Reviews
Puppet Combo’s ‘The Backrooms’ Exudes Atmosphere, But Ultimately Feels Lacking [Review]
Much like Slender Man, the Backrooms is a creepypasta concept that started as a simple post and evolved into a horror phenomenon. Through collective storytelling all over the internet, its lore has expanded organically, telling the horrifying story of a strange liminal space you enter by no clipping out of reality.
Also like Slender Man, many video games adapted this concept to varying levels of success. One of those games, released the same year as the viral post that defined much of the accepted mythology of the Backrooms, was from indie developer Puppet Combo, the creator of games such as Nun Massacre, The Glass Staircase, and Stay Out of the House. Originally titled “Day 7“, it was distributed via their Patreon, but with the impending release of A24’s Backrooms film, Puppet Combo has decided to rebrand the game simply as The Backrooms for release on consoles.
Initially, this felt like a strange mismatch to me. Puppet Combo is really known for a grindhouse aesthetic, focusing on scuzzy, violent slasher games. Would that gel with the eerie liminal horror vibe that had been established?
While there definitely are some more gnarly elements in the final act of this hour-long game, I found that their signature style actually worked to give everything a found footage aesthetic, one that brought to mind the YouTube shorts that the feature film is based on. The PSX graphics style works perfectly to heighten the feeling of unreality, making you wonder if that thing you’re seeing in the distance is merely a trick of the low-fi filter.
Retro Style Held Back By Retro Mechanics
The retro look does a great job of setting the mood right off the bat, but unfortunately, the retro controls do not. Playing from a first-person perspective, I expected to be able to control with the traditional dual joystick layout people have used forever, but instead of left and right on the left joystick strafing, it turned my character. I understand that it’s meant to evoke the feeling of an older era, like many Puppet Combo games, but this took a bit for me to get used to.
There also appeared to be a bug that prevented me from inverting the y-axis, which I do for all games, making it take even longer for me to acclimate to the game’s controls. I saw a post from the studio’s account saying both these issues would be fixed in an upcoming update, but they were definitely barriers for me starting out.
The game’s prologue does a nice job of setting up the main character, Terrance, another thing I wasn’t really expecting from the game. It’s not the most in-depth personality, but it was nice to see some dialogue of him interacting with his coworkers or people on the subway, where he finds himself in the titular labyrinth. Dialogue sequences are charmingly low-fi, with characters popping in and standing static in front of you, only to disappear immediately when they finish.
Their models aren’t even in the world as you’re navigating, making for a slight jump scare when they start speaking. It may look pretty janky, but the old school charm works on me in a way that makes it feel endearing rather than unfinished.
While I enjoyed the vibe that these interactions set up in the beginning, I did not enjoy getting through it. Before you get to the titular location, you spend some time going from your office to the subway, and this location felt really easy to get lost in. It was not clear where I was supposed to go, and I felt like I only stumbled upon the subway entrance by happenstance. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a thematic feeling, prepping me for the feeling of getting lost in the Backrooms, but I found it more frustrating than interesting, especially with the slow walk speed. I was holding the run button the entire time, and even that didn’t quite feel fast enough.
A Liminal Walking Simulator
It should go without saying that most of the game is about exploring the Backrooms, navigating the seemingly endless space to progress to different story beats. It does a good job of creating the illusion that there are lots of different ways for you to go while actually being pretty linear. Branching paths quickly lead to dead ends, ensuring you stay on the critical path to keep the story rolling. That’s not to say you can’t get turned around given the intentional sameness of the environments, but there’s just enough landmarking that you can keep moving forward even if you get lost for a moment.
That’s mostly it as far as gameplay goes. It fairly firmly sits in the genre of spooky walking simulator, forcing you to wander from beat to beat. Eventually, you find a purse that allows you to drop coins like breadcrumbs, which are crucial for being able to backtrack when the story asks you. This mechanic is a fun little twist that feels thematically in line with the lost-in-a-liminal-space vibes it’s going for. It’s a welcome addition that gives you at least a little bit of agency, something that the game lacks by design.
Despite having a mostly repeating set of environment pieces, the game finds clever ways to have things break down as you explore further. The uncanniness of the Backrooms itself is played up when things start glitching, again taking advantage of the retro aesthetics to give you a feeling of reality falling apart at the seams. Needless to say, you’re not alone down there, leading to some creepy encounters and strange happenings. These are the strongest elements of the game, with a good understanding of what makes the premise work.
