The Complex: Found Footage is a first person “where the hell am I and how did I get here?” walking simulator developed by pgWave set in the notorious Backrooms, an internet phenomenon that’s only grown more and more on Youtube based on the concept of “What if we noclip out of reality?” and “Where would we go?”. The answer would be a place filled with transforming shapes, piss flavored wallpaper and liminal spaces which have a lonely and comfy yet startling creepy flavor to it. I don’t really know much about the developer (other than their Youtube saying their name is Isar Leo and that they’re 17 which damn this dude’s talented) or what they’ve done besides this game but on their Youtube they posted a couple videos promoting this game, a war game of sorts named “Operation Bagration” which I’ve yet to see and teasers for their newest Backrooms title: “The Complex: Expedition”. Found Footage takes huge inspiration from the ongoing Kane Pixel’s series of the same name, but doesn’t really go along with the lore according to the steam page, which reads: “This game has its own story and is not connected with any previously established Backrooms lore.” So what is the story about exactly?

Hell if I know that too. As far as I’m aware, there isn’t really much of anything aside from a few bits and pieces. The game is more of a “walk for the vibes game” so I’ll be combining the gameplay and story aspects in the review. The game is a walking simulator, one whose controls only use WASD, Shift for sprinting around and Ctrl to crouch under small spaces. You won’t get much more than that and truth be told that’s all you need. The game is small in length and as such the most you’ll be doing is exploring the titular Backrooms pretty much, though with a caveat. It’s not really a huge game by any means as it seems monolithic in design, but it’s mostly linear. Even if you go left, you’ll eventually find that a lot of it leads to dead ends, or Easter Eggs of other Backroom famous areas such as “Plaza with multiple windows” on the first floor. Even with everything looping back in itself, there are actually two elevators that I’m aware of on the first floor you wake up on, though they go to the same place anyways so it’s not necessarily a huge change. To summarize the gameplay: Walk the environment, find specific places that stick out and eventually you’ll go to where you’re going. As for the story, it’s also based more in the background. You’ll find tape on the floor where people mark their way back to the entrance, you’ll find radios playing music and other strange things to signify that people have been there before. The only time I was ever taken out of the vibe was the last level has an invisible wall sadly but that’s about it. This also isn’t a jumpscare game, and I only ever spotted something creepy once (a bunch of fingers coming from behind a wall) which I assume was the notorious tentacle looking thing but it was never pronounced and was more of a blink and miss type of deal. And as for the ending, it’s not really much of anything and is more of a teaser so it’s not really worth it throwing here cause if you play the game you’ll get to it in an hour or less. My first run was probably 40 minutes and my second run was 20 trying to explore everything.

What I can definitely say is a positive is the graphics and environment. By god, the developers used Unreal Engine 5 perfectly to catch the Lo-fi aesthetic of the Youtube series. You’ll walk around and such using a camera to zoom in and zoom out if need be but with how the vibe presents itself in game it feels like I could be there. Everything feels surreal and static-like yet feels like you could reach out and touch it. I don’t know how to explain it other than that but it’s phenomenal and surprisingly ran well on my PC which I bought in 2017 so I think for the most part people should be able to run the game? Don’t quote me on that but the presentation of all the environments just clicked in as if KanePixel’s himself actually created it. The soundtrack and audio design are also phenomenally crunchy lo-fi feels, most of the time it's a sort of droning that fades into the background but works at creating a creep factor. Sometimes you’ll find a radio that plays a bop or two by artist “farside lore” but it wasn’t that often. Walking through the Poolrooms is just perfection as the sound of walking through water just sounds like actual water to me. Overall, I can’t complain about any of it, in fact the aesthetics just help boost what would otherwise be a vertical slice walking simulator that, although lifted straight from the Youtube scene, have been translated perfectly.

Overall what’s the recommendation? Well it’s free so why the f u c k wouldn’t you play it, especially if you’re in the short indie horror scene and you’re either interested in or curious about The Backrooms? It’s a pretty solid title that’s both free and short, and to me that’s perfectly cool with me. I don’t remember how I ended up picking it up but I’ll either assume it was from AlphaBetaGamer or one of my friends wishlisted it. I ended up streaming this for a friend of mine last night along with another game, Unsorted Horror, which ironically provides two different feelings of horror. This is the “comfortable” one (strange considering horror is the antithesis of comfortable but still) compared to that one so who knows. Just keep in mind some things: it ran on my 2017 PC but it’s recommended to not play on Lower End specs and there’s no multiplayer despite the tags that say otherwise. Not a bad choice for a small Halloween game for those interested in trying out something smaller.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/@pgWave./videos (Developer Youtube)

https://twitter.com/pgWave_ (Developer Twitter)

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=23359502 (Developer Patreon)

https://farsidelore.bandcamp.com/album/the-complex-found-footage-original-game-soundtrack (Soundtrack)


From Steam Reviews: https://steamcommunity.com/id/gamemast15r/recommended/

I don't see a point to this game. The Complex shows off areas which are either completely ripped from other "Liminal" media or heavily based on it. It has nearly nothing new to show. That being said, it is free, only 30 minutes long, and has some elements I liked. I like the sound design, It fits camcorder audio well. The sound for running is startling and sounds stressful.

Spoilers Below
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It seems nice that this game doesn't have monsters to run from, however near the start it shows a head peek around the corner. It hurt the rest of the experience because I was waiting for the monster which it clearly showed and yet never came. A setup with no payoff does not feel good.

I've always viewed liminal spaces as the architectural version of the uncanny valley phenomenon. A place that generally makes sense but is just... off enough to produce feelings of uneasiness and unfamiliarity. In The Complex: Found Footage this concept is explored impressively well for what I can only assume was either a solo effort or a really small team of people probably working for free just trying to create something cool and interesting.

Whether it be a sprawling open but totally empty space, a library devoid of books, a child's playroom with no children or toys, an art gallery housing no art, or the drab yellow wallpapered rooms and corridors that never seem to totally release you from their nightmarish grasp, these areas make just enough sense that you feel grounded but they are totally missing that human element that gives them purpose. Adding to this these rooms are often connected and shaped in ways that are simply illogical in terms of function but clearly not intentionally done for artistic purposes either. It's almost like these rooms were created by some malfunctioning rogue artificial intelligence with no off switch and no true understanding of humanity or the function these spaces serve, instead only a vague understanding of the form: enclosed by walls, floor and a ceiling, at least one entrance, sometimes with wallpaper for decoration. These are human environments not built by or for humans and there is something particularly eerie about that.

The game loses some of it's spark in the final act with some less inspired environments and trying to vaguely explain some semblance of story but those first handful of areas really touched on something quite special. And for a game that is totally free and provided me with a unique experience, how could I not recommend it.