The Backrooms game: legend, levels and what to play
The Backrooms is an internet legend about an endless maze of yellow office rooms with buzzing lights and damp carpet. If you slip out of the normal world, you end up there. Backrooms games let you walk those halls, find exits and avoid what lives inside.
Where the Backrooms came from
It started in May 2019 with a photo of an empty yellow room posted on 4chan. Someone wrote a short creepy story under it: if you noclip out of reality, you land in the Backrooms. The idea spread fast.
In 2022 a young filmmaker called Kane Pixels posted found-footage Backrooms videos on YouTube. They made it famous with a much bigger crowd. Fans then wrote a huge wiki of levels and creatures.
The levels people talk about
- Level 0. The classic yellow rooms. Endless, empty, the hum of lights. Most games start here.
- The Poolrooms. White tiles and calm water everywhere. Less scary, more strange. Fans see it as a dreamy level.
- Higher levels. Fan-made floors with pipes, parking garages or dark halls. Each has its own rules and exits.
- Entities. Creatures that chase you in some versions. Many games skip them and keep the fear in the empty space.
What makes a good Backrooms game
The fear comes from sameness. Rooms repeat until a small detail is off. Good games let you explore, give you a goal like an exit or a lost item, and use sound more than jump scares.
Liminal and anomaly games on Roam
DREAMPOOL is a liminal poolrooms walk: endless white tiles, warm water and a lost toy somewhere ahead. Pay Per Step is a liminal office mystery clicker where the steps are not free. Welcome Home, Dear is an anomaly game: the same house again and again, and you spot what changed.
Play it on Roam
More on Roam
Build your own Backrooms level with Roam
Describe the level, the exit and who is lost with you. Roam builds it, and your friends can explore it together. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.
Try: "backrooms level 0, yellow halls, find 3 exit signs, my friends are lost with me, flashlight only"Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play.
Questions people ask
Is the Backrooms real?
No. It is a fan-made creepypasta from 2019. The first photo shows a real but ordinary room.
Who made the Backrooms videos?
Kane Pixels made the popular found-footage series on YouTube, starting in 2022.
Are Backrooms games scary?
Some are. Many are more eerie than scary. Look for exploration games if you do not like being chased.