Shane
Where did the time go? Almost 10 years back a Triple AAA PlayStation exclusive released that fused a cinematic-like horror with player decisions.
That game was Until Dawn.
If you survived the first round on PlayStation 4, you can jump back in this remaster, now on PlayStation 5.
The story begins with a cliche but still entertaining horror trope, a group of friends staying at a Blackwood Pine lodge on Mount Washington, British Columbia for their annual winter vacation. The lodge is owned by the parents of Josh and his sisters Hannah and Beth. A spiteful joke goes wrong and an upset and embarrassed Hannah runs into the dark wood, with her sister chasing after her. They are never seen again.
After one year the group meet up at the isolated lodge once more to remember their missing friends. It’s not long before they find themselves hunted by a twisted psycho and fighting for their lives. But there seems to be more at play, and a mystery going back over fifty years.
At time specific times you take control of all eight of the main characters, which is set over one night.
Gameplay is fluid but it’s a slow pace as each character has their own individual thing going on and their own select horror experience.
As Until Dawn plays like a horror film you can expect a lot of cut-scenes throughout, there are a lot of cut-scenes broken up with decisions that you need to make, which ultimately result in the fate of that character, and the entire narrative.
Every decision you make has consequences. This keeps Until Dawn near-to fresh on every play-through.
This remastered version has been graphically retooled from the ground up, making your on-screen visual experience all that more real, surreal and for some, horrific.
The facial animation is on point, the very stiff and clunky character movement we saw in the original version is now more natural.
From the dark and foreboding environments through to in-play to cut-scene transitions, this is the Until Dawn version you should play, providing you can survive the night.
Released: October 2024
Rating: R16
Platforms reviewed: PlayStation 5
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Ballistic Moon
Publisher: Sony