The West Wood Remake HUD

The HUD in West Wood Remake is your primary survival instrument panel. Reading it correctly is not optional — it is the difference between knowing you are about to die and actually doing something about it. Every bar on screen tells you a specific resource story, and experienced players check them the way drivers check a dashboard: habitually, before anything else.

The Five HUD Elements

Health Bar

Your survival buffer against creature attacks. Community testers consistently document the standard Wendigo attack at 25–30 damage and the Blood Moon variant at 40–50 damage. Your health bar does not regenerate passively — only healing items restore it. During a chase, you read the health bar to decide whether to sprint to a safehouse or fight inside a room. If you are below half health and the creature is circling your building, your survival protocol changes: do not sprint, use the nearest cover, and wait for the creature to move before rotating.

Stamina Bar

The sprint resource. Left Shift on PC consumes stamina while held. When the bar is empty, you cannot sprint at all — you walk at running speed, which means a creature on your position is a death sentence. Experienced players protect stamina during daylight hours by walking between buildings during loot runs, saving sprint exclusively for night-phase emergencies and creature chases. During summer and hot weather events, stamina drains faster even when not sprinting — monitor it more closely during heat.

Thirst Bar

The summer and exercise resource. Thirst drains during physical activity, not just running. Walking, climbing, and carrying heavy items all contribute. During standard nights, thirst drain is slow enough that most players ignore it. During summer season or heat events, thirst becomes the bar you check most frequently. A player who ignores thirst during summer can find themselves at zero bar before midnight, which causes a silent death — you do not hear a warning, you just stop being able to sprint.

Hunger Bar

The cooking and recovery resource. Hunger drains whenever you perform actions but at a slower base rate than thirst. Cooked food from an oven restores significantly more hunger than raw food picked up from the environment. The Hunger bar is most relevant during extended sessions and winter season when cold weather accelerates its drain. Players who do not understand the hunger bar often find themselves unable to perform actions at critical moments.

Medallion Ring

The equipped medallion displays as a ring or circle element in the HUD. When no medallion is equipped, the ring is empty. When a medallion is active, the ring shows the medallion type currently held. Pressing H on PC activates the medallion effect — the specific effect depends entirely on which medallion is equipped. Common medallion effects documented from community sources include brief speed boosts, stamina restoration, noise reduction, and creature distraction. The medallion ring is not interactive itself — it is informational, showing you what H will do when pressed.

Reading Bars Like Routes

The bars are not independent gauges — they interact. Here is the relationship pattern:

• High thirst accelerates stamina drain. If you are dehydrated, sprint depletes stamina faster.
• Low hunger reduces the effectiveness of food items. Eating when hunger is critically low produces a reduced restoration effect.
• Health does not regenerate. Every hit you take is permanent until you find healing items.
• During Blood Moon, all drain rates increase — stamina and thirst become critical bars to monitor every 30 seconds.

Hotbar and Key Items

The hotbar in West Wood Remake holds key items selected for quick access. The layout varies by platform but the concept is consistent: the most time-sensitive items belong in the hotbar, not buried in the inventory.

Items commonly placed in the hotbar:

• Recovery items — bandages, healing items, food with high restoration value
• Bear traps — needing to deploy quickly during creature approaches
• Light source — a flashlight or headlamp that can be toggled
• Medallion — the currently equipped medallion for H-key activation

The hotbar does not hold unlimited items. Weight limits and slot constraints mean you must choose what stays in the hotbar versus what stays in inventory. During pre-night setup, review your hotbar before the sky darkens.

The HUD During Night

Night-phase HUD reading is a specific skill. In darkness, your screen real estate is limited and the temptation is to look at the bars less. Experienced players develop the habit of checking bars during safehouse transitions — the three seconds between closing a door and moving to the next position is enough to scan all four bars without exposure.

During a creature chase, do not stop moving to check the HUD. Use peripheral vision and audio cues. If you hear the creature close, assume all bars are in a dangerous state until proven otherwise.

Binds Reference

• Backspace or B — drop the currently held item. Critical for reducing inventory weight before sprinting away from the creature.
• G — open the contracts panel. Do this immediately upon spawning.
• H — activate the equipped medallion. Effect depends on medallion type.
• T — unlock the mouse. Used for looking around while the character is stationary.
• Left Shift — sprint. Hold to run, release to walk. Watch the stamina bar.

Evidence Note

HUD bar mechanics, drain rates, and interaction patterns documented from community gameplay documentation and the A_L Studios sneak peek series. Specific numerical values for drain rates, restoration amounts, and bar capacity require in-game verification per build version.