This walkthrough is built from cross-checked community sources — the Steam 1.0 complete guide, gamesron and grindnstrat write-ups, and Destructoid's endings coverage — and verified against in-game mechanics. Nothing here is invented; where a code or count is randomized or scales with your group, we say so rather than guessing. In-game screenshots are from the Escape the Backrooms Wiki, edited for this guide.
Welcome to Part 1 of our full Escape the Backrooms 1.0 walkthrough. This installment covers the early game — from the moment you no-clip into the yellow maze of Level 0 through the three stages of Level 5, the Terror Hotel. For the complete level-by-level roadmap and links to every part, see the full walkthrough hub. Escape the Backrooms is a 1–4 player co-op survival-horror game by Fancy Games, and while this guide follows the main story path (which ends in Ending A), the steps work just as well solo or with a full squad. Read on with the understanding that mild spoilers are unavoidable in a walkthrough.
Level 0 — The Lobby
You begin in the iconic endless yellow office maze — mono-yellow wallpaper, buzzing fluorescent lights, damp carpet. There is no minimap, so the single most useful trick is the right-hand rule: hug the right-hand wall and keep following it. This guarantees you eventually thread the maze instead of looping forever.
- From spawn, explore the nearby intersection and locate the broken ladder.
- Collect the 4 ladder pieces scattered around the spawn intersection.
- Fix the ladder and climb it to reach a ceiling cubby that holds the Key.
- Use the Key to unlock the wooden door leading to the Pitfalls room.
- Cross the square gaps in the Pitfalls room — lean with Q and E to peek and judge your jumps, and stay on solid ground.
Entities & dangers. A bacteria/Howler entity roams here but is avoidable — stay on the paths and you'll be fine. If you're hunting achievements, note there's one for surviving 15 minutes in Level 0 before you escape, so you may want to linger deliberately on a dedicated run.
Level 1 — The Habitable Zone
The Habitable Zone is really four connected areas: a Parking Garage, an elevator descent, a Dark Garage, and finally The Hub (the M.E.G. Base) that becomes your home base for the rest of the game. Work through them in order.
Parking Garage
Look at the colored cars parked here. They give you a color code that you'll input at the elevator to descend.
Down the Elevator
- Take the elevator down using the car color code.
- Explore the side rooms and collect 4 keys.
- Turn all four keys at the central door — this is time-sensitive, so be ready to reach each lock quickly once you start.
Entity: Skin-Stealers patrol this section. They cannot open doors, so if one is closing in, duck through a doorway and close the door behind you to break line of sight and hide.
Dark Garage
Navigate the gloom to find the elevator exit. 2 Skin-Stealers wander between the floors here — the same door-closing trick applies. Keep moving toward the exit and don't get cornered.
The Hub — M.E.G. Base
- Solve the terminal puzzle by matching the code to the groups shown.
- Log into the computers using the password written on a nearby notepad: itheardyou.
- Open the garage door via the desktop icon on the computer.
This is the central M.E.G. Base / Hub you'll return to throughout the campaign, so get familiar with its layout.
The Hub — Smilers Section
Beyond the base proper is a stretch of flickering hallways. Smilers — glowing grins that appear in darkness — haunt this area, and they retreat when the lights come on, so keep to lit ground whenever you can.
Your goal is to find the one side-hallway door that looks different from all the others, and go through it. Take note that a ramp here leads to a M.E.G. door you'll use much later for Ending C — you don't need it now, but it's worth remembering where it is.
Pipe Dreams (1) → Electrical Station
Pipe Dreams
- Head left down the long hallway.
- Pick up the flashlight that marks the dark section.
- Grabbing it triggers a Smiler chase — you get infinite stamina during the chase, so sprint flat-out toward the Station and don't stop.
Electrical Station
Here you must activate 9 fuse boxes arranged in 3 sections (groups of 3). A red light on a box means it's still inactive. Once all nine are active, the exit opens.
Entity: Hounds roam the Station. Stun them with your flashlight, and crucially — listen before you look. Use audio cues to locate a Hound before you swing your light around, so you can light it up the moment it's in front of you.
