Choose The Backrooms Project
Choose The Backrooms Project if you want a Strategy, Simulation, and RPG game with Steam Leaderboards, PvP, and HDR available. The Backrooms Project launched in 2022.
The Backrooms Project vs Inside the Labs
The Backrooms Project and Inside the Labs both land in Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam. The Backrooms Project (2022) is 2 years older than Inside the Labs (2024). The Backrooms Project scores higher on Steam reviews (74.7% positive) than Inside the Labs (73.7% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Inside the Labs
Choose Inside the Labs if you want the Online Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 70% cheaper on the Steam Store. Inside the Labs launched in 2024.
Both The Backrooms Project and Inside the Labs sit in Action, Indie, and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player and Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (74.7% vs 73.7% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Backrooms Project |  Inside the Labs | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, RPG, Casual, Early Access | Action, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Playable |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 2.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 74.7% positive (79 reviews) | 73.7% positive (57 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | 3AM Studios | Chreseeba Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- The Backrooms Project (2022) is 2 years older than Inside the Labs (2024).
- The Backrooms Project scores higher on Steam reviews (74.7% positive) than Inside the Labs (73.7% positive).
- Inside the Labs is currently ~70% cheaper on Steam than The Backrooms Project (2.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Inside the Labs is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; The Backrooms Project has no Deck rating yet.
The Backrooms Project vs Inside the Labs — FAQ
- Should I play The Backrooms Project or Inside the Labs first?
- If you want chronology, The Backrooms Project (2022) came out before Inside the Labs (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Backrooms Project and Inside the Labs similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both The Backrooms Project and Inside the Labs have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: The Backrooms Project ships Co-op; Inside the Labs ships Online Co-op, Co-op.