Until Dawn (2015)

Until Dawn is an ambitious narrative effort, taking the more linearly routed style of narrative adventure games and building many opportunities to change that tale. Layering it with nuanced character development, an intriguing set of mysteries for players willing to dig deeper and some genuinely exciting set pieces - Until Dawn is a bloody good time.

The game controls from eight different perspectives where a cast of friends returning to Blackwood Mountain after a tragic incident last year must now fight for their lives. Players can make choices during cutscenes, walk around to find clues, and participate in action sequences using QTEs. The QTEs feel natural and rarely cheap, relying more on the player's ability to pay attention. A more unique one that pops up is the "Don't Move" prompt where the player has to keep the motion sensor still on the controller long enough to pass an event. When using the proper controller this segment is extra thrilling but I had an issue where a third-party controller was throwing the motion off so be sure to check your controller before playing further!

The main crux of the game's interest is its replayability and Butterfly Effect system - certain events will affect a sequence of other events that can be tracked in the menu (and replayed in an episode mode to push things a certain way). While encouraged to play out the game normally at first to naturally feel a horror movie's narrative there are plenty of chances to do the right thing (and sometimes unintuitively do the "right" thing) but totem collectibles in the game help guide the player with hints on more difficult decisions so it never quite feels like the game is tricking the player. It takes a lengthy time to fully replay the game so episodic replays might be more efficient but it's a wild experience to go from a full "good" playthrough into one where I'm actively looking to get rid of characters since deaths dramatically change how the game's events unfold.

Visuals and audio are solid for a PS4 title, relying on cold blues and moonlit nights to ground the characters in rough situations. When gore and violence hits it's exquisitely excruciating, and the facial technology helps give life to some of the more famous actors who get to give off some great performances (Rami Malek!). Most of the music feels a little generic to fit the horror movie tone but they're mixed into plenty of gameplay moments to ratchet up tension and scare the player. The actual theme song of Until Dawn though? Amazing American folk song worthy of an award-winning TV show opening.

Until Dawn is a story with plenty of twists, taking the vapid exterior stereotypes of its cast and throwing curveballs and chances to fill their shoes with an interesting tale to tell. It absolutely has to be played once, and maybe a couple more times to see just how far the butterfly effect goes...

INTERACTIVE HORROR - The evening started out normally, but things take a turn, and now these college students must fight for their lives and try to survive until dawn.

PROS:

++ Interesting mystery. Great overall plot that kept the player wondering as to what the real threat was. Lots of great red herrings and lots of great plot twists! Also, the gradual unraveling of what took place on the mountain was done well.

++ Nod to classic horror genres. The entire game gave a nod to many famous horror genres like serial killers, ghosts and the supernatural, and killer monsters/creatures.

++ Tense atmosphere. Atmosphere was handled well, and made me play the game with decreased volume since it was too nerve-wracking for me at many instances.

++ Solid visuals.

CONS:

-- Mostly uninteresting characters. I understand what they were going for with characters that embodied horror movie stereotypical character traits, but I just found most of the characters to be too forgettable or uninteresting (Sam, Jessica, Emily, Ashley, Matt), with the exception of Mike, Chris, and Josh being the only characters I liked.

-- Uncanny valley. Some facial animations looked off (specifically Emily and Josh).

-- Clunky movement.

-- Some cheap jumpscares.

This is an interactive horror movie, complete with all the normal tropes of horror, shallow characters, great jump scares, predictable story. If that sounds fun to you, try it, if not, probably a pass.

I really love horror movies, and I had a blast with the Quarry, so I figured let's give this a try. It's going to be tough to not compare this to the Quarry, just as a heads up, since they are so similar.

Things that worked for me The setting is perfect for horror, a creepy lodge, winter, and snow-creating isolation, there is even an old abandoned mine and asylum! A bit tough to rationalize all this in one small area, but it made for some great areas to play through! I think the Quarry has the edge here, as it just picks one setting and really nails it, BUT, I still enjoyed Until Dawn's setting.