Level 4 — The Abandoned Office
This office level pairs a counting puzzle with a stealth section. Take it in two beats: the vending machines first, then the cameras.
- Vending-machine puzzle: count the objects shown and enter the matching numbers at the vending machines to unlock the doors.
- CCTV section: avoid the 4 cameras by sticking to the side rooms. If a camera detects you, it resets your progress, so move room-to-room patiently rather than crossing open camera lines.
Entity: a red-eyed creature lurks outside the windows. Stay focused on the cameras and your route and don't be drawn toward the glass.
Level 5 — Terror Hotel
The Terror Hotel is the meatiest stop in the early game, split across three distinct stages: the Lobby, The Rooms, and the Service Crawlspace. Each has its own puzzle and its own hazard.
Lobby
- Painting puzzle: press the paintings in age order, youngest to oldest.
- Use bug spray to kill the male Death Moths; each one drops Moth Jelly.
- Collect 3 Moth Jellies and give them to the dumbwaiter in exchange for 3 keys.
The Rooms
- Collect the letter papers from the open mailboxes around this section.
- Combine them in the starting mailbox to assemble a room code.
- Note that the room code is randomized per playthrough — examples players have seen include 17564, 89472, and 05938, so don't expect a fixed number; read it off your own letters.
- The “LOOK UP” letters are a hint pointing you to room 235.
Entity: two Skin-Stealers patrol The Rooms. As always, they can't open doors — slip into a room and close it behind you to lose them.
Service Crawlspace
The final stage is a tight crawl through the hotel's service tunnels.
- Use the thermometer to detect heat sources — Fake Rooms and moth nests read hot, so the thermometer tells you what to avoid.
- Crawl slowly past the Female Death Moths, which are motion-sensitive — sudden movement will set them off, so ease past them.
Entity quick-reference (Part 1)
| Entity | Where | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Howler / Bacteria | Level 0 | Avoidable — stay on the paths. |
| Skin-Stealer | Level 1, Terror Hotel | Can't open doors — close a door behind you to hide. |
| Smiler | The Hub, Pipe Dreams | Glowing grin in darkness; retreats when lights are on. |
| Hound | Electrical Station | Stun with your flashlight; listen before you look. |
| Red-eyed creature | Level 4 (outside windows) | Stays outside the glass — focus on cameras, don't approach. |
| Male Death Moth | Terror Hotel lobby | Kill with bug spray; drops Moth Jelly. |
| Female Death Moth | Service Crawlspace | Motion-sensitive — crawl slowly past it. |
What's next. That covers the early game through the Terror Hotel. In Part 2 we pick up at Pipe Dreams (2) and push through the mid game — read it here: Level Fun through Level: The End.
Frequently asked questions
How do I avoid getting lost in Level 0? Use the right-hand rule — hug the right-hand wall and keep following it. Because Level 0 is an endless yellow maze, this is the reliable way to make consistent progress instead of looping.
What is the M.E.G. Base computer password? It's itheardyou, written on a notepad near the computers in The Hub. Log in with it, then open the garage door using the desktop icon.
How do I escape Skin-Stealers? Skin-Stealers can't open doors. Step through a doorway and close the door behind you to break their line of sight. In later cave sections you'll instead want your flashlight off, but in Level 1 and the Terror Hotel the door trick is your main tool.
What is the Terror Hotel room code? It's randomized for every playthrough — reported examples include 17564, 89472, and 05938, but yours will differ. Collect the letter papers from the open mailboxes and combine them in the starting mailbox to read off your own code; the “LOOK UP” letters point to room 235.
How do I deal with the Hounds in the Electrical Station? Stun them with your flashlight, and listen before you look — use the audio cue to pinpoint a Hound before turning your light onto it. You need all 9 fuse boxes (3 sections of 3) active to open the exit.
How do I get past the Death Moths in the Terror Hotel? The males are killed with bug spray and drop Moth Jelly (you need 3 jellies for 3 keys from the dumbwaiter). The females in the Service Crawlspace are motion-sensitive, so crawl slowly past them, and use the thermometer to spot the hot Fake Rooms and moth nests to avoid.