Following our early-build play and interview with the
founder and lead writer Ricardo Cesteiro from Camel101 at EGX in 2018, Those
Who Remain had creeped us out, captured our imaginations and been a game we
were keen to see progressing smoothly and reach its release, well eighteen
months later and I’m glad to say it’s finally here.
Firstly, I have a love/hate relationship with most things
horror related give me gore and action, the more over the top and I can cope,
spooky, creepy, psychological and an element of things being possible and
that’s where I draw the line, oh and body horror, that’s where I draw another
line, and underline that line, and highlight it, but I decided to take a
breath, gird up my loins and put on my big-boy pants for this one.
Those Who Remain is a first-person psychological-thriller,
you are Edward, a man who had a perfect life until a lapse in judgement finds
him approaching a dimly-lit motel in his car with the intention of putting an
end to a secret affair and hopefully reconciling with his wife and daughter,
unknowing that things aren’t what they seem and his life will never be the same
again.
It turns out that the town of Dormont has been experiences people
disappearing, and when Edward discovers the motel empty and no sign of his
guest, this starts to raise concerns, it’s then he decides to head for the town
only to hear a soft voice tell him to “stay in the light”, just as the
streetlights start to blink off and he’s forced to run to a nearby roadworks,
cowering among the emergency lights as the darkness envelops him, surrounded
and watched by ominous silhouetted figures brandishing various sharp implements
with glowing eyes.
Here’s where things get interesting, your goal is to reach
the dim glow of lights in the distance, the town of Dormont, but between you
and your destination is blackness and only brief spots of illumination,
exploring your limited surroundings presents an option to create a new path of
light to a nearby house and hopefully, some form of safety.
Zig-zagging your way between locations plays out through
small puzzles, investigating each area thoroughly until a way forward is
discovered, a pitch-black cornfield next to a generator missing a fuse, a
basement stock room with a blocked skylight, or a darkened police station
bullpen with a busted light switch, each presents a twist on the same theme,
often needing some outside the box thinking to brighten your way onwards.
Simply lighting an area isn’t always the plan however,
sometimes an obstacle will put paid to even the best laid plans, a car’s
headlights being blocked by a wooden pallet, or a dark hallway between you and
a bedroom door that you know is the way to go, looking in surrounding doors,
lockers or cupboards may open to reveal a searing white light, walking through
does not reveal the source of alchemical knowledge and entry to God’s domain,
like Fullmetal Alchemist would have us believe.
This is a bizarre and twisted world, akin to the Upside-down
from Stranger Things, where the normal laws of physics don’t apply, but any
actions within can have effects on items back in the real world, lifting an otherwise
too heavy pallet out of the way, removing barricades from an otherwise
inaccessible door, or clearing vines covering a car that you need to gain
access to and switch on the headlights.
You’re not completely alone as you travel, along the way you
encounter a mysterious woman named Annika who leads you to learn more about the
strange disappearances and dark secrets within the town, as well as warning you
of the arrival of “Mother”, a grotesque creature who’s unnerving and jittery
motions and glaring lamp-for-a-head scans areas hunting for you, picking up the
pace if you’re caught in its sights and chasing you down until you’ve met a
swift demise.
Edward isn’t the only one seemingly having to answer for his
actions, other Dermont residents are put on trial along the way, Edward finds
himself force to search for information and decide whether the person is
punishable or worthy of forgiveness based on the evidence he discovers, their
fate is in your hands and Edward’s route will alter and determine the outcome
of the rest of the game, very real questions of morality are posed, are we good
people just on the wrong path? Or are we beyond saving, destined to repeat the
same wicked behaviour?
Yours and Edward’s descent into the unearthly mysteries of Dormont
leads you to encountering numerous oddities, the dense foliage and levitating objects
that litter the alternative world, the ran-sacked supermarket littered with
strewn trolleys and glowing animals on pedestals, or the numerous empty houses,
filled with paraphernalia and possessions, each feeling like they were once inhabited,
but now sat devoid of their residents.
The attention to detail on each building’s interior and the
starkly-lit exterior locations really help the atmosphere and tension, but one
unfortunate minus are some slightly lacking visuals, some odd electrical
effects would’ve remained a mystery to me unless Edward hadn’t said what it
was, and the character and creature models, whilst suitably bizarre in their
appearance are a little bit rough around the edges, but the brief moments you
encounter them are either short conversations, or you’re avoiding any close
contact for fear of death.
The chilling ambiance of twinkling eyes staring from dark
corners and fading lights from discarded cars and deserted stores are reinforced
by equivalently menacing audio, the rumble of nearby thunder and the patter of
rain as you hunt for the sanctity of light, ethereal music cues punctuate deathly
silences, the crackle of nearby fires and distant sirens, even the actor for
Edward brings the presence of a man unaware of what has truly befallen him,
ripped from the life he once knew into a world of twisted psychological horror.
From the abandoned Golden Oak Motel, to the tense desolation
of the Dormont Library, and the blazing fires and chaos within the police
station, Those Who Remain piles on the atmosphere with tight corridors and
twinkling eyes watching you from unlit rooms and windows, exterior locations
proving claustrophobic as pockets of light emanate from broken lighting and
deserted cars, the drip-feed of what is genuinely going on in this cursed town.
It’s not going to win any prizes for visuals, but
the shear surreality and macabre goings-on make this an extremely compelling
title, for a game of this nature to rely on story-telling, situation and
atmosphere over jump-scares is refreshing, there are a couple of jumpy moments,
but that was probably just my fault for playing late at night in a dimly-lit
room, however it does have me glutton for punishment and keen to dive back in to
uncover more answers, I shall just probably do that during the day, with the
doors locked, from behind the sofa.
Those Who Remain is out now on PS4, XBOX ONE, and PC Due to release on Nintendo Switch in Summer 2020.
Check out our interview with founder and lead writer Ricardo Cesteiro from Camel101 in Vanderhoff and Co Episode 36.2