- The Backworld Development September Update - 1 September 2026
Yo what's up Backworld gamers! Just wanted to say development is going extremely well right now! The opening story act is fully ready, and the "non-linear" content is almost done in a playable unpolished state (like done this month), and then after that it'll be finishing off the main story and polish + playtesting. It's hard to say when the actual release window will be as that will be a decision made with my publisher and we gotta do porting. But the game is gonna be a banger and is 100% coming 2027. It will most likely be 50-60+ hours of constantly evolving content, there are so many unique areas and cool things to do.Also to be clear, the demo was a small solo experience not within the main game, none of the story from the demo is in the full game. The full experience has a much better structured opening act with real development of the world the player lives in... before things get…
- The Backworld Demo [Patch 1.1.5.2] - 29 May 2026
Hey everyone! I've put together a new patch with lots of fixes and accessibility improvements. There is also a new boss that can be found in the Lobby area. I'll be going back to working on the full game now. I'm also unfortunately officially pushing the release window to 2027, there is just no way I will have the full game polished enough for a public release this year on top of porting it to consoles as well. But I hope you understand based on the demo why it takes a lot of time for such a small team to be making this giant in-depth RPG. The full game is at least 10x the size of the demo and actually has a story. The demo is NOT part of the full game it is more of a vertical slice.ContentThere is a new difficult boss that can be found in the Lobby. Accessibility OptionsAdded \ settings for sprinting and crouching.Added \ auto-turn-pass battle settings for when characters are knocked o…
- The Backworld Demo [Patch 1.0.8.2] - 28 April 2026
Hey everyone! Thank you so much for playing the demo and giving feedback!From my perspective it seems like most people are enjoying the game, there is just some QoL issues, and the beginning can be overwhelming with all the mechanics dumped on you really fast especially if you chose MEDIUM/ADVENTURER mode expecting a less punishing time and still got hit hard with survival horror that may been too intense for you. So I’ll be doing my best to address lots of that in this patch. My next patch will be adding some more keybinding stuff and options like making sprint a toggle, and turning off the character voice sounds. User Interface \Added new difficulty selection UI that looks way better. It also has each difficulty as it's own tab so there isn't a giant information overload.Added new shop UI. Ability descriptions have been revamped. All the information is now on screen at once so you don…
- The Backworld Demo Is Live! - 16 April 2026
Hey everyone! The Backworld demo is out right now! It has tons of content, and if you played the old demo from years ago the experience is on a whole new level now! The demo is NOT part of the full game it is completely separate content. So you are not going to spoil anything for yourself, and you can play this entire thing without hurting your future experience. This is more of a vertical slice to display what The Backworld is about and how it plays, so you'll be going for at least a few hours. It is sort of a small full RPG experience you can play. Here is the new trailer if you want to check it out!
- The Backworld Demo is Coming in April! - 9 March 2026
Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait! Every year The Backworld has been getting bigger and better beyond my original scope to truly achieve what I want to do with this game. There have been zero “development issues” this is just a giant expanding project. The demo is coming out mid-April and it is a big one! Playtesters have been getting around 4-6 hours out of it, some even going up to 10 hours after doing all the side content and exploring like crazy! The demo is a fully separate piece of content that’ll let you experience many systems from The Backworld in a shorter timeframe than the main game.The full game is likely going to be 10-20x the size of the demo, so you can understand why it is taking so long to finish. Check out the new trailer!
- The Backworld "Sanity Trailer" Announcement - 23 September 2025
Hey everyone! You can check out this new trailer for game showcasing the newly animated portraits with their various "sanity" variations. The game has really been evolving lately, so I'm excited to show it all off!
- Tune into the Top Hat Studios Showcase Tomorrow @ 1pm ET - 22 September 2025
Hey everyone! In line with last week's announcement, we wanted to remind everyone we'll be participating in our publisher's showcase tomorrow with some exciting updates at 1pm ET / 10am PT / 5pm UTC. You can check out the showcase below:Check out the following links for mirrors: Twitch: Youtube: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/tophatstudiosOther partners will also be co-streaming, including Gamespot. See you all tomorrow!!
