The Little Backrooms Fangame That Could

Fear is a primal drive. Humans evolved in response to threats like big scary cats, drowning, and clowns for some reason. When it comes to horror games, the fear they create is what (usually) propels us further into the dark.

What happens when that dark looks like an infinite maze of empty hallways and generally off-putting liminal spaces we aren't meant to take note of? I get the heebie-jeebies!

The Backrooms: Survival is a retro-style survival-horror game mixed with roguelike elements. It's currently in early-access.

It's one of the many fan games based around the urban legends and collaborative writing project we know as the Backrooms. It's a place between places: it's liminal. We aren't meant to do more than walk through and not take notice.

Falling Into Another Reality

Although I'm an easily scared little guy, I felt a constant tugging of curiosity. I was afraid of moving forward, but something existed on those floors and I wanted to experience it.

The first "thing" I found was a faceless fellow resting at a campfire. He acted as the game's shopkeeper (and the nicest entity down here).

The same couldn't be said for the chainsaw-wielding maniac and hounds that want to steal my skin. Also, the number of creepy children skulking about would make you think the local preschool put together the town haunt.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were numerous diverse floors to the game than just drab yellow wallpaper.

At first I played this game for about an hour with a friend watching, and the unease we had at the start slowly turned into frustration. One thing became very apparent.

This game is repetitive.

Every time we thought we might be going the right direction, we were immediately met with goofy-looking circus monsters or more locked doors.

Where I once found joy in being creeped out by the atmosphere, it all started blend together. The constantly screaming monsters became nothing more than Scooby-Doo villain chase scenes.

I ended up coming back the next day to continue exploring and, oddly enough, it had me in my seat for another full hour. I missed so much in my first sitting that it felt like the Backrooms hooked onto my brain.

The Verdict?

Maybe this game just isn't made for people like me. I believe people who are fans of creepypasta fangames or similarly strange indies will have a good amount of fun. This game is made for you guys.

It's a genuinely creepy game in the beginning. The random sounds interrupting constant silence is what really kept me hooked in. It made me afraid of what could be on the other side of those damp yellow walls without the need for a screamer.

I'd also like to commend it for utilizing random world generation to fend off the previously mentioned feeling of repetition. It even lets players create their own wanderer with 19 different professions, each granting a unique bonus effect.

First impressions are everything. This game definitely had a good one, but it just couldn't keep me on board for a long session. I'm pretty confident in rating The Backrooms: Survival...

It's a pretty small game that'll only cost you about $7 on Stream. I recommend trying it twice before deciding if you want to refund it! It's a spooky game and my friends enjoyed my reactions to the many scares it throws at you. You don't need a lot of brainpower to play this, so it's definitely a great option for streaming.

It's clearly a much better experience compared to a lot of other backrooms games on Steam. The developers are very active with updates and seem to have good communication with fans. There's a lot to this game, it's a shame I just couldn't mesh with it fully.

With all that said, I'm a gremlin who likes to torture his friends. I DEFINITELY want to see how this game's multiplayer works. I had a lot of fun streaming it to my friends, so I'm confident you will too!