Upon release, The Tearoom received attention from publications and academics about the relevance of its historical subject matter and the effectiveness of its gameplay to convey themes of uncertainty and danger.

The player is positioned at a fixed space at a public urinal and can look around to monitor arriving cars and incoming men, or exit the game.

When the bar is filled, the character reveals their 'weapon', which can be stimulated by the player's tongue in a simulation of oral sex by shaking the mouse cursor in target areas on the screen.

[2] Yang was also heavily influenced by Tearoom, a 2007 documentary by William E Jones, featuring reconstructed surveillance footage taken from a police sting operation targeting men engaging in public sex in a restroom in Mansfield, Ohio in 1962.

[8] [9][10][11] Dan Starkey highlighted the game's "anxious undertone" and assessed it as effective of evoking the intended theme of "uncertainty" and "fear about whether or not your most basic identity will be respected or protected".

[12] Writing for The Guardian, Jordan Erica Webber noted the game subverted stealth and collection mechanics to reinforce the player's experience of danger and "give (them) something to lose".