To break things up, there’s a dream sequence in the game that once again gives us a glimpse into the character while also providing some liminal horror of its own. Taking place at a funeral, it shows Terrance interacting with family members as a child, getting lost while playing an ill-advised game of hide and seek at the funeral home. The concepts of the Backrooms bleed into this setting, creating some of the more effective parts of the game both narratively and tonally. This takes place pretty early in the runtime, and I wish they had found more space for these types of sequences, as they offer a good break from the monotonous location.
The Final Verdict: An Atmospheric but Slight Creepypasta Experience
While the build is solid, I feel like the ending is very abrupt, especially given the extremely short runtime of the game. The climax does a good job of paying off some elements, but it escalates so quickly that it doesn’t feel natural to me. There’s a strange confrontation at the end that all takes place via menus, which technically works fine but doesn’t really feel all that satisfying.
I literally exclaimed “that’s it?” at the end of the game, as it felt like it had just gotten going at the moment it ended. I don’t really know much about the production of the original game, but I’m a little surprised Puppet Combo didn’t go back and add a bit more to the end to make this console version stand out more.
I’ve seen a lot of people online say that this release feels like a cash-in on the upcoming film, and it definitely is, albeit one that was created about three years before the Kane Parsons short films came out. I don’t begrudge Puppet Combo for spending resources on a console port of this and timing it with the film, but I wish there were more care taken with the package.
While I’m glad to hear that the control issues are being addressed, it feels like a little extra work to extend the game would have helped it fully take advantage of the concept. I enjoyed the atmosphere created in this version of the Backrooms, with the low-poly graphics enhancing the vibe, but it feels like it never has a chance to fully get going.
Review code provided by publisher. The Backrooms is out now on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series.
Being a woman or femme-identifying person online in 2026 is hell. The simple act of posting a selfie is almost guaranteed to garner some kind of negative attention. Regardless of the number of followers you have online, if you’re a woman content creator on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, you’re going to get nasty comments. First rule of social media: never read the comments, especially if you’re a woman.
The comments are usually from men who simply cannot resist the urge to reply to your posts with criticism about your looks, your weight, or even the way you talk. As if that isn’t enough for women online to deal with, sometimes men become obsessed and stalk, harass, or doxx the object of their unwanted affection. Australian award-winning writer, director, editor, and visual artist David Ward’s (Dorothy, Capable of Anything) first feature film, Lenore, takes a hard look at the scourge of parasocial relationships plaguing the internet, with a focus on the male gaze and the devastating consequences.
Co-written by Josie Hess (Morgana) and director David Ward, Lenore introduces pale, lanky, basement-dweller Max (Nicholas Jaquinot), who goes by the screen name LoneWolf91 online. His basement is a labyrinthine setup of video equipment where Max can watch the controversial content creator he is infatuated with, who calls herself Lenore (Ruby Duncan). Lenore posts makeup tutorials, music, and elaborate vlogs, and has recently been involved in several scandals, which have been broadcast online. She has achieved celebrity status online, and Max believes she is talking directly to him in her videos. He keeps lists of what he believes are their common interests, convinced he can make her love him back. When Lenore suddenly disappears, and her social media is deleted, Max is consumed with finding her so he can have her all to himself.
Jaquinot gives an unsettlingly captivating performance, portraying Max as a meek, lonely, unstable young man who lives vicariously through his online interactions and lacks the ability to socialize with people away from the internet. As the story progresses, Max becomes more unhinged as he hallucinates videos of Lenore, which he believes were meant for only him, and that may contain clues to her location. Max’s slow, painful descent into madness is fueled by his lack of self-awareness and poses the infuriating question of accountability. Her rise to internet fame has stripped Lenore of her agency, but is that the risk that women take when they have an online presence? Is it okay that we’re often objectified and subjected to these one-sided, obsessive, imaginary relationships that men have in their heads?
Duncan gives a convincing, poignant performance as Lenore, who is given a brief attempt at liberation in the form of an emotional monologue. Ward’s storytelling and Lenore’s words loosely echo Edgar Allan Poe’s poems Lenore, a story about the death of a young woman and her fiancé’s fixation on proper decorum for mourning the dead, and The Raven, a tale of a young man grieving his lover Lenore, as Lenore utters the word “nevermore,” in reference to her determination to take back her life, and ultimately her fate.
Ward has meticulously crafted a well-written, disquieting, single-location film that begins by painting an intricate portrait of a chronically online, disturbed young man that evolves into a mystery and becomes an electronic ghost story. Lenore is a cautionary tale that pleads with the audience, specifically men, to start a conversation about the troubling aspects of internet culture, women’s autonomy, and who bears the burden for the treatment of women in online spaces.
Lenore premiered at Chattanooga Film Festival 2026; release info TBA.
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