The Backrooms: Survival

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,008 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • atmosphere
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"The Backrooms: Survival" is a horror game inspired by the creepypasta of the same name, featuring roguelike elements and randomly generated levels. Players must navigate through an endless maze of narrow corridors, searching for food, water, and a way out while avoiding hostile entities. With different level themes and types, players will encounter various items, objects, and events, adding to the challenge and unpredictability of their escape attempt. Survival elements are crucial as players must scavenge for sustenance to stay alive in this disorienting and dangerous world.

Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,008 reviews
gameplay10 positive mentions
stability22 negative mentions
  • The game effectively creates a tense and creepy atmosphere, making it a thrilling experience for horror fans.
  • Frequent updates from the developer keep the game fresh and engaging, with new content and improvements.
  • The gameplay offers a unique blend of survival mechanics and exploration, providing a fun experience, especially in multiplayer.
  • The audio design, particularly the loud screams from entities, can be overwhelming and detracts from the overall experience.
  • Many players find the gameplay repetitive, with levels feeling too similar and lacking variety.
  • The multiplayer experience is often plagued by bugs and desynchronization issues, making it frustrating to play with friends.
  • gameplay80 mentions

    The gameplay of "The Backrooms: Survival" combines roguelite elements with survival horror mechanics, offering four modes including permadeath, which many players find the most engaging. While the core loop involves managing hunger, thirst, and sanity while navigating procedurally generated levels and evading or confronting entities, some players note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, despite updates that have improved this aspect. Overall, the game features solid survival mechanics and a variety of items, but players desire more crafting options and optimization to enhance the experience.

    • “The game has four game modes: permadeath, adventure, sandbox, and an exploration mode (with no hostile creatures). In my opinion, the best mode is permadeath, as it was the original mode before the other three and is the most interesting. The main gameplay loop is to survive, monitor your hunger and thirst, search for supplies and tools, craft, and evade or kill the entities.”
    • “Despite being in early access, the game has some solid survival horror mechanics, and the roguelike elements keep the repetitive layouts from getting too monotonous.”
    • “I actually love this game's pitch when it comes to gameplay; a replayable roguelike horror game filled with all types of fun horror tropes and threats trying to kill you as you explore each new floor.”
    • “Its a mundane gameplay loop that grows stale quickly.”
    • “Gameplay consists 99% of getting lost in a maze.”
    • “Of course you have random layouts and random items on the floor, but I cannot afford the fact that I need to repeat this mechanic of 'walk, grab, climb up, repeat'.”
  • graphics46 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the nostalgic PS1 and VHS aesthetic that enhances the horror atmosphere, while others criticize the rough textures and repetitive environments. Many agree that a graphics overhaul is needed to improve the overall quality, particularly in enemy design and level detail, but some players find the current style fitting for the gameplay experience. Overall, while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they contribute to the game's unique charm and ambiance.

    • “I personally don't mind the roughness, and actually kind of like it, especially the graphics style for the game.”
    • “Game really captures the feel and the aesthetic of the backrooms and their lore.”
    • “I love that PlayStation 1 nostalgia feeling with these graphics, a total piece of art!”
    • “Hard to believe how we went from eerie aesthetics back to Windows 3D maze.”
    • “The game is boring, repetitive, maps look the same, graphics suck.”
    • “Something the game needs is a graphics overhaul; the game looks very rough, even the textures are doing a bit of 'z-fighting' at the end of some walls.”
  • atmosphere30 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and genuinely creepy design, effectively utilizing ambient sounds to create tension and paranoia. While many players appreciate the overall ambiance and level design, there are concerns regarding the disruptive nature of certain sound effects, particularly the screamers, which detract from the otherwise top-notch atmosphere. Overall, the game is considered one of the best in the backrooms genre, with significant potential for enhancing its atmospheric experience.

    • “With my honest opinion, this game is one of the best backrooms experiences I've seen in a while, everything down to the level designs, the entities, the atmosphere, everything!”
    • “The atmosphere is top notch; the game is incredibly silent during your time traversing the levels, however it plays a lot of ambient noises, toying with your sense of paranoia when you hear doors opening, glass breaking, or simple knocking. It's magnificent.”
    • “This game makes you feel tense from the sounds, atmosphere, and random happenings.”
    • “Not only do these sap all of the atmosphere or immersion the game has, but they make the game pretty unpleasant to play.”
    • “Remove the screamers, they ruin the atmosphere.”
    • “There are obviously some graphical and UI kinks to work out, but the gameplay and atmosphere are there.”
  • stability24 mentions

    The game is frequently described as buggy, with issues ranging from menu malfunctions to texture glitches and multiplayer synchronization problems. While single-player mode is generally stable, the multiplayer experience is notably more prone to glitches, though players appreciate the frequent updates aimed at improving stability. Overall, despite its jankiness, many find the game addictive and enjoyable.

