Those Who Remain is a single-player psychological horror adventure game that blends action and exploration elements in a narrative-driven experience set on PC. Players take on the role of Edward in the town of Dormont, where reality fractures under encroaching darkness tied to the residents' past actions. The core loop revolves around navigating eerie environments, solving puzzles, and making decisions that shape the outcome while confronting personal demons alongside supernatural threats.
Gameplay
The central mechanic involves managing light sources to push back the darkness that fills the streets and buildings of Dormont. Players must locate and activate lamps, flashlights, or other illumination tools to create safe paths, as venturing too far into shadow leads to immediate danger or death. This system creates tension during traversal, requiring careful planning to maintain visibility while exploring abandoned locations and uncovering clues.
Progression takes players between the main town and an alternate dimension that mirrors yet distorts familiar spaces. Switching between these layers reveals hidden routes, alters puzzle solutions, and exposes new details about the unfolding events. Puzzles often combine environmental interaction with observation of changes across both realities, such as repositioning objects or activating mechanisms that only function in one state.
Moral choices appear at key moments when encountering lost souls or confronting evidence of past misdeeds. Each decision to condemn or spare affects the narrative branches and leads toward one of several possible endings. These choices tie directly into the protagonist's internal conflict, blending external survival with themes of guilt and redemption without relying on combat systems.
Game Modes
Those Who Remain offers a single-player story experience with no multiplayer components or separate competitive modes. The entire game unfolds as a linear yet branching narrative adventure that players complete in one continuous session, typically spanning five to six hours depending on exploration thoroughness and puzzle-solving pace. There are no additional modes such as survival challenges, endless runs, or co-operative elements confirmed in available information.
Replay value stems from the multiple endings unlocked by different moral decisions during key encounters. Players can return to earlier sections to alter choices and observe how the story resolves differently, though the core structure remains focused on the single campaign rather than varied gameplay variants.
Story and Atmosphere
The narrative centers on Edward's arrival in Dormont during a night when disappearances and irrational fear grip the community. His personal circumstances, including a strained family life and a secret affair, intersect with the town's supernatural crisis. The story examines how ordinary people grapple with loss, mistakes, and haunting consequences that extend beyond literal monsters.
Atmospheric design draws from classic supernatural influences, using subtle sound design, shifting visuals, and the constant presence of darkness to build unease. Environments convey isolation and decay, with the alternate dimension adding layers of disorientation that reinforce the psychological focus. Voice work and environmental storytelling convey the human elements without relying on overt exposition.
Is It Worth Playing?
Those Who Remain suits players who enjoy deliberate, atmospheric horror adventures centered on exploration, light-based mechanics, and narrative choices rather than action or combat. The game delivers inventive puzzles and a distinctive two-reality system that rewards careful observation, though some sections feature slower pacing and occasional control inconsistencies that can disrupt flow.
Reception highlights strong sound design and creepy imagery alongside criticisms of repetitive elements and an uneven story payoff. With its short length and emphasis on moral decisions leading to varied endings, it provides a focused experience for those seeking psychological depth over high replayability or ongoing content updates. The title remains available as a complete single-player package with no seasonal additions or live-service elements.