Horror/Scares were pretty well delivered here. I think there is a nice blend of tension, jump scares, and some gross body horror. I feel like Until Dawn was more scary than The Quarry, and my wife agreed.

Choices matter here. It's not always clear until afterward how, but I love the agony of deciding which choice to make, particularly during stressful timed choices. I do think these choices often felt harder to predict even remotely how it would impact things, so I think The Quarry integrates these better, but I still like the mechanics a lot.

Things that were Okay Until Dawn's story was ok, I think at its core it's a pretty straightforward horror story, which is fine. But I think, like many B-level horror movies, the more you think about the actions of characters and even plot points, the less it makes sense. The Quarry I think had a better-paced story, still not amazing, but better.

Totems revealing brief glimpses of the future, this is apparently a Supermassive staple. And like in the Quarry, these hints were useless in trying to predict how to help or save the characters. The snippets are too short and too obscure to help. Occasionally I would realize the moment from the vision had popped up, but the vision itself didn't reveal what choice made that future.

These visions of the future are a cool idea, but I wish they were implemented slightly differently to actually be helpful and make gathering them worth it. I do like in Until Dawn that each item gathered reveals a brief segment of a movie telling the background of the mountain, that strings together, this made me more excited to fine totems then the visions did.

While were are on collectibles, I like that it strings clues together to gather, hinting at the story and progression, but I wish the game's choices rewarded you for thinking about these clues more.

What Didn't Quite Work for Me The characters for the most part are just jerks to each other. This isn't helped by the totally avoidable tragedy they cause, for seemingly no reason, that they mostly never really discuss or grapple with. Some of the characters even double down continuing to be dicks well into the game.

Unlike The Quarry, where I really ended up liking a large chunk of our main cast, I sort of didn't care about almost any of Until Dawn's characters, feeling like I sort of liked maybe 2-3 of them.

I think this also hurt the story and choice structure because characters dying often felt like a (shrug) well they weren't adding much anyway.

Quick Time Events are a big part of these games' structure, its often how you keep characters alive. This is fine, its not my favorite mechanic, but it works. But Until Dawn uses SO many in very similar ways (so many climbing challenges). I think the best thing they did was the "hold still" prompt, which while it doesn't seem to always work perfectly, at least really heightens the tension for the moments it pops up.

Overall, Until Dawn was a blast. Unlike The Quarry, I didn't feel the need to immediately play it again to get different endings, but it is still well worth playing at least once!

Until Dawn is pretty much an interactive horror movie with interchangeable dialog and sequences depending which actions you choose in certain situations throughout this slasher style walking simulator with random quick time events.

Using various characters in a remote mountain lodge, you and your friends must relive and deal with the previous year's tragedy all while trying to figure what's going on as the events that unfold seem to get more sinister as the night goes.

Each character brings their own personality to the table, ultimately finding chemistry between some, awkward out of others, some seemingly out of place. All these characters have a variety of side stories that can effect which route is explored and in turn dictates if they will live or die.

With a visually stunning environment and eerie layout, Until Dawn uses cliché ideals that are found in most horror video games, but implements them well to create something original.

Until Dawn is a satisfying interactive drama that brings something special to the horror genre, and is worth a few playthroughs.

Okay so this really was an intense experience. While at first I felt kinda disappointed, the second half of the game really picked up and I was really drown into this. First of all the Butterfly Effect thing was perfectly used and actually makes it re-playable. I mean I really want to go back, do things a different way and even save more characters. The voice acting and acting in general was great and I found it so good that it made the story even more believable and it flowed much better that way.

Also while the game is full of horror cliches and tropes, it feels like it embraces them and that makes the game much more fun to play. But while the second half was kinda scary and atmospheric, the first half was so full of false scares that it felt kinda silly. The graphics for the most part were amazing and the places and everything was so atmospheric and just so damn beautiful.

