Fancy Games and Blackbird Interactive released the 1.0 version of Escape the Backrooms on 23 October 2025, published by Secret Mode after several years in Early Access. One to four players no-clip through more than 30 levels built on backrooms creepypasta lore, and every member of the team has to reach the exit alive for the escape to count. Proximity voice chat carries the whole experience, because entities hear you as clearly as your friends do.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | The Lobby | One to four player co-op with proximity voice basics | Scout | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Electrical Station | Sanity and consumables mastery | Scout | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | The Poolrooms | Entity avoidance rather than combat + gear | Navigator or Scout | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Level Fun | Build optimization | Navigator | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Terror Hotel | Min-max | Navigator or Puzzle Runner | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (The Lobby)
Level 0, the yellow wallpaper maze with humming fluorescent lights that everyone knows from the original creepypasta. Find the locked door first, then turn 90 degrees right from it and follow the long wall to the alcove where the key sits, collecting ladder pieces on the way.
Level/Difficulty: Level 0, the opening area Key Rewards: The exit key, plus an achievement for surviving 15 minutes inside the level
What to Do in The Lobby
- Learn One to four player co-op with proximity voice. Voice volume falls off with distance, so a teammate two rooms away is genuinely hard to hear. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Scout as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Treat proximity voice as a resource with a cost. Entities hear the same audio your teammates do, so agree on short call signs before you start rather than shouting full sentences in a room with a Smiler in it.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Almond Water or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand One to four player co-op with proximity voice fundamentals
- Scout selected and functional
- The Lobby main content cleared
- Ready for Electrical Station
Phase 2: Early Game (Electrical Station)
Level 3, reached via a Hub exit, and the level that introduces the Hound. Nine fuses are needed, three from each of three sections, and a flashlight is effectively mandatory because blinding the Hound is the only reliable escape.
Level/Difficulty: Level 3, early to mid run Key Rewards: Power restored and the route onward, plus the first real lesson in flashlight discipline
What to Do in Electrical Station
- Work on Sanity and consumables. Sanity drains in darkness and isolation, and food restores it. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Almond Water if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Carry Almond Water for the bad stretch instead of drinking it on sight. It restores 50 percent sanity against 25 percent for every other food item, which makes it the difference between recovering mid-level and having to retreat.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to The Poolrooms.
- Consider whether Navigator might suit your playstyle better than Scout.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Sanity and consumables integrated into gameplay
- Almond Water acquired
- Electrical Station fully cleared
- Ready for The Poolrooms
Phase 3: Mid Game (The Poolrooms)
Level 37, the flooded tiled level also known as Sublimity. It is safe as long as you stay in the areas with white tiles, and the later stagnant pools section needs a safety raft and valve work. Submerging is how you escape a Clump in the darker poolrooms.
Level/Difficulty: Level 37 and 37.2, mid run Key Rewards: One of the few genuinely calm stretches in the game, and the valve route onward
What to Do in The Poolrooms
- Master Entity avoidance rather than combat. There is essentially no fighting. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Flashlight. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Judge teammates by behaviour, not appearance. Skin-Stealers imitate players, and the reliable tells are movement that does not match how your friend plays plus a small white moving dot high up in the dark when they are undisguised.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Per-level puzzles and keys for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Entity avoidance rather than combat mastered
- Flashlight acquired or in progress
- The Poolrooms fully cleared
- Ready for Level Fun
Phase 4: Late Game (Level Fun)
Written in game as Level Fun =), the birthday party level packed with Partygoers who both see and hear. If they spot you the music stops, every one of them roars and they converge on your position, so hide under the tables and wait it out.
Level/Difficulty: Mid to late run, one of the hardest levels Key Rewards: The route onward, and the level most likely to end a full team's run
What to Do in Level Fun
- Finalize your build. You should be running Navigator or Scout with optimized gear.
- Flashlight should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Stay inside lit areas when Smilers are active. They will not step into light, so a lit corridor is safer than a shorter dark shortcut every single time.
- Four endings plus the arcade finale optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Terror Hotel.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Flashlight upgraded to max
- Level Fun fully cleared
- Ready for Terror Hotel
Phase 5: Endgame (Terror Hotel)
Level 5, a multi-part hotel with Deathmoths, Hounds and Skin-Stealers all in play. You need bug spray and Moth Jelly, and the exit code is assembled from papers scattered across the floors.
Level/Difficulty: Level 5, mid run Key Rewards: The door code, Moth Jelly for sanity, and the chase sequence that follows
What to Do in Terror Hotel
- Terror Hotel tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Crouch by default in Wretch levels like Lights Out and the Darkened Suburbs. A crouched player cannot be caught, and a LiDAR scanner where available tracks how close one is.
- The endgame loop: run Terror Hotel, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Puzzle Runner for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Four endings plus the arcade finale mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Terror Hotel fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Talking normally on proximity chat in a room with an active entity, then wondering how it found the group
- Drinking Almond Water immediately for a small sanity top-up instead of saving the 50 percent restore for a dark stretch
- Trying to fight entities, when the game is built entirely around light, crouching, hiding and line of sight
- Splitting up to cover more ground, which reliably ends with one player lost and the whole team unable to reach the exit together
- Sprinting through Level Fun instead of hiding under the tables when the music cuts out
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Treat proximity voice as a resource with a cost. Entities hear the same audio your teammates do, so agree on short call signs before you start rather than shouting full sentences in a room with a Smiler in it.
- Carry Almond Water for the bad stretch instead of drinking it on sight. It restores 50 percent sanity against 25 percent for every other food item, which makes it the difference between recovering mid-level and having to retreat.
- Judge teammates by behaviour, not appearance. Skin-Stealers imitate players, and the reliable tells are movement that does not match how your friend plays plus a small white moving dot high up in the dark when they are undisguised.
- Stay inside lit areas when Smilers are active. They will not step into light, so a lit corridor is safer than a shorter dark shortcut every single time.
- Crouch by default in Wretch levels like Lights Out and the Darkened Suburbs. A crouched player cannot be caught, and a LiDAR scanner where available tracks how close one is.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Escape the Backrooms Guides
- Escape the Backrooms Escape the Backrooms Overview
- Escape the Backrooms Best Builds
- Escape the Backrooms Tier List
- Escape the Backrooms Beginner's Guide
- Escape the Backrooms Tips & Tricks
- Escape the Backrooms Weapons Guide
- Escape the Backrooms Combat Guide
- Escape the Backrooms Boss Guide
- Escape the Backrooms Maps & Locations
- Escape the Backrooms Crafting Guide
- Escape the Backrooms Classes & Characters
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