From the off, Those Who Remain lets the player know that this won’t be a pleasant experience. This experience is crafted in a first-person psychological horror game with an emphasis on exploration, avoiding enemies and solving puzzles to progress its linear story. Our protagonist is Edward who must survive ghosts, both mental and physical, that are invading Dormont.
The town of Dormont mirrors his psyche as it begins to fall into chaos. So begins a night of terror that Edward must endure, facing distorted reality and the “citizens”, an army of figures that watch over his every move. To stay alive, Edward must stay in the light.
Those Who Remain Calm
The opening of the game immediately shows you that some dark themes are going to be tackled in Those Who Remain. The opening sequence is short but impactful, showing Edward to be a man on the brink of madness. He’s far from perfect, in fact he’s heading to break up with the girl he’s been cheating with. If you think that makes him hard to like, it kind of does but at least that makes him feel human and not one-note. It’s all part of Edward’s journey and it’s for that reason that the game holds its own.
The story that follows from this opening is one of redemption and of defeating those past demons that have been clearly beating him so far. Edward certainly becomes a fairly likable character over the course of the game but it’s never impactful enough for the player to empathise with him fully. The story overall lets Edward down as a character which is a shame, it never quite had the climactic pay off he deserved across the multiple endings.
Look for the Light
Those Who Remain starts off solely with some basic puzzle solving that relies on just walking forward until you hit darkness that Edward must light up. During these sections are when the ominous citizens will be watching over him, waiting in the wings for any slip up into the darkness. Having shadowy figures watching over you is definitely creepy and uncomfortable but they could have had a bit more depth to them.
Even if they just had a few animations while they’re stood watching Edward, it would make the world of difference. Sometimes static “people” can look menacing for sure but when he can walk right up to the edge of the darkness with them just stood there with no reaction at all it kind of kills the creep factor.
Some of the puzzles are quite creative, finding some unique ways to create paths of light that allow you to progress. There are lighters, car headlights, street lamps, spotlights and simple house lights, all waiting to be manipulated to create safe paths to travel through. It definitely adds some variety to the game but sometimes there’s too much to solve in one go that really disrupts the flow of the story.
Those Who Don’t Mind Difficulty and Repeating Stuff
There can be sections where the solution is a bit too difficult to find where its possible to forget what it is Edward is actually trying to achieve. Other times, sometimes objects previously checked will suddenly now allow the player to interact with them making certain sections feel quite frustrating. This even happens with the collectables scattered through the game that give you some lore as you explore; for some reason it’s just not possible to interact with some of them despite the game telling the player that they can.
Despite the interesting puzzles using light, it can get a little repetitive. Thankfully there are some other elements to the game as you progress further in, with the occasional set piece that definitely causes some clenched bum cheeks.
It’s similar in parts to the Outlast series but unfortunately never anywhere near as tense. There are some stealthy parts where you must avoid some monstrous creatures and other parts where you’re just being chased towards the objective but it all just feels a bit stal.
Dormont by Name…
Despite being more of a thriller than a horror game, there’s still just a lack of tension in most parts of the game that mean it feels more like a darker version of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture. A big issue is that Edward just doesn’t really react to some of the weird things going on around him.
Our Eddie is a fairly vocal character in terms of talking you through any people and objects you interact with but when it comes to the figures, the distorted reality and the weird things that chase you, it all seems fairly normal to him. He’s a man with a very troubled mind but it doesn’t show itself nearly enough considering how messed up Dormont is.
The game just never really feels scary, even when scary things are happening. It just feels like they’re happening and you’re going through the motions, when it should be feeling like it’s something the player is going through themselves.
The game also looks dated on Xbox One. Some of the visuals aren’t great at all. There are blurry signs and objects that don’t look anything like what they’re supposed to be. At one point it’s actually possible to confuse a burrito with a sock, so that tells you a lot. The few people you interact with look like mannequins and completely lifeless.
Conversely, the creature designs are definitely disturbing to look at and there is some spooky imagery in the backgrounds of some sections that look very unpleasant, including giant spiders roaming around the town. It still just doesn’t quite make the player feel uncomfortable though, it feels like stuff has been planted just because it seems like its something that would make a game feel more horrific, not actually to serve a purpose.
Dormant by Nature
On the flip side though, the use of lighting in the game is paramount to the experience. It adds atmosphere and is used very well to contrast safety in havens of light against the lurking presence of the shadow figures in the darkness that watch Edward. It’s both good for the gameplay and good for the looks of the game.
The town of Dormont is one that feels very isolated and claustrophobic. This feeling is mostly down to the lighting and the narrow passageways that Camel 101 have crafted to force this sensation on the player. Even when Edward is outside, there is a feeling of being completely separated from society and himself and that’s testament to solid game design. Dare it be said, Dormont definitely has a touch of Silent Hill about it.
All Things Mediocre
While not particularly excelling at anything, Those Who Remain does a fair bit at a steadily good level. It’s not going to be the most tense, scary or emotional game you will play but there are moments of each of these. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough to have players grabbing their pillows to hide behind but the journey through Dormont is still one that should be experienced by fans of the genre.
Don’t expect to be terrified and don’t expect to be amazed and you still might come away from Those Who Remain’s six-ish hour runtime with a feeling that you’re glad you gave it a go. If nothing else, play it just for the easy achievements/trophies.