this is my ranking of all of kane pixels backrooms episodes (only ones with backrooms in the title so no unlisted stuff) from worst to best. feel free to tell me your rankings and opinions, these are just mine
18. prototype
not much happens, and it doesn't reveal much either
17. third test
its mostly showing off the threshold, again not much happening.
16. found footage #1
this might be controversial, but it just isnt as good as the others. there are only like 3 locations, all of which are just modeled after pre existing liminal photos. also, it doesn't try to build up suspense very much, it just shows you the monster and it chases him the whole time, unlike the other videos. but i get why its like this, i mean it was his first and i bet he wasn't planning on making it a whole series.
15. overflow
it does have really important reveals like the solar flare connections, ivan beck, and the green light, but it doesn't have much content besides lorebuilding
14. first contact
they finally open the backrooms. this is where i consider the series real start is
13. motion detected
they find a bacteria for the first time. i bet it wouldve hit harder if ff1 came after it
12. missing persons
again a mostly lore building one, i think it couldve been lumped in with autopsy report
11. damage control
this is mostly just talking about the peter tench incident, but i think its gonna set up a greater conflict with the talk in static dead end
10. report
post pitfalls. async realizes bacteria is intelligent and a real threat. its one of the more uneventful videos, but it is necessary
9. static dead end
this is mostly just looking around a really warped room behind the pitfalls door, but it is well made
8. autopsy report
this is the start of the scifi element of the backrooms. we find out about hay bacillus, which is implied to grow into the bacteria. this is the reason why i like backrooms but im not interested in things like local 58. its actually scifi and not just cosmic magic.
7. informational video
this is the standard analog horror video of the bunch. it has distortion, a monotone voice, cuts, and of course the informational video. this video sets up like 70% of what happens in the async videos
6. presentation
they get funding from the doe, and peter escapes. this is one of those rare videos where the plot moves forward without being convoluted or nonlinear or anything, and i think really shows that kane is a good storyteller
5. lighting & tile survey
i believe kane said this was his favorite video, and clarks actor chiwetel eijofor also brought it up in an interview, and for good reason. it seems mundane, but this is where its confirmed the backrooms is just warping things from real life. the light fixtures are labeled and everything, but they're not the right size, because you might remember a brand name but never exact measurements.
4. reunion
this is probably the second most eventful async video. mark gets shot, we find peter, and async is working on securing the area after marvin finds the bacteria. good episodee
3. found footage 2
this fixes all the problems with ff1. the bacteria doesn't show up until the end, we see new places like the poolrooms that aren't just modeled after photos, and we get the green light. also that jumpscare is 100% deserved because i knew it was coming but i thought itd be straight through like in ff1 around the corner got me.
2. pitfalls
best async video. we see bacteria behaving intelligently by mimicking calls, along with new areas like the red neighborhood and of course the pitfalls room. it also makes async take things more carefully, knowing there are hostile creatures in the backrooms.
1. found footage 3
this is the best backrooms video by a mile. the music is great, we get introduced to still lives, theres great dialogue at the end with another person falling through, and there are so many new locations. we see officerooms, red city, fake cloud room, kids playroom, fake playground, it feels like kane poured all his ideas into this one, which is even more impressive when you realize that he was getting signed on for the movie the same year i believe.
