Subliminal
Subliminal is a psychological horror game inspired by the urban legend of The Backrooms. Bleeding edge lighting and rendering, handcrafted open-ended levels, light and perspective-based puzzles, nostalgic spaces, unfamiliar faces, and a rotting feeling that something is not quite right.
Does this feel indie?
Vote based on whether this game feels indie to you. You can change your vote at any time. Results earn an IGF score after 10 accepted votes.| ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan. | Status | Notes Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes |
|---|---|---|
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer. | ||
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher. | Gone Shootin; Infini Fun meets the large-publisher game and partner thresholds. | |
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released. | Gone Shootin; Infini Fun is listed as a separate publisher for this release. |
Media
9 itemsAbout the Game
Light shapes the world around you. Bending shadows, opening doors... the world is yours to discover.
Light isn't just how you see, it's how you survive. In Subliminal, illumination is a physical material that is yours to grasp, carry, and bend to your will to alter the space you find yourself occupying. You'll grab fixtures from ceilings, cast light to open doors, and reveal pathways that seem impossible to reach.
You are not given answers in Subliminal; you are given choices. Puzzles revolve around manipulating perspective and lighting. Change an area's lighting, and the entire space might change. Place a light too far, and you may have to start from the beginning. Everything you move and every shadow you create changes what is, and isn't, real.
The more you remember, the more it remembers you.
Somewhere beneath the surface of your memories, something is waiting. At first, you'll sense it behind walls and around corners, or hear the faint sounds of breathing when you stand still. Later, you'll see it, a figure that shouldn't exist, chasing you through decaying hallways and down endless slides. That thing... it's not human.
Encounters in Subliminal are psychologically terrifying events born within your own consciousness. Things sense your movements and hesitation. Fumble with a puzzle too slowly when it matters most, and you may feel the weight of the world closing in on you.
Do you remember?
Every space you enter in Subliminal is a fragment of a memory. Discover the secrets of basements, water parks, play places, and more, all rendered in meticulous detail in Unreal Engine 5's Lumen lighting and Nanite geometry. Nothing is quite right. Slides lead to places they shouldn't, TV screens transport you between memories, and doors loop back to the same room you started from.
Each location tells a part of your story. As you explore, the environment becomes puzzling and less stable. You may see things that do not exist, hear sounds that are not really there, and feel things that make the hairs of your neck stand up. What begins as an exploration soon turns into a violent confrontation with your own fading sense of self.
