Liminal City

About

Liminal City is a single player simulation game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by LIGHTWORKER GAMES and was released on December 8, 2025. It received mostly 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

Skip User Reviews

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 52 reviews

graphics5 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

Atmosphere and sound design effectively create a creepy, liminal horror experience with a strong sense of unease and anticipation.
The game offers a distinctive take on backrooms-style exploration, with interesting level transitions and a subtle narrative element.
Entities and scares are used sparingly and appropriately, enhancing the tension without overwhelming the liminal atmosphere.

Lack of accessibility options, especially the inability to disable the fish-eye lens and fully customize camera effects, causes motion sickness and discomfort for many players.
Repetitive and bland level design with extensive backtracking, slow pacing, and uninspired environments make exploration feel tedious and frustrating.
Short playtime and limited replay value may not justify the price for some players, leading to perceptions of the game being incomplete or underdeveloped.

atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its unsettling, liminal feel, skillfully balancing creepiness without relying on cheap jump scares. Players appreciate the strong sense of isolation, varied eerie locations, and a pervasive feeling of anticipation that enhances immersion. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that effectively evokes tension and curiosity throughout the gameplay.
- “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.”
- “Freaky, well-placed atmospheres, an overall feel of emptiness and anticipation.”
- “The levels were cool, branching paths add replayability, and the atmosphere made my skin crawl.”
- “There are jumpscares sprinkled throughout the game, so don't go into this expecting it to just be a creepy atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere made my skin crawl.”
- “The atmosphere is there and quite creepy!”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
22%
22%
The graphics are generally praised for being impressive and contributing well to the game's atmosphere and aesthetic, especially in terms of environments and visuals. However, some users reported issues with blurry, pixelated textures and repetitive, simplistic levels. Overall, the visuals are seen as a strong point but not without occasional technical drawbacks.
- “The environments, graphics, and audio design are really well done and really add to the experience.”
- “I enjoyed the game, the different locations, the atmosphere, the unexpected storyline and gameplay as a whole, not to mention graphics were very good.”
- “Visuals are very good, so is the ambient music.”
- “The first things 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. Every level is very simplistic and repetitive.”
- “On the other hand, it's the same aesthetic of backrooms.”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The gameplay features atmospheric and varied levels with an engaging storyline, but is hindered by repetitive maze design and a lack of essential options such as disabling the fish-eye camera effect, which negatively impacts the overall experience.
- “About 2 hrs 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 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).”
- “80% of gameplay involves wandering through same repeating mazes.”
- “I can't forgive the lack of essential options that ruin the gameplay experience.”
- “The game should have an option to turn off the fish-eye camera effect; after 15 minutes of gameplay, it caused nausea.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The story is minimal but adds a refreshing, dreamlike atmosphere to the game, with a quirky and unexpected tone that complements the overall experience. While some may find the narrative confusing or lacking, it enhances the game's unique style and setting.
- “Having a story to go along with it was really refreshing in this style of game.”
- “The game technically contains something you could call a story, and while a lot of people will be confused about the downright whacky tone of the end section, it really goes a long way in cementing the dreamlike feel of the experience.”
- “I enjoyed the game, the different locations, the atmosphere, the unexpected storyline and gameplay as a whole; the graphics were also very good.”
- “There isn't really a story.”
- “Game technically contains something you could call a story, and while a lot of people will be confused about the downright whacky tone of the end section, it really goes a long way in cementing the dreamlike feel of the experience.”
- “Having a story to go along with it was really refreshing on this style of game.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Replayability in this game is mixed; while some players appreciate the branching paths that encourage multiple playthroughs, others feel the overall replay value is limited given the short playtime and price.
- “The levels were cool, branching paths add replayability, and the atmosphere made my skin crawl.”
- “It doesn't really have any replay value.”
- “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.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its subtle, tongue-in-cheek moments, such as mocking player preferences by including unavoidable camera sway despite options to disable it, adding a playful, cheeky touch to the experience.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s grinding is hindered by poor checkpoint placement, forcing players to replay challenging levels like the pool rooms multiple times upon restarting. This lack of convenient save points makes progression tedious, especially in areas with restrictive environmental factors.
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music is praised for its ambient quality, complementing the game's strong visual presentation effectively.
- “Visuals are very good, and so is the ambient music.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game runs smoothly with no performance issues reported, indicating excellent optimization.
- “I had zero issues with performance.”