Backrooms Exploration

Have you ever worked in an office or building after hours and wondered, "what's in those rooms I've never visited?" Backrooms Exploration is a psychological horror game that considers that concept, delivering eerie experiences adventuring through the trivial unknown. So are we in to be part of a scary story, or are we faced with yet another feeble indie attempt at a horror title?

We get skeptical of games that use bland concepts and basic mechanics and try to brand them as psychological horror games. Nothing changes in concern from the outlook of Backrooms Exploration, where the title sounds more like a childish adventure rather than something that will scare us. Still, we're always open to being terrified, so let's see what's in these backrooms.

Why Have I Never Been in That Room?

So let's start by putting Backrooms Exploration into perspective because how the hell would you understand this game otherwise? As mentioned, it's a first-personal psychological horror game with minimal exploration mechanics. Players will traverse ten levels of backrooms in various environments, trying to understand why they've been chosen to venture into these forgotten spaces.

Immediately, Backrooms Exploration feels like a low-budget movie. There's been an attempt to bring eerieness into the atmosphere, using retro 3D visuals with a VHS flickering filter, emulating some past horror films. Even in the game's two modes, horror and liminal, there's a slight sense of cringe you carry around with you as you solve puzzles unveiling the mysteries of the backrooms.

There's some respect for the visuals here, as retro gamers could enjoy that early console graphical build. However, the who, why, or what never seems to come into play in a palatable manner. Unfortunately, those missing links dampen what's supposed to be a horrifying experience, with the dialogue not ever giving us the creeps nor the seemingly atmospheric audio.

Some of the puzzles are well-designed, and you can have a palatable playthrough of Backrooms Exploration. But we will reiterate that the experience is remarkably average and not particularly thought-provoking for the genre elitist. The story is erratic, and the mechanics are all tried and tested, so there's not much-saving grace for this indie title.

A Backroom Destiny

These minimalist psychological horror games have been so popular because they are relatively easy to make on the developer side and, when done well, can be very intriguing on the player side. However, Backrooms Exploration is a by-product of the genre churn, where too many developers try to take a piece of the pie when the hype is all but gone.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Visuals create a retro vibe
• Some of the puzzles are well-designed
• A couple of game modes to test your abilities

Cons:

• The narrative doesn't spark enthusiasm
• It feels like a grind through the levels
• The minimalist approach doesn't make an impact