Liz is the longest arc of the three: her first appearance lands at Shifts 11–12 and her questline keeps going through roughly Shift 21.
Caracal-like creature, light-brown fur · added July 10, 2026 (Harlow's Favorite Update) · appears around Shifts 11–12 · not hostile
The game's first interactive female character: a journalist fired from Animal Corp's news channel for telling the truth about the anomaly infection. She hands you her UV camera and asks you to photograph a specific visitor — waste the photo and she takes it back, saying she can't trust you.
Full Liz guide: lore, UV camera & Stalker theory →White rabbit-like creature, mustache, brown hat · appears Shifts 2–7, up to 3 visits per shift · neutral anomaly
Barney's visits form a chain: he asks for coffee (four cups in total across the story), leaves a red briefcase in your care, asks you to photograph him — the first time you see his true form — then asks for a scalpel, and finally begs you to hide him behind the front desk because the police are coming.
Ending A — hide him
Don't rat him out to Officer Duckman and he leaves you the briefcase: a second coffee machine (300s cooldown) — one of the best rewards in the game.
Ending B — turn him in
Barney knocks Officer Duckman out cold and escapes. Duckman becomes a patient you have to treat. You get nothing.
Notes: tasers and guns don't work on Barney. Refusing his early requests doesn't break the chain or cost you the coffee machine.
Full Barney guide →Small black rat, white muzzle, pink tail · first appears Shifts 2–4 · explicitly NOT an anomaly (despite staring at cameras)
Ratthew introduces himself anonymously ("being small has its advantages"), later reveals his name, warns you to trust no one in this hospital, and admits it hurts that everyone treats him like an anomaly. On his final visit he says the government is hunting him, mentions his missing twin sister Rattina (who worked at Animal Corporation), and hands you a key and a note.
The key opens the safe behind the cat poster in Room 5: inside are Rattina's photo, a TOP SECRET briefcase, and a note about a successful experiment — "Shadow can see everything now," widely read as the origin of the Stalker. Bonus: when an anomaly approaches check-in while Ratthew is in the office, he warns you in red text.
Ratthew's twin sister · lore-only so far · never appears in person
Rattina is the only character on this page you never meet. Ratthew calls her "the smart one in the family"; she worked for the Animal Corporation before she vanished, and everything the game gives you about her is second-hand — his account of her, and the photo of her sitting in the Room 5 safe alongside the TOP SECRET briefcase and the experiment note.
Her status is still simply missing: as of July 26, 2026 the game has not confirmed what happened to her. Note that Animal Corporation is the same company Liz was fired from for reporting on the anomaly infection — the game leaves you to make that connection yourself.
Full Rattina page: what happened to her →Calico cat, yellow hazmat suit · added July 25, 2026 (The Hazmat Team Arrives update) · appears during Slime Shifts · not hostile
Sam is a hireable hazmat cleanup employee who shows up during Slime Shifts — the new event type that starts spawning around Shift 10. For $250 he sticks around for three shifts, cleaning slime trails, removing Hiders and putting out fires. When his three shifts are up, he leaves until the next Slime Shift starts.
What he does
Cleans slime, removes Hiders, puts out fires — the three hazards that pile up during Slime Shifts.
Cost
$250 per Slime Shift. He stays for 3 shifts, then leaves until the next Slime Shift begins.
Orange deer, blue scrubs, head mirror, "TOP SECRET" briefcase · Shifts 1–7
Your supervisor and tutorial-giver: he unlocks shutters and cameras after Shift 1, the shop and ER (Rooms 6–8) after Shift 2, and the taser after Shift 3, grading you at the end of every shift until he stops appearing after Shift 7. His catchphrase: "Your sanity is important. Don't DIE on me." An anomaly version of him appears in a lobby-window easter egg — the community suspects he's more involved than he lets on.
Full Dr. Harlow guide →Black duck, blue police cap · Shift 8+ · only appears if you agreed to hide Barney · not an anomaly
He arrives investigating Barney — holding the photo you took. Turn Barney in and Duckman gets stabbed and knocked out (you'll have to treat him); stay quiet and he leaves peacefully. There is no reward for snitching.
Blue lop-eared rabbit, round glasses, white suit · Shifts 2–3 · not an anomaly
"Name's Ron... from accounting." Ron is the game's walking lore dump: patients aren't sick, they're infected; the previous intern got eaten by a Bed Monster (hence the maple syrup he carries); the old files were moved out a month ago; he once saw the Mass of Eyes — and the doctor who went looking for eyedrops never came back. He also wonders aloud why the hospital is always hiring.
