#probably some of this is wrong but shh I’ve only watched one or two playthrough

[rununcal]

I’m watching a playthrough of the classrooms right now and my god, the sound design is phenomenal.

At least I think that’s a big factor for the creepiness (of course there’s a whole lot of other factors, but this is one I don’t notice is great in other Backrooms games). The way you have to sometimes listen to very slight sound cues for particular monsters is great, not to mention how weird and alien some of them sound. The darkness entity and the ear entity are my favorite so far, just because the way they sound is basically dread in auditory form. They kind of sound both organic and mechanical and are both extremely goofy, but since the introductions are done so well, they are also extremely creepy.

Both of them have pretty simple premises: for Mr. Ear man, he can hear extremely well and will run to any small sound. That’s been done a million times. But there’s also catches in his level: for example you are first introduced to a red balloon before you are introduced to the monster (at least I think you are in most gameplays). So your instinct is either to get the hell away or pop it. Popping it then leads the monster straight to you, and either you die or narrowly avoid it, but either way you’ve learned your lesson, which is: that guy’s literally a giant fucking ear and I need to make absolutely no sound and avoid anything that will.

For the second: the Darkness guy is also very simple. Just from the name of the level, you know its premise. But personally, my favorite part about it isn’t the optical changes or loud pang when it spawns, it’s mostly the droning moan that plays when it’s near. I actually think they could’ve done without the pang and just had the blue light and low drone when it’s spawned. I think that would’ve been more effective, since it means you have to rely on very small cues to know when the dark is near.

In conclusion, a lot of other Backrooms horror games rely on either very blatant, word-for-word hints or are vague in a way that can be frustrating. I think the classrooms really excels in the show don’t tell aspect (or hear don’t tell aspect haha haha canned laughter). That’s one of the reasons why it can be so legitimately scary. Ya gotta use ya brain