Until Dawn marks the return of a beloved gaming classic, yet the enjoyment of this interactive horror game is hindered by a significant bug. With a price tag hovering around $60, one would expect to have a smooth gameplay experience, but that’s not quite the reality. We’ll dive deeper into that later; for now, let’s take a broader look at survival horror.
Development and Inspirations
This remake has been crafted for PS5 and PC (accessible through Steam) by Ballistic Moon, which is essentially Supermassive Games, the team behind the original version from 2015. Being avid horror enthusiasts, they aimed to pay homage to cult classics like The Cabin in the Woods, Scream, Saw, Friday the 13th, The Evil Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining, and many others.
Gameplay Mechanics
The game essentially plays out like an interactive horror film, featuring a clever choice and consequence system. Eight teenagers with heightened libidos find themselves in eerie settings, particularly a secluded cabin at a remote ski resort in the Rockies, where their lives are at stake. The narrative primarily revolves around the cabin’s environment, including the encompassing woods and mountains.
Visual Enhancements
With the transition to Unreal Engine 5, the game underwent a complete reprogramming. It boasts stunning HDR lighting effects, more lifelike environments, and an overall brighter picture quality. The ambiance is enriched by candlelight, sunlight reflections, and the glow of the full moon, creating a deeper sense of immersion.
Technical Specifications
The remake incorporates ray tracing, a technique that mimics light dispersion to produce more realistic reflections, shadows, and lighting. Moreover, the widescreen support provides an expanded field of view, further enhancing the immersive quality. Thanks to these technological upgrades, the game’s design is significantly improved, with areas like the cabin's kitchen receiving a complete overhaul, chock-full of intricate details.
Performance Challenges
However, these graphical enhancements come with a trade-off regarding frame rates, and frequent crashes have been noted as well. Personally, I tested the game on a Lenovo Legion Go with integrated AMD Radeon 780M graphics, and aside from the major bug mentioned earlier, it ran without crashing for me.
Customization and Experience
I played in native QHD+ resolution with medium to high settings, TAA Anti-Aliasing, Bloom, Motion Blur, and AMD FSR 3 Upscaling in performance mode. With ray tracing fully enabled, I couldn’t quite hit 30 FPS, averaging around 20 instead. Still, I’m willing to tolerate this for a visually stunning cinematic experience.
Sound Design and Atmosphere
We’ve already published a comprehensive technical review detailing the Until Dawn benchmark test, which highlights its demanding GPU requirements and whether the graphics hold up today. Additionally, the auditory experience has seen improvements compared to the original, with realistic sounds like the crunch of snow underfoot really standing out.
Choice and Consequence
The well-constructed choice-and-consequence system features numerous quick-time events, where decisions can mean life or death. Every choice, like the butterfly effect, alters the story’s trajectory and ending. The characters themselves evolve significantly based on player decisions.
Story Elements
A recurring element that shapes the storyline are the therapy sessions with psychiatrist Dr. Hill (portrayed by Peter Stormare). These sessions explore players' fears, where choosing between a zombie, clown, or scarecrow leads to personalized horror experiences as the game progresses.
Use of Horror Tropes
Until Dawn cleverly plays with horror movie tropes, employing jump scares not merely for frights but to build tension and showcase the ramifications of choices. Unlike some horror games that overdo the scare factor, Until Dawn utilizes these moments in a more strategic and impactful manner.
Diverse Jump Scares
The game presents a variety of jump scares, from sudden character appearances to unforeseen events. This keeps players on their toes and ensures that the shock moments retain their effectiveness.
Control and Camera Issues
Points are deducted for the somewhat sluggish controls and the absence of acceleration, except during car chases where it’s automatic. The revamped version features a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective, enhancing the visibility of surroundings, but it raises questions about losing the cinematic feel of the original.
Tokens and Prophecies
The tokens act as mystical tools for obtaining prophecies that assist in decision-making, a familiar feature from the original game. However, in the remake, players must collect these tokens with more effort and position them correctly before revealing a vision.
Remake vs. Remaster
Despite some claiming the new edition is more of a remaster, the tester disagrees. While criticisms suggest it’s just the same as the 2015 version with better graphics, the current version offers new narratives and a different ending. The updated design of entire rooms (furniture, objects, etc.) proves that it's more than just a superficial upgrade.
Star-studded Cast
The cast includes notable actors like Hayden Panettiere as Sam, Peter Stormare as Dr. Hill (also known from Fargo and The Big Lebowski), and Rami Malek as Josh Washington (famous from Bohemian Rhapsody).
Horror Film References
The game is rich in references to horror film clichés, blending brutal slasher elements with moments of humor to ease tension. Similar to Scream, many characters in Until Dawn are movie buffs, discussing horror films and poking fun at genre conventions.
Meta Commentary
The characters playfully examine horror movie rules while the antagonist seems to be aware of these tropes, manipulating the victims' expectations. This clever commentary on horror films elevates Until Dawn to a meta-level.
Evolving Narrative
Like The Cabin in the Woods, set in a remote mountain cabin, the plot takes unexpected twists that challenge player expectations, hinting at a more extensive narrative at play. The gradual descent into madness of certain characters evokes comparisons to Jack Torrance from The Shining, revealing numerous allusions to cult classics as the game progresses.
Bug Issues Persist
While many players experience smooth gameplay, numerous gamers (including the reviewer) face a frustrating bug that causes them to fall out of the map, rendering the game unplayable. The cause of this issue remains unclear, and it’s uncertain whether it was introduced through an update.
Conclusion and Recommendations
With no automatic saves, players consistently find themselves in the same position (cross-platform). For a price of about $60, this is quite frustrating, although there’s hope that the bug will be resolved in the next update.
If you enjoyed titles like Beyond: Two Souls, Heavy Rain, or The Dark Pictures Anthology, Until Dawn may appeal to you. Without the bug, it would be a strong recommendation. It’s an engaging game and a delight for horror enthusiasts, especially around Halloween.
However, considering the game-breaking bug, it might be wise to hold off on purchasing until a patch is released. Unfortunately, there's no update for the PS4 version of the original game, so console players will have to either pay the premium price or wait for a potential price drop.
