The Exit Project: Backstreets

Developed and Published by Nostra Games – Out now on PC, PlayStation 4 (version tested), PlayStation 5 & Nintendo Switch – Single Player

The Exit Project: Backstreets, is a first person puzzle game with a horror twist. It’s a game that sees you trying to navigate a small alleyway, with a seemingly endless loop. At the end of the alleyway is the exit. But when you pass through, it sets you at the begining again. From here, you have to decide if you are going to through the same door again, or go back through the one you just came from. Theres a counter that appears on a closed shutter, that will get higher each time you pick the correct door. Get the door wrong and the counter resets, making you start the cycle again. On your travels you will encounter some nasties trying to hinder your progress, with the only option being leg it the other way.

The first noticeable thing about the game is the synthesised/AI voice reading the script. Devoid of emotion, annunciation and personality. This was frankly, quite galling. It may be a small game, likely developed by one person, but even recording your own voice, regardless of how bad an actor you may be, will add much more personality to a game, rather than the emotionless voice that audio describes Instagram Reels.

As you’re trying to figure out the pattern of your escape, certain environmental objects will change. A mannequin may appear, or some items on a shelf might fly off and give you a jump scare, or items may replicate and multiply. Sometimes the order might change randomly. Sometimes you might be heading to the door and the game turns you around. Or you may get hit by mannequin torsos raining from the sky. The game makes no effort in making you toil for your next area. Even if that area is exactly the same as the last one. Round and round you keep going. To the point where you disassociate with the fact that it’s a horror game and just see the mechanics for what they are.

The fact that there’s no set pattern to the gameplay loop is both infuriating and tiresome. You can spend ages running in a loop and think you’re getting somewhere, only for the 50/50 chance of picking the correct route to be wrong, and you’re back at the beginning, starting from scratch. It’s heads or tails disguised as a horror game. With those horror elements being random cheap jump scares or mannequins. The terrible, emotionless computer generated voice only drives home how half arsed this is. Its one saving grace is that it looks the part. Yeah. It’s probably thrown together using preexisting in engine assets, but if you use them well, then there’s no problem. The lighting is great and some of the textures are very impressive.

With a bit more effort and care, this might have been a fun cheap thrill. However, it’s difficult not to look past the fact this is nothing more than a cheaply thrown together game, using a current trend to make a quick buck.