With Backrooms having taken cinemas by storm, why not take some of that discomfort home with you?
The concept of the Backrooms has absolutely exploded in popularity in recent years. Starting as a weird photo on the internet, it’s ballooned into the bananas concept of slipping through the cracks in reality and ending up somewhere you shouldn’t. Whilst it may have been simply never ending yellow walled hallways, the Backrooms is now a multilayered nightmare of different levels, realms, and monsters. Perfect for video games then!
As you’d expect, there are quite a lot of horror games that are set in this world. Some are horror, some are explorative, but they all focus on those eternal hallways and the levels above and below this other reality. Here I present to you five such games that I’ve played and enjoyed in some way, and should you want to bring some of that movie experience into your own home, you’d do well with any of these.
Honourable mention to Puppet Combo’s Backrooms game! I haven’t played it but it looks genuinely terrifying!
Escape the Backrooms
Starting with a popular one here, Escape the Backrooms is a multiplayer survival horror game in which you and your friends attempt to find the way out of each level of the Backrooms, hopefully with your sanity intact. Yes, it’s multiplayer, which means the old adage “always better with friends” is important to note, but in spite of its somewhat janky nature, this is a pretty fun game.
Starting in the yellow corridors of the titular Backrooms, you and your friends will need to find key items to survive, as well as utility and healing items. You don’t have health here, as if a monster catches you, you’re straight up dead. Your sanity is an issue though as it constantly drops over time, and you’ll need to find resources to keep that in check. What’s neat is how each level of the game presents new monsters and systems you’ll need to work around. An early one that I particularly enjoyed included monsters that looked exactly like other players in your team, so you have an option to show your ID card to others, letting them know you are who you say you are.
I also liked the variety of difficulty options, including one that completely ends your game should any player die. Only for the very brave and those immune to frustration. Yes, the visuals are a bit ropey at times, and some of the monsters are a little irritating to deal with, but if you have a group of like minded buddies, you can do a lot worse than spending some evenings running around completely lost.
I was torn between Dreamcore and Liminalcore for this list, as they both land in similar ways. I like the variety of levels that Dreamcore offers a little more though. That and Liminalcore’s framerate verged on the criminal at times. Dreamcore is a far more exploratory game than Escape the Backrooms, and is much more about the sensation of being lost and confused than about scaring the pants off you. Offering distinct levels rather than a game to work your way through from start to finish, you’ll get lost in a number of environments.
You’ve got pool rooms, a liminal hotel, and the recently released Dead Mall, as well as a couple more to find your way through. All of them have that solid VHS tape look to them that keeps things feeling just off kilter enough for you to be uncomfortable without being directly threatened.
There’s a certain degree of peace to be had exploring these areas, and whilst it’s certainly easy to get lost, once you work out what to do, it really is just a case of heading towards the exit. I wouldn’t rush this one though, as it’s surprisingly pleasant to just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere and clever use of sound. The game’s fully released now, and I’d argue is worth the price of admission.
Now, I didn’t enjoy this all that much as I felt the direct horror was a bit overplayed, relying on pretty standard tropes. The atmosphere and exploration are really enjoyable though, and those elements really are something I enjoy. The use of lighting is very unsettling, as well as a few tricks with reality changing when you aren’t looking. You’re treated to some actual real life FMV in the intro as your character drops into the Backrooms and needs to find specific items to escape.
I wasn’t a fan of the “find x items and don’t die” system as it felt very much like doing Slender all over again. Far better was the world, use of sound, and monster design. I could do without the now old fashioned “hide in vents until it leaves” stuff, but actually seeing the monster the first few times is genuinely terrifying.
Finding your way around the world feels threatening, and whilst you can learn where everything is — it isn’t procedurally generated — it’s designed in such an oppressive feeling way that even without the monster you’d still feel more than a little uncomfortable. There are a lot of very unsettling rooms you find your way into, and whilst this feels a lot more linear than other games on the list, it’s probably the most frightening and tense.
Falling into a similar category as Dreamcore, Pools has you lost specifically in the Poolrooms. All you need to do is find your way to the exit and descend to the next level of it. You’ll be lost and disoriented, but it’s the aesthetic of this one that does a lot of the work. This is a genuinely well designed and interesting world to explore, and whilst you won’t be under any genuine threat, Pools is the game on this list that gave me a genuine jump out of my skin moment of fear. I won’t spoil it, but you’ll know it if you see it.
You’re not truly alone in this world, but nothing wants to hurt you. You’ll see unsettling things out of the corner of your eye, and feel like you’re being watched by inanimate (are they actually inanimate?) objects, all whilst being utterly lost.
I stated in my review of Pools that I actually quite liked the being lost aspect of this. There’s an element of peace to it and enjoying the slow, methodical exploration of the environments is absolutely part of the fun. You can also ride the waterslides, which frankly makes this the best game here.
To finish, more multiplayer shenanigans! Making use of the Lethal Company mould, Backroom Company has you and your friends exploring the levels of the Backrooms, collecting loot to sell to meet a quota. You’ve got plenty of monsters to get in your way, as well as some honest to goodness puzzles to overcome! They aren’t difficult, but their inclusion in what could otherwise be a Lethal Company clone is really appreciated.
Other twists include modifiers that you can find that can make things easier or harder without you really knowing until you use them, and the inclusion of encumbrance. The latter is something I dislike in single player games, but using it here feels quite smart. Do you load yourself up early but risk being easily caught, or is it better to hold out and hope you can get enough later in your explorations?
Death is frequent and as amusing as it should be in a game like this, with your friends suddenly going silent when you thought they were right behind you. That classic use of proximity chat adds to the fun, and the fact there are ways to resurrect your team mates is fun too. There’s as much horror as you might expect for a multiplayer game, so don’t expect genuine fear with this one, but I will give credit to some of the use of lighting as it made some areas feel quite threatening.
