Escape the Backrooms vs We Were Here Forever
Escape the Backrooms is an action-adventure horror game from Fancy Games (2025) while We Were Here Forever is an action-adventure horror game from Total Mayhem Games (2022).
What each one is
Steam files Escape the Backrooms under Action-Adventure and Horror. In contrast, it files We Were Here Forever under Action-Adventure and Horror.
Escape the Backrooms is a 1-4 player co-op horror exploration game. Traverse 30+ eerie backrooms levels while avoiding entities and other dangers. Try to escape but be warned: survival isn't guaranteed.
You both awaken imprisoned inside the sinister Castle Rock - were you betrayed, or simply not that clever? Find out in the greatest co-op puzzle adventure in the We Were Here Series! Do you and your partner have what it takes to face the dark forces of this realm or will you be trapped… forever?
At a glance
| Escape the Backrooms | We Were Here Forever | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 7.7/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (90%, 163,819) | Very Positive (91%, 18,807) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | No aggregate |
| Price | $9.99 | $17.99 |
| Install size | 25 GB | 25 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2025 | 2022 |
| Developer | Fancy Games | Total Mayhem Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Escape the Backrooms vs We Were Here Forever, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Escape the BackroomsAction-adventure horror gameWe Were Here ForeverAction-adventure horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Escape the BackroomsHorror, Online Co-Op, Psychological HorrorWe Were Here ForeverEscape Room, Online Co-Op, PuzzleThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Escape the Backrooms ✓Score 8.2 · 90% on SteamWe Were Here ForeverScore 7.7 · 91% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Escape the Backrooms163,819 reviews · 25 GBWe Were Here Forever18,807 reviews · 2 add-ons · 25 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Escape the Backrooms ✓$9.99We Were Here Forever$17.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Escape the BackroomsPlayableWe Were Here Forever ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Escape the Backrooms takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueEscape the Backrooms and We Were Here Forever on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Escape the Backrooms (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
- The cheaper right now: Escape the Backrooms ($9.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: We Were Here Forever (verified)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Escape the Backrooms (163,819 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
HorrorMultiplayerOnline Co-OpPsychological HorrorCo-opFirst-PersonEscape RoomExploration
Where they differ
Survival HorrorVRSingleplayerActionIndieEarly Access
PuzzleCo-op CampaignFantasyMysteryDetectiveStory Rich
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Escape the Backrooms is relaxed, easy to pick up. We Were Here Forever is relaxed, easy to pick up.
System requirements, side by side
| Escape the Backrooms | We Were Here Forever | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Any | Nvidia GTX 750TI |
| Minimum CPU | Quad-core Intel | Intel Core i3 4000 series |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Install size | 25 GB | 25 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Escape the Backrooms · We Were Here Forever.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for Escape the Backrooms and 3 for We Were Here Forever. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Escape the Backrooms and We Were Here Forever in scope?
Escape the Backrooms has drawn 163,819 Steam reviews and installs in 25 GB. We Were Here Forever has drawn 18,807 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 25 GB.
Is Escape the Backrooms or We Were Here Forever better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Escape the Backrooms rates higher (8.2 to 7.7). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Escape the Backrooms or We Were Here Forever?
Escape the Backrooms is cheaper right now at $9.99, against $17.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.