Liminal City

About

Liminal City is a single player simulation game. It was developed by LIGHTWORKER GAMES and was released on December 8, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Empty streets between soulless buildings… Structures that feel familiar yet alien… And the feeling that something is constantly watching you… Liminal City is an exploration-focused psychological horror and liminal space experience in the ultra-realistic VHS style, developed with Unreal Engine 5. As you navigate the relatively "safe" streets of Backrooms Level 11, reality can sudde…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 38 reviews

graphics5 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Liminal City offers a captivating atmosphere with impressive graphics and sound design, creating a truly immersive experience.
The game effectively captures the unsettling nature of liminal spaces, providing a unique exploration-driven psychological horror experience.
Players appreciate the variety of levels and the balance between challenge and navigation, making it enjoyable without feeling overly difficult.

The game suffers from a short playtime, typically around 2 hours, which some players feel does not justify the cost.
Many players found the fish-eye lens effect and head bobbing uncomfortable, with a lack of options to disable these features being a significant drawback.
Some levels can be confusing and disorienting, leading to frustration when players get lost without clear points of reference.

atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, characterized by a sense of isolation and anticipation rather than reliance on cheap jump scares. Key sound design and atmospheric music enhance the experience, creating a creepy environment that keeps players engaged as they explore diverse locations. While there are some jump scares, the overall focus remains on building a deeply unsettling atmosphere that captivates players throughout the gameplay.
- “Freaky, well-placed atmospheres, an overall feel of emptiness and anticipation.”
- “Key sound design and atmospheric music choices being standouts amongst the genre here.”
- “There are no cheap jump scares or constant threats — instead, the game relies on atmosphere, isolation, and the creeping feeling that something is deeply wrong.”
- “The atmosphere is there and quite creepy!”
- “The levels were cool, branching paths add replayability, and the atmosphere made my skin crawl.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the impressive visuals, atmospheric design, and effective audio that enhance the overall experience. However, some players criticize certain textures as blurry and pixilated, suggesting potential issues with graphical fidelity. Overall, while the aesthetic appeal is noted, there are concerns about repetitiveness and simplicity in the level design.
- “Impressive graphics.”
- “The environments, graphics, and audio design are really well done and really add to the experience.”
- “I really liked the level design and visuals.”
- “The first thing I noticed about this game is that the sensitivity is like slipping on ice, and every texture in this game is extremely blurry and pixelated even on max graphics (not sure if it was a bug or not). Every level is very simplistic and repetitive.”
- “On the other hand, it's the same aesthetic of backrooms.”
- “I think people are forgetting that the camera effect and 'head' bobbing is supposed to be a part of the game aesthetic.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's story is described as a refreshing addition, though it lacks originality and can be confusing, particularly in its whimsical ending. Despite its shortcomings, the narrative contributes to a dreamlike atmosphere and enhances the overall experience, complemented by engaging gameplay and impressive graphics. However, some players feel that the story is minimal or unclear.
- “Having a story to go along with it was really refreshing in this style of game.”
- “Where it falls short in originality, attempts at story, or horror, it regains in a level of game design competency, clear passion for its ideas despite execution, and relative surprises in what it does have to offer.”
- “Where it falls short in originality, attempts at story, or horror, it regains in a level of game-design competency, clear passion for its ideas despite execution and relative surprises in what it does have to offer.”
- “Game technically contains something you could call a story, and while a lot of people will be confused about the downright wacky tone of the end section, it really goes a long way in cementing the dreamlike feel of the experience.”
- “- there isn't really a story.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The gameplay is generally praised for its engaging levels, atmospheric settings, and unexpected storyline, making it a must-try experience. However, some players have expressed concerns about the entity's appearance and the fish-eye camera effect, which can cause discomfort. Overall, the game offers around two hours of enjoyable content with good graphics.
- “The game is very good; I think the entity is the only thing I have a problem with. It just doesn't look too good, but the way it works is perfect. I didn't really have any problems with the entity being buggy. Just hope it looks more realistic in the future, but great levels, great gameplay, definitely a must-try.”
- “About 2 hours of gameplay with lots of different atmospheric levels.”
- “I enjoyed the game, the different locations, the atmosphere, the unexpected storyline, and gameplay as a whole. Not to mention, the graphics were very good.”
- “Secondly, I wouldn't have had much of a problem if the game had the option to turn off the fish-eye camera effect (15 minutes of gameplay and I started feeling nauseous), and I'm not talking about the camera shaking (which can be turned off).”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is solid, with users reporting minimal issues, particularly with the entity's functionality. However, there are some concerns regarding its visual realism, which players hope will be improved in future updates.
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
- “I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which ruined the overall experience.”
- “The stability issues are frustrating; I lost progress due to unexpected crashes.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The music in the game is highly praised for its atmospheric quality and effective sound design, enhancing the overall experience and complementing the visuals well.
- “The visuals are very good, and so is the ambient music.”
- “Key sound design and atmospheric music choices are standouts in this genre.”
- “The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “While the sound design is decent, the overall soundtrack is forgettable and uninspired.”
- “The atmospheric music choices don't match the game's tone, leading to a disjointed experience.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game is highly praised, with users reporting no performance issues whatsoever.
- “I had zero issues with performance.”
- “The game runs smoothly on my system, even at high settings.”
- “I appreciate how well-optimized the game is; it really enhances the overall experience.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
While the game offers cool levels and branching paths that enhance replayability, some players feel that its short completion time of under two hours makes the $12 price point seem steep due to limited replay value.
- “The levels were cool, branching paths add replayability, and the atmosphere made my skin crawl.”
- “I enjoyed my time with this game, but $12 for a game that has almost no replay value and takes a little under 2 hours to complete might seem a little steep for some.”