The Backrooms Review

The Backrooms tells the story of a Terrence, a normal man making his way back home after a normal day at the office. After existing the subway, he takes the stairs up to street level, but instead he falls down inexplicably into The Backrooms. The game chronicles Terrence’s misadventure in the Backrooms across 7 days. Can he escape or is he doomed to be trapped forever?

The Backrooms is an atmospheric horror walking game where players will explore a maze like area in hopes to finding the exit and escape this nightmare. You can “run” and I use that term loosely; it’s more like walk slightly faster. As you explore the mysterious area, you’ll come across a handful of quirky characters to interact with.

Unlike other similar games, The Backrooms offers a bit of gameplay variety. Early on, you’ll need to find a screwdriver to grab a mask or later on, you’ll need to find a chair to start a fire. At some point, you’ll also find a purse full of coins which you can use to retrace your steps. Drop a few coins as you walk around to make it easier to see where you’ve been.

Additionally, depending on your choices, interactions and exploring skills, the game offers a few endings offering a bit of replay value. The game also offers a few styling options for a more “realistic” experience. You can choose from a 1999, 1995, 16mm or VHS filter. The game also saves at a few points and there’s at least checkpoints so you don’t need to start over when you die.

The Backrooms looks great for what it’s looking to accomplish. The liminal space looks great and is appropriately never racking. It also feels like the developers threw a bit of Silent Hill inspired design as at some point, the liminal space turns into a metallic railing heavy, hellish setting with corpses hanging around. Literally. The soundtrack is also a tense filled, never racking score that will send shivers up and down your spine. Playing this with headphones amplifies everything by 1000.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with The Backrooms, maybe except the game does feel a bit on the short side. I’m not expecting a liminal game in a labyrinth to last 20 hours, but this one can easily be done in a single 30-45 minute sitting. The other little addendum is that it’s easy to get lost, even with the coin mechanic. Some players might get irritated with going around in circles.

The Backrooms is another great addition to the liminal space/atmospheric horror genre. The ambiance is top notch, the NPC interactions add a bit of interactivity in an otherwise walking sim approach. While it is on the short side, the game encourages replays to find all possible endings. Highly recommended for long time horror fans and those looking to dab in the genre.