We wake up on the floor of an apartment. It looks familiar, there are many objects we recognize and the atmosphere is almost tangible. Welcome to The Apartment Complex, the first level of LIMINAL SHIFT. This level serves as an introduction to the game’s core mechanics: opening doors, interacting with objects (e.g. flipping light switches), and exploring your surroundings.

The atmosphere is calm, yet slightly unsettling. It feels abandoned, cloaked with shadows and a deafening silence. Navigating the complex isn’t difficult. The fastest route to the exit is to head straight down the corridor, turn right, and make your way downstairs. Once you reach the lower floor, go through the door facing the staircase and take a left turn toward what looks like a wardrobe. Open its doors to reveal a staircase leading even deeper.

Head downstairs and at the bottom you'll find a small confined space with a single door. On the wall and floor, you’ll notice two spray-painted signs: an arrow and an "X". Interact with the door (default: LMB) and wait. The lightbulb will pop, and darkness will swallow the room. Congratulations! You’ve survived the first level. :)

This level contains a single achievement that unlocks automatically upon completion. It’s unmissable and will trigger as you progress to the next level

BACKROOMS



What is this place?
You will earn this achievement upon completion of level 1, the 'Abandoned Apartment Complex'

Oh no… not this place again! Yep... it seems we’ve entered the Backrooms. In reality, we really don’t know what to expect here. Different games interpret the Backrooms in their own way, and the big question is: are there deadly entities in this version… or not? Let’s find out.

Navigation in this level is trickier than in the previous one, The Abandoned Apartment Complex. It’s easy to lose your bearings in this yellow maze, and backtracking isn’t always straightforward. That being said, there’s a trick to it, a hidden logic that helps you find the way forward. It all revolves around the Exit signs.

If you follow the Exit signs as they appear normally, you’ll end up right back where you started, the place where you entered the level. Makes sense, right? You’re trying to go home so a logical way would be to go to the place where you just dropped in the level. However, there is no way out from here... So we have to move deeper into the liminal spaces beyond the Backrooms. In order to do so, you actually have to go in the opposite direction.

Here’s the trick: when you see an Exit sign with mirrored text, that’s the path forward. So, if a sign reads “Exit” the right way, turn around and head the other way. This method will guide you efficiently to the exit of the Backrooms section.

But don’t rush it! Take your time to explore. There are strange clues, scattered signs, and peculiar items that seem to tell a story. And the mannequins… well, they seem to be expressing certain situations... Unsettling in some cases, to say the least.

At the end of the Backrooms section (you’ll know it, there’s an exit door lying off its hinges), you’ll enter a new area. Doing so unlocks the Void achievement (a story progression achievement). This area is simpler to navigate: just walk across the planks without falling. Several paths will get you across to the Office Complex.

Once inside the office, things get a bit confusing again. Try to remember a few landmarks. This area is also rich in environmental storytelling, so take your time and wander through the rooms and hallways. Eventually, look for a dumpster, it’s a key marker close to the next transition. From there, you’ll enter a corridor with many pillars crossing through it at odd angles. (There are actually two such corridors, both lead to the same place) After that, you’ll encounter a yellow smiley-face sphere that laughs at you (rude!). Keep going through the hallway with a gramophone, and you’ll reach a corridor shrouded in dense white fog (or clouds?), with mysterious music playing.

Pass through this area and you’ll find a large corridor with a huge EXIT sign. Follow it, and near the end, take a left turn into a narrow hallway with lots of doors. As you move through it, the lights flick on automatically. At the very end, go through the final door.

Suddenly, the smell of chlorine hits you, a signal of what lies ahead. Head down the large spiral staircase and descend into the unknown. We all know what’s coming. 😉 Another achievement unlocks.

This part of the game contains two story progression achievements, which will unlock automatically as you complete key sections. They’re not missable.

VOID



Don't look down
This achievement will unlock when entering the Void. This section is found just after exiting the Backrooms.

POOLROOMS



Really wet place
When entering the Poolrooms, this achievment will automatically unlock as part of the story progression

Got your swimming gear ready? You're going to need it because we’ve entered the Poolrooms.
A serene, yet haunting space. Beautiful? Yes. Terrifying? Also yes. Navigation in the Poolrooms is a nightmare. On top of that, there are missable achievements that will stay locked if you skip specific areas. But no worries, this guide will help you get everything!

Upon entering the Poolrooms, you’ll find yourself in a vast hallway with three waterslides (red, green, and blue) dropping from terrifying heights. Better not to take one of those... There are two exits in this room. One is a small doorway reachable via a high passageway on the right, but we’ll take a different route: down the stairs into the water.

Wade through the pool toward the far end of the hallway. There’s a tunnel there, dark and ominous. Instinct might tell you to avoid it (and for good reason), but this time, enter it. Walk far enough, and you’ll hear a deep, unsettling bellow from the void. Then, you’ll respawn just before the tunnel.
Congratulations, you’ve just unlocked the "Water" achievement!

