If you’re a fan of Internet horror, the words analog horror and liminal spaces may be familiar to you. An excellent Scary Roblox game that explores these ideas is Apeirophobia, which combines the idea of liminal spaces and adds the sinking feeling of being stalked by some unknown entity.
Its gameplay is similar to Outlast, with your character being powerless in the face of the Entities hunting you down. All you can do is run. Adding to the fun, you can even play with your friends!
If any of that interests you, Apeirophobia is the game for you! This guide will go over anything and everything you need to know about the game, from its levels to the Entities within. Let’s dive right in!
The Main Levels
Let’s start off with the Levels. This guide will introduce the levels, their general design, how to solve them, and the entities within. However, the minutia of these Levels will not be explained in the interest of brevity.
Level 0: The Lobby
This Level is based on the iconic Backrooms footage by Kane Parsons, which has now become a staple in the analog horror and liminal spaces genre. The general atmosphere is an eerie one, with the signature buzz of the Backrooms on full blast.
This Level is relatively easy to solve. You will spawn in one of four locations, most on the map’s southern side. There will be a drawing in front of you, depicting a Roblox character climbing up a ladder into a vent with an Entity chasing it. This is a clue on how you will exit this Level, a theme that will be followed throughout.
To locate the exit, locate a black arrow that will point you to the Northern direction of the map. Now, continue along that direction to reach the exit, but be warned; your path will not be straight!
There are two Entities on this Level. Entities are monsters that can dispense swift death if they catch you. The ones on this Level are the Phantom Smiler and the Howler. The Smiler can do no harm to you, as it is mainly just a jumpscare Entity. However, the Howler will kill you, so ensure your laces are tied.
Level 1: The Poolrooms
Once you’ve found the vent to your freedom, you’ll be transported to Level 1. This Level takes place in a Backrooms-style pool complex, which is a weird combination rendered horrifying by the chilling atmosphere and monsters roaming around!
To escape, you need to turn six valves, all located in different regions of the map. Doing so will open a gate through which you can exit. Here is a semi-accurate map of the Level, which will help contextualize how to find the valves.
As you can see, the Exit is on the north-eastern side of the map. However, be careful when making your way to the valves and Exit, as this map is home to two Entities. The harmless Smiler makes an appearance again, accompanied by the very harmful Starfish, an Entity whose design is nightmare fuel despite being limited by Roblox’s geometry!
Suffice it to say, do not let this thing catch you. Here is what the Exit will look like before you turn all the valves.
Level 2: The Windows
After facing the nightmarish Starfish, you are greeted by Level 2, a Level with no Entities trying to kill you. Rejoice! This is a very easy Level largely used to showcase the atmosphere and feel of the game.
Take your time with this Level and soak in the environment. Explore a little and see what makes liminal spaces so interesting as a story-telling device. Unfortunately, Apeirophobia’s maps are not infinite in size, but liminal spaces are. That’s why most people find them so terrifying. Infinite nothingness.
Once you’ve had your heart’s fill of the atmosphere, head over to the parking garage bay, and just keep following the hallway to its end. Once you’re there, you’ll have to jump into the void to proceed to the next Level.
Level 3: Abandoned Office
A common trope in the liminal spaces horror genre is the mutation of common environments into something slightly off. Level 3 is an excellent example of such a design. Of course, there being a monster trying to kill you is more than just slightly off.
To progress through this Level, you must first locate three keys, which will unlock the door leading to the Department Area. Once you’re in the Department Area, head over to each room in the enormous main room, and press a button inside each. In total, eight such buttons must be tracked down and pressed.
Once this is done, the Exit door unlocks. Once you make it back to the Exit door, you’ll be transported to a flight of stairs you must climb. On the top, you’ll find a door. Go through it to be greeted by another flight of stairs, which you must descend. At the bottom, there will be a door that will lead you to the next section.
This Level is very difficult, not only due to the number of tasks you need to do to progress it but also because an Entity called the Hound is constantly trying to kill you. Seriously. You need to do all the aforementioned tasks while the Hound is on the prowl, waiting for you to make a mistake. The Entity on this Level cannot see and locates you via sound. Therefore, if the Hound is nearby, you’d best hush.
