Unveil the psychological depths of the backrooms
Kenophobia is an adventure game. It is a psychological horror video game inspired by the internet myth of The Backrooms. In the game, the story starts in the year 2008 when an experiment by the UGG Research Institute goes wrong.
In Kenophobia, the institute tries to open a portal to a mysterious dimension called The Backrooms but ends up causing chaos, creating unstable areas that can suddenly drop people from the normal world, known as The Frontrooms, into The Backrooms. In the Backrooms, players find themselves in a vast expanse of empty, interconnected rooms with yellow walls and old carpet.
Trapped in the labyrinth
The area in Kenophobia is eerily silent except for the unsettling hum-buzz of lights, giving it a spooky atmosphere. The main goal is to navigate their way back to The Frontrooms, and this involves moving through about 20 different levels. Each level is unique, filled with puzzles and clues that players must solve to progress. These puzzles range in difficulty, adding to the challenge and excitement of the game.
The game is presented in a found footage style, meaning it looks like the player is recording everything with a handheld camera. This adds to the feeling of being part of the game's world and enhances the scary, immersive experience. It taps into the fear of vast, empty spaces — true to its name — and the anxiety of being lost or trapped somewhere unknown and unsettling.
However, while thematic, the endless rooms and monotonous yellow walls could become repetitive for some players, diminishing the game's impact over time. The intense atmosphere and challenging puzzles might be overly stressful or frustrating for players unfamiliar with psychological horror or high-difficulty puzzles. Once puzzles are solved and levels are completed, the game might offer limited replay value unless additional content or varying storylines are introduced.
The art of fear
The overall gameplay experience of Kenophobia immerses players in a tense and eerie atmosphere as they navigate through the dreaded Backrooms, a realm of endless, empty rooms characterized by monotonous yellow walls and a perpetual buzz of fluorescent lights. The game skillfully employs a found footage style, where the visuals mimic handheld camera footage, enhancing the feeling of realism and personal involvement in the unfolding horror.