Back at the lower level pool, turn left and head through the opening into a massive hall dominated by a towering statue. She looks threatening, but she's harmless (I think...). Walk past it and go straight ahead into another area filled with more statues. Turn left and continue forward. You'll enter a corridor. After the third recessed section, look for a path on the left, just before a recess with a pink flamingo. Head up the stairs. You’ll reach a room where a waterslide cuts through the space. Head toward the right side and exit through a small opening. Cross the tiled catwalk into the next section. Follow the corridor straight ahead. Near the end, you’ll see a narrow opening directly in front of you, keep going forward. For the explorers among us, there’s also an interesting room to the right, but it’s a dead end, so you’ll have to backtrack eventually.

You’ll arrive at a room with two small pools. Turn left into the next area, then turn right into a wide, low tunnel. At the end is a giant statue of a kneeling figure, hands pressed in prayer. Get closer and listen. Yes, she’s singing! Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the "Sweet Lullaby" achievement!

That’s two of the missable achievements taken care of. You’re now free to explore and there’s a lot to see. Strange objects, mysterious rooms, overall strange and unsettling vibes. But if you’re ready to move on, it’s time to find the green waterslide, your path to the next part of the Poolrooms.
⚠️ Warning: once you take it, you can’t go back. So make sure you’ve unlocked the achievements above before proceeding!

The easiest way to find the exit is to return to the statue of the singing figure. Just in front of her is an opening to the left. Go through it, then take the first right into a room with black tiles, a cloaked statue, and a massive stone mask. Continue through the left-side exit into a dark room filled with lights and reflective black tiles. Straight ahead is the green slide, your ticket out of here! Take a deep breath, and slide into the unknown.

This section contains two missable achievements (be sure to explore!) and one unmissable achievement, which unlocks automatically when you proceed to the next part of the Poolrooms.

WATER



Something in the water
This achievement will unlock by entering the dark tunnel at the beginning of the Poolrooms. Make sure to walk far enough into the tunnel and drop into the depths below. You'll respawen and unlock the achievement. A description on how to find the tunnel can be found in the 'Level Overview'

SWEET LULLABY



Is she singing?
Find the large statue of a figure kneeling and hands pressed in prayer. Description to this location can be found in the 'Level Overview' section. Stand close and wait for a while until you hear singing. The achievement should unlock!

SLIDES



No turning back
This achievement will unlock automatically when you take the green slide to the next section!

Another slide down into the Poolrooms and no way back (but that’s what we really want anyway, isn’t it?). You thought the previous section of the Poolrooms was difficult to navigate? Think again. Space becomes increasingly convoluted with every step we take! It’s the infinite side branches and alternate paths that disorient us. But we want to see it all, so we do our best to explore every corner of the Poolrooms. Twisted spaces and strange curiosities await us, and we simply have to witness them.

This section of the Poolrooms, we aptly called The Flamingo Pools, lies beyond the big green slide. It begins with massive hallways and more water slides. Though the objective remains to escape the Poolrooms, this part is even trickier to navigate and cleverly designed to confuse and keep you walking in circles. It’s a mad world, after all ;).

There are two missable achievements here: Dream and Not Alone. A third one unlocks automatically as you progress through the story, so no need to worry about that.

The "Dream" achievement is the easiest achievement to go for first. After taking one of the huge water slides at the start of the massive hallway, wade through the pool and head to the tunnel at the far end. This leads into a tall, dark hallway with dim lighting and water slides suspended in space. Walk to the end and turn right. Continue straight, passing the water slides on your right, and enter the next area, marked by a large stone mask hanging above the doorway.

You’ll enter a space with a pool in the center, dark low tunnels on both sides, and stairs across the pool leading to a higher platform (there is a strange device with a valve there making noises). Wade through the water, climb the stairs, and go straight into the next area.

Now you’ll find yourself in a room with cloud wallpaper or murals on the walls. Head straight through to the opposite exit. In the next room, you’ll witness a stone mask emitting a soft beam of light from its mouth. A large model of a frog sits in the water below, croaking peacefully. Stand still and take in the scene. After a few moments, the Dream achievement will unlock.

To unlock the Not Alone achievement, you must reach a specific area featuring submerged toilets and sinks in a black-tiled corridor. From the area where you unlocked Dream, continue forward and take a left at the end. You’ll arrive in another room with similar cloud murals, light streaming from and opening above in the ceiling, and a blue slide on the right. Go straight into a pink room with a pool and an upside-down inflatable flamingo. Immediately turn right, then left, and continue forward. You’ll pass through another area with more pools, flamingos, a palm tree, and a ball pit on the left. Exit through the dark tunnel behind the large pillars on the left side. You’ll emerge into a huge hall with three pillars wrapped in spiraling water slides. Wade into the pool and take a right. You have entered the area where you’ll unlock the "Not Alone" achievement. Walk around and listen carefully. When you hear a mysterious sound, the achievement will unlock automatically.

Take your time to explore, absorb your surroundings, search for closure, or just enjoy the eerie peace. When you're ready to move on, return to the large hallway with the spiraling slides (just before the black-tiled corridor where you unlocked the 'Not Alone' achievement). This time, instead of entering the pool, walk to the end of the hallway and turn left to head up the stairs.

