Source note: every code, step, entity, and count below is drawn from cross-checked community guides for Escape the Backrooms 1.0 (the Steam complete guide, gamesron, grindnstrat, and Destructoid's endings coverage). Where the community disagrees, we keep the hedge rather than harden a contested number. In-game screenshots are from the Escape the Backrooms Wiki, edited for this guide.
This is Part 2 of our five-part Escape the Backrooms walkthrough, covering the mid-game stretch from Pipe Dreams (2) through Level: The End. If you just landed here, start at the full walkthrough hub for the big picture, or back up to Part 1 (Levels 0–5) if you still need the early levels. The levels below ramp the pressure hard—Level Fun is a stealth gauntlet, Level RUN is a flat-out sprint, and Level: The End is a tape hunt against a sound-hunting monster—so read the entity notes before you wander in blind.
Pipe Dreams (2) → Level Fun (Party Rooms)
You re-enter Pipe Dreams a second time, but the encounter is different now: the Smiler that chased you in the first pass is gone. With nothing actively hunting you, your only job here is to navigate the pipework and reach the exit. Move at a steady pace, follow the corridor through, and step out into Level Fun.
Surviving the Party Rooms
Level Fun is a stealth level themed around children's party rooms, and the threat is the Partygoers—entities that detect you by both sight and sound. You cannot simply outrun them through every room; you have to manage their attention. The good news is the environment is full of cover, and the Partygoers have predictable facing.
- Move room to room slowly and read where each Partygoer is looking before you commit to a path.
- When one is facing your way, hide under the tables until it turns or moves off.
- Use noise and positioning to bait Partygoers to face away from the route you want, then slip behind them.
- In the big room, hug the left wall to stay out of the open sightlines, then sprint through the center gap when the path is clear—this is the one place a committed dash beats creeping.
- Escape the level by going down the slide at the far end.
The rhythm of Level Fun is patience punctuated by one decisive sprint. Don't panic-run the early rooms; save the sprint for the center gap in the big room where it actually pays off. Because the Partygoers track both sight and sound, the biggest mistake players make is treating this like a pure line-of-sight stealth level—moving quietly matters as much as staying out of view. In a multiplayer run, coordinate so that only one person is repositioning at a time; a chorus of footsteps from the whole squad gives the Partygoers far too much to lock onto.
Level 6 — The Poolrooms
The Poolrooms is a flooded, tiled labyrinth—visually calmer than Level Fun, but it's a navigation puzzle where wandering off the intended route wastes time and disorients you. There's no aggressive entity demanding split-second reactions here; the challenge is reading the environment correctly and following the trail of cues laid out for you.
Work through it as a sequence of guideposts:
- Stay on the white tiles. They mark the safe, intended path through the water.
- Follow the photos through the pipes. The photographs posted along the route point you toward the correct pipe sections—treat them as breadcrumbs.
- Keep to the right with the pillars. Using the pillared right-hand side as your reference keeps you oriented as the rooms repeat.
- Find the red-lit door—that's your exit, and it drops you straight into Level RUN.
If you feel turned around, fall back on the white tiles and the pillar line; the level is built so those two cues always lead forward. The Poolrooms are a useful breather between two high-intensity levels—you've just survived the Partygoers and you're about to be thrown into a flat-out sprint—so take the time to read the photos carefully rather than rushing and looping back on yourself in the repeating tiled rooms.
Level RUN — Run for Your Life
Level RUN earns its name. It's a long hospital corridor and it's essentially a single, sustained chase sequence—there's no stealth and no puzzle, just movement and nerve. The whole level is about keeping your speed up and not making the one mistake that gets you caught.
- Sprint continuously. Don't stop to look around or second-guess—momentum is your survival.
- Dodge the furniture. The corridor is cluttered with obstacles; weave around them without breaking stride.
- Don't look back. Turning to check behind you costs forward speed and orientation—keep your eyes downrange.
- At the blocked hallway, take the correct turn to route around the obstruction and reach the exit door.
Treat Level RUN as a memory-and-reflex run. If the blocked-hallway turn catches you out the first time, you'll know where it is on the retry—commit to the turn early rather than reacting to it at the last second.
Level: The End
Level: The End is a collect-a-thon under threat. Your objective is to gather tapes scattered around the area while a single stalking entity—the Crawler—patrols. The defining feature here is the central computer, which tracks how many tapes you've collected and displays the target you need to hit. That target scales with player count, landing somewhere in the neighborhood of 24–48 depending on your group size, so check the computer's display rather than chasing a fixed number.
The Crawler and the fire alarms
The Crawler (also called the Scratcher) has poor eyesight but excellent hearing. That single trait dictates how you play the whole level: it's far more likely to home in on a sound than to spot you across the room. Your counter is the level's fire alarms—triggering one creates a loud distraction that pulls the Crawler's attention away from you, opening a window to collect tapes in the area it just left.
- Scout the layout and note where the fire alarms are positioned relative to clusters of tapes.
- Use a fire alarm to distract the Crawler, then move into the area it pulls away from and grab tapes while it's occupied.
- Watch the central computer as your collected count climbs toward the displayed target.
- Once you've hit the target, reactivate the computer.
- Enter the orb to leave the level.
Because the Crawler hunts by sound, keep your own noise in mind—move deliberately between alarm distractions rather than sprinting everywhere and announcing your position. In a multiplayer run you can split duties: one player works the alarms while others sweep tapes.
Mid-game entity reference
| Entity | Where | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Partygoer | Level Fun | Sees and hears you; hide under tables, bait them to face away, sprint the center gap in the big room. |
| Crawler / Scratcher | Level: The End | Poor sight, excellent hearing; distract it with fire alarms and collect tapes while it's pulled away. |
What's next: with the orb behind you, the campaign heads into its longest, most varied stretch—villages, castles, caves, and the run that closes out the main story. Continue with the late-game levels up to Ending A, and keep the full walkthrough hub open as your map across all five parts.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Smiler still in Pipe Dreams the second time?
No. On your second pass through Pipe Dreams (2) the Smiler is gone, so you can navigate the pipework calmly and head straight for the exit into Level Fun.
How do I get past the Partygoers in Level Fun?
Partygoers detect you by both sight and sound, so creep room to room, hide under tables when one faces you, and bait them to look away. In the big room, hug the left wall and then sprint through the center gap. You escape the level down a slide.
How do I navigate The Poolrooms without getting lost?
Stick to the white tiles, follow the photos through the pipes, and keep to the right with the pillars. Those cues lead you to the red-lit door that exits to Level RUN.
What's the trick to Level RUN?
Sprint continuously, dodge the furniture, and don't look back. The one decision point is the blocked hallway, where you need to take the correct turn to reach the exit door.
How many tapes do I need in Level: The End?
The count scales with player count—roughly 24–48—so there's no single fixed number. The central computer tracks how many you've collected and displays the target for your session; collect until you meet it.
How do I deal with the Crawler?
The Crawler has poor eyesight but excellent hearing. Use the level's fire alarms to distract it, then collect tapes in the area it moves away from. After hitting the tape target, reactivate the computer and enter the orb.