Critique de Backrooms : Missing Persons (PC et VR)

Backrooms: Missing Persons injects its own DNA into the ever-growing bloodstream of internet culture’s most illustrious urban legend with a liminal quarter that pays homage to its roots in the best way possible. Combined with a claustrophobic locale and a deeply disturbing lack of environmental palpitations, it jolts to the forefront of hallucinatory impulses—a place where grain-riddled cassette tapes emit intrusive auras and peripheral signals embody grotesque visual cues. It’s still Les coulisses, but with  a “twist” that ultimately propels it to an original cocoon of liminal storytelling and tainted anomalies. A recipe for success, all things considered.

If you were to peel back the ominous layers of pulpy Backrooms canon fodder, then you would, thankfully, find a fresh core with a lot of unsaturated borders to tear through here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still the same concept, and it still opts to lean on several of the same crutches to help capture that static essence of a liminal experience. Yet, there are small features here that allow Personnes disparues the right of passage to an unopened walking simulator that doesn’t flaunt the usual ties of a generic corridor romper. For example, the game transpires over multiple “Tapes”—episodes, if you will, in which you are given the chance to freely explore unique scenarios and wax various aspects of the internet phenomenon. There are offices to tiptoe through, crimson corridors to navigate, and plusieurs peculiar events to unravel, some of which strike the supernatural tone, some of which serve only to bring you closer to an uncomfortable reality.

Je ne ferai pas semblant Personnes disparues is the greatest Backrooms escapade of its kind, because to be honest with you, it doesn’t capture the wealth of boroughs or the depth of a seemingly endless world. That isn’t to say that it doesn’t have the potential to grasp such things, mind you. As it stands, though, its significant lack of world-building is a little underwhelming, and it certainly leaves a lot to be desired come curtain call. But more on that later.

Streamable Confessions

Backrooms: Missing Persons hands you a repository of VHS tapes, with each one being an archival tale about the “final” moments of one of several people who, like so many daring Backroom travelers, were swallowed whole by the treacherous silence and peculiar nature of the barren void.

In each tale, Vous have the opportunity to slip into one of several familiar pockets—office buildings, slender corridors, and seemingly blood-soaked worlds of emulsion and fickle lights, for example—and witness the penultimate events of various voiceless voyagers. A simple setup, but one that happens to blend with the signature psychological walking simulator style incredibly well, all things considered.

Similar to most, if not all Backroom-like homages, the game primarily involves gradually traipsing through a selection of peculiar rooms and liminal spaces, most of which foster an unsettling ambiance and an aura that, frankly, you couldn’t dare slide with a butter knife. There are “encounters” for you to engage with, as well as a few good old-fashioned twists and turns, bottlenecks and crossroads to keep you on your toes and, well, second guessing your movements. Again, like a traditional Backroom, but with a timeline of individual tapes and sequences as opposed to the one-track endeavor that you might have seen a hundred times before.

Stepping Beyond the Veil

Despite the game not harboring anything particularly nouvelle or mechanically complex, it does feature a good sense of progression and a few tender moments that leave you with a fluctuating case of inner turbulence. It’s certainly an eerie voyage, and it often comes up with some quality climaxes that keep you on the edge of your seat. To say that it’s entirely unpredictable, however, just wouldn’t be true. But there are these moments—a silhouette on the balcony; a sense that something is lurking in the shadows, stalking your footsteps as you gradually whittle down the rooms and connect the dots.

Backrooms: Missing Persons touts “ultra-realistic” visuals, courtesy of Unreal Engine 5’s lavish suite. The thing is, despite it claiming that it fosters superior audiovisual capabilities, the bitter truth is that, sadly, it doesn’t. Or at least, the game doesn’t deliver the wow factor that it advertises on its tin. I’ll admit, the VHS aesthetic is a fitting choice, and it ne knuckle in on some thematically interesting visual effects. But, to call Backrooms: Missing Persons a beautiful work of art just wouldn’t be an accurate reflection of its liminal and somewhat grainy roots. It’s a Backroom game, though, so I suppose visual complexity isn’t really its strong suit, truth be told.

I’m on the fence, in ways, not because I think that there’s a poor game here, but because I’m undecided on whether or not it’s vaut the price of admission. Typically, a Backrooms exploit would set you back a few dollars, whereas Personnes disparues opts for the steeper price tag of just under $10. It’s a tall order, and frankly, it doesn’t always provide the quality to reflect the asking price. It isn’t littered with bugs or technical issues, which is a boon in itself, for sure. Yet, the question still remains: is it vaut forking out the extra cash for? Again, I’m on the fence.

Verdict

Si Backrooms: Missing Persons doesn’t go above and beyond to deliver a world-altering ode to internet culture and Backrooms lore, it does find a pulse in its clever VHS-inspired episodic format, with a handful of compelling fragmented stories and a hearty batch of tender encounters that compliment an otherwise familiar narrative. It’s still a dime-a-dozen ordeal, and truth be told, it still leans on almost all of the same fixtures as the common Backrooms adaptation. Yet, there’s heart here, as well as a lot of other small bit seemingly notable elements that keep its palpitations thriving and its identity intact — if only just.

Let it be said that, if you are hell-bent on taking a dive into a never-before-seen Backrooms escapade that adopts personnages numériques originaux features and a versatile set of rules, then you might be disappointed with just how little Personnes disparues does to alter the formula. It isn’t that it’s bad; it’s that it keeps in line with a lot of the same basic principles and practices as your bog-standard Backrooms excursion. Of course, if that’s an irrelevant factor to you, then you’ll more than likely enjoy romping through these VHS tapes for an hour or two. If, however, you were hoping to slip behind the veil of an uncharted phenomenon, then I’m afraid that you Au cours de cette réunion, Matthew a obtenu de précieux conseils et Linda lui a demandé de la tenir au courant de ses progrès. just be out of luck with this homage.