On the left, you’ll see a slide with a sign that says STAY AWAY! and you should! Taking that slide will send you way back. Instead, turn right and go straight (you’ll see unfinished houses in the water on your left). At the end, take either the water slide or the stairs down to the pool area below. Climb the stairs from the pool and make your way to the red slide at the far end. When you’re ready, take the red slide to exit this part of the Poolrooms. Doing so will unlock the Playrooms achievement!


DREAM



Am I dreaming?

NOT ALONE



I heard something

PLAYROOMS



A fun place?

All good? Let’s slide into the next section of Liminal Shift. After taking the slide from the previous level, you’ll enter the Playrooms and automatically unlock the story progression achievement Playrooms. If you enjoy confusion, droning music, and endless plastic structures, this is your cue ;)

Although the Playrooms may appear chaotic at first, they are surprisingly easy to navigate. All achievements here are tied to story progression and unlock automatically. This guide will walk you through both the Playrooms and the Classrooms.

You’ll start in a large playground-like area with colorful platforms and towering structures. Take a moment to explore, the creativity here is worth it! To follow the main path and climb the ramp directly in front of you. At the top, take the ramp to the left to reach the second level. Continue straight, then take a right and immediately left, wrapping around the netted structure. Walk toward the next ramp, however don’t take it. Instead, pass it on the left and follow the path until the next ramp on the right. At the third level, continue the path forward and cross a narrow plank (careful not to fall!). Keep moving forward and cross a second set of planks and some poles. You’ll reach a drop leading into a tunnel, go inside. Make your way through the tunnel and when you exit the music will change, a sign you're in the next area.

In the new section head straight, take a left, descend a ramp, then make a quick left-right zigzag. Go up the next ramp and through the tunnel entrance. Make your way through the tunnel. When exiting the tunnel, ignore the clear plastic tube on your left. Instead, go straight, jump down from a plank to the lower platform, and take a right (passing the yellow toy).

Alternative shortcut: You'll notice the clear plastic tube straight ahead, you can cross the tube and reach the next tunnel entrance more directly.

After passing the toy, enter the plastic tube, follow a left-right turn, then through a tunnel taking you to the higher levels. Exiting the tunnel will lead to another plank. Cross and jump down, on the right is another tunnel entrance. Make your way through the tunnel and inside, you'll get to a room where you'll see a plastic tank engine. Continue forward to enter the next room. Here, you have two options:

• Left: Drop down to the lower platform (you can't take the ramp it's bugged!) to explore. This loop eventually reconnects back to the previous area.
  
• Right: Progress forward. Pass some plastic poles, ascend a ramp, and follow the tunnel to the next room. This is also the way to exit the Playrooms.

When moving forward, you'll enter a new room (you’ll know you’ve entered the next room when the music shifts again). This space is straightforward, just follow the linear path (up and down ramps and zig-zagging through the playground) and enjoy the music ;). When you exit, you’ll arrive in the Classrooms, unlocking the story achievement Classrooms.

The Classrooms are easy to explore. The path is mostly linear with a few optional detours into different classroom areas. Continue forward through the corridors. At the end, you’ll reach a diving board. Jump down to enter the next section, Bathrooms, and unlock the next story progression achievement.

The Playrooms and Classrooms have only achievements that unlock automatically with story progression and are therefore not missable. The Playrooms achievement unlock when taking the slide to the Playrooms (mentioned in the previous section of the guide).

CLASSROOMS



Old memories
Unlocks automatically with story progression when you enter the Classrooms

BATHROOMS



It smells awful
Unlocks automatically with story progression when you enter the Bathrooms

We’re making progress! After diving deeper into the game’s depths, we enter a new space known as the Bathrooms. Upon entering, you’ll automatically unlock the story progression achievement 'Bathrooms'.

Navigating this level is fairly straightforward, though the layout can be a bit disorienting at first. The Bathrooms consist of a sequence of partially submerged rooms filled with familiar sanitary fixtures. While the path is mostly linear, each section includes side branches that loop back to earlier points. Fortunately, every room is numbered, so just keep an eye on the walls. To ensure you’re heading the right way, follow the numbers in ascending order (1 through 7).

In the final room (number 7), you’ll come across two large opposing staircases. Choose either one to ascend. At the top, you’ll encounter a striking rabbit statue covering its eyes with its front paws. Pass the statue to enter the maze-like Sewers beyond.

The Sewers are simple to navigate but definitely worth exploring. The atmosphere is dense and uneasy, with dark green lighting, buzzing flies, cryptic messages on the walls, and possibly hints about a missing pet rabbit? Just a personal interpretation ;)

These spaces are connected in a mostly linear fashion, with minimal branching. You can traverse the level from either the left or right side. It’s a long walk, but visually rich and narratively suggestive. Follow the directional signs and symbols to progress toward the final chapter of the game.

There are no missable achievements in these chapters. Just keep moving forward and soak in the atmosphere :)