DERELIKT Hazmat Suit: Where to Get It and What It Unlocks
The hazmat suit's location in Central Security, the Squidbull requirement and the coolant rooms that are lethal without it.
The hazmat suit is DERELIKT's clearest piece of Metroidvania design. You see it behind glass in Central Security, the game refuses to give it to you, and the coolant reservoir is the locked door it opens.
The suit is not an upgrade you can miss permanently, but it is a gate you can waste time on. Players who skip the Squidbull and try to force the coolant section will find the airlock refuses to cycle, with no message explaining why.
The suit only matters once you reach the coolant reservoir→, where the flooded sections start.
Where the suit is
The hazmat suit is in the security office on Central Security's lower floor, behind a glass case. The office is off the main checkpoint corridor, past the cell block.
On your first visit, interacting with the case gives a sealed-locker message. That is the game telling you the suit is story-locked, not that you missed a key.
When it unlocks
The locker opens after the Squidbull dies. The fight ends with you climbing back to Central Security through the maintenance stair, and the security override you pick up on the way opens the case.
The sequence is:
- Finish Central Security's objective (Executive Suites lift).
- Complete Living Quarters and the gym fight.
- Defeat the Squidbull.
- Return to Central Security via the maintenance stair.
- Take the override from the security office desk.
- Open the suit case.
The suit goes into your inventory as a permanent item. It cannot be dropped, and it takes a large grid shape, so free space before you take it.
What the suit does
- Blocks radiation damage in the coolant reservoir's flooded zones.
- Allows the airlock to cycle on Level 8. Without it, the door will not open.
- Slows movement in water, which is a trade-off rather than a bonus.
- Muffles footsteps, which makes some enemy encounters easier to avoid.
The suit does not protect against acid, fire or the Proxies' heat blasts. It is a radiation and water item, not armour.
Level 8's airlock checks the inventory. There is no alternate route and no workaround.
Rooms that need the suit
| Level | Room | Hazard |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Coolant Reservoir | First flooded basin | Radiation + stingrays |
| 8 Coolant Reservoir | Submerged control room | Deep water, no air pocket |
| 8 Coolant Reservoir | Cooling tower sump | Radiation |
| 10 Nuclear Reactor | Station A pump floor | Low radiation, suit recommended |
The reactor's pump floor is technically survivable without the suit for short periods, but the damage ticks fast enough that the suit is effectively required there too.
Before the coolant section
- Suit equipped and grid space freed.
- Two medkits, merged if possible.
- Rifle with two magazines for the stingrays.
- Flashlight charged.
- Save at the Central Security conference room.
The first save inside the coolant level is after the pump room, which is a long walk from the airlock.
How the suit changes the coolant level
Without the suit, the coolant reservoir is a short, lethal walk: the first basin's radiation kills you before you reach the far valve, and the submerged control room is unreachable. With it, the level becomes a forty-minute survival run with three save stations.
The suit's water slowdown is the trade-off. It makes the stingray sections slower than they look, and it means the escape from a bad swim is longer. Treat the first basin as a scouting run: find the far valve, note the stingray paths, then commit.
The airlock checks the equipped item on entry, not on exit. If you swap the suit out for armour at the last save, the door will refuse to cycle and you will have to walk back to the locker.
Why players get stuck
The three most common hazmat problems:
- The locker will not open. The Squidbull is still alive, or the override has not been picked up from the desk.
- The airlock will not cycle. The suit is in the box, not in the inventory. Take it out of storage.
- The suit "disappeared". It was stored in the hub box and the box bug ate it. Reload a save from before the deposit.
The second one is the most common. The game checks the carried inventory, not the storage box.
FAQ
Can I get the hazmat suit before the Squidbull? No. The locker is story-locked.
Does the suit protect against the Proxies? No. It only protects against radiation and water hazards.
Is the suit permanent? Yes, for the save.
Does it take inventory space? Yes, a large shape. Free space before you take it.
GameScout's review calls the hazmat suit the game's only clean Metroidvania gate, which is a fair summary of how the locker and the coolant airlock work together.
Sources and further reading
The pages below are the sources this guide checks against. The store page and the developer's post are primary; the reviews are secondary and are used for enemy names, weapon names and the state of the game at launch.
- DERELIKT on Steam ↗ — the store page, system requirements and the 27-achievement list.
- Visuwyg's announcement post ↗ — the developer's own description of the outpost and the PS1 rendering work.
- GameScout's DERELIKT review ↗ — 6.5/10, with the most detailed breakdown of the game's bugs and hub loop.
Official source: Visuwyg — DERELIKT announcement post ↗, 8 September 2025.
"grafted onto an anomalous derelict asteroid in orbit around Saturn" — Visuwyg, DERELIKT announcement post, 2025