Escape the Backrooms

Escape the Backrooms is built on Unreal Engine 4.27.2, and Unreal games can be tuned with a config file called Engine.ini. This guide gives you a free config, the settings to change first, and fixes for stutter on a weak PC.

Can you run Escape the Backrooms on a low end PC?

• CPU: Intel or AMD, 2.5 GHz quad core
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage: 25 GB
• OS: Windows 10
• DirectX: 11

If your PC is below these specs, expect the game to run poorly, even with this config. The config trims what your PC draws on screen, but it can’t replace hardware that is too weak to start with.

Best Escape the Backrooms settings for low end PCs

• Use the Low preset first, then change the items below.
• Frame rate cap: Set it to 60 FPS. If your PC can’t hold 60 FPS, set it to 30 FPS.
• V-Sync: Turn it off on a weak PC. It ties your frame rate to the monitor’s refresh rate and adds delay between your input and the screen.
• Anti-aliasing: Pick Low. The game offers Low, Medium, High, Epic and Ultra.
• Window mode: Pick borderless windowed.

Escape the Backrooms Engine.ini location and install

1. Download the config with the button above, then unzip it to find Engine.ini.
2. Close the game completely, along with any launcher that is still running.
3. Press Windows + R, paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\EscapeTheBackrooms\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor and press Enter. If the folder doesn’t exist, start the game once, close it and try again.
4. If the folder already has an Engine.ini, rename it to Engine.ini.bak. That is your backup.
5. Copy the new Engine.ini into the folder. Make sure it is named Engine.ini and not Engine.ini.txt, since Windows can hide the extension.
6. Start the game.

What the config changes

The file changes only the settings listed here.

Post-processing

• Motion blur is off.
• Depth of field is off.
• Scene color fringe is off.
• Lens flares are off.
• Film grain is off.
• Sharpening is set to 0.6.

Lighting and reflections

• Ambient occlusion, screen space reflections, subsurface scattering, contact shadows and capsule shadows are off.
• Light shafts are off.
• Volumetric fog uses a coarser grid.

Shadows

• Shadow quality is set to 2.
• Shadow resolution is capped at 1024.
• Shadows reach 70 percent of their normal distance.
• Small objects drop their shadows sooner.

Draw distance and foliage

• View distance is set to 80 percent of the default.
• Detail mode is set to 1.
• Texture anisotropic filtering is capped at 4x.
• Grass and foliage density is set to 60 percent.

The streaming settings turn on async loading and turn off forced garbage collection, so levels load more smoothly and you get fewer hitches when you move between areas.

How to fix Escape the Backrooms stuttering and FPS drops

Escape the Backrooms runs on Unreal Engine 4, and the first launch compiles shaders. Let that finish, and expect hitches for the first few minutes.

Install the game on an SSD if you can. It needs 25 GB of free space.

Then check the Windows basics:

• Close background apps, such as browsers and launcher overlays.
• Update your GPU driver from the official site: Nvidia, AMD or Intel.
• On a laptop, plug in the power cable and pick the best performance power mode.

Undo the changes

Delete Engine.ini from the folder, or rename your Engine.ini.bak backup back to Engine.ini. The game rebuilds its defaults on the next start.

Escape the Backrooms FAQ

Where is the Escape the Backrooms Engine.ini file?

Escape the Backrooms keeps its Engine.ini config folder at %LOCALAPPDATA%\EscapeTheBackrooms\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor. Press Windows + R, paste the full path and press Enter. If the folder is missing, start the game once and check again.

Can Escape the Backrooms run on a low end PC?

Escape the Backrooms needs a 2.5 GHz quad core CPU, 8 GB of RAM, DirectX 11 and 25 GB of storage. A PC below those specs may run it poorly even with the config, since the config can't add missing hardware.

How do I fix Escape the Backrooms stuttering?

Let the first launch finish, since shaders compile and cause hitches for a few minutes. Install the game on an SSD if you can, close background apps like browsers, and update your GPU driver. On a laptop, plug in and use the best performance power mode.

Is it safe to undo the Escape the Backrooms config?

Yes. Delete Engine.ini from the config folder, or rename your Engine.ini.bak backup back to Engine.ini. The config file says that deleting it returns the game to its defaults, and the game rebuilds them on the next start.