THOSE WHO REMAIN

RELEASED OUT NOW! Reviewed on PlayStation 4

Also on PC, Mac, Xbox One,

Nintendo Switch

Publisher Wired Productions

For budding filmmakers, no-budget horror is the go-to format for using limited resources creatively. Indie game developers have since taken this old adage and run with it.

This effort follows a similar premise to 2016’s Lights Out. As tortured protagonist Edward, you’ll scurry between patches of light in the hopes of avoiding the murderous creatures confined to the shadows. Later levels feature tense cat-andmouse sequences with even bigger beasties that can wander wherever they please. Smart use of shadows obscures the limits of this production, with some lovingly realised environments later on making it easier to overlook rougher presentational edges. However, as an extended experience this spooky adventure game is unable to maintain the tension.

This isn’t just down to the well-worn plot beats, featuring a beckoning ghost girl, overbearing parents and the faint whiff of cult activity. Poor signposting and unintuitive design sap the life from creepy locales as you repeatedly pore over every room, trying to find whatever you missed the first three times. This means that memorably unsettling sequences are bookended by periods of hair-tearing frustration. At this point, you welcome the darkness.

Jess Kinghorn