While some twists didn't work for me at first, as the story progressed I was constantly more and more into them and the story actually gets really interesting and much better when you find more and more clues. The clues gave a great backstory to both the place, the mythology and much more that is presented in the game.

Now on the negatives. The graphics for the faces and facial expressions are really bad and anytime there was a close up (which happens a lot) it kinda took me out of the game. Also I feel like they didn't got to where they could have with the "How much each characters likes each character" thing and that could have been really interesting. Same with each character's stats. Now while at first I wasn't into some things that happened, I eventually really enjoyed them and liked the themes behind them. But I have to say that some of the dialogue, especially on the first half can be really poor and the first 3-4 chapters can feel a tad filler-y.

Nevertheless this is a really fun experience. The "Choose-Your-Adventure" style of playing was really, really interesting and they used it really well. The characters can feel cliche and predictable, but that was to make you understand each character really fast. Still the creepy atmosphere and the tension of the last 5 chapters makes this a really fun game to play.

Until Dawn is the story of 8 young adults reuniting at a remote cabin a year after tragic prank lead to the disappearance and presumed death of Josh’s two sisters. The awkward reunion quickly leads the group to splinter. At this point, an uncomfortable weekend descends into a nightmare of horrific monsters, gruesome deaths and ghastly secrets.

The game progresses based on a combination of player choice and success at quick time events. Choices are divided between in-game, and in interludes between chapters. The latter interviews with a psychologist between chapters have a small impact on the environment based on responses to questions. Other, in-game choices have an impact far beyond the initial appearance. It is only on subsequent playthroughs where the true consequences become clear. Any or all of the characters may survive or die. Multiple playthroughs would be necessary to unlock all the possible endings. Until Dawn mixes jump scares, monsters, psychological horror, gore and environment effectively to maximize player’s sense of dread. The player is rewarded, both for reasons of progression as well as a deeper understanding of the overarching narrative by careful and through exploration.

As with other games with branching storylines, the overall story does not significantly change. The major twist the first time through is unexpected and well-concealed, but becomes less effective on subsequent playthroughs. Seeing all possible endings would require multiple playthroughs, however, failing a QTE sequence requires restarting the game again from the beginning. With 8 different characters and a large number of QTE’s, keeping every character alive to the end is difficult. The game can sustain two playthroughs, but more than that would be a stretch.

Each one of the characters is distinct. While most are one-dimensional, a few are more well developed, and few evoke genuine care for the players. However, a few characters are less sympathetic, and their demise is met with a degree of satisfaction (except when trying to keep everyone alive for that specific ending and trophy). The characters are ordinary young adults, without special abilities or skills to help them survive the night. Their common man credibility helps the player identify with the characters. The environments lend to the sense of foreboding contributing to the horror. While the asylum is creepy on its own, the game does well to not rely on the obvious, but to inspire dread with isolation, weather and time.

Until Dawn is a strong horror entry for the Playstation 4. It has a unique and surprising narrative that can withstand multiple playthroughs. The challenge of maintaining the fragile relationships, psyches and lives of the characters likewise warrants another attempt to achieve the perfect, desired ending. The scope is bold, and while freedom must eventually give way to determination, Until Dawn deserves recognition for mainly living up to its ambition.

I'm really angry about this game. The "butterfly effect" mechanics were neat and early on I was looking forward to multiple playthroughs to see how different choices affected relationships, but holy patriarchy, y'all, I had to put the whole thing away because of the intense slut shaming, misogyny and toxic masculinity. There were plenty of red flags about cultural appropriation with the totems and mental illness stigmatization with the asylum (I mean, you're referencing an asylum instead of a hospital), but I didn't even see how that was all handled because two young women screaming "bitch" at each other and trying to assert some weird slut/academic/poverty dichotomy was where I gave up.

Ugh. I love horror. I was interested in the game mechanics. Whyyyyyyyy.

