Until Dawn Review- You’ll Be Up All Night

“Until Dawn” has had a long history with the Playstation.  Originally the game was supposed to release during the Playstation 3 era and be a Playstation Move exclusive.  Thankfully, that didn’t come to pass. Just last year Sony revealed that the game was still alive and would finally be coming out on the PS4 as a normal title.  Does the game benefit from all that extra time or does it’s lengthy development reveal signs of aging?

“Until Dawn” features your basic horror movie setup that we’ve all come to know like the back of our hand.  A year after a tragic accident a group of young friends reunite in an isolated cabin in the mountains to offer each other support and comfort.  However, someone on the mountain isn’t there to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya.”  Soon the friends find  themselves in a fight for survival hoping they can make it…. until dawn.

And to match the typical setup the game also features a typical cast of characters.  There’s the horny lovers that only want to have sex the whole time they’re there. Then there’s the strong independent girl who practically has “final girl” written on her forehead.  You’ve even got the geeky guy with the unrequited love issues.  There are about eight characters in total and each one represents one particular horror movie trope or another.

Everything about this game is designed to invoke the feel of a typical 90’s/80’s teen slasher flick.  However, what’s atypical about the whole thing is that instead of being a passive viewer you finally get to control what happens in that slasher flick.

“Until Dawn” is an interactive horror video game where you, basically, get to choose your own adventure.  Your actions in the game determine who lives and who dies.  Throughout the game you’ll take control of the eight different friends and try to guide them through the nightmare they’re trapped in.  The way you determine their fates can manifest itself in different ways.  Usually the most direct events are the quick time events where you have to be on your toes to prevent a character from dying. One wrong move and they’re dead.  And it’s usually not a very pretty death.

Another way is by making quick decisions.  Often times the game will place you in a scenario where you have to quickly decide between two options.  There’s a killer breaking down the door, do you run or hide?  Or you’re running through the woods and you come across two paths: a safe one and one that’s quick, which do you pick?  The wrong choice here can also result in death.

Sometimes you’re simply dictating what one character might say to another and even that can be tricky.  For example, I was controlling a character named Ashley and had her tell Emily the truth about something, because telling the truth is always for the best, right?  Well a few hours later Emily was still pissed about the truth and she knocked Ashley down when they were being chased by a killer.

In a case like that you’re dealing with something known as the “Butterfly Effect” which the game likes to feature prominently.  As you play the game you’ll make certain decisions that have rippling effects throughout the game.  Some of the choices seem trivial at first, and many might be, but a few them can ultimately dictate who lives and who dies. The thing is, you won’t know which butterfly effect will wind up being critical until the end of the game, so it adds a lot of weight to the choices you’re making in the heat of the moment.

And while this game does give you a lot of room to influence the events that are taking place within it, make no mistake, it’s telling a certain story.  And, because of that, a few key events will always happen no matter. So you’re not 100% in charge of the story, but the game does an incredible job of making you feel like you are.  And on that note, the game exceeds at drawing you in by putting everyone at risk. It’s entirely possible for everyone to die in the game and it’s also possible for everyone to live. The final chapter of your game might look drastically different from your friend’s.

The game is also incredibly immersive thanks to it’s astounding facial animation.  “Until Dawn” easily has some of the best looking faces and animated characters yet.  The game is extremely pretty and goes a long way to capture that cinematic feel.  There are dynamic shots that put you into a voyeuristic perspective ala “Halloween” and the game isn’t afraid to employee cinematic shots like zoom ins and focusing to convey direction for your character.  There are even scenes where appropriate teen slasher flick soundtracks will kick in.  Someone could easily watch you play this and feel like they were simply watching a movie.

And let’s not forget that the game also features a cinematic cast of actors lending their voices and likeness for the game. We’ve got Peter Stormare (“Constantine”), Hayden Panettiere (“Scream 4”), Brett Dalton (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”), and a few other notable faces you might recognize.  It’s actually a pretty impressive ensemble for a game like this.

As far as scares go, “Until Dawn” relies heavily upon jump scares to get you going.  Certain points do have great atmospheric chills and there are plenty of unnerving scenes to get you tense, but all of the big scares are primarily things coming out of the shadows to surprise you.

I’d also like to mention here, before I forget, that “Until Dawn” employees a nifty little feature that’ll benefit those of us who don’t have a whole lot of time to play games.  The game is divided into chapters and every chapter starts with a “Previously On…” segment that recaps you on the important events that have happened thus far in the game.  It’s a neat feature for those that can’t plow through the game in one sitting.  I just wish you could skip past them if you don’t need to see it.  I should also mention that it is indeed possible to beat the game in one long sitting as its roughly about ten hours long.  Though you’ll certainly get a lot of mileage out of replaying the game.  There are plenty of hidden items to collect and branching paths to see.

“Until Dawn” is probably one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve had while playing a video game.  I actually felt like I was dropped into the middle of a horror movie.  While the story isn’t anything to write home about, the ability to shape and mold the direction of the game is what gives the experience I had so much weight.  Without a doubt, this might be one of my favorite horror video game experiences of the year.  The short length of the game might deter people from buying it, but if that is truly an issue for you than I encourage you to rent it.   It’s well worth checking out and is sure to be a treat for horror fans.