Backrooms Anomaly Review: Could’ve Been the Next Exit 8

With liminal space content flooding TikTok and the release of the Backrooms film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, I never expected to be writing a Backrooms Anomaly review. Yet somehow, here we are.

For those unfamiliar, Backrooms lore revolves around navigating a ridiculously huge space. It’s usually a place that should be packed with people and furniture, except it’s eerily empty and dead quiet. According to the lore, you can only get there by slipping out of reality, which is what makes it a liminal space in the first place.

Backrooms Anomaly builds on that concept, but what helps it stand out from the countless Backrooms-inspired horror games on Steam is its anomaly-spotting gameplay.

If you’ve never played one before, anomaly-spotting requires very little input. You’re given an environment to memorize, then repeatedly walk through it to spot anything that’s changed. Those changes, known as anomalies, are usually the work of supernatural forces.

In other words, it’s basically a spot-the-difference game with a horror twist.

That’s exactly why I wanted to review Backrooms Anomaly. Combining liminal spaces with anomaly-spotting is an interesting idea, but whether it actually works depends on two things: how well the environment creates a constant sense of unease, and whether the anomalies are memorable enough to make each discovery worthwhile.

My verdict? Not impressive enough, if I’m honest.

A Familiar Blend That Lacks Identity

Backrooms Anomaly clearly takes inspiration from two places. It borrows the original 2019 Backrooms setting while adopting Exit 8’s anomaly-spotting gameplay. It’s an appealing combination that should work. However, the game rarely does enough to establish its own identity.

Like the original Backrooms post, the game takes place inside an empty office lined with faded yellow wallpaper. Compared to other Backrooms titles such as Backrooms: Escape Together, the environment is far less exaggerated and instead sticks closely to the original interpretation.

At first, this felt like a disappointment. Most people who see “Backrooms” in a game’s title would naturally expect the sprawling, surreal environments as popularized by Kane Pixels and countless internet recreations. But those interpretations came years after the original 4chan post. The Backrooms was originally unsettling because it resembled a place that could exist in everyday life. That’s the same psychological trick used by games like Condo, where an ordinary environment becomes increasingly unnerving, and it’s clearly the direction the developer wanted to preserve.

That decision also makes sense when paired with the anomaly-spotting gameplay. Exit 8 built its horror around an ordinary underground passageway, showing that familiar places can be far more unsettling than grotesque fantasy environments. Had Backrooms Anomaly leaned into exaggerated horror architecture instead, it would’ve strayed from the very formula it was trying to emulate.

The problem is that anomaly-spotting isn’t limited to Exit 8’s formula. Shinkansen 0 traps players inside a looping train carriage. CAPTURED turns an entire house into an anomaly hunt, while Alternate Watch transforms the concept into a CCTV surveillance game. Each title proves the mechanic can thrive in wildly different settings without losing its identity.

That’s why Backrooms Anomaly ended up feeling too safe. Blending the Backrooms with anomaly-spotting is an appealing premise, but instead of pushing either idea somewhere new, it simply combines two already popular concepts. In a genre that’s quickly becoming crowded, that’s not enough to stand out. That’s especially true when there are already so many excellent indie horror games exploring similar ideas.

Interesting Anomalies, Little Tension

Good anomaly-spotting games thrive on uncertainty. Spotting every anomaly should feel difficult enough that you constantly second-guess yourself, while missing one usually comes with a frightening consequence, whether that’s a jumpscare or a chase sequence.

Backrooms Anomaly features 50 different anomalies, and players must correctly identify 10 in a row to escape the extradimensional maze. Unfortunately, I managed to finish the game without ever breaking my streak.

That’s not because the anomalies are poorly designed. Quite the opposite, many of them are creative and distinct from one another. The problem is that they’re often too obvious, removing the uncertainty that makes anomaly-spotting games so satisfying. Instead of carefully examining every corner, I was simply waiting for the next obvious change to appear.

To unlock the true ending, players eventually have to encounter all 50 anomalies, making multiple playthroughs unavoidable. While I appreciate the variety, the game never gave me enough reason to keep going. A large number of anomalies only matters if discovering each one remains exciting, and for me, that excitement faded long before I had seen them all.

The same issue extends to the horror itself. Despite marketing itself as a horror game, Backrooms Anomaly rarely made me feel uneasy.

It’s clear the developer wanted to recreate the oppressive atmosphere of Exit 8 by merging its looping corridor with the iconic yellow Backrooms office. Unfortunately, the final result feels more like a visual re-skin than a new interpretation.

Part of what made Exit 8 so unsettling was its relatability. Endless subway tunnels are places many people have experienced, especially in cities like Tokyo or Paris. They’re confusing by design, so getting trapped in one feels believable. Their emptiness only amplifies that uneasy feeling because they’re supposed to be bustling with commuters.

Backrooms Anomaly tries to recreate that same labyrinthine layout inside an office building, but the effect isn’t nearly as convincing. While an empty office corridor can certainly feel eerie, especially if you’ve ever stayed late after work, it’s not somewhere people expect to get hopelessly lost. The maze-like design therefore feels artificial rather than relatable, which weakens the psychological horror instead of strengthening it.

Final Verdict: Below Average

Backrooms Anomaly has an interesting premise, but that’s ultimately where its biggest strength lies. While the anomaly designs are creative, the game never captures the psychological unease of the Backrooms nor the tension that makes anomaly-spotting games so addictive. Instead, it ends up feeling like a safe blend of two already successful ideas without adding much of its own.

That said, I wouldn’t write off the developer just yet. Looking through their catalogue, they’re clearly experimenting with different takes on the Backrooms, and titles like the upcoming Backrooms Anomaly: Pools and Backrooms Fishing on Itch.io look far more intriguing. Backrooms Anomaly may not have impressed me, but I’m still interested to see where the developer takes the concept next.

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