Escape the Backrooms

Developer: Fancy Games
Release: Aug 11th 2022
Platforms:
Indie
Early Access
Multiplayer
Creative
Atmospheric
Bugs
Abandoned
Escape the Backrooms Poster

" Immersive indie co-op horror with creative levels and VR thrills but frequent bugs and lag "

Escape the Backrooms Review

Escape the Backrooms is a multiplayer horror game praised for its cooperative gameplay, diverse and creative levels, and engaging atmosphere. Players enjoy the mix of scary and humorous moments, with many highlighting the fun of playing with friends, especially in VR. The game features a variety of monsters and puzzles that keep the experience fresh and challenging. However, the game suffers from inconsistent entity AI, occasional bugs, and some levels perceived as filler or less engaging. The developer's long silence and infrequent updates have frustrated the community, leading to concerns about the game's future and abandonment. Despite these issues, many players find the game worth the price for its unique take on the backrooms lore and multiplayer scares, recommending it mainly for cooperative play rather than solo experiences. Overall, Escape the Backrooms offers a compelling and often terrifying experience but needs more polish and continued support to reach its full potential.

Players appreciate the game's creativity and multiplayer fun but desire more frequent updates and bug fixes.

Highlights

Players praise the game's cooperative multiplayer experience, noting it is especially fun and scary with friends. The variety of levels and monsters receive positive remarks for creativity and challenge, with some levels standing out as genuinely terrifying or enjoyable puzzles. The graphics and atmosphere are considered good, contributing to immersion. Fans of the backrooms lore feel the game captures the essence well, making it the best backrooms game on Steam for many. The game's sound design and soundtrack also enhance the eerie environment. VR support, when functional, adds to the excitement and scares, making it a memorable experience.

The multiplayer gameplay, level variety, atmosphere, and faithful backrooms representation are the game's strongest points.

Criticisms

Common criticisms include inconsistent and sometimes frustrating enemy AI behavior, which can detract from the immersion and challenge. Some levels are viewed as filler or boring, leading to pacing issues. Bugs, crashes, and lag are reported, especially on older PCs, affecting playability. The camera controls and UI design receive negative feedback for being clunky. Many players express dissatisfaction with the developer's lack of communication and long delays between updates, causing the community to feel abandoned. The story is considered short or underdeveloped by some, and solo play is less recommended compared to multiplayer. Additionally, the VR support is noted as broken or unreliable. Overall, players want more polish, content, and consistent developer engagement.

Pros

  • Multiplayer co-op gameplay is highly enjoyable and enhances the horror experience.
  • Wide variety of creative and challenging levels keeps gameplay fresh and engaging.
  • Monsters and entity designs are diverse and contribute to tense atmospheres.
  • Graphics and sound design effectively build an immersive backrooms environment.
  • Faithful representation of backrooms lore appeals to fans of the genre.
  • VR support adds a thrilling dimension when functioning properly.
  • Game length offers many hours of play, especially with friends.

Cons

  • Inconsistent enemy AI behavior can frustrate and reduce immersion.
  • Several levels feel like filler and lack engaging content.
  • Frequent bugs, crashes, and lag impact gameplay quality.
  • Developer communication and update frequency are poor, causing community frustration.
  • Camera controls and UI design are clunky and unintuitive.
  • VR support is unreliable or broken for many players.
  • Solo play is less satisfying compared to multiplayer experience.

Rating Criteria

Story
Difficulty
Graphics
Duration
Stability
Worth the Price
Capsule image

Escape the Backrooms is a 1-4 player co-op horror exploration game. Traverse through eerie backrooms levels while avoiding entities and other danger to try and escape. Free content updates with new levels and game modes keep the community rewarded.

Release Date Aug 11th 2022
Publisher Fancy Games
Developer Fancy Games
Platforms

User Reviews

Very Positive (29,583)
91% Positive 9% Negative