This hub is built from cross-checked community sources — the Steam 1.0 complete guide, the gamesron and grindnstrat write-ups, and Destructoid's endings coverage — and verified against in-game mechanics. Codes and counts that the game randomizes or scales by player count are flagged as such rather than guessed. Mild spoilers throughout, as you'd expect from a walkthrough. In-game screenshots are from the Escape the Backrooms Wiki, edited for this guide.
Escape the Backrooms is a 1–4 player co-op survival-horror game by Fancy Games, built on the “Backrooms” creepypasta. You no-clip out of reality into an endless run of surreal levels — a yellow office maze, a parking garage, a haunted hotel, flooded poolrooms, a birthday party from hell — solving puzzles and dodging entities as you try to claw your way back to the Frontrooms. The full 1.0 release has 30+ level areas, a central Hub (the M.E.G. Base) you keep returning to, and four endings (A, B, C, D) that combine into a single True Ending.
This guide is split into four readable parts so you can jump to wherever you're stuck. Use the map below to navigate, then dive into the chapter you need.
The walkthrough, in four parts
- Part 1 — Early Game: Level 0 to the Terror Hotel: The Lobby, the Habitable Zone and M.E.G. Base, the Smilers hallways, Pipe Dreams, the Electrical Station, the Abandoned Office, and all three stages of the Terror Hotel.
- Part 2 — Mid Game: Level Fun to Level: The End: the Party Rooms, the Poolrooms, the Run for Your Life corridor, and the tape hunt in Level: The End.
- Part 3 — Late Game: Level 94 to Ending A: the Village and Castle, Lights Out, the caves, the Neighborhood, the Fields, Level 3999, the Snackroom, The Hunt, the extended Poolrooms, Level Fun+, and the photography finale that earns Ending A.
- Part 4 — All Endings & the True Ending: the post-game branches for Endings B, C and D, how to combine all four into the True Ending, plus full entity and item quick-reference tables.
The core loop: how the game works
Each level is a self-contained puzzle box with three things to manage:
- Navigation. Levels are mazes. Simple rules — the right-hand wall rule in Level 0, “follow the photos” in the Poolrooms, hugging a wall in the caves — keep you from looping forever.
- Puzzles. Most levels gate their exit behind a puzzle: a color code, a counting puzzle, paintings in age order, fuse boxes, valves, light patterns. Solve it and the door opens.
- Entities. Each level has its own monster with its own rule. Skin-Stealers can't open doors. Smilers retreat from light. Hounds can be stunned with a flashlight. Learn the rule and the monster becomes manageable.
The thread running through the whole game is the M.E.G. Base / Hub. You unlock it early in the Habitable Zone and return to it again and again — and after you beat the campaign, it's the launch point for the alternate endings.
Full level progression (Ending A route)
This is the main story order, the path that ends in Ending A — “Wrong Door.” Late-game level order can shift slightly between game versions, but this is the canonical 1.0 spine. Each level links to the part of the guide that covers it.
