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UNTIL DAWN (PS4)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Supermassive Games. Released: August 2015. Genre: Narrative Adventure. Posted 4th November 2018. By Shane Battams © 2018 |
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Starting life as a PS3 title designed to utilise Move controls, Until Dawn would instead go on to become one of Sony’s flagship titles for their eighth generation console, when released in 2015. Boasting advanced use of the motion-capture tech, it aims to blur the lines between movie and game even further than Quantic Dream games like Heavy Rain. It, in essence, embodies 80s horror movies while allowing you to control the outcome of all the survivors of the game. It makes for a unique experience and one which is memorable and worth replaying multiple times, even if some issues chip at its success.
Until Dawn takes the story-driven formula established by games like Heavy Rain and Telltale games, and embeds it into an 80s horror flick, like Friday the 13th. As a result, Supermassive Games borrows a lot of the archetypes, clichés and familiar plot points from these films while driving the game forward through QTEs, dialogue choices and some interaction through Resident Evil-style exploration. In essence, eight teens become trapped on an isolated mountain getaway, seemingly stalked by a psychopath playing a dangerous game. But not all is as it seems, as events seemingly tie to a tragedy from the year before involving two friends of the group. What’s clear, though, is that things are going to get sinister very quickly.
It can be hard to invest in Until Dawn at first. The cast of characters, acted by the likes of Hayden Panettiere and Brett Dalton, represent the usual well-worn stereotypes. Matt is the typical jock, Emily and Jess are the catty females while Chris and Josh are the pranksters who try to scare the rest of the group. These clichéd caricatures can seem obnoxious, and difficult to listen to at first and it isn’t helped by Supermassive’s reliance on cheap jump scares for the first few chapters of the game, such as animals jumping out on you or pranksters emerging from a dark basement. Until Dawn wears these tropes on its sleeve, and at first, it can become grating.
However, once the Butterfly Effect really comes into play, it becomes a whole different ball game. Until Dawn adopts the principle that the smallest actions can send ripples through time, demonstrated by a handy chart. One of the earliest decisions has you either snooping on, or ignoring, someone’s phone. Depending on your reaction, the conversations thereafter will remain civil, or will create friction which carries over through the game, even causing other characters to spread gossip. Supermassive slowly dangles smaller decisions, but ones which can alter the rest of the game. A key example is Matt and Emily’s relationship, which can be shown as lovebirds or tense arguments dependent on your choices. Some decisions can feel a tad inconsequential at times, but most have you pondering what each changing moment can bring, enticing multiple playthroughs.
However, once the Butterfly Effect really comes into play, it becomes a whole different ball game. Until Dawn adopts the principle that the smallest actions can send ripples through time, demonstrated by a handy chart. One of the earliest decisions has you either snooping on, or ignoring, someone’s phone. Depending on your reaction, the conversations thereafter will remain civil, or will create friction which carries over through the game, even causing other characters to spread gossip. Supermassive slowly dangles smaller decisions, but ones which can alter the rest of the game. A key example is Matt and Emily’s relationship, which can be shown as lovebirds or tense arguments dependent on your choices. Some decisions can feel a tad inconsequential at times, but most have you pondering what each changing moment can bring, enticing multiple playthroughs.
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The player's choices in Until Dawn affect not only the fates of the characters, but also their interactions - so it's worth playing several times
And then there’s controlling the fate of every survivor. Each member of the party can see the game to the end, or die before the credits roll. It’s not as simple as one choice though, as several can build up to the outcomes of individuals. Simple moments, like failing to find an item or missing certain quicktime events, can lead to a gruesome, often disturbing death. It never gets easier watching these violent finishes. This can often leave you in a lasting state of fear, as you ponder whether the smallest of decisions can cause a party member to die. And while you can gauge some outcomes through Until Dawn’s loyalty to horror clichés, others are not so straightforward. For example, taking a presumably safer path can actually lead to a death.
It's a shame that some other issues drag the game down a little. Even with the myriad of breadcrumbs left for you to discover through collectibles, the mid-point twist can be a tad predictable. There’s also some interface issues – which were likely held over from the PS3-era – such as not being able to load specific segments, instead forcing you through unskippable dialogue which you already know is inconsequential. You can’t even begin to replay Until Dawn until your first completion, which may upset some. There can also be some unsightly bugs which hurt the game, such as crashing and failing to carry decisions over episodes and thus negating new decisions you wish to explore.
It's a shame that some other issues drag the game down a little. Even with the myriad of breadcrumbs left for you to discover through collectibles, the mid-point twist can be a tad predictable. There’s also some interface issues – which were likely held over from the PS3-era – such as not being able to load specific segments, instead forcing you through unskippable dialogue which you already know is inconsequential. You can’t even begin to replay Until Dawn until your first completion, which may upset some. There can also be some unsightly bugs which hurt the game, such as crashing and failing to carry decisions over episodes and thus negating new decisions you wish to explore.
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Though more interactive than other competing story-driven games, it’s really the presentation that sells Until Dawn. The engine is fantastic, incorporating great mo-capped performances, superb lighting embedded in greatly detailed environments and some horrifying gore, making sure deaths remain in your memory for a long time to come. The only downer is performance, with an unsteady frame rate sometimes detracting slightly from the experience. The audio is also key, with a slew of great performances which fit the tone Supermassive aimed for, music that is often effective in heightening the tension and the particularly loud crashes of sounds during jump scares which cause you to leap out of your skin.
Cinematic camera angles hark back to survival horror adventures of the nineties, cranking up the tension
Perhaps one of the more underrated games of the eighth-gen, Until Dawn deserves praise