The Backrooms has grown from an internet curiosity into a full-fledged horror phenomenon, making adaptations almost inevitable. Cortez Productions’ Backrooms: Lost Tape arrives on PlayStation 5 after receiving a substantial overhaul for its PC release, presenting itself as a found-footage anthology rather than a traditional survival horror game. Across its currently available episodes, players follow Josh and later his brother Nikolas as both become trapped within the endless maze of liminal spaces. It’s an intriguing framework that captures the unsettling appeal of the source material, although its storytelling ultimately feels more like a guided tour through familiar Backrooms mythology than a fresh interpretation of it.
Rather than relying on combat or complex mechanics, Lost Tape embraces slow exploration. Progress is built around carefully navigating eerily quiet environments, solving occasional environmental puzzles, reading scattered notes and surviving the handful of chase sequences that interrupt the otherwise contemplative pacing. That minimalist approach works surprisingly well during the opening stretches, where uncertainty and isolation do much of the heavy lifting. The downside is that the gameplay rarely evolves beyond those basics, leaving later sections feeling repetitive, especially once the initial mystery begins to fade. Players expecting deeper mechanics or more varied interactions may find the experience rather slight.
The game’s level design is strongest whenever it leans into the disorienting architecture that made the Backrooms famous. Wandering through endless yellow corridors and strangely familiar spaces creates an effective sense of unease, particularly during the opening chapter. Some later environments become considerably larger, however, and while that scale reinforces the feeling of being lost, it can also lead to stretches where exploration feels more drawn out than suspenseful. Likewise, the narrative offers enough breadcrumbs to encourage curiosity without becoming exposition-heavy, but it never develops its ideas into something especially memorable. Fans deeply invested in Backrooms lore may also have mixed feelings about some of the crossover elements and liberties taken with established mythology.
Controls remain intentionally straightforward, fitting the walking simulator structure well. Exploration, light interaction and occasional sprinting all feel responsive, while the chase sequences inject welcome urgency whenever hostile entities appear. Death can become frustrating, though, particularly because repeated attempts require replaying sections that already move at a deliberate pace. The sparse puzzle design also means there are relatively few opportunities for players to break up the steady rhythm of exploration, making the overall pacing dependent almost entirely on the atmosphere rather than gameplay variety.
Visually, Lost Tape is undoubtedly impressive. The Unreal Engine 5 upgrade delivers richly detailed environments with convincing lighting and an almost photorealistic interpretation of familiar Backrooms locations. Ironically, that technical leap also creates one of the game’s biggest contradictions. The pristine presentation sacrifices some of the rough analogue aesthetic that helped define earlier interpretations of the concept, making certain locations feel more like an impressive technology showcase than genuinely unsettling found footage. Audio fares better, with ambient effects, distant noises and an understated soundtrack consistently reinforcing the oppressive loneliness of the environments.
Content is another area where expectations should be managed. The two available tapes provide a relatively brief experience that can comfortably be completed in a single evening, with additional chapters planned as downloadable content. That episodic structure leaves the current package feeling incomplete despite both stories functioning reasonably well on their own. Depending on how future episodes are handled, the overall value proposition may improve considerably, but as it stands the game feels more like the opening act of a larger anthology than a fully realised journey.
Backrooms: Lost Tape succeeds most when it simply lets players exist within its unsettling world. It understands the appeal of liminal horror and recreates that atmosphere with remarkable visual fidelity, producing several genuinely memorable moments despite its restrained design. At the same time, its limited gameplay, uneven pacing and reliance on familiar Backrooms ideas prevent it from reaching the heights of the genre’s strongest entries. For dedicated fans of the setting, there’s certainly enough here to justify stepping through the nearest impossible wall. Players looking for a richer or more original horror experience, however, may find themselves wishing this tape had a little more to say.
Score: 6.7/10