“Doors” is a first-person horror game created on Aug. 10, 2022 that takes place in an old hotel where players must go through 100 doors to escape while avoiding entities. There are about 20 different existing entities but the most popular ones include Rush, Figure, Seek, Eyes and Screech. The game became successful quickly, hitting one billion visits three months after its release, and currently has 5.5 billion plays.
Then, a year went by with no major updates. Though there were updates such as Hotel+ which added new rooms and items like candles and crucifixes, there was nothing new the game had to offer. Their updates were just variations of The Hotel like modifiers or a small, extra sub-room called “The Backdoor” that leads to The Hotel. The game’s possibility of having a new floor was losing hope because of this. Player count decreased and people thought that “Doors” was going to become a dead, forgotten game.
That is, until March 17, 2024, when LSPLASH, the creator of “Doors,” released a teaser trailer on Youtube for floor 2, The Mines. Fans of “Doors” got excited and hoped that it would be released soon and not further delayed. Luckily, LSPLASH eventually posted an official trailer four months later announcing the update to release Aug. 30. Finally, Aug. 30 arrived, and floor 2 officially came to “Doors” servers at 5 p.m.
The premise of floor 2 is the same as floor 1. There are 100 new doors, going from door 101 to door 200. Players can only play the update if they beat The Hotel or if you join an elevator of a friend who has beaten The Hotel. So many fans were joining the game at that time, including myself, that the servers crashed on the first day, further showing that many people were excited for the huge update. Since floor 1 came out two years ago, I was excited to play floor 2 right away after such a long wait.
The layout of the game is well made, clean, high quality and overall cool. Instead of being in a hotel, players are underground in rocky, wooden mines with minecarts, fuses and pools of murky water. Even with these great updates, floor 2 is definitely harder, but in a good way! The added difficulty makes the game more challenging and fun like entities showing up all the time and extra mini-puzzles. Since it was so hard, the developers addressed the increased difficulty and ended up removing some aspects such as the heartbeat mini-game and Snare. The game was fixed and is still just as fun.
There are three new entities in The Mines along with the rest who were given upgrades. All of the entities get upgrades that enhance the game like being able to move around, come from different angles and get their chase layout’s re-made. For example, Rush is a returning entity that can come from the back and now front in The Mines. Eyes can now move around and try to appear in front of players instead of staying stationary. These small, minor changes that only occur in floor 2 make these returning entities feel newer and exciting without making floor 2 annoyingly hard. Some entities do not have any changes, like Screech, but rather appear much more often than before. Though Screech can be annoying at times, this makes sense, for floor 2 should be harder than floor 1. One of the best changes was Seek’s major upgrade; he is revealed to be the main antagonist, when Figure was the main boss in The Hotel. In The Mines, Seek’s chases are much longer and harder, which is definitely more of a challenge, but the game is much more fun and exciting because of it. Seek being the #1 main antagonist was such a cool plot twist that really added to the “Doors” lore. All of these entities’ updates make floor 2 much more fun, fresh and exciting.
Grumble, Giggle and the Gloombats are the three new entities added. Grumble is a huge entity that appears at door 50. Grumble is a matured Giggle. I love Grumble’s character design and just how huge the entity is. Giggle appears on the ceiling and will jump down and bite a player’s face if they walk underneath it. To avoid Giggle, players can shine a flashlight or hit Giggle with a glowstick, which will temporarily stun Giggle. This was so funny to discover for the first time; watching Giggle cover her face from the flashlight and let out an “AH!” I find Giggle hilarious, and I think Giggle really matches The Mines well with its color scheme that camouflages with the ceilings and rocks. The Gloombats were a little tricky to figure out at first, but once you learn how they work, it is much easier to avoid them. The Gloombats are a bit annoying because they will appear randomly, take out all the lights, and buzz loudly all over the place. Their eggs will be on the ground too, which is also annoying since you have to look on the ground for eggs and up at the ceiling for Giggle. Even with their loud buzzing noises and very loud screeches, I like the Gloombats’ character design. All three of these entities are very fun and are a great addition to the “Doors” monsters.
Along with this update, the developers also added new changes to The Hotel. Rooms such as Halt’s room, the hospital, and the greenhouse. Halt’s room was changed to an old dining room, which is much better than the former bland, long hallway. This layout is much more interesting and it makes Halt’s chase harder in a good way. Though the hospital just became bigger, the greenhouse was upgraded much more.
Dupe is another entity that appears behind wrong numbered doors to try to trick players. I do not like that Dupe can now appear in the greenhouse since those 10 sets of rooms are always dark and seeing the right door will be much harder. Figure is now upgraded and harder to beat. For context, Figure is a tall, meaty entity that is blind but has very good hearing. Since Figure’s senses were upgraded, there is a new clock item that can be used on Figure on door 50. This new clock item can distract Figure and lead him away from players for 10 seconds. The clock item is very cool, especially with Figure’s animations when he runs over to it and breaks the clock. Though I like this item, I wish they did not make Figure harder in The Hotel; however, I am fine with making Figure harder in The Mines, which they did not do. Jeff, a friendly entity who sells players items after door 50, also received new animations. His new animations add a lot of personality and energy to the character. El Goblino, a friendly red goblin who talks to players at door 51, received new text and voice lines, which can help us learn more about “Doors” lore.
Though I have not beat The Mines yet, I look forward to reaching door 200 after watching spoilers (oops!). “Doors” is such a creative game with an interesting premise and cool, upgraded characters. Playing “Doors,” especially with friends, is a great experience when advancing through doors, hiding from entities, completing puzzles together and smacking a Giggle off a friend’s face. The Mines is a great addition to “Doors,” and I look forward to seeing what LSPLASH has for fans next.
