The Complex: Expedition

About The Complex: Expedition

The Complex: Expedition is a psychological horror game by the indie developer pgWave, released on Steam in July 2025. It draws on the Backrooms internet legend, the idea of endless empty rooms just outside reality, though its maker notes it is not connected to Kane Pixels' series or the Backrooms wiki.

You are part of a team sent into The Complex to explore unmapped regions. The mission goes horribly wrong, and you come to alone and dazed in a seemingly infinite maze: buzzing yellow halls, flooded pool rooms lit from below, hospital corridors and deserted hotel lobbies. You see it all through the lens of a VHS camera, as if you were the footage the next expedition would find.

The store describes it as slow-burning and atmospheric, focused on exploration and tension rather than chases. You follow a story about the expedition and an unknown lifeform living in The Complex, and the entry points shift between plays, leading to different endings.

It suits players who like the Backrooms and liminal spaces, found-footage looks and dread that builds slowly; anyone after constant monster chases should look at Escape the Backrooms instead.

How to play The Complex: Expedition

1. Buy it on Steam for Windows.
2. Explore The Complex in first person through your VHS camera, looking for the way deeper.
3. Follow the traces of the expedition and the story they tell.
4. Watch and listen for signs of the lifeform as you move between areas.
5. Play again to enter The Complex from different points and reach other endings.

Tips

• Use headphones; the hum and silence carry most of the tension.
• Take note of landmarks; many rooms look alike on purpose.
• Read and examine everything the expedition left behind.
• Play in the dark, in one sitting if you can.

Questions