First shift at Terminal 13 and I let three imposters through because I trusted the passport photos. The Entity showed up and I panicked so hard I forgot I had a shotgun.
This Terminal 13 Not Human guide covers everything from imposter detection to surviving the monsters that come for you when you mess up. After 20+ shifts, I’ve got the patterns down. The game is basically “That’s Not My Neighbor” meets Papers Please, and it’s genuinely terrifying.
If you like anomaly detection horror, check out our Bakso Malang Anomalies guide and Scary Shawarma Kiosk guide too.
How Terminal 13 Works
You’re a night shift security guard at an airport terminal. Travelers approach your checkpoint, scan their passports, and you decide if they’re human or imposter. The game is developed by Dread Forge and they recommend headphones with max graphics for full immersion. Trust me, the audio cues matter.
Seven travelers per shift. Ask questions, compare answers to passport info, and either let them through or shoot them. Let an imposter through? Something bad comes for you at the end of your shift.
The game has two chapters right now. Chapter 1 is the airport terminal (The Second Shift update added Chapter 2). Chapter 2 is a road checkpoint with cars and multiple passengers. New events and NPCs keep getting added.
Progression Badges
| Badge | Difficulty | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Tutorial Completed | 81.9% Freebie | You finished the tutorial |
| Night Shift 1 | 100% Freebie | Completed first shift |
| Night Shift 2 | 64.9% Easy | Completed second shift |
The drop from 100% to 64.9% tells you something. A lot of players don’t make it past the second shift. That’s when the game stops holding your hand.
How to Spot Imposters
This is where most people struggle. Imposters have tells, but some are subtle.
Passport Checks
Photo mismatch is the easiest catch. If the person doesn’t match their passport photo, shoot them. Small differences like different hats are fine. Completely different face? Imposter.
Job inconsistency trips people up. Students might mention their part-time job instead of saying “student.” That’s not suspicious. But if the passport says “Engineer” and they say “I’m a chef,” that’s an imposter.
Origin questions can be vague. “I come from a small town near there” is fine as long as they don’t name a completely different country.
Duration and reason are straightforward. Just compare what they say to the passport. “I don’t know” for duration isn’t suspicious, just forgetful.
Visual Tells
Some imposters are obvious the moment they walk in:
- Extra limbs or missing body parts
- Glowing eyes or wrong eye colors
- Distorted faces or proportions
- Backwards text when they speak
- Demonic voices (you’ll know it when you hear it)
If you see any of these, don’t even bother with questions. Grab the shotgun.
The ??? Traveler
Sometimes you get a traveler with no passport info at all. Just question marks. Save your free hint for these. There’s no other way to know if they’re human or imposter.
Best Shop Items to Buy
You earn money from letting travelers through (even imposters) and looting dead imposters. Spend it wisely.
| Item | Price | Worth It? |
|---|---|---|
| Scanner | $85 | Yes |
| Landmine | $40 | Yes |
| Music Box | $50 | No |
| Blunderbuss | $60 | No |
Scanner is the best item. Three charges, instantly tells you human (green) or imposter (red). The Discord recommends buying this first every time.
Landmine saves your life when you mess up. Place it at the door before the Entity shows up. One explosion and it backs off.
Music Box distracts monsters but costs more than the landmine for worse results. Skip it.
Blunderbuss looks cool but breaks after a few shots. Your regular shotgun has infinite ammo. Don’t waste money on this.
All Monsters and How to Survive
Mess up and monsters come for you. Here’s how to handle each one.
The Entity (Chapter 1)
Shows up at the end of your shift if you let an imposter through. Slowly approaches and damages you if it gets close.
How to survive: Place a landmine at the sliding door before your shift ends. It steps on it, takes damage, and leaves. Or pump it full of shotgun shells until it retreats.
The Employee
Random event. Hulking creature rushes through the door, lights go out, then an alarm triggers. You have 30 seconds to find and kill it.
How to survive: Walk out of your workstation, turn right in the hallway. It’s crouching there trying to hide. One shotgun blast and it’s gone.
The Corrector (Chapter 2)
Chapter 2’s version of the Entity. Comes down the road toward you if you let an imposter through.
How to survive: Stay in your office until it enters, then jump out the window by the Emergency Button. It gets stuck trying to reach you through the window. Free shots while it’s stuck.
Window Imposter (Chapter 2)
After fixing the printer, an imposter climbs through the window next to it.
How to survive: Back away from the window as soon as you finish the printer. It falls flat when climbing in, giving you time to shoot.
Car Imposters (Chapter 2)
Someone calls asking you to check their stranded car at the start of the road. It’s a trap.
How to survive: Just run back to your office when they start chasing. Don’t try to fight.
Chapter 2 Road Checkpoint Tips
Chapter 2 is harder because you’re checking multiple people per car.
Driver has an ID you can verify. Check name, birthday, job, origin, and photo like normal.
Passengers don’t have IDs. Use the screen next to your window to check their last checkpoint data. If their purpose or duration changed, they’re imposters.
Demonic voices can come from any passenger. Walk around the car to pinpoint who’s making the sound. Headphones help a lot here.
Strange walking requires you to watch them exit the car. Stay outside your office during shifts to catch this.
Common Mistakes
Trusting vague answers. “I come from a small town” is fine. “I come from Mars” is not.
Forgetting the free hint. You get one per shift. Save it for ??? travelers.
Not buying the Scanner. It’s expensive but worth every dollar. Three guaranteed correct answers per shift.
Panicking when monsters appear. The Entity and Corrector are slow. You have time to set up landmines or position yourself.
Shooting students who mention part-time jobs. They’re not lying about their job. They’re just being specific. Sorry, Minji Kim.
Pro Tips
Jump out the window and shoot imposters in the back. The green goo they leave is easier to clean up when it’s outside your booth.
Fill the goo canister. Every time you fill it, you get a free shop item.
The X-Ray Scanner unlocks in shift 2. It shows skeletons. Any deviation from normal human skeleton = imposter. But honestly, they always have another tell, so it’s just for double-checking.
Chapter 2 is buggier. The devs released it while sick and are patching it. Some features like the goo collector aren’t working yet.
More Terminal 13 Content
- Terminal 13 All Imposters Guide - Every imposter type and how to identify them
- Terminal 13 All Monsters Guide - Detailed monster survival strategies
Related Horror Games
- Scary Shawarma Kiosk Guide - Another anomaly detection game
- Bakso Malang Anomalies Guide - Indonesian anomaly detection horror
- Dandy’s World Guide - Entity survival horror
- Dead Rails Guide - Train-based horror survival
- FNAF Eternal Nights Guide - Classic animatronic horror
- The Forge Guide - Mining horror survival
