NO ENTITIES

[Collustras]

I honestly am one of those to believe backrooms are made to be EMPTY, like liminal spaces are described all around. A hostile place, where you feel lost and alone, anxious about someone or something's presence and of never being able to find out if there's actually anybody there watching you. The first game was flawless. When I think of the backrooms concept I think of Kane Pixel's work and of that game. I will for sure pay for this, but please don't let us down. One thing I would add in this matter is more HINTS that there's is something that might be following you, like it happened like twice in The Complex: Found Footage already.

[Sytch]

Agree about it. However, some threat hints can be added with sounds and environmental storytelling. Maybe not as direct as corpses or blood spatter, but some overturned chairs or weird looking devices. Really not sure about it. At first I was very against any monsters in the Backrooms because the existential solitude of being trapped in this infinite boring (in a good sense, lol) space is much scarier than stupid monsters. Then I watched all these videos and I'm not that convinced anymore. On one hand, whatever monster you create would look out of place and goofy. On the other, creating a sense that there is something but you're never sure what exactly, is much better. So just like in the first game, a monster without a monster.

Some subtly creepy stuff could work, like when you pass a completely empty room, hit a dead end, then go back and see a chair in the corner. But you remember it was 100% empty. Did someone come here while you were away? How much time really passed? It's not a jump scare, it doesn't suddenly appear in front of you, just messes with your memory. Or those ridiculously tall chairs, they make no sense but look serious and have a purpose. Who would sit there? Why do they look like that? These things really rock.

[Flowgo]

I agree 100% I am all for liminal spaces with no entities. It's what brought me to the first game. I am not about cheesy jumps scares or a monster chasing me. I love to explore and I'm more creeped out by the surrounding/eerie sounds/and once in awhile the feeling of someone watching you but you can't quiet see it. The Complex did this quit well with subtle hints that you may not be alone but they never had to reveal it. I am hoping to that this game will keep that same vibe.

[Nick101]

I love both, I love the empty space with no monsters... and I love the monsters.

Why not just have both? there can be two options when you start the game, Entities and no entities.

Problem solved!

[Worship]

Yep I agree 100% as well. The first Complex game was beautiful to look at and it got the "found footage" aesthetic better than any other Backrooms game I've seen.

The concept doesn't need silly monsters popping out for cheap jump scares. Liminal spaces (and the thought of being trapped there forever) are scary and off putting by themselves. And dare I say artistically satisfying.

I also agree with what Sytch mentioned above- A distant sound echoed throughout the halls or maybe a splash in the water (while in the poolrooms) is as far as I'd go. When used very sparingly, they can completely surprise and confuse someone who's been walking around in silence for a long time. Makes you feel like you're not alone.

[Donkle]

I like the idea that there maaay be something watching you, but I find it way scarier and harrowing that you never ever personally encounter anything. I think the found footage demo game nailed this perfectly. Hints of something pursuing you especially if you spot something really interesting in the hotel segment, but you never personally confront anything.

[Donkle]

Originally posted by Nick101:

I love both, I love the empty space with no monsters... and I love the monsters.

Why not just have both? there can be two options when you start the game, Entities and no entities.

Problem solved!

That kind of implies the creator would need to create the game around the idea of entities pursuing you though. They'd have to make a completely different experience, I think in order for both versions to land. It'd be like if you took Zomboid and removed the zombies. You can do that and it might feel creepy and atmospheric for a while, but the game centers around dealing with zombies while sneaking around and so it gets boring quickly without anything out there.

[Whakahoatanga]

Having quite recently discovered liminal spaces which the Backrooms are some type of, I think the charm of backrooms definitely lies in the mood they transmit, not some cheesy entity which hunts. Of course having some stranges originating from seemingly nowhere is quite interesting but having a beast hunt you is not exactly what's the strong point of the Backrooms as a concept.

The term which coins the backrooms the best is uncanny valley architecture, so to be more precise the feeling that you know a certain place or at least seems familiar enough that an element being completely off disturbs like strangely shaped chairs, slides with strange shapes, or escalators which lead to nowhere.

Otherwise the backrooms are just turning into another form of haunted mansion which is generic and unoriginal.

[jok3riswild]

I actually wouldn't mind hostile entities, but I agree it should be more than just a cheap jump scare type of thing. There are sophisticated ways to add monsters to a horror game without cheapening the experience. You just gotta know how to do it right. I'm sure the dev will figure out a way to make it work. I have every confidence in them.

Super excited to see more of this game.

[VRIsMyLife]

i think both sides to the argument are just, but i will say that it also really depends on the person, what the backrooms is for players or watchers (for a lack of a better word,) is different to each person, there is no really right or wrong way to view it.

with that said i'm on the boring side of people that thinks both monsters and no monsters are cool ways too express the backrooms in different ways, and i don't think there should be a definitive way to view the backrooms, just simply because i think the fact its so flexible, and the fact that there is no true or real canon to the backrooms makes it so interesting.

(yes ik scp did this before but it's still very rare too see.)

for me tho i do think monsters make the experience slightly more scary as i just think not having something there (for me) makes me realise that there is no real threat, and in tern makes the physiological horror not as scary for me because there is no pay off.


ofc there are ways too make that pay off generally good and not cheesy, and as much as i like fnaf, that is a perfect example of it being cheesy lmao.



i think monsters can really work in the backrooms if the physiological horror and entities work *together,* making sure that the physiological horror comes first and having rare entity encounters come when a build up climaxes, 70 to 80% should just build up to nothing while the last 20% should be when an entity appears.


however that is just my subjective thoughts on how the both could be better balanced and in tern more scary, at the end of the day as i said before there really is no right or wrong here, and i do think that's the only objective fact here.


at the end of the day enjoy the backrooms the way you want to.

[Negative0]

some people want entitys and some dont there should be an option to play with and without entitys

[that's what she said]

Originally posted by -Negative0:

some people want entitys and some dont there should be an option to play with and without entitys

This ruins the whole premise of backrooms.
The player should NOT KNOW if there is anything out there. That's the whole point why backrooms as a concept became popular. And that's the reason the first Complex worked so good. And people who want obligatory jpg-entities should go play nexbots or something.

[Hornbach Loungeset]

@.ogorchaesh._ Let's spin that around and say if you want a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ walking sim play firewatch lol

[coconut]

I'm happy to report you got your wish, I've completed it (explored maybe half at best?) and there were no cheap scares or chase sequences. Perhaps there's a way to trigger them but they're about as subtle as the demo and well executed.

[VinSyn]

I think if the entities are sparingly and smartly used they can be worthwhile. I just don't like it when there is an entity creeping around every corner.

[JabroniCorleone]

So is there an entity now or not? Played a lot of different horror games in my life but as I’m getting older I can’t stand it anymore and dont want to get a heart attack from a chasing monster 😂