| # | Level | The short version | Covered in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Level 0 — The Lobby | Fix the ladder, get the Key, cross the pitfalls. | Part 1 |
| 2 | Level 1 — The Habitable Zone | Car color code, 4 keys, reach the M.E.G. Base. | Part 1 |
| 3 | Pipe Dreams → Electrical Station | Flashlight chase, then activate 9 fuse boxes. | Part 1 |
| 4 | Level 4 — The Abandoned Office | Vending-machine counting puzzle, dodge 4 cameras. | Part 1 |
| 5 | Level 5 — Terror Hotel | Paintings by age, Moth Jelly for keys, thermometer crawl. | Part 1 |
| 6 | Level Fun | Sneak past Partygoers, slide out. | Part 2 |
| 7 | Level 6 — The Poolrooms | Stay on white tiles, follow the photos to the red door. | Part 2 |
| 8 | Level RUN — Run for Your Life | Sprint the hospital corridor, don't look back. | Part 2 |
| 9 | Level: The End | Collect tapes, distract the Crawler, enter the orb. | Part 2 |
| 10 | Level 94 — Village & Castle | Reach the castle, match symbols, flash the Animated King. | Part 3 |
| 11 | Level 7 — Lights Out | Light patterns and Lidar through the dark. | Part 3 |
| 12 | Level 8 — The Caves | Wall-follow past moths and Skin-Stealers. | Part 3 |
| 13 | Level 0.11 & Level 188 | Shadow puzzle, chainsaw, timed switches, light code. | Part 3 |
| 14 | Level 9 — Neighborhood | Three computers, dodge the Watch, trap the Wretch. | Part 3 |
| 15 | Level 10 — The Fields | Turbines in sequence, outrun the chainsaw Faceling. | Part 3 |
| 16 | Level 3999 | Ticket code at the elevator (931), watch the video. | Part 3 |
| 17 | Level 0.2, Snackroom, The Hunt | No-clip switches, typewriter puzzle, the Clump chase. | Part 3 |
| 18 | Sub Level 188 & Poolrooms Extended | Carry CRT TVs, then work the valve sections. | Part 3 |
| 19 | Level Fun+ & Level 52 | Four colored party halls, then the Partypooper hallway. | Part 3 |
| 20 | Level 55.1 — Photography → Ending A | Photo assignment on 3 floors; wake in the Bunker with the ID Card. | Part 3 |
The four endings (and the True Ending)
Finishing the campaign gives you Ending A and the all-important ID Card — the master key that opens the M.E.G. doors to the other three endings. Collect all four and you unlock the True Ending. Full step-by-step routes are in Part 4.
| Ending | Where it branches from | In short |
|---|---|---|
| A — Wrong Door | Main campaign (Level 0 → 55.1) | Finish the photo assignment; wake in the Bunker with the ID Card. |
| B — The Garden | M.E.G. door in the Bunker | Overgrowth then the Grassrooms parkour; take the elevator down. |
| C — The Suburbs | Level 1, upstairs | ID Card to the endless staircase; climb to floor “94” and jump the center. |
| D — The Pink House | Level 7 (Lights Out) | Lidar without progressing; reach Kitty's House and place 12 teddy bears. |
| True Ending — Final Escape | Bunker elevator (after all four) | Press the Level 3999 button, play the arcade machine, wake in the Frontrooms. |
Beginner tips that apply everywhere
- Play with a flashlight discipline. Light stuns Hounds and dispels some entities — but in the cave sections you want it off to slip past Skin-Stealers. Know which level you're in.
- Close doors behind you. Skin-Stealers can't open them. A closed door is a free escape.
- Listen before you look. Audio cues tell you where a Hound or a Smiler is before you can see it. Headphones genuinely help.
- Co-op splits the work. Many puzzles (the 4-key door, fuse boxes, the timed buttons in the Grassrooms) are far easier with teammates covering different spots.
- Don't chase fixed codes. Some puzzles — like the Terror Hotel room code — are randomized per playthrough. Read your own clues rather than copying a number from a guide.
Frequently asked questions
How many levels are in Escape the Backrooms? The 1.0 release has 30+ level areas along the main route, plus the post-game branches for the alternate endings. The progression table above lists the main spine that leads to Ending A.
How many endings does the game have? Four main endings (A, B, C, D). Collecting all four unlocks a fifth result, the True Ending (“Final Escape”), in which you finally return to the Frontrooms.
Can I play Escape the Backrooms solo? Yes — it supports 1–4 players. Every puzzle is solvable alone, though co-op makes the timed and multi-switch sections much easier.
What is the M.E.G. Base? It's the central Hub you unlock in the Habitable Zone and return to throughout the game. After you beat the campaign, its M.E.G. doors (opened with the ID Card) lead to the alternate endings.
Where should I start? If you're early, begin with Part 1. If you've beaten the game once and want the other endings, skip to Part 4.