An indie psychological horror experience about surviving infinity. Navigate an endless expanse of rooms, ascend through various levels, gather items and artifacts, avoid going insane, evade corrupted entities, and see just how deep the realm known as The Backrooms goes.
The core gameplay loop tasks players with navigating an infinitely expansive maze of rooms, managing the protagonist's sanity and stamina, and evading or confronting hostile entities that lurk within.
As players progress, they will encounter 34 main levels and 20 secret levels, each presenting a unique spatial layout and environmental theme. Thoroughly exploring these areas is essential, as players can discover over 100 distinct sub-levels hidden within the main levels.
Maintaining the protagonist's sanity and stamina is crucial to survival. The sanity meter gradually drains over time, causing hallucinatory effects if depleted. Players must regularly meditate or find sanity-restoring items to avoid going insane. Stamina dictates sprint duration, so conserving it is essential for fleeing threats.
Scattered throughout the levels are boxes containing helpful items like batteries, sugar, and journal pages. These provide practical benefits such as recharging the flashlight or restoring stamina. Each main level also contains a unique "artifact" that grants a permanent gameplay enhancement, incentivizing players to explore thoroughly.
The maze is populated by over a dozen different types of hostile entities, ranging from the lurking, faceless "Nullers" to the more aggressive and unpredictable "Party Goers." Confronting these foes can be a tense and nerve-wracking experience, as they have the power to quickly drain the protagonist's health and sanity.
Despite the procedurally generated levels, the gameplay fosters emergent, player-driven experiences. The combination of sanity management, exploration, and entity encounters allows for dynamic, unpredictable situations to arise, creating a unique sense of tension and immersion for each playthrough.