Ahh, Indie Games… where the mundane becomes miraculous. It’s truly impressive how the right game can make menial labor compelling and rote tasks remarkable. While the average gamer might not leap at certain tasks in real life, simulations are a different story. Whether it’s washing dishes or piecing together a car, indie developers are clamoring to bring new experiences to the table. But what sets a ‘Sim’ apart from a ‘Slog’? A ‘Blockbuster’ from a ‘BlockBUST?’ As Dream Error’s privacy invader sim Beyond the Doors demonstrates, some things just have to be experienced.

Stay a While and Listen

Dream Error’s Beyond the Doors dares to answer the question every apartment-dweller has asked: ‘What on Earth are my neighbors doing in there?’ As a nameless janitor living in an apartment building basement like the repulsive goblin you are, your task is simple. Skulk around the building, set up recording devices, then send the audio data to your employers for cash. In any other situation this would be a gross privacy violation, but that’s where indie game MAGIC comes in, See, while this behavior would get you locked up in real life, Beyond the Doors handwaves it with a catch: 

This ain’t your average apartment complex!     

As your employer’s demands grow more intricate, so too does your noise-capturing network. Weaving a web of routers and recorders, the demo gives you five nights to perform your dark work. Each file you send earns you funds, and you’ll need every penny to upgrade your equipment and order supplies. But be warned… you aren’t alone, and things might not be what they seem.

The Voices Beyond the Doors…

Like, for example, this demo. Diving into the Beyond the Doors Demo, I expected a bit more, well… substance. Being an avid fan of MrDrNose’s Voices of the Void, one of the inspirations behind Beyond the Doors, I know games like these require patience. I also know it’s unfair to compare the two, but anyone who’s played this game’s inspiration will understand why. Simply put, Beyond the Doors is what I’d call a “Void-like”.

READER PARTICIPATION TIME: Try to guess which game I’m describing… if you can.

Seemingly alone with nothing but emails from your colleagues to keep you company, you decipher esoteric recordings for profit. When you’re not filling the daily quota, you can spend your wages on decorations and sustenance. Just when you’re getting used to the routine, something bizarre occur. Maybe you’re not as isolated as you think…

Game Over–you all won, probably. The issue I have with Beyond the Doors isn’t that it’s similar to its inspiration. Quite the opposite, really! I welcome more Void-likes with open arms and happy tears streaking down my face. My issue is that while Beyond the Doors plays similar to Voices of the Void, its scale leaves much to be desired. Voices takes place in a remote satellite array in the Swiss Alps. Beyond the Doors is set in what looks like a nicer version of my post-college apartment complex. 

While neither game is complete by any means, I worry the scale of Beyond the Doors is severely lacking. Voices of the Void has you trek across the mountains to troubleshoot arrays and locate items. In puzzled_squid’s Tunnet, Beyond’s second named inspiration, the player tunnels through a collapsed underground complex. Your only obstacles in Beyond the Doors are trash chunks and a few flights of stairs. Unfortunately, these aren’t exactly harrowing–at least until Dream Error implements Gout mechanics, that is. That’s not to say this will change in the future, but as it stands the demo is dull at best. Will Beyond the Doors offer as many exploration opportunities in subsequent updates? Who knows?

Upload Ennui

Allow me to return to my previously scheduled review for those that haven’t played Voices of the Void. Since exploration is out the window for now, players must engage in the bulk of the game: networking. That’s right, your dream of working as an IT Technician just came true! Just like a real Techie, you’ll spend your days typing network hashes into computers, connecting recorders to hubs, and waiting for things to upload. Don’t get too comfy, though, because the road to riches is fraught with peril and pitfalls. 

Place a router too far from your computer? Too bad, run back upstairs and place it somewhere else. Out of disk space on your workstation? Delete some files to clear up some bytes… if you dare! Try not to forget about your SLEEP and HUNGER stats amidst the pulse-pounding action! Get too hungry or tired and…

…You’ll collapse on the ground for a moment. Yes, just like in Voices of the Void, sleep and food are pretty much optional. Yet while Voices punishes you with more vivid consequences, the Beyond the Doors Demo merely slaps you on the wrist.

Needless to say, Beyond the Doors has a long way to go. There are some “events” that occur, but I was too busy getting glitched in the sleep prompt to witness any. I suppose that’s scary in its own way, but my gut tells me someone should patch that.

Shut the Front Door!

In conclusion, I’m glad to see more Void-likes are starting to pop up. It’s one thing to make a compelling job sim, but adding a wild, endearing twist to a normally soul-crushing task is another thing entirely. That said, simulation games walk a particularly thin tightrope, one that many might not be willing to step onto. The ones that do, however, need a reason to persist to the other side! Beyond the Doors is a step in the right direction, but it’ll have to work extra hard to stand out among the rest. As it stands, dumping trash into a trash bin while waiting for your sound file to compile might not be enough.

Beyond the Doors is part of Steam’s October 2025: Next Fest!. As of publication, the demo is still available to try out. You can follow Dream Error on Twitter and/or join their Discord.