A new horror game in a liminal style challenges players to attempt to escape from the endless underground mazes of the Japanese subway

Japanese indie studio Kotake Create is currently developing a new game titled "The Exit 8", which is set to be released on the Steam platform later this month. In this game, players will find themselves in an underground passageway with the task of trying to escape.

As players progress through the game, the corridors start to appear repetitive, akin to the events in the now-retired "PT" demo of Silent Hills. Additionally, players will encounter a passenger who continually walks past them.

According to the game's description, players will need to carefully explore their surroundings and figure out how to escape this endless loop. The game's description warns, "Do not overlook any anomalies. If you notice anything unusual, turn around immediately. If you don't find anomalies, do not go back. To exit from Exit 8."

Kotake Create describes the game as "a short walking simulator inspired by Japanese underground passageways, liminal spaces, and mysterious rooms."

"The Exit 8" is the latest game to draw inspiration from the Backrooms trend, which originated on the controversial 4chan forum and quickly spread across the internet. In the most common version of this trend, the Backrooms consist of a labyrinth of empty rooms that can only be discovered when a person finds a rift in reality and "noclips" through it, similar to a player accidentally passing through a wall in a video game.

Backrooms make use of the concept of "liminal spaces," an aesthetic that embodies enigmatic empty rooms and spaces, especially those that are typically bustling in real life, such as offices or, in this case, subway stations.