Content Warnings

У грі зустрічаються згадки та описи насильства та самогубства

Project Introduction

You play as a guest who is invited to carol by three entities - Goat, Bear, and Granny. They will lead you through the village in the middle of nowhere to knock on every door and determine the fate of those who are waiting for your word.

In this world, your words, whispers, and silence carry extraordinary weight. Every choice turns into something more than you could have foreseen. For the world, which has frozen in anticipation of your verdict, will move on, governed by mysterious laws, forces, and mirages. And you will find out which of your words saved or doomed it.

Each decision in this story leads you through a unique scenario and introduces you to the forces that control this place. Is it the chaos of human fear, the will of a young girl's madness, or the desire of a powerful being that reason cannot comprehend? We have a special answer for you.
In the demo, you can unlock six unique endings that can be reached in nine different ways.

The story is based on a reimagining of the celebration of Koliada (Malanka) as a time when life and the afterlife are united in a ritual dance. Each of your choices is marked by carols-sentences from Goat, Granny and Bear.

Original music with folklore motifs, traditional black, white and red colors, the quiet and inevitable horror of life and death in each fate - all this will immerse you in a dark but emotional story where there is always a chance for hope.

About Developer

CHICHKA Studio initially consisted of two people: Veronika, CHICHKA's founder and narrative designer, and Anton, UI/UX designer and composer. Together with voice actress Margarita and tester Tetiana, the first version of What Remains was created for Ukrainian Visual Novel Jam #4, where we made it to the top 5. That's when we decided that we needed to reach Steam. We made a bet: if we didn't do anything for the full game by May 31, 2024, we would donate the winnings from the jam to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We made it to the May 31 deadline, but donated anyway.
Later, when we were working on the Steam demo, illustrator and tester Luka and programmer Kostiantyn joined the team.