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Stairs

There are bugs, and the story's kinda weird, but the atmosphere is so perfect, you'll forgive it.
Stairs Game Cover
68%Game Brain Score
story, atmosphere
stability, optimization
65% User Score Based on 200 reviews
Critic Score 77%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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Stairs Game Cover

About

Stairs is a single player survival survival game with a mystery theme. It was developed by GreyLight Entertainment and was released on September 28, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

STAIRS is a first-person atmospheric psychological horror game, inspired by real-life events, that takes players through the stories of three missing people as seen through the eyes of journalist Christopher Adams.

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Stairs screenshot
Stairs screenshot
Stairs screenshot
Stairs screenshot
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65%
Audience ScoreBased on 200 reviews
story28 positive mentions
stability11 negative mentions
  • Excellent atmospheric psychological horror with impressive sound design and visuals that effectively build tension and dread.
  • Engaging and clever gameplay mechanics, especially the unique use of the camera for puzzles and progression.
  • Good story foundation with interesting mysteries that unfold through notes, journal entries, and environmental storytelling.
  • Numerous game-breaking bugs and glitches including save corruption, falling through levels, and broken achievements that hinder completion and immersion.
  • The story becomes confusing, disjointed, and has an abrupt, unsatisfying ending leaving many plot threads unresolved.
  • Limited interactivity and repetitive walking simulator elements make the gameplay feel tedious and slow-paced after the first part.
  • story
    105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this horror game is polarizing, starting off intriguing and atmospheric but becoming increasingly confusing, fragmented, and incomplete toward the end. While some players appreciate its deep, layered narrative and unique storytelling style, others find it disjointed, lacking closure, and difficult to follow without external explanations. Overall, the story's effectiveness largely depends on the player's tolerance for ambiguity and non-linear narrative structure.

    • “The plot is tightly woven and told through notes you pick up and journal entries made in the protagonist's diary.”
    • “The story, meanwhile, is going to be a like/dislike scene among people. What starts off as a rather straight-forward story, about a fourth of the way into the game it begins to get stranger, and there is never really any definite 'answers' told in game, and it ends a bit abruptly.”
    • “The story is intriguing and captivating, which many indie games usually fail at.”
    • “This game's story is abysmal and all over the place, specifically because they tried mixing up three stories into one, which sounds like a terrible idea.”
    • “One big con of the game is that I was totally invested in the story, but that ending... what was that ending? It's literally zero effort and felt incomplete.”
    • “Towards the end of the third level there was a lot of build-up, you're expecting a big jump scare or a huge reveal in the story, but then it just ends abruptly with no closure or sense of victory. It felt like the story stopped halfway through, as if I'm missing another half of the game and its story.”
  • atmosphere
    67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely praised for its strong, chilling atmosphere, characterized by immersive visuals, sound design, and a psychological horror tone that relies on dread rather than jump scares. While some find the pacing slow and note occasional bugs that disrupt immersion, the overall atmospheric experience is considered compelling, unique, and a key strength that drives player engagement despite narrative or technical flaws.

    • “The atmosphere, pacing, locations, visuals, audio and gameplay are all done really well.”
    • “Stairs oozes atmosphere with its gorgeous graphics and sound design; I can't recommend it highly enough.”
    • “The atmosphere and soundtrack are foreboding, and you always feel something or someone lurking around waiting to get the jump on you.”
    • “There's no real atmosphere to the game.”
    • “After this there is a forest section that does have some decent atmosphere, but is severely lacking in the charm and scariness of the intro section.”
    • “Also, I was bothered by the fact that you get an awesome flashlight that at some point in the game just disappears without explanation and gets replaced by an ugly black and white, but more white than black night shot camera mode which kills the otherwise pretty good and chilling atmosphere.”
  • graphics
    35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics are generally considered good and fitting for an indie horror game, offering a believable and atmospheric visual style that complements the tense gameplay and sound design. While some note the graphics as dated or mediocre compared to contemporary standards, most praise their cleanliness, smoothness, and contribution to immersion. Overall, the visuals effectively support the game's horror elements despite occasional technical or performance issues.

    • “Stairs oozes atmosphere with its gorgeous graphics and sound design, I can't recommend it highly enough.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful and feel realistically believable.”
    • “As for controls and graphics, I have to say the graphics are very clean, the game looks really good, it feels good to play smooth with no performance issues.”
    • “The graphics are dated, but indie games are forgiven for that.”
    • “Gfx, sound, animation, art style: it's all mediocre at best.”
    • “Lowering the graphics settings did not help so I guess this is just a problem with the game engine itself.”
  • gameplay
    33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay centers on an innovative camera mechanic used to explore environments, solve puzzles, and reveal clues, which many find intriguing but sometimes underutilized or repetitive. While the game offers a well-crafted atmosphere and generally engaging pacing, several players note its short length, occasional glitches, and a somewhat linear, unsatisfying progression. Overall, gameplay is seen as decent to good but not fully realized, with mixed opinions on its depth and lasting appeal.

