That Which Remains, developed by Remaining Games and published by Interdimensional Games Inc (iDGi), officially supports single-player mode alongside its 1–4 player online co-op. The Steam store listing confirms full single-player functionality, and early gameplay builds allow solo players to host private world saves, enter contamination zones, track entities, and fulfill base extraction quotas completely alone.
While the game features proximity voice chat and cooperative mechanics tailored for teams, solo players face a tense, high-stakes extraction loop where every tool switch, evidence check, and escape route falls entirely on one pair of hands.
How Single-Player Gameplay Works in That Which Remains
In That Which Remains, you play as a "Relic"—a conscript retrieved from the past by Entitech in the year ~2250 C.E. Your task is to extract "Enticine" (liquefied trauma) from Neurospatial Parasitic Entities (ghosts) across different time periods.
When running a single-player excursion, the game retains the full extraction loop seen in co-op:
- Gear Selection and Quota Preparation: At the base hub, you monitor your rising daily Enticine quota, check the 24-hour cycle timer, and grab equipment from your racks. Because inventory slots are limited, solo players must choose carefully between utility items (such as flashlights), investigation tools, and carrying capacity.
- Zone Infiltration: You travel through contamination zones—such as rural houses, arcades, Siberian prisons, or gas stations. Dynamic weather and time of day modify difficulty and rewards.
- Investigating and Gathering Evidence: You scan rooms for anomalous drops or spikes in temperature, EMF signals, or visual anomalies like ghost orbs on cameras.
- Entity Extraction: Once an entity manifests, you use capture tools or traps to secure the required trauma-laced fuel and transport boxes back to the base portal.
- Meeting the Quota: Surplus Enticine fuels your base power. If you fail to hit your quota or let base power run dry, you face severe operational consequences.
Solo Investigation Tools and Mechanics
Investigating alone requires rotating tools manually rather than dividing tasks across a team. Early gameplay testing reveals key tools available during solo runs:
- Thermometer: Used to detect dramatic temperature shifts. For instance, testing shows rooms dropping rapidly toward freezing temperatures (such as 14°C down to near-freezing or negative numbers) when an entity is nearby.
- Flashlight: Critical for navigation in dark contamination zones, though holding a flashlight occupies hands needed for evidence equipment or carrying extraction boxes.
- Spirit Box & V.O.I.C.E. Technology: Solo players can speak directly into their microphone to prompt responses from hostile entities and captured victims.
- Cameras and Night Vision: Allow you to capture photographic evidence for bonus experience points (XP) and spot floating orbs invisible to the naked eye.
- Capture Equipment and Extraction Crates: Entities and trauma containers must be carried physically back through extraction points. In single-player, this means hauling items without defensive cover from a partner.
Managing Sanity, Base Upgrades, and Solo Survival
That Which Remains tracks player sanity as a persistent stat combining physical exhaustion, cognitive strain, and fear. In solo play, you cannot rely on teammates to revive you or carry your gear if things go wrong.
- Sanity Recovery: Between excursions, you return to your central hub cabin. You can restore sanity by sleeping, drinking coffee, interacting with recreational amenities like basketball and chess, or unlocking the Serenity Chamber base upgrade.
- Base Power Progression: Extra Enticine gathered beyond the daily quota converts into base power, which funds ten available base upgrades and unlocks personal equipment upgrades as your character levels up.
- The Cost of Solo Death: Early playtests show that dying during a solo excursion causes you to drop held items and forfeit the run, consuming precious hours on your quota clock and forcing you to retrieve gear or salvage remaining time before your quota expires.
Single-Player vs. Co-Op Feature Comparison
The core mechanics remain mechanically consistent whether playing alone or in a full squad, though certain features alter based on player count.
| Feature | Single-Player Mode | 2–4 Player Co-Op Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Player Count | 1 Player (Offline save/solo host) | Up to 4 Players online |
| Quota System | Rising daily Enticine quota | Rising daily Enticine quota |
| Communication | V.O.I.C.E. technology to talk to entities | V.O.I.C.E. tech, proximity chat, and walkie-talkies |
| Fallen Teammate Interaction | None (Solo death ends the run) | Dead players can speak via the Spirit Box |
| Evidence Gathering | Performed sequentially by one player | Performed simultaneously by multiple players |
| Sanity Recovery | Hub activities (cabin sleep, coffee, mini-games) | Hub activities (cabin sleep, coffee, mini-games) |
| Base Customization | Persistent personal cabin decorations | Persistent personal cabin decorations |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you play That Which Remains completely offline?
The Steam store page lists That Which Remains as featuring full "Single-player" alongside "Online Co-op." In early builds, players can host private solo games without other players present. The developers have not yet detailed whether a persistent internet connection is required for cloud saves or backend verification during Early Access.
Does progress from the free demo carry over to the solo release?
Yes. According to an official developer announcement on Steam, all progress made during the free demo translates directly into the full Early Access release.
What happens if you die playing solo?
If you are killed by an entity while playing alone, you lose the items carried on your person, fail the active extraction, and are sent back to the hub. You will lose elapsed hours against your daily quota, raising the risk of failing your scheduled power and resource requirements.