- Participating in Top Hat Studios Fall Showcase: Sept 23 @ 1pm ET - 16 September 2025
Hey everyone!Happy to announce there will be news regarding the game in the Top Hat Studios Fall Showcase on September 23rd. Tune in at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm UTC at any of the channels listed below (or here on Steam of course!). See you there!Check out a teaser for the showcase below:Twitch: tophatstudiosenYoutube: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/tophatstudios
- The Backworld Update: Upgraded Overworld Depth! - 17 August 2025
Hey everyone! I've been grinding and The Backworld is looking awesome! I've got a demo that should be coming out sometime this year.In terms of new gameplay mechanics I've been upping the number of options and strategies at your disposal while exploring in the overworld. Enemies now also are damaged by hazards like traps and projectiles created by enemies or toxic ground/air. So you can hurt enemies or even fully defeat them before a battle starts if you can get them to run into these hazards.I have also upgraded the stealth system, you can now crouch near objects in behind the line of sight of enemies to avoid them. The "stealth upgrade" Sandra grants you now allows you to stealth past enemies even if they should be able to see you, and it's basically a very limited resource that replenishes at checkpoints.On the super hardcore modes you're really going to have to use these mechanics w…
- The Backworld Update: Sanity, Hunger, and Dialogue! - 29 May 2025
Hey everyone! The Backworld has been coming along great! I've been writing an insane amount of dialogue for all the companions, especially their reactions to events. I've also put together a banter system where companions will randomly talk to each other while exploring. I wanna make sure every character feels alive! I'm also going to be adding a sanity and hunger system for those looking for a more hardcore challenge! As your sanity gets lower you'll start seeing hallucinations, and there will be some debuffs like a reduced vision range. But who knows... maybe when you're insane you might find some bonus content? In terms of hunger, it will effect your stats and how long you can sprint. I'm also adding lots of gross healing/food items that will reduce your sanity if you decide to use them. Ever eaten an eyeball? If these hardcore features aren't your thing, don't worry. I have separate…
- Publishing Announcement + New Trailer! Debuted at Top Hat Studios Showcase - 22 April 2025
Hello everyone! Happy to announce that as part of our Top Hat Studios showcase, we've announced that we're partnering with the studio to publish The Backworlds! As part of the showcase, we've debuted a brand new trailer to announce this. We are looking forward to sharing more progress with you soon. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the trailer:
- Participating in Top Hat Studios Showcase Tomorrow - 21 April 2025
Hey everyone! Happy to announce there will be news regarding the game in the Top Hat Studios Showcase on April 22nd, tomorrow. Tune in at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm UTC at any of the channels listed below. See you there! ALTERNATE MIRRORS: https://www.youtube.com/@MediaIndieExchange https://www.twitch.tv/tophatstudiosen https://www.twitch.tv/mediaindieexchange You can also watch on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/tophatstudios/
- The Backworld Is Coming Along! - 1 April 2025
The Backworld is still chugging along! I've put together the entire base for the game world, so development is going very smoothly at the moment! Now the hardest part is filling in all the content (like bosses) and making sure it's balanced...which will take a while. Here's a very small percentage of the areas in the game. I've also been implementing 3 modes explorer, adventurer, and survivor. Which attach themselves to the survival horror difficulty and enemy encounter difficulty seperately. So for example you could choose survivor mode for fight difficulty, but if you're not interested in resource management you can pick explorer for the survival horror mechanics. So I hope most players can get the experience they will enjoy! :)
- Updated Steam Page! - 27 February 2025
The Steam page for The Backworld has been fully upgraded! There is a new trailer, cover art, and many updated character designs, portraits, etc! Also new updated descriptions. Player Design The player has been updated to be more unique, also the animations are higher quality. Companions All of the companions have had updated designs! Now they are truly badass (and cute). Portraits The portrait style has been updated to something more anime-inspired rather than the more Earthbound style we had before. Cover Art The cover art has been remade to show the duality between the regular JRPG-like areas versus the creepy Backrooms surreal areas. Check it all out on the new page. Yeehaw!
- January: New Player, Companions/Portraits, and Building Map. - 28 January 2025
Hey there! I will be doing monthly updates to keep you guys informed on where the game is currently at! This month I've been hard at work building out the map of the world. We have also started updating the designs/portraits of the companions. The player is also getting an overhaul as their animations are from years ago. Portraits and Companions Update You may have already seen Sandra, but here are a couple more examples of human companions. Player Update Here you'll see the player's design has been improved to be more unique (especially no longer looks like a Chara copy lol). The animations are also smoother, with some extra weight added to them. Building the Map I've been hard at work putting the base of the map together. That includes building the areas and placing items, exp, regular enemies, and hazards. I'm leaving more complex things such as bosses for their own time slot, but th…
- Area Preview: Level 1: The Habitable Zone - 16 January 2025
One of the first areas you'll encounter in the game is Level 1: The Habitable Zone. The Backrooms lore heavily inspires it. It's essentially a creepy empty garage. You’ll constantly hear running engines in the distance, but every vehicle you see is broken. It feels quite different from other levels as it has many open spaces, rather than tight hallways. Danger is everywhere. Sprinters, Crawlers, Skin Stealers, and Giant Spiders roam these spaces. Exploding fungus traps are another hazard to watch out for. A mystery involves a highway that leads into complete darkness. Nobody knows what lies at the end.
- Companions: Sandra - 12 January 2025
We've been updating the main characters' designs and improving the portrait style. Here is the first look at Sandra. She's a very quiet girl who has a special connection with spirits and the undead. When you meet her you'll unlock the ability to partially phase into the spirit realm, allowing you to stealth past enemies.
- The Backworld Lives! - 7 January 2025
Hey gamers! Numor here! Just letting everybody know that The Backworld is ALIVE AND WELL! I have been working on the game extremely hard, and things have been going great! There should be regular updates from now on. :) General Updates I have signed with a publisher! The official announcement should be very soon, including some info on localization and porting. The game is well on its way, with me having built out the base of the entire map already (which I am now filling in with proper good content). We should be looking at a Q1 2026 release. What is this game again? For anyone who may have forgotten about this game or is curious about the direction it's going...here is a little summary. When I went into this project I wanted to make an exploration-focused horror RPG that takes place in The Backrooms with the mission statement of "you don't feel safe, even outside the turn-based combat…
- New Patch - 26 June 2023
Minor bug fixes. Added two portals that lead back to previous areas before the Slime fight. In case you didn't explore much and find items, you can easily backtrack now to find some. Also added a few more items in those previous areas. Added three portals in the same place that lead to some tiny areas that hint at future enemies / dungeons in the game. They also give you some extra items / exp, just to make sure you are strong enough to beat the Slime. (might have some new bugs in these areas) You should be able to just load your old save and find them.