    • “The game isn't buggy unless you intentionally try to break it.”
    • “Extremely buggy game; jump scares were just ear-piercing screams.”
    • “When I finally found weapons, I encountered glitches where I couldn't even equip or use them.”
    • “I know the multiplayer is fairly new; however, the character models, multiplayer sync, and a couple of other small glitches (whenever you get downed, you can no longer use the flashlight or oil lamp, more than one person can pick up the same object if done at the same time, and if you attack another player with a weapon, they die immediately instead of being downed).”
  • story20 mentions

    The game's story aspect is polarizing; while some players appreciate the engaging narrative and soundtrack, others note the absence of a traditional storyline, likening it to many other backrooms games. Frequent updates and the potential for future story expansions are highlighted as positive features, but the lack of a compelling narrative remains a common critique. Overall, the game offers a mix of free play and gameplay enjoyment, though many players desire a deeper story to invest in.

    • “Great story, best soundtrack.”
    • “Other than that, I really like the story and the gameplay.”
    • “It's not the leaderboard stuff that sells this game, but rather having a story behind it that I can invest in.”
    • “No storyline like many other backrooms games, completely free play, updated frequently and my friends really appreciate that compared to other backrooms games.”
    • “☑ no story”
    • “Its not a selling point this 'leaderboard' stuff, but rather having some story behind that I can invest in.”
  • humor16 mentions

    The humor in the game is primarily experienced in multiplayer mode, where players find themselves laughing at absurd situations, such as encountering bizarre characters and poorly designed elements. Many reviews highlight that the chaotic and glitchy nature of the game, combined with the reactions of friends, creates a hilariously entertaining atmosphere, despite solo play being more unsettling. Overall, the game is described as a fun and funny experience, especially when shared with others.

    • “I was cracking up as some blue clown with a funny laugh started chasing me and I got killed by some Skyrim boss-looking thing.”
    • “Multiplayer with friends is a hilarious experience and is surprisingly smoother than expected.”
    • “I should probably mention the locked doors that may appear in levels as well, which are so poorly designed it is actually hilarious.”
  • music12 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the soundtrack and recommend pairing it with dark ambient music, others find the circus level's looping music to be annoying and poorly executed. There are suggestions for improvement, such as incorporating eerie mallsoft or vaporwave tracks to enhance the atmosphere. Overall, the music aspect seems to be a point of contention, with some players opting to turn it off entirely.

    • “Great story, best soundtrack.”
    • “Highly recommend playing this with dark ambient music playing in the background.”
    • “In the circus level, the walls have an alternating pink and white stripe pattern which is quite appalling to look at, and as you're stumbling around the maze, circus music will play on loop in the background (it's not a perfect loop either, it ends and then restarts) and make you feel like a clown for continuing to play this game.”
    • “I'm a huge fan of the backrooms and the liminal space aesthetic; this game is the perfect survival horror. The only things I would change/improve are the shading of the rooms and maybe add a little bit of eerie mallsoft/vaporwave music.”
    • “So far, I had only encountered one issue, and that was when the circus level music kept playing after the run ended.”
  • grinding10 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding in the game to be extensive but ultimately rewarding, despite some levels, particularly the forest and snow areas, feeling tedious. However, many express that the repetitive nature of grinding can be overwhelming, suggesting it may require significant time investment.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Forest level and snow level are kind of tedious though.”
    • “So far, all I see is different enemies, but the same tedious layout.”
  • replayability10 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability due to its random generation of levels and unique runs, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. Players appreciate the inclusion of character classes, which enhances immersion and adds variety to gameplay. Overall, the combination of rogue-like elements and horror tropes contributes to its enduring appeal.

    • “The RNG of everything makes every run feel unique and gives the game a surprising amount of replayability.”
    • “Endless replay value because levels are always different!”
    • “I actually love this game's pitch when it comes to gameplay; a replayable rogue-like horror game filled with all types of fun horror tropes and threats trying to kill you as you explore each new floor.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Players have expressed concerns about the game's optimization, citing significant lag and stability issues, particularly in multiplayer mode. Many reviewers suggest that the developers should prioritize fixing these performance problems and revamping gameplay mechanics to enhance overall execution. Despite its promising vision, the game's current optimization shortcomings hinder the experience.

    • “All in all, this game has a great vision and a focused agenda; however, I feel as though its priority focus should be to fix existing issues, revamp enemies, and further improve multiplayer optimization and overall stability.”
    • “I also want to see more optimization for the game since it lags a lot on my PC. A suggestion I have for the devs is to align the game a bit closer to one of the existing cannons and level types, even if not in the same order. The negative levels are very good but ultimately flawed; they are good on paper but not as well executed. Instead of rapid spawning entities after a few minutes, maybe consider altered versions of existing entities or change actual gameplay mechanics for going negative.”
    • “All in all, this game has a great vision and a focused agenda. However, I feel as though its priority focus should be to fix existing issues, revamp enemies, and further improve multiplayer optimization and overall stability.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Players express a strong emotional response to the game, highlighting moments of vulnerability and sadness, particularly in relation to unexpected events like the "exploding pipes." The experience is so impactful that some users feel they need to take a break from the game, especially when playing alone.

    • “And I think I won't be touching this one for a while; at least, not alone... oh no.”
    • “Be aware of the exploding pipes... I hugged one and I cried, and it busted all on me. :(”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy The Backrooms: Survival

Play time

95hMedian play time
95hAverage play time
95-95hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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