    • “Decent exploration and environments, a few interesting puzzles and races, and a nice mechanic in the form of the main controls being equipping the camera and taking photos.”
    • “The atmosphere, pacing, locations, visuals, audio, and gameplay are just generally done really well.”
    • “The gameplay is simple; some would call it a walking simulator, but with the camera as your one tool it becomes more than that.”
    • “It is creepy, but the story and gameplay end up disappointing compared to the demo I had seen years ago.”
    • “I was interested in the possibility of making photographs, but too often it turned out to be a completely pointless part of the gameplay mechanic with no value added to the player's experience.”
    • “The base mechanic of the game is the camera you use to reveal clues and open paths, but it's hardly used to its full potential and is instead regulated to clever little moments throughout.”
  • music
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music is consistently praised for its creepy, foreboding atmosphere that enhances the horror experience, effectively keeping players on edge. The soundtrack, combined with ambient sounds and strategic silences, contributes significantly to the game's intense and memorable ambiance. Overall, the music is well-crafted and integral to the immersive horror atmosphere.

    • “The environments and the soundtrack make a surprisingly good horror atmosphere, keeping you on edge the whole time.”
    • “The environments are extremely memorable due to their intense, and sometimes overwhelming, ambiance; this is credited in part to the use of a terrific soundtrack, but also thanks to the creepy settings at hand.”
    • “During my play, I really enjoyed both the ambient soundtrack and sound effects, but it was the silence that really surprised me.”
    • “It's just another couple of hours walking virtually through dark and empty places with ominous music.”
    • “I haven't seen many games take advantage of not having any music playing, it's just you and your footsteps and... well, you'll find out.”
    • “The atmosphere and soundtrack are foreboding and you always feel something or someone lurking around waiting to get the jump on you.”
  • stability
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is inconsistent, with many users experiencing frequent and sometimes game-breaking bugs, such as save file issues and invisible obstacles, which can hinder gameplay. However, some players reported little to no bugs, suggesting the issues may vary. Overall, the bugs can significantly impact immersion and playability in certain parts.

    • “Encountered several game-breaking glitches and several other bugs within 30 minutes.”
    • “Way too buggy and well unplayable.”
    • “The game is buggy as all hell, with save files doing very strange things if you decide to load.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Optimization is inconsistent, with many users experiencing frequent stuttering and unexpected frame rate drops even on high-end hardware, suggesting the game is poorly optimized overall. While graphics are praised for their quality, performance issues persist across various systems, indicating that the suggested specifications may be inaccurate or insufficient.

    • “The graphics are very clean, and the game looks really good. It feels great to play smoothly with no performance issues. The controls are easy and simple to use and understand.”
    • “Bear in mind this was a review copy, so performance may improve on release, but overall the performance is okay.”
    • “The optimization can be a bit inconsistent in places, even on high-end hardware like an i7 6700k/GTX 1080 with 16GB DDR4 3000, experiencing significant framerate drops.”
    • “Performance isn't great (it chugs sometimes on my 2080 Super).”
    • “Stuttering every few seconds on a Toshiba laptop with an Nvidia GTX 950M running Windows 10.”
    • “The optimization can be a bit dodgy in places; even on my i7 6700k/GTX 1080/16GB DDR4 3000 combo I experienced significant framerate drops to the 40s.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game often comes from unintentional bugs and cheesy monster designs, eliciting more laughter than genuine fear. While some moments are amusing, the comedic elements feel underdeveloped and reliant on clichés.

    • “Definitely could have a little more work put into this because not only some achievements are bugged, but I also encountered a visual bug when running from a chaser that triggered my WTF mode but was quite funny.”
    • “Within moments, the sound of several kookaburras laughing raucously filled his ears.”
    • “Horror's aspects were very cliche and poor monsters' models were more funny and grotesque than actually scary.”
  • grinding
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding in the game is often tedious and unchallenging, especially in the later stages, where it becomes boring and messy rather than engaging or scary. Additionally, some sections are marred by glitches, making these parts the weakest overall.

    • “At times it was scary but also tedious, and towards the end, it felt like a mess to me.”
    • “These are by far the weakest sections of the game, not even scary, just tedious and boring.”
    • “Would say, however, the third act is slightly tedious and the game is a little glitchy.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers some collectible elements like trading cards and achievements, but overall lacks replay value once completed, which may reduce its appeal for players seeking extended replayability.

    • “There are both trading cards and achievements, but the game has no replayability once finished the first time.”
    • “There is no replay value.”
    • “This may affect replayability for some, particularly those gamers that collect all the hints before moving on to the next stage.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users criticize the monetization for being a cash grab and plagiarizing assets without crediting original creators, suggesting unethical practices. However, some feel the low advertising contributed to the game feeling like a hidden gem despite these issues.

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77%Critics’ scoreBased on 3 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Stairs is a survival survival game with mystery theme.

Stairs is available on PC and Windows.

Stairs was released on September 28, 2015.

Stairs was developed by GreyLight Entertainment.

Stairs has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Stairs is a single player game.

Similar games include Left Alone, The Beast Inside, God's Basement, DreadOut, The Survey and others.