Analog horror PS1 horror Stealth horror Horror escape Short horror

The Backrooms 1998

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Found footage from the Backrooms, 1998. Don't scream.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (83% of 840 reviews); 3.8 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (271 ratings); critics mixed (PlayStation Universe 6/10, TheXboxHub 70)
Length: about 1 to 2 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Steelkrill Studio
Released: 2022

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

No. 27 of the liminal space horror games · No. 18 of the camcorder horror games · No. 13 of the swimming pool horror games

Get it on Steam itch.io Steelkrill Studio PlayStation Store Xbox Nintendo eShop

What frightens Seen through a 1998 camcorder, a teenager wanders the damp yellow rooms of the Backrooms with a failing flashlight while something hunts by sound; it can hear your footsteps, the things you knock over and, through your microphone, your breathing and screams.
Content: uses your microphone, jumpscares, loud sounds, gore, blood, violence, strong language, mild nudity.

The Backrooms 1998 is a short first-person found-footage horror game. A teenager falls into the Backrooms in 1998 and has to find a way out, marking the path with spray paint, managing a flashlight and hiding from an entity that hears every sound, including your own voice through the microphone.

About The Backrooms 1998

The Backrooms 1998 is the work of one developer at Steelkrill Studio. It came out in Early Access on Steam in May 2022 and had its full release, published by Feardemic, in February 2025 on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

In 1998 a teenager falls out of the world and into the Backrooms, the internet legend of endless empty rooms with yellow walls, damp carpet and humming lights. Everything you see is camcorder footage, with a PLAY marker, a running timer and the date in the corner. The rooms repeat and play tricks, so you carry a spray can to mark your path.

The maker describes it as an escape room game. You search for clues, tools and supplies: syringes to heal, medicine to stay sane, crowbars for barricaded doors and batteries for the flashlight, all in a limited inventory. You are never alone. Something lurks in the dark, and it hunts by sound: stepping on glass or knocking over an object can bring it, and with the microphone on it can hear you breathe or scream. Hiding in crawl spaces, under tables and in lockers is your only defence.

Reviewers praised the Backrooms setting and the microphone idea and found it relies heavily on jumpscares, and some found bugs. It is short: one reviewer reached the credits in just under an hour and a half. It suits players who like found-footage and liminal-space horror and want something to finish in one evening.

How to play The Backrooms 1998

Turn on your microphone if you want the full game; the entity can hear you through it.
Explore the rooms and use the spray can to mark where you have been.
Collect clues, tools and supplies, and manage the inventory, medicine and flashlight batteries.
Move carefully: avoid glass and loose objects that make noise.
Hide in a crawl space, under a table or in a locker when something comes near, and stay quiet.

Screenshots

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: a pale thin figure stands among furniture covered in white sheets, seen through camcorder footage dated 19 Sep 1998

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: an empty yellow-walled room with a white door and a flashlight beam, in grainy VHS footage

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: a pale, bald, long-armed figure in a red shirt crawls beside a chair in a dim room

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: a dim yellow room with a sofa facing an old television, a camcorder overlay with PLAY and the date

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: a dark tiled swimming pool with a pink inflatable ring floating in the gloom, in camcorder footage

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: a scribbled drawing of a figure smeared with red on a yellow wall, lit by a ceiling light

The Backrooms 1998 screenshot: a dim room of sheet-covered furniture under a single light, with a pale shape at the left edge

Tips

Mark every junction with spray paint; the rooms look the same.
Keep spare batteries; being left in the dark is dangerous.
Use stamina only when you must run.
Keep quiet in real life too if your microphone is on.
If your microphone is on, keep background noise in your room low, such as a fan or music.

Questions

How long is The Backrooms 1998?

Most players finish it in about one to two hours.

Does The Backrooms 1998 use your microphone?

Yes. The entity can hear your voice, breathing and screams through it.

What platforms is The Backrooms 1998 on?

PC through Steam and itch.io, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

What is The Backrooms 1998 rated?

The ESRB rates it Mature for blood and gore, intense violence and strong language. The Steam page also warns of extreme gore, decapitation, mild nudity and loud sounds.

Is The Backrooms 1998 the same as Escape the Backrooms?

No. Escape the Backrooms is a separate co-op game; The Backrooms 1998 is a short single-player found-footage game.