BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue

About

"BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue" is a cooperative horror game where you play as a scientist exploring the dangerous poolrooms dimension. As you avoid creatures and search for an exit, utilize singleplayer or multiplayer modes with proximity voice chat. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5, offering high-quality graphics for an immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue screenshot

40%

Audience ScoreBased on 104 reviews

graphics8 positive mentions

gameplay4 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and cutscenes, showcasing a good storyline that is innovative compared to other Backrooms games.
Many players found the game to be a fun, short experience, ideal for playing with friends for a quick laugh.
The prologue has potential and keeps players engaged, with some expressing excitement for the full game's release.

The game is extremely short, with many players completing it in under 20 minutes and finding it lacking in gameplay and depth.
There are significant optimization issues, with reports of low frame rates and numerous bugs that hinder the overall experience.
Many players criticized the game for its lack of real horror elements, with only one jump scare and minimal interactivity.

graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
17%
17%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising their quality and beauty, including impressive cutscenes. However, several users highlight significant optimization issues that lead to poor performance, such as low frame rates and inconsistent graphical quality. Overall, while the visuals are often described as excellent, the game's optimization detracts from the overall experience.
- “Insane game with insane graphics!!!”
- “The game has beautiful graphics, beautiful cutscenes and a good storyline.”
- “Graphics 10/10 and very entertaining puzzles—I recommend it!”
- “This game’s graphics are fine, but damn, the optimization is terrible!”
- “Bad multiplayer, graphics, gameplay, puzzles, sound design, UI, lots of bugs, extremely lacking horror aspects, and literally nothing to do for more than 10 minutes besides trying to get into the same lobby as your friend.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
58%
33%
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being short, poorly optimized, and lacking engaging content, with many reviewers noting the absence of meaningful mechanics, puzzles, or threats. Players report experiencing significant performance issues, including low framerates and frequent bugs, which detract from any potential enjoyment. Overall, the gameplay is described as unfulfilling and frustrating, with little to offer beyond a few trivial minigames and a lack of atmosphere.
- “Best game I've played all week, runs better than Elden Ring, gameplay is better too. If I could, I would put this on every PC ever so they can appreciate this masterpiece.”
- “Short gameplay, bad optimization/framerate and overall just bad.”
- “There’s no real gameplay, except maybe one ultra-boring, cringe-inducing number minigame (a parody of Wordle), and then a stupid labyrinth.”
- “25 minutes of gameplay without enemies or puzzles.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
25%
63%
The game suffers from severe optimization issues, with multiple users reporting poor framerate, bugs, and overall performance problems. While the graphics and storyline received some praise, the consensus is that significant improvements are needed in the optimization department.
- “This game is extremely unoptimized; it needs some improvement in the optimization area, but not gonna lie, the graphics are good. It's nice to see they built some storyline into the game.”
- “Short gameplay, bad optimization/framerate, and overall just bad.”
- “This game’s graphics are fine, but damn, the optimization is terrible!”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's story is praised for its intriguing and unique narrative, focusing on the search for teammates within a specific level, which sets it apart from other titles in the genre. Players appreciate the beautiful graphics and well-crafted cutscenes that enhance the storytelling experience.
- “Love the cutscenes so far and the story looks very interesting and different from the other backrooms games as we are searching for our teammates in a specific level.”
- “The game has beautiful graphics, beautiful cutscenes and a good storyline.”
- “It's good to see they made some storyline built inside the game.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
The humor in the game is generally seen as light and suitable for short, casual play sessions with friends, but it lacks depth and consistency, with some players finding it unfunny aside from a single jump scare.
- “It's funny to play if you just want something to do for like 10 minutes with friends; that's about it though.”
- “The humor in this game is surprisingly clever and keeps you laughing throughout.”
- “I love how the game incorporates jokes and puns that make even the simplest tasks entertaining.”
- “There was one jumpscare and the rest was just not funny.”
- “The jokes fell flat and lacked any real wit.”
- “I expected clever humor, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability received mixed reviews; while some players noted that it ran smoothly with minimal glitches and consistent frame rates, others criticized it for being buggy and lacking optimization.
- “No optimization, buggy, too short.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is criticized for being virtually nonexistent, with reviewers noting a lack of engaging gameplay and only a single, ineffective jump scare that fails to connect with the established backrooms lore.
- “There’s no gameplay, no atmosphere, and only one cheap jump scare that has nothing to do with backrooms lore.”