When it comes to indie horror, or at least horror-oriented titles in the eShop, unfortunately I’d say there have been far more misses than hits. Too many have been thin on story or fun, relying too much just on being unnerving in some way, or jumpscares to break up pretty mediocre gameplay. 

Backrooms Level X does at least try to be distinctive, walking you through a progression of rooms that will have a tendency to catch you by surprise with an array of different tricks. Whether those play with perspective, try to get you feeling unnerved, or make you simply run for your dear life, each door that leads to a new space will at least leave you wondering what’s coming next.

The problem is that it feels like when the game tries to do certain things, like throwing a small number of different puzzles at you, the formula begins to struggle a bit. Dull and maze-like hallways where everything looks roughly the same aren’t terribly interesting or fun, but you’ll find yourself spending some time in them, and it feels like a means of extending the game’s relatively brief runtime with some filler. I suppose if they could have kept up with a series of crazy environments, or better executed puzzles, the experience could have been more interesting, but in this case I’d say it has pretty well as many misses as it has anything resembling a hit.