Co-op and multiplayer horror Analog horror Horror escape Horror

Escape the Backrooms

Rate it

Find the exit from the endless yellow rooms, with three friends and something listening.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (90% of 168,596 reviews); 4.54 out of 5 from 11K ratings on the PlayStation Store
Length: About 9 hours for the main path; about 14 and a half hours to see everything
Players: 1 to 4 (online co-op)
Controls: Keyboard and mouse or a controller; proximity voice chat.
Made by: Fancy Games, Blackbird Interactive
Released: 2022

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

No. 17 of the maze horror games · No. 19 of the hotel horror games · No. 11 of the cave horror games · No. 19 of the office horror games · No. 9 of the liminal space horror games · No. 7 of the camcorder horror games · No. 3 of the urban legend horror games

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (PS5)Xbox Series X|S and PC Nintendo Switch 2

What frightens You no-clip out of reality into the Backrooms, the endless damp yellow office of internet legend, and wander more than thirty levels of empty halls, flooded pools and dark warehouses; entities with their own rules hunt by sight or sound, and teammates can vanish into another part of the map at any moment.
Content: jumpscares, violence, blood, loud sounds.

A co-op horror game for one to four players set in the Backrooms, the endless liminal maze of internet lore. You explore more than thirty levels, solve puzzles to find each exit and avoid entities that hunt you, talking only by proximity chat that they can hear too.

About Escape the Backrooms

Escape the Backrooms was made by Fancy Games and published by Secret Mode. It entered early access on Steam in August 2022 and reached version 1.0 in October 2025, with Blackbird Interactive taking over further development. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions followed in May 2026 and a Nintendo Switch 2 version in July 2026, with cross-play between them.

The game takes the Backrooms story from the internet: if you slip through reality in the wrong place, you end up in an endless maze of yellow wallpaper, wet carpet and humming fluorescent lights. Each level is a different space, from offices and garages to pools, sewers and dark homes, and each has its own way out, a hidden code, a lever, a puzzle or a path to find.

You are not alone. Entities such as hounds, smilers and stranger things patrol some levels, and each has its own behaviour to learn: some hear you, some see you, some can only be outrun. Proximity voice chat means you can only talk to friends nearby, and the entities can hear you too. Teammates may suddenly no-clip elsewhere in a level, and every player must reach the exit for the team to escape.

It can be played alone, but it is made for friends, where the laughs of getting lost and the shock of a chase come together. Many levels are filmed through a camcorder overlay with a 1991 date stamp. The main path to the first ending takes about 9 hours, and seeing everything takes about 14 and a half. In North America it is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB for blood and intense violence.

It suits players who liked Lethal Company or Content Warning and anyone drawn to liminal-space horror.

How to play Escape the Backrooms

Buy it on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S or Switch 2 and start alone or host a lobby for up to four.
Stick together and explore each level, looking for clues, codes and the exit.
Learn each entity's rules: when to hide, when to stay quiet and when to run.
Solve the level's puzzle or find its exit, then wait for every teammate to get there.
Push through more than thirty levels toward an ending, then try for the others.

Screenshots

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: the empty yellow-wallpapered rooms and fluorescent lights of the first level

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: a grey office level under a camcorder date stamp, with a hazmat-suited player slumped by a pillar

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: a dark kitchen with striped pink wallpaper seen through a camcorder overlay, a tall dark figure standing in the doorway

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: a long red-lit corridor with exit signs

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: a spiral staircase in a shaft of light in a dark concrete room

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: seen through a window, a room with a painted landscape mural, with flashlights and papers on a desk, under a camcorder date stamp

Escape the Backrooms screenshot: a foggy courtyard of grass, trees and concrete walkways beneath steel bridges, under a camcorder date stamp

Tips

Keep your voice down near entities: they can hear proximity chat.
Agree on a meeting point when you split up, as teammates can no-clip away.
Look closely at walls and signs; many exits depend on a code or clue.
Use guides sparingly; finding the way out is half the fear.

Questions

How many players can play Escape the Backrooms?

One to four, online, with proximity voice chat.

Is Escape the Backrooms cross-platform?

Yes. Since the 2026 console releases, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 players can play together.

Can you play Escape the Backrooms solo?

Yes, though it is built for co-op and some puzzles are easier with others.

What are the Backrooms?

An internet creepypasta about an endless maze of empty yellow office rooms you fall into by slipping out of reality; the game turns its levels and creatures into places to escape.

How long is Escape the Backrooms?

About 9 hours to finish the main story and about 14 and a half hours to see everything, according to HowLongToBeat figures quoted by the Escape the Backrooms wiki. Playing with a group that splits up or gets lost can take longer.

What is Escape the Backrooms rated?

The ESRB rates it M (Mature) for blood and intense violence, with users interacting online. On Steam it is rated 16 in Germany for horror.