One funny thing about entertainment media is that once a trend gets going, it’s full steam ahead for anyone willing to make content in that space or theme. Starting as an anonymous 4chan post, the Backrooms might not seem all that enticing at first. They’re certainly mysterious and offer plenty of potential for exploring the environment in different stories, but a successful movie and many games later, it’s one of the most talked-about concepts in entertainment. A new game from a Backrooms-centric two-person studio might be coming at the perfect time to capitalize on this excitement.

Backrooms Anomaly: Pools is Liminal Games’ first-person horror sequel. The game features a free demo, available now on Steam for Steam Next Fest. The event, which runs from October 19 – 26, is a high-profile way for games to build attention and excitement and encourage players to add titles to their wishlists, a helpful tool for building confidence ahead of a release. Backrooms Anomaly: Pools will hopefully see a nice boost in excitement ahead of its release on January 22, 2027.

Pools is a return to form for the series, which explores the Backrooms and all its chaos. Players explore a looping complex of tiled corridors, maintenance rooms, and flooded chambers. Every time you encounter an anomaly, you turn back and seek the next out-of-place occurrence to guide you through the game. The Detection Stage encourages you to find anomalies, while the Survival Stage adds a timer and a camera to document any you uncover.

The Backrooms concept is clearly popular, thanks to online lore and the successful 2026 A24 film. One confusing aspect of the IP is that it technically does not exist as intellectual property. That means many developers over the last 6 years have created games in the general Backrooms setting, with varying success. Liminal Games is a two-person studio with two games to its name: Backrooms Anomaly and Backrooms Stories. You can now play the demo for Backrooms Anomaly: Pools on Steam as part of Steam Next Fest. Let us know in the comments if you enjoy it once you give it a shot.

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