LIMINAL SHIFT

LIMINAL SHIFT

Released Jun 2025

Liminal Shift is a unique atmospheric suspense game developed using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technologies such as Lumen and Nanite. With every step you take, Liminal Shift pushes you deeper into an eerie, unsettling experience like no other.

83% positive · 301 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
Medium confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
Medium confidence

Where to buy

Steam $9.99
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Evaluation

Liminal Shift began Early Access on December 25, 2024 (Pacific time) and reached its full 1.0 launch on June 24, 2025, when Episodes 1 and 2 were connected into a single loop. In April 2025 the studio said it had become a solo operation for financial and personal reasons and that it might add more bonus chapters later. The full launch and later updates followed. A Playrooms update on September 16, 2025 rebuilt that chapter and replaced a puzzle in Pinkrooms. The same day, the developer said NextPhase would now focus on its new project, Backrooms: Rogue 0. The developer's later posts in the feed, including the Rogue 0 store page on December 1, 2025, its teaser on July 10, 2026, and its demo announcement on October 7, 2026, all concern that new project. No Liminal Shift update, roadmap or content announcement appears in the developer news after September 16, 2025. The game's content appears finished, with the Playrooms update as its last addition, and it remains available to buy.
Evidence
Playrooms chapter rebuilt and a Pinkrooms puzzle replaced; developer says NextPhase will now focus on the new project Backrooms: Rogue 0
news post · Sep 16, 2025 source development ending
high
Full 1.0 launch leaving Early Access, with Episodes 1 and 2 connected into one loop
news post · Jun 24, 2025 source content shipped
high

Media

Details

Publisher
NextPhase Studios
Achievements
14
Platform
Windows
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

Lost in Backrooms, Drowned in Pools

Liminal Shift is a unique atmospheric suspense game developed using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technologies such as Lumen and Nanite. With every step you take, Liminal Shift pushes you deeper into an eerie, unsettling experience like no other.

Key Features

  • In Liminal Shift it's all about exploring. There is no such monsters or jumpscares in game. It's just you and the environment. Listen, feel and find a way through.

  • You can interact with objects around you, allowing you to truly feel immersed in the game.

  • The game delivers an uninterrupted, realistic experience with dynamic transitions; it includes no black screens or loading screens, focusing solely on gameplay and cutscenes.

  • Every sound is almost real; with Meta Sound Technology, listen and explore every detail.

Beginning to End

In Liminal Shift, everything revolves around exploration; from start to finish, you experience your very own Backrooms adventure, devoid of puzzles or monsters to flee from. The sole purpose is to progress and hope to find a way out. Liminal Shift features no loading screens, all transitions are seamless, offering an uninterrupted, realistic liminal experience. Prepare for an authentic Backrooms journey.

Witness Everything

Liminal Shift takes a contemplative approach to the inception of the Backrooms narrative. It begins in a restful home, but soon, you find yourself within the liminal expanse of the Backrooms universe. This is not just another game about liminal spaces. Liminal Shift offers a plenty of original Backrooms levels to explore, each interpreted through art to evoke a unique sense of tension, realism, and the feeling of being lost in liminal spaces. Will you manage to escape the Backrooms? Or could it be that life within the Backrooms is more peaceful than your normal existence?

Note: Liminal Shift features unsettling enclosed spaces and themes of getting lost in liminal environments, which may cause distress for players with claustrophobia or a fear of disorientation.

Last evaluated Oct 11, 2026
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