The Backrooms: Survival

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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.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 504 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

stability11 negative mentions

The game offers a unique take on the backrooms concept, combining survival horror with roguelike elements.
Frequent updates from the developer keep the game fresh and engaging, adding new content and fixing bugs.
The atmosphere is well-crafted, with effective sound design that enhances the horror experience.

The audio can be overwhelmingly loud and repetitive, particularly the screams from entities, which can detract from the immersion.
Many levels feel similar and lack distinct features, leading to a repetitive gameplay experience.
Multiplayer functionality is often buggy, making it difficult to coordinate with friends and enjoy the game together.

gameplay
40 mentions
13 % positive mentions
80 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this survival horror game features a mix of permadeath, adventure, sandbox, and exploration modes, with a primary focus on survival mechanics such as managing hunger, thirst, and sanity while navigating procedurally generated levels. Players can engage in crafting and combat, although some find the gameplay loop repetitive and suggest improvements to enemy mechanics and crafting options. Despite its early access status, the game offers solid horror elements and a variety of items, but players desire better graphics and optimization to enhance the overall experience.
- “The game has four game modes: permadeath, adventure, sandbox, and 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 becoming 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'.”
graphics
23 mentions
26 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game evoke a nostalgic PS1 aesthetic, which some players appreciate for enhancing the horror atmosphere, while others criticize the rough textures and repetitive environments. Many reviews suggest that the game would benefit from a graphics overhaul to improve enemy designs and overall visual quality. Despite these concerns, the unique style and ambiance are praised, with some players enjoying the retro feel as part of the game's charm.
- “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's 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.”
atmosphere
15 mentions
40 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and genuinely terrifying experience, with well-designed levels and effective use of ambient sounds that enhance tension and paranoia. While some users appreciate the overall ambiance, there are criticisms regarding the intrusive nature of certain sound effects, particularly the screamers, which detract from the otherwise top-notch atmosphere. Overall, the game is recognized for its potential to deliver a compelling horror 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!”
- “I love the atmosphere of the game, and the way it is set up.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
stability
12 mentions
25 % positive mentions
-17 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
The game is generally described as unstable, with frequent bugs and glitches affecting gameplay, particularly in multiplayer mode. While some players find the single-player experience less problematic, issues such as menu malfunctions, texture glitches, and character model synchronization persist. Despite these challenges, many users appreciate the game's addictive nature and ongoing updates aimed at improving stability.
- “The game isn't buggy unless you intentionally try to break it.”
- “I've played for hours without encountering any crashes or glitches.”
- “The stability of the game allows for a smooth and enjoyable experience.”
- “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).”
story
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The reviews reflect a mixed reception regarding the story aspect of the game. While some players appreciate the engaging narrative and soundtrack, others note the absence of a traditional storyline, highlighting a preference for free play and frequent updates instead. Overall, the game's story is seen as a secondary element, with some players desiring a more substantial narrative to invest in.
- “Great story, best soundtrack.”
- “Other than that, I really like the story and the gameplay.”
- “It's not a selling point this 'leaderboard' stuff, but rather having some story behind that I can invest in.”
- “No storyline like many other backrooms games, completely free play.”
- “☑ no story”
- “Its not a selling point this 'leaderboard' stuff, but rather having some story behind that I can invest in.”
humor
8 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily derived from the chaotic multiplayer experience, where players find themselves laughing at absurd situations, such as encountering bizarre characters and dealing with poorly designed mechanics. While solo play can be creepy, the camaraderie and shared frustrations with friends lead to memorable and hilarious moments, despite the presence of bugs and glitches. Overall, the game's humor shines brightest in multiplayer settings, making it a fun experience to share 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.”
music
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the soundtrack and recommend pairing it with ambient music for an enhanced experience, others find the looping circus music in specific levels to be off-putting and poorly executed. Additionally, there are suggestions for incorporating more atmospheric genres like mallsoft or vaporwave to better fit the game's aesthetic. Overall, the music aspect could benefit from refinement to align with the game's horror themes.
- “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.”
grinding
5 mentions
0 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding in the game to be rewarding, though some levels, particularly the forest and snow areas, can feel tedious and repetitive. Many reviewers express that the amount of grinding required is excessive, suggesting it may detract from the overall experience.
- “Forest level and snow level are kind of tedious though.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “So far, all I see is different enemies, but the same tedious layout.”
replayability
5 mentions
20 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Players find the game highly replayable due to its unique RNG mechanics, which ensure that each run feels distinct and engaging. The incorporation of various character classes and the rogue-like elements further enhance replay value, making it a fun experience filled with diverse horror tropes and challenges. Overall, the game offers endless replayability, keeping players coming back for more.
- “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.”
- “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!”
- “The addition of character classes also adds a small chunk of replayability and immersion too; I really love that aspect and would love to see it expanded with more big upgrades you can find for your character as your run progresses.”
optimization
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players express concerns about the game's optimization, citing significant lag on PCs and suggesting that the developers prioritize fixing existing issues and enhancing overall stability. While the game has a strong vision, many feel that improvements in enemy design and multiplayer performance are necessary for a better 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 we could have 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.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players report a strong emotional impact from the game, with experiences that evoke deep feelings, such as crying during intense moments. The game's ability to create a connection with players is highlighted, making it a memorable yet potentially overwhelming experience.
- “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 when it burst all over me. :(”