Liminalcore on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Explore and admire while navigate through eerie, surreal environments inspired by the Backrooms lore. Explore this uncanny world lost in time and get lost in the otherworldly architecture in a world where reality bends and your sanity is tested.
Liminalcore is a walking simulator, psychological horror and atmospheric game
developed and published by Shadow Owl Studios and Ashen Studios.
Released on October 28th 2024 is available only on Windows
in 8 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese.
It has received 425 reviews of which 364 were positive and 61 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.0 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 7.79€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Liminalcore into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX-1070 or Equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 4 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
LiminalCore is an immersive and deeply unsettling exploration of liminal horror—a psychological experience that trades traditional monsters and scripted scares for atmosphere, disorientation, and dread. Developed and published by Shadow Owl Studios and Ashen Studios, it places the player in the middle of surreal environments inspired by urban decay, backroom mythos, and dreamlike architectural impossibility. It is not a horror game in the conventional sense; rather, it is a slow descent into the uncanny, where the act of wandering becomes a form of unease. From its opening sequence, which sees you awakening in a flooded pool complex, to its silent, sprawling hallways of flickering fluorescent lights and faded carpets, LiminalCore succeeds in making emptiness terrifying. The game’s foundation lies in exploration. There are no weapons, no health meters, and no overt threats—only the haunting echo of your footsteps and the feeling that something unseen might be watching. Each area you traverse has its own unique logic, blending abandoned public architecture with impossible geometry: waterlogged basements, looping corridors, office rooms with infinite cubicles, and stairways that seem to climb back upon themselves. The design captures the haunting familiarity of liminal spaces—those forgotten in-between places that exist just outside of memory. It’s a testament to how simple environmental storytelling can evoke fear more effectively than jump scares or gore. Every new area feels like it could exist somewhere in real life, yet the longer you explore, the more the illusion of normalcy begins to fracture. Visually, LiminalCore is stunning in its eerie precision. The developers employ meticulous lighting, reflections, and ambient color palettes to create spaces that feel both hyperrealistic and unreal at the same time. The glossy tiles of the poolrooms reflect faint movements, while distant neon signs flicker through thick fog, inviting you forward only to vanish upon approach. The game’s attention to texture—the worn linoleum floors, peeling wallpaper, and static-glitched monitors—enhances the sense of authenticity that fuels its horror. The audio design completes the illusion: muffled water drips, humming lights, the distant drone of ventilation systems, and the constant echo of your own presence create an oppressive, almost meditative tension. The absence of music for long stretches makes even silence feel deafening. When subtle audio cues do appear—a faint voice, a metallic creak—they hit like sudden shocks, not because they are loud, but because they pierce through the emptiness. The storytelling in LiminalCore is fragmentary and interpretive, inviting players to piece together their own meaning from environmental clues and sparse visual motifs. There are no dialogue sequences or written logs; instead, hints of narrative are embedded in the environment itself—abandoned belongings, broken signs, cryptic symbols, and surreal imagery that suggest a descent into memory or the subconscious. It feels as if the spaces are reflections of forgotten moments or collective human anxiety, taking inspiration from the internet’s fascination with “liminal photography” and dreamlike nostalgia. Whether the player is meant to be lost in an alternate dimension, exploring a decaying dream, or trapped within their own deteriorating mind is left deliberately ambiguous. The lack of concrete answers reinforces the tone of isolation and confusion, allowing the player’s imagination to fill in the gaps with personal fears. The pacing is deliberate and slow, designed to let tension build organically rather than relying on scripted events. The first half of the game rewards patience, with each new area offering a distinct aesthetic and atmosphere. However, as the game progresses, repetition begins to set in—hallways start to blur together, and the sense of novelty gives way to monotony. While this could be seen as a flaw in traditional design terms, it also reflects the game’s theme: the monotony itself becomes part of the unease, an endless loop where escape feels increasingly out of reach. The developers have included optional VHS filters and lighting adjustments that further distort the visuals, adding layers of nostalgia and distortion to the experience. The end result is less of a linear journey and more of a sensory descent, one that leaves interpretation open even after the credits roll. Technically, LiminalCore performs admirably given its visual ambition, though it is not without issues. The high level of graphical fidelity can strain performance on lower-end systems, particularly in areas with heavy reflection and water rendering. Some players have also noted minor clipping or texture pop-in, though these are rare and do little to detract from the experience. What matters most here is the immersion—and when played with headphones and minimal distractions, the game excels at pulling you into its reality. Its short length—averaging around two to three hours—feels appropriate for the type of story it wants to tell, though some may wish for additional content or more distinct areas to explore. LiminalCore’s greatest achievement is its ability to provoke emotion through space rather than action. It captures that haunting feeling of wandering an empty mall after closing, of being somewhere that should be populated but isn’t, of hearing your own breathing too loudly in a place where you shouldn’t be alone. For players who appreciate atmospheric exploration and psychological horror that thrives on subtlety, it offers a deeply affecting experience. But it is not for everyone. Those seeking narrative clarity, puzzle-solving, or fast-paced gameplay will likely find it sparse and directionless. Its value lies not in what it shows, but in what it suggests—in the gaps between familiarity and alienation. Ultimately, LiminalCore is a haunting exercise in environmental storytelling, a meditation on emptiness and unease that lingers long after it ends. It understands that horror is often found not in what lurks in the shadows, but in the spaces that feel almost real—the ones that whisper of lives and places forgotten. It’s a game best experienced in solitude, late at night, when the world around you is still and the glow of your screen feels like the only light left. In that silence, surrounded by endless hallways and dripping echoes, LiminalCore captures the essence of liminal dread—the fear not of monsters, but of being lost in a place that should never have existed. Rating: 8/10
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LiminalCore is a liminal space walking simulator that includes 4 distinct levels. The 2 most prominent environments experienced are the common "Pools" atmosphere and the "Indoor Playground" atmosphere. There are no enemies, puzzles, or weapons in this game. The main point of the game is to soak in the environments, figure your way out of maze-like structures, and find the exit. The time it takes to completely experience the first 4 levels is approximately 2 hours. + The graphics are out of this world photo realistic on max settings. VHS filter effect can be toggled on or off, both are awesome. You will enjoy this game more if you have a high end computer. + The game is extremely polished and runs great. + The sound effects that the developers used for the water droplets, the haunting noises in the dark areas, and the creepy music around the playground area, are all fantastic. + The level designs, minimal architecture, lighting and reflections, are all super beautiful. + Several hidden Easter Egg areas are fun to find. + The playground area is especially original, extremely well designed, and absolutely gorgeous. - There are currently 4 chapters as of this review date, some may think the game is too short at 2 hours. I felt I received my money's worth. I feel any more added chapters is a bonus. It is clear these developers prioritise quality from what I have seen. - A few more interesting statues / scares / creepy events, would have been appreaciated. - Walking in certain parts of the water, and going down the slides, are both a bit too slow. There are 3-5 Liminal Space / Pools games that are leaps and bounds above the 100's of others on Steam. This is one of them. Lets hope for more added content in the near future. *More Chapters Added, review score increased* Overall: 9/10
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Having played both LiminalCore and Pools, I'd say they each have their pros and cons. Pools is longer, but LiminalCore is better at being genuinely spooky and unnerving (in my opinion). LiminalCore leans a little more into the whole "there are creepy entities stalking you" vibe, but like Pools there are absolutely no jump scares or chase sequences or other "monsters hunting you and trying to kill you" nonsense. As of this writing (July, 2025) the LiminalCore devs are supposedly working on additional chapters for the game, but there haven't been any significant updates on the front (at least not on Steam) since February of this year. For now, it's probably best to just grab the game when it's on sale considering how short it is (I cleared all four chapters and earned all nine achievements in just under two hours).
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This is an awesome game, BUT I only recommend you to buy it if you have a good graphics card or else you can just set the graphs to look like a potato, which will not be the same as shown by the devs.
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This game brings a very new type of horror genre to the forefront. Liminal spaces, a new and very unique type of horror that takes spaces that we see in every day life and changes them and expands on them to make them recognizable but not quite right. Recommend playing this game and seeing what you think.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Liminalcore is currently priced at 7.79€ on Steam.
Liminalcore is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 7.79€ on Steam.
Liminalcore received 364 positive votes out of a total of 425 achieving a rating of 7.99.
😊
Liminalcore was developed and published by Shadow Owl Studios and Ashen Studios.
Liminalcore is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Liminalcore is not playable on MacOS.
Liminalcore is not playable on Linux.
Liminalcore is a single-player game.
Liminalcore does not currently offer any DLC.
Liminalcore does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Liminalcore does not support Steam Remote Play.
Liminalcore is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Liminalcore.
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Last Updates| Steam data | 23 January 2026 15:25 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 28 January 2026 10:54 |
| Steam price | 28 January 2026 20:54 |
| Steam reviews | 28 January 2026 15:57 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Liminalcore, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Liminalcore
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Liminalcore concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Liminalcore compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
5
Developer
Shadow Owl Studios,
Ashen Studios
Publisher
Shadow Owl Studios,
Ashen Studios
Release
28 Oct 2024
Platforms