Edit: Uped the rating to four stars

I am still a little mixed on this game, but I think it leans more towards a 4 star. The game consists of an introduction sequence, followed by ten chapters - you control a different character depending on the scenes and your choices as the game advances. During the gameplay, you will select an action to perform, something to say, find collectibles, and perform QTE throughout the entire game. What starts out with one story ends up being a mix of three stories, which is where the collectibles come to play - as you gather clues, pieces of the stories are put together.

Story: I have to admit, I was pretty confused for awhile in the beginning - primarily, you have your suspicions, but the clues will slowly alter things. Overall, I did like the story a lot. I wish there was more historical information provided regarding the mountains, but at the same time, there is a need for suspense and the characters can only find out so much naturally. When all the reveals come up, I was actually very surprised. I found the story to be played out very well, it was really enjoyable to put things together and still be shocked at something.

Extra Component of the Story: At the end of each chapter, you have a brief visit with Dr. Hill - a therapist. Interestingly, while your encounters with him become more unsettling with each chapter, how you respond to his inquiries do not seem to have a large effect on the primary story. When more information is revealed about who Dr. Hill is, it provides a deeper understanding of the subconscious being explored. I found these visits to be pretty interesting, although some may not like the fourth wall aspect.

Characters: Wow, some of these characters are the worst and that is essentially the point. They are high-maintenance, bitchy, expect more than you can provide, and one wrong selection can ruin the entire relationship for the rest of the game. Once I accepted this, it became easier to actively want them to survive. When I messed up big time in the final chapter, I was actually pretty upset - this isn't the ending I wanted for these guys!

Gameplay: This is the component of the game I struggled with. The game is a mix of a visual novel and action sequences (timed decisions, QTE, and shooting). I am not skilled at action sequences at all - once I completed chapter five, I felt marginally better about my ability to do QTEs. However, this made my desire to replay certain chapters over stronger. There are a lot of scenes that are frustrating because your character is just walking for awhile... SLOWLY WALKING. You can hold L1 to move a hair faster, but it would have been nice to run through a couple scenes (especially when there are no collectibles to be found anyways).

Other Aspects: There is no save or checkpoint function. The game autosaves in the space you are in when you need to quit and you have to complete one playthrough of the full game before you can go back to replay specific chapters. Another feature that I found annoying was the "Previously on Until Dawn" sequence - there is no way to skip this and sometimes they can be lengthy. It is found that if you replay the game, it will continue doing this - I would plan on replaying specific chapters (since it already autosaves for you), and then exit (R1) to another chapter when you feel satisfied.

Overall, it is a solid horror game on par with the campy, b-horror movies about teens getting murdered. I personally found some of the gameplay a little frustrating. Admittedly, I am not terribly good at handling action sequences, BUT as I continued to get better in the second half the game - knowing you can replay the chapters is a nice feeling. It is up to you to decide the characters' fates and relationships with one another, and you may feel your heart string tug for some unexpected choices.

If you like to scare yourself and be thrilled while enjoying a good story then this game is for you. Until dawn is more than just a game. It's like an interactive movie wherein the player acts as a director and directs the outcome of the story through the various in-game decisions. This could be the future of our movies honestly. I'm sure we've all experienced watching a movie and then commenting stuff like he should've done this, he shouldn't have done that, etc. Well in Until Dawn, what the actors do are up to you. So be a great director and try to save them all. 😉

4 stars for this game! The jumpscares were effective, the story was hooking and the actors were all great in their roles. I'm leaving the one star for improvement because I think the game could still enhanced and I'm looking forward to it!

I was really enjoying this game until it got closer to the end. I'm a big fan of the "point and click" genre, and I feel like Until Dawn did a very good job with this. It had some aspects that made you feel super involved, and others not so much. The story was as engaging as a horror flick can be, but I felt like Until Dawn tried incorporating too many horror tropes which made me start to lose interest after the plot twist. All in all I think this is a good step in the right direction for games that try to feel like movies, but it could have been more refined.

Played on PS4