HR: Human Remains by dennisCorner is an interesting perspective on the concept of office horror. You play as one of the few humans in the world taken over by demons and eldritch abominations. It’s an environment that’s almost as intimidating and toxic as an actual office job. Filled with friendly, hostile, or indifferent monsters, the demo has a handful of fascinating demon creatures for the player to meet.

You’re hired!

Human Remains begins with the player being interviewed by their new boss: a large, tentacled monster. They hand you a contract, which is intentionally hard to read, and don’t care about any possible objections or inquiries you have. And naturally, an offering of blood is needed as a signature when they hand you a knife. This sequence brings up a concern I have with the Human Remains demo, in that the content warnings are very lax. I’m not personally affected by a self-harm sequence like this, and it does serve a narrative purpose after in the scene below, but it is still worth bringing up. Be mindful of the developer’s warnings on the demo page.

Your employer instructs you to go to the third floor, and you are dismissed. Your slit wrist is still bleeding, so the game tells you that you need to patch it up. You enter some workspaces which are eerily devoid of life, human or otherwise. Soon, you meet another, more insectoid janitor. This demon, unlike your boss, is more skittish. They see that your arm is bleeding and give you a key to patch yourself up later. While it does express concern, it is worried primarily about some kind of retribution if it doesn’t mop up your blood trail. It’s an establishing scene showing the world is as hostile to the lower-caste demons as it is to humans. I’m sure this is some kind of commentary on something.

Weird machinery and environment

One of the most interesting aspects of the background elements in Human Remains is the unusual living technology and non-sentient life forms in the offices. Much of the technology surrounding the game is alive, in the sense that it can see and react to the player’s touch. In particular, the first-aid kit that the janitor points you towards is a fleshy growth on the wall that heals and drugs the player. There’s a neat puzzle in Human Remains involving interacting with bulbs growing out of the ground that the player has to input in the order in the nearby fuse box. There is also another non-sentient grass species that is harmful to people that will be covered in the next section.

The inclusion of these puzzles and the interactive creatures helps make Human Remains feel fleshed out, pun intended. It makes the environment and world feel more alive, quite literally. It isn’t every day that I say one of my favorite characters in the game was a talking elevator button.

Toward the end of the game, the player is put in stasis as they wait for future orders, and even their “pod” is alive. Of course, the demon characters are a lot more fleshed out. For example, I do like the little imp guy in the server room. The eyes following you through corridors and spaces give an uneasy feeling, like any corner you turn, you’re being watched.

Step into my parlor…

The real meat of the demo for Human Remains is the basement segment. As you descend into it, you come across the first hostile demon. A large spider is upset that you broke one of its webs but decides to be charitable enough to let you off with a warning. If you walk into another web, it won’t be as forgiving. I had a hard time seeing through this area due to the darkness and a limited number of flares. Use the light of the doorways and buzzing of the flies trapped in the webs to navigate through the dark. This easily makes this section of Human Remains the most stressful.

In this area, you also meet the only other human in Human Remains. This poor soul explains that he and a few other refugees sought shelter but were attacked by the spider. While they survived the initial attack, they found that the patch of grass they crawled to was eating away at them through their open wounds. With no hope of survival, he offers his cassette to listen to as he sits there rotting. It’s a poignant and depressing scene. The melancholic music from the tape player adds to it. 

Final Thoughts

HR: Human Remains has a compelling and uncomfortable setting. I like the range of characters in both appearance and personality – from our kinder office boss, to the dismissive company head. The grim tone seals the deal for me. Human Remains contains a harrowing and exotic world, and I long to see it brought to life.

HR: Human Remains demo is available for free on Steam as part of Steam Next Fest. The full version is planned for release in 2025, but a specific release date has not been announced yet.