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Upstairs

Upstairs Game Cover
73%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, humor
Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability
91% User Score Based on 32 reviews

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LinuxPCMac OSWindows
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Upstairs Game Cover

About Upstairs

Upstairs is a single player action game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by Karellen Games and was released on March 20, 2026. It received very positive reviews from players.

Upstairs is a short point-and-click game with a verb-based interface and dialogue choices, inspired by all those classic adventures you’re thinking of right now. You’ve been trapped for years. Now you finally have a chance to escape. Find your way through a strange building full of unsettling people, dark humor, and strange mysteries. Every floor brings you closer to freedom… or deeper into an…

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Upstairs screenshot
Upstairs screenshot
Upstairs screenshot
Upstairs screenshot
Upstairs screenshot
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Reviews

91%Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews
story10 positive mentions
  • Charming pixel art and animations with a quirky, dark humor that adds a unique tone to the game world.
  • Well-paced and logical puzzles that encourage exploration without excessive frustration or penalty for wrong attempts.
  • Engaging story with memorable characters and unexpected plot twists that emotionally invest the player.
  • The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, lacking easy save options and convenient controls like full elevator floor selection or quick travel.
  • Some game design choices feel arbitrary and may lead to frustrating experiences, such as disallowing seemingly logical item uses or actions without explanation.
  • The game is quite short, with some players feeling the ending is farcical or disconnected from the rest of the narrative, reducing overall satisfaction.

  • story

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    67% positive mentions, 13% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The story is widely praised for its quirky characters, intriguing plot twists, and a mix of dark humor with a charming tone, reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventures. While some find certain plot elements less believable or underdeveloped, overall the narrative is engaging, fun, and well-supported by the game's pixel art and puzzles.

    • “Brilliant little point and click adventure with nice pixel art, a captivating story and puzzles that make sense in the context.”
    • “The game has good environmental storytelling, quirky dialogues and an interesting, unexpected ending.”
    • “There was an interesting plot twist at the end which I enjoyed.”
    • “Another thing that seemed weird is the boy supposedly having been held captive for five years which isn't made even remotely believable. This issue could have been easily avoided by simply stating he was kidnapped a week ago instead of five years, which has no relevance to the plot in any way.”
    • “Not the characters, not the story, not the puzzles, not the ending.”
    • “Decent puzzles, too, but the story could have been better.”

  • humor

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its dark, witty, and memorable style, effectively balancing grim themes with a charming and fun tone. Players find it both funny and engaging, with writing that regularly provokes laughter and evokes a classic adventure game feel. Overall, the humor is considered a standout aspect that enhances the game's puzzles and story.

    • “Charming little game with an amazing sense of humor and memorable characters.”
    • “Dark humor is spot on too, perhaps the strongest point of the game.”
    • “The story and events are technically pretty dark and gruesome, but the humorous tone means it still feels akin to something like a LucasArts classic.”

  • gameplay

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, 20% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The gameplay is enjoyable and engaging, featuring fun puzzles and an interesting story, though it involves some backtracking that could benefit from quality-of-life improvements like a better elevator system. Despite minor UI issues, the overall experience is solid and offers good value for the price.

    • “Interesting story, fun gameplay, good puzzles, and obviously gorgeous pixel art.”
    • “I probably got 10 hours of solid gameplay for 3 bucks, totally good deal.”
    • “However, the UI issues were extremely minor and did not take away from the gameplay.”
    • “The game itself is pretty full of backtracking, or maybe that was just my experience in figuring out what went where. The creation of the robe in particular had me going back and forth between floors multiple times, which brings me to my first suggestion—a quality of life upgrade to the elevator mechanic.”

  • music

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions

    Users generally find the music well-suited and thoughtfully integrated with the game's scenes and actions, enhancing the overall charm. However, some note the lack of an in-game option to adjust music volume, requiring manual adjustment outside the game.

    • “Nicely done with good use of pixel graphics and music.”
    • “Sound effects and music were fitting every scene and action.”
    • “I thought music was used thoughtfully and well, the animation style was super charming, and the story was fun.”
    • “Finally, in the options, there was no option to set the music volume so I had to do it manually on my machine, which wasn't ideal.”

  • replayability

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game offers moderate replayability, as players can revisit it to unlock achievements they missed during their initial playthrough. However, the overall extent of replay value may be limited to completing specific in-game goals.

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users find the game emotionally engaging, praising its ability to create a compelling and immersive experience that fosters strong emotional investment.

    • “This is a fantastic game that stacks up well against other games out there, it offers a good experience and one that gets you emotionally invested in the game.”

  • graphics

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The graphics are well-executed, featuring appealing pixel art that complements the game's music effectively.

    • “Nicely done with good use of pixel graphics and music.”
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Upstairs is a action game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. Common tags for Upstairs include gothic, demons, indie, exploration, pixel graphics and others.

Upstairs is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

Upstairs was released on March 20, 2026.

Upstairs was developed by Karellen Games.

Upstairs has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked Upstairs for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Upstairs is a single player game.

Similar games include Lucy Dreaming, Belladonna, The Drifter, Loco Motive, Beyond The Edge Of Owlsgard and others.