Until Dawn Review

"Horror Evolved"

Campaign

Until Dawn is an interactive horror game similar to the movie slashers of old following a bunch of what I'd say are adults in their early 20s partying on a mountain. Things go wrong and some of their members die under mysterious circumstances of which you get to playthrough.

This opens players up to the core mechanics of the experience along with the element of choice and the game's core butterfly effect where decisions can change things in the future. A year after the mysterious deaths everyone is invited back to have a good time and hopefully move past the horrible event of the year before.

Through a number of joke fake outs and some interesting setup moments, things start to go bad as the group splits up. It's also not traditional in the sense that you follow a single protagonist as you get a chance to play as everyone through the many chapters. These are divided into episodes for some reason with catch-up portions at the end and honestly that aspect didn't feel quite right.

All the characters have some neat facts to take into account and each follow their own path. Your choices with them will directly affect everyone and the future of the story. It sounds heavy though for awhile you don't really feel any weight with many fake outs and not directly showing things. The general narrative for the most part was fantastic and I loved the terrifying horror feel. It does however get a bit too mystical and I felt the later portion while still alright ruined what could easily have been a perfect classic.

Gameplay

The game is heavily focused on cinematic portions with even most of the game coming down to quick time events or scripted scenes. It does allow some movement in going through the world, but it's linear and only has some small collectibles to find along the way.

The game looks absolutely beautiful featuring very realistic graphics and some fantastic uses of gore. The decisions you make do carry some weight, but it would have been better to see more of this throughout its entirety. The game felt great for the most part with chilling button mashing though the don't move segments were far too sensitive.

The Conclusion

Until Dawn is one of the best horror games I've ever played being that next step for interactive experiences in terms of graphics and storytelling.

It does have some weak spots in terms of choices not having enough effect and I didn't enjoy the mystical elements as it took away from a perfect story. The cast of characters was also fantastic each providing a unique feeling and take on the events that surrounded them.

It was certainly well rounded and different to get so many perspectives on the events with my only complaint there being that the ending didn't fully use everyone. Until Dawn is a glorious game that gives a good balance of horror within a solid story and I'd love to see more titles like this.

Until Dawn for Playstation 4

Rating Overall: 8.5