Backrooms games: How does the viral trend translate into the playable medium?

Welcome to The Backrooms, an endless maze of corridors with little to no decor and the potential for something sinister to be lurking around every corner. The Backrooms have grown to become their own subgenre in the horror game space. The basis of their success isn’t on a living world with jumpscares or locations shrouded in darkness, but emptiness, and in some ways, that’s worse.

The simplicity of Backrooms games is incredibly effective and has allowed players and indie developers to apply their own interpretations to the world. There’s more to come, as this category of games continues to expand.

What is The Backrooms?

The Backrooms are a fictional location where people accidentally noclip (or slip) into an alternate reality. It’s just like what happens if you noclip in a video game and go beyond the playable area and are able to see vacant buildings or assets that were left behind. The legend originated in 2019, when an empty room with a yellow hue was posted on 4Chan. It was further popularized by YouTuber Kane Pixels, who is credited with being the creator of The Backrooms web series. After the concept of The Backrooms gained traction, a new video game series was born, prompting the creation of levels, lore, and creepy monsters or entities that could roam the eerie halls. Backrooms games often have a VHS filter to further the unsettling feeling and give a found footage effect, recording your last moments before you fell victim to The Backrooms.

Which Backrooms games are available?

There’s a whole host of games set in the Backrooms. One of the best games is Escape the Backrooms, which launched version 1.0 on October 23, 2025. It has over 30 Backrooms levels, each with its own dangers and frights to navigate. This title supports co-op, so you can try to escape the Backrooms in groups of up to four.

There are even free Backrooms games, including The Backroom – Lost and Found. Unlike similar games, The Backroom – Lost and Found is story-driven, rather than seeing you accept your fate as another person who has fallen victim to the phenomenon that is The Backrooms. This horror adventure takes place in a location where the laws of physics don’t apply, and you will meet toy animals that are sentient. It has 19 different endings and acts as a great starting point if you’re unfamiliar with The Backrooms.

Why are The Backrooms so popular?

The Backrooms formula works because stumbling upon them feels accidental, evoking the feeling that you’ve come across something that you shouldn’t know about. The goal isn’t to scare you with an elaborate story or detailed spaces; the fear is all in being lost in a creepy space that feels as if it lies somewhere between a dream and reality. The games use locations that are familiar to stir up that uneasy feeling – fluorescent lighting, a simple, silent corridor when nobody is around, or an abandoned office space. Minimalism is the basis of Backrooms games, leaving players sitting with feelings of anxiety that The Backrooms create.

So, what does that say about modern horror? The Backrooms doesn’t adopt traditional ways in which horror games create fear. AAA horror games tend to include monsters or zombies with a backstory, perhaps they take place in a post-apocalyptic setting, or attempt to be immersive by being set in darkness. In contrast, The Backrooms play on fear in familiarity in a way that is relatable to build up psychological tension. Imagining a place you’ve been before, but being stuck there with no escape, can be scarier than any carefully crafted narrative or boss fight. Players applying their own meaning to a location makes these games personal, amplifying the fear factor in a way that other games can’t.

What are Backrooms entities?

Backrooms entities refer to any supernatural creature that can be found in The Backrooms. Each entity has its own traits and behavior patterns, and they’re usually categorized by number and habitat. If you encounter an entity while playing a Backrooms game, the best course of action is to avoid it and remain out of its line of sight, unless you know for sure it’s a friendly entity. Most Backrooms entities are hostile and will chase you to try to kill you.

According to the Backrooms Wiki, Light Guides, which are Entity 35, are friendly beings that lead the player to supplies and away from dangerous entities. Another example is Entity 29, also known as Blub cats, who can be fed and tamed and communicate telepathically with The Backrooms wanderer.

What’s the future of The Backrooms?

The Backrooms has already evolved beyond its initial concept into a Liminal Space subgenre. This has expanded The Backrooms universe and brought that haunting emptiness to other familiar locations, such as swimming pools, solitary classrooms, and empty streets. The walking simulator, POOLS, is inspired by The Backrooms and encourages exploration in a world that plays on the fear of getting lost and tight spaces. However, many Liminal Space games are also designed with relaxation in mind. In POOLS specifically, you’re supposed to sit back and observe your surroundings and listen to the sounds of water as you navigate the maze of swimming pools. Other games that play on this concept and are purely atmospheric include Dreamcore, Liminalcore, and Anemoiapolis: Chapter 1.

From Backrooms memes to the big screen, The Backrooms movie is in production at A24 films, and it will be directed by Kane Pixels. It’s expected to be a horror movie where stories unravel through found footage. A specific release date is yet to be announced, but it’s scheduled to hit our screens in 2026.