A comprehensive guide to Rotten Dawn's control schemes, interface elements, and key bindings across all supported platforms.
Rotten Dawn offers intuitive control schemes across multiple platforms, allowing players to navigate the post-apocalyptic wasteland with precision and ease. This guide covers all control layouts, interface elements, and customization options to help you survive in the harsh world.
Each control scheme is designed to provide quick access to critical survival functions while maintaining immersion in the game world. Controls can be fully customized through the in-game settings menu to match your personal preferences.
The default PC control scheme uses a standard WASD movement layout with mouse look/aim:
You can customize all keybindings in Settings > Controls > Keyboard & Mouse. Create multiple profiles for different play styles or situations, such as a "Stealth Profile" that optimizes controls for sneaking and silent takedowns.
Console controls are optimized for gamepad play with contextual actions:
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Left Stick | Movement |
| Right Stick | Look/Aim |
| X | Jump |
| Circle | Crouch/Slide (tap) / Prone (hold) |
| Square | Reload / Interact |
| Triangle | Switch Weapon / Loot All |
| L1 | Tactical Equipment |
| R1 | Melee Attack / Block |
| L2 | Aim Down Sights |
| R2 | Fire Weapon / Attack |
| D-Pad Up | Use Medical Item |
| D-Pad Down | Emote Wheel |
| D-Pad Left | Toggle Flashlight |
| D-Pad Right | Quick Message |
| L3 (Left Stick Press) | Sprint |
| R3 (Right Stick Press) | Melee / Ping Location |
| Options | Pause Menu |
| Touchpad | Inventory/Map (tap) / Journal (swipe) |
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Left Stick | Movement |
| Right Stick | Look/Aim |
| A | Jump |
| B | Crouch/Slide (tap) / Prone (hold) |
| X | Reload / Interact |
| Y | Switch Weapon / Loot All |
| LB | Tactical Equipment |
| RB | Melee Attack / Block |
| LT | Aim Down Sights |
| RT | Fire Weapon / Attack |
| D-Pad Up | Use Medical Item |
| D-Pad Down | Emote Wheel |
| D-Pad Left | Toggle Flashlight |
| D-Pad Right | Quick Message |
| LS (Left Stick Press) | Sprint |
| RS (Right Stick Press) | Melee / Ping Location |
| Menu Button | Pause Menu |
| View Button | Inventory/Map |
Console players can adjust sensitivity, button layouts, and enable accessibility features in Settings > Controls > Gamepad. We offer four preset control schemes: Default, Tactical, Survivor, and Custom. The Tactical layout swaps crouch and melee for easier drop-shotting.
Mobile controls use a combination of virtual joysticks and contextual buttons that adapt based on your current situation:
Mobile controls are highly customizable to suit your preferences:
For the best mobile experience, connect a Bluetooth controller to your device. Rotten Dawn supports most major controllers on mobile platforms, giving you console-like controls on your portable device.
The Rotten Dawn interface is designed to provide critical information while maintaining immersion in the post-apocalyptic world. UI elements fade when not in use to keep the screen clear during exploration.
Displays your current health. Begins flashing red when critically low. Sections indicate thresholds where healing efficiency changes.
Shows remaining stamina for sprinting, heavy attacks, and special abilities. Regenerates when not performing stamina-draining actions.
Indicates your current radiation exposure level. Higher levels cause health degradation and can lead to mutations.
Shows current hunger and thirst levels. These gradually deplete over time and affect stamina regeneration and eventually health.
Shows currently equipped weapon, ammo count, and quick-access items. Highlights active selection.
Displays immediate surroundings, marked locations, objectives, and enemy positions (when detected). Can be toggled between fixed and rotating orientations.
Icons showing active buffs, debuffs, and environmental effects with remaining duration. Includes disease symptoms, mutations, and temporary boosts.
Lists current mission objectives, distance to targets, and completion progress. Can be expanded for more detail.
Context-sensitive prompts that appear when near interactive objects, showing available actions and required button/key.
Direction indicator with markers for objectives, points of interest, and tracked resources. Shows degrees for precise navigation.
The interface can be extensively customized in Settings > Interface:
Access Photo Mode by pressing P (on PC) or simultaneously pressing L3+R3 (on console). Photo Mode completely hides the HUD and provides camera controls, filters, and character pose options for capturing the perfect wasteland moment. Photos are saved to your device and can be shared directly to social media platforms.
Rotten Dawn offers extensive accessibility features to ensure the game is playable by as many people as possible:
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