Level 4: The Sewers
Similar to the Level preceding it, Level 4 has no Entities, so your life is not in immediate danger. The setting is similar to Level 1 and features a similar poolroom design. However, many of the pools are much deeper, and a risk of drowning is present. The Level is very straightforward, so you can take your time with this one.
To progress through the Level, simply follow the long hallways and room until you reach a maze with a glass floor. Stick to the left of this maze, and you’ll eventually happen upon a hallway. This hallway will lead you to the Exit.
Level 5: Cave System
Caves are a pretty spooky place, and Level 5 makes full use of such a setting. Vast dusty expanses, stalagmites, and oddly placed floodlights adorn the Level. The floodlights do mean you do not need to use your flashlight to navigate the map!
To progress through this Level, all you have to do is find the Exit portal. This is made easier by the fact that it emits a very loud sound, which is audible from a considerable distance. The sound increases with your proximity to the Exit portal, so just track it down.
However, be careful of the lethal Entity lurking in the caves. The Entity on this level is called the Skinwalker, a popular Internet horror trope, though versions of such a concept make appearances in conventional horror films such as The Thing. This Entity possesses the ability to take your form after killing you, a feature that becomes more relevant if you are playing with friends.
Important Levels And How To Clear Them (Level 6, 7, 10)
We’ve gone over the primary levels in Apeirophobia. But, there are a few other levels that are worth covering due to them being quite difficult to do without some guidance.
Level 6: !!!!!!!
This Level takes on a completely different form than the others. The main objective here is to keep running from the Entity chasing you. This Entity is called the Titan Smiler, a sort of giant version of the Phantom Smiler. However, unlike the Phantom Smiler, this Entity is definitely going to kill you.
Therefore, the way to beat this Level is not to get caught! There will be several obstacles in the way, which you’ll have to avoid. However, the Entity is not very fast, so you can mess up a little bit.
Level 7: The End?
Level 7 takes place in a dilapidated library which seems abandoned. There are no Entities on this Level, so it’s a pretty chill one. However, the puzzles you need to solve to progress through the Level can be tedious, which adds to the eerie atmosphere of liminal spaces.
Players must roam the library, finding colored balls. Players must keep track of the number of balls they found of a certain color. Do this however you want, but a popular way of doing it is by entering the color of the ball in the chat. Once all the balls have been found and cataloged, head over to the terminal. Here, you’ll see a list of colors with a corresponding number.
The number is the color code. Scroll down the list and begin forming a code. The code will be formed by entering the number of balls found for a specific color and then its corresponding color code. Do this for all the colors you’ve found.
Once this is done, the computer will generate a four-digit code for a keypad in the back. Open the door in the back using this keypad. Going through the door will lead you to a small maze. Traversing the maze will lead you to a vent accessible via a ladder, through which you will enter a smaller library. Here, three books will be available to be read, one of which will contain two pages of four-digit codes. Test out each of these codes individually on the keypad door to find the right one.
Once the door is unlocked, head on through to find yet another vent. Do some more crawling to enter a room with a solitary computer and another vent. Enter “y” on the keyboard to open up that vent, and crawl through it to progress to Level 8.
Level 10: The Abyss
This Level is notoriously difficult to complete solo and is one of the most challenging levels in Apeirophobia. It takes place in a large parking lot, with two streetlamps placed adjacent to each other.
To beat this Level, you need to find and unlock the doors on the four roof sheds on each corner of the map. Behind one of these doors is the Exit. However, there is no telling which door is the correct one, which means you may need to unlock all four, or you may get it right on the first try!
As such, a level of luck is involved with how easily you can beat this Level. Furthermore, the door to each key is located on the front of one of the lockers scattered throughout the map.
This Level is made very difficult by the presence of two Titan Smilers. They continuously chase you as you run around trying to find the right keys and open doors with them. As such, you will sometimes need to kite them before you can proceed to the next key. In general, this Level will not be a fun time, in a good way.
We hope this guide has been helpful and made your experience of playing Apeirophobia a bit more manageable. The game can be a little intimidating if you are going into it fresh.
