The Empty Halls
MrPogofu · 2026 · Exploration, Walking Simulator, Action-Adventure, 3D, First-Person
PC
Mixed45% · 11
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About The Empty Halls
The Empty Halls is a VHS analog horror exploration game heavily inspired by the popular online idea of liminal spaces. If you don’t know what liminal spaces are, they are transitional areas that feel “in between” – not quite here, not quite there. Common examples are places like empty office buildings, underground car parks, abandoned shopping centres or dark play areas.Almost all of the levels and spaces in The Empty Halls are based around the online community wikis for the Backrooms. I used these different wikis for reference images and descriptions of what each level looks like and what it contains.In The Empty Halls, you are given a custom-built VHS camera, specially designed and supplied by the mysterious higher-ups at the Backrooms Exploration Company. Your task is to step through the threshold and explore the unknown. The higher-ups want you to record and document various anomalies and levels. The specifics of what they’re looking for are given to you as missions, delivered through a custom VCR setup.This VCR setup allows you to play back your recordings and will tell you if you’ve completed the assigned mission. If you have, a new mission will be assigned.There is lots to explore and I am really excited to share my creation with all of you!
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
This game is actually pretty sick. The whole point is walking through the empty halls and recording anomalies to pass each mission. You gotta pay attention because some stuff is obvious but some of it is really subtle and will mess with your head. The vibe is creepy as hell and the atmosphere makes it feel tense the whole time. Simple idea but really fun if you like Backrooms type games. Definitely worth playing.1 found this helpful
The dev has recently added new graphics mode settings, so I can finally play on my non-gaming laptop with integrated graphics! This is an intriguing game with a simple premise - complete missions by exploring The Empty Halls, recording objects and anomalies on your camcorder. Return to base to see if you have been successful by playing your recording on the VCR. If you're successful, you get a new mission which takes you deeper in to the game. I've only been playing a few hours but have already got seriously lost and jump scared several times. It's a game I want to keep coming back to, even when I've got frustrated at not being able to complete a mission. Nice.
VHS filter is too aggressive, there should be an option for the intensity. Cannot see my other friend in a 3 player multiplayer game, can only see the host. New Darkened Suburbs is bugged because you cannot 'no clip' to another level. Can we normalize playtesting before releasing a bugged out game?
Had issues where I couldn't look around using an xbox controller. The VHS effect is a bit overdone. Combine that with the flashlight and the game gets washed out. Then at one point in the game, I got stuck in the walls and couldn't move. Reloading didn't fix the issue so now I'm permanently stuck in the walls.
Very good game! It looks amazing and I love how we are looking through the camera at all times. I got quite spooked by the chair a couple times tbh ;-; Amazing for a first time dev!!
* Voice chat does not work, or when it happens to it's very laggy. * My partner and I could not figure out what to do, there is no real clear indication or guidance. * The animations are kind of lame and look stiff, ruins the immersion. * The menu looks sick, but is insufferable to navigate through. I do like the visuals and level design from the little I've seen, but we just could not deal with it anymore, so we decided to refund.
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