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FriedGPU · 2024 · Windows

Steam: 31 % positive of 1,235 reviews, as of Oct 28

Explore the poolrooms in a inmersive cooperative horror game. Immerse yourself in the story of scientists who are exploring the depths of the poolrooms and end up encountering various obstacles in order to find a way back to reality.

24 games that play like BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: Escape the Backrooms, Backrooms: Escape Together and Inside the Backrooms.

Player tags

  • 3D
  • Multiplayer
  • Funny
  • First-Person
  • Horror
  • Psychological Horror
  • Online Co-Op
  • Story Rich
Map region: Co-op Horror
Open on Steam ↗

Steam reviews

What players say

Players mostly find this short, buggy free prologue unfinished, with weak scares and poor performance; a minority enjoy its visuals and cutscenes despite the flaws.

Many players say the prologue is very short, often finished in well under an hour, and that it mostly consists of walking through the poolrooms with one puzzle and one jumpscare. Some players praise the environments, the lighting in the pool area, the cutscenes and the sense that it is a promising early look at the planned full game. Many reviewers complain about performance: low frame rates even on low settings, settings that reset, crashes at the lab section, and a crouch key on Alt that cannot be rebound. Some players also dislike the text-to-speech voices and the lack of a clear story. Recent reviews are harsher than the older helpful ones, and some of the most negative reviews are angry rants with no concrete complaints. A few players found it a fine free demo and enjoyed playing it with friends.

Praised

  • Atmospheric visuals and environments

    Players single out the well-decorated poolroom areas, the lighting and the detailed environments as the strongest part of the prologue.

    Some players
  • Cutscenes and story setup

    Reviewers find the cutscenes well made and the opening setup intriguing, even if the story stays thin.

    Some players
  • Fun with friends

    Players enjoyed playing through the short prologue in co-op with friends and found it a light, fun experience.

    A few players

Criticised

  • Very short with little content

    Players say the prologue ends after about 15 to 30 minutes, with just walking, one puzzle and little to do.

    Many players
  • Poor performance and bugs

    Reviewers report low frame rates, settings that reset, crashes at the lab section, clipping and a stuck crouch state.

    Many players
  • Text-to-speech voices

    Players dislike the synthetic, AI-generated voices, which they feel break immersion.

    Some players
  • Weak scares

    Players note that the single jumpscare is either cheap or ineffective, and that the game offers little tension.

    Some players
Who it suits
Players who want a very short, free look at the Backrooms poolrooms and a little co-op fun with friends, and who do not mind rough edges.
Who should skip it
Players wanting a scary, content-rich Backrooms experience or a smooth, well-optimised game should skip it.

Short vs. long playtime: Players who spent more time in the game were more positive about the atmosphere and cutscenes, while the quickest runs focused on the short length and bugs.

Summarised by AI from 69 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue

These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. Backrooms: Found Footage81 % positive of 406Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  2. We Were Here88 % positive of 33,532Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  3. Backrooms Society78 % positive of 593Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  4. EXPEDITION TO THE BACKROOMS64 % positive of 154Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  5. Zort90 % positive of 11,832Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  6. POOLS95 % positive of 6,550Shared: First-Person · Psychological Horror · Dark
  7. Backrooms Lost Runners74 % positive of 651
  8. Backrooms: Extractions73 % positive of 715Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  9. Emissary Zero82 % positive of 2,762Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  10. Backrooms: Code Yellow51 % positive of 486Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  11. The Escape: Together79 % positive of 2,035Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror
  12. BACKROOMS: APPREHENSION82 % positive of 1,405Shared: First-Person · Horror · Psychological Horror

By look

Looks like BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. Backrooms Media40 % positive of 549
  2. BABBDI97 % positive of 8,869
  3. Dead Take87 % positive of 771
  4. Climb The Backrooms80 % positive of 1,031
  5. SCP: Fragmented Minds91 % positive of 1,260
  6. Garten of Banban 069 % positive of 4,493
  7. Anemoiapolis: Chapter 180 % positive of 1,162
  8. Capuchin80 % positive of 199
  9. Vigil85 % positive of 2,228
  10. Perspective98 % positive of 1,458
  11. Dark Fracture: Prologue82 % positive of 1,382
  12. Lost in Vivo90 % positive of 3,711

At a glance

What games like BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue have in common

  • The tags they share most often with BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue: First-Person (22 of 24), Horror (22) and Psychological Horror (22).
  • They came out between 2017 and 2026, 12 of them after BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue (2024).
  • Best rated by Steam players: POOLS (95 % positive of 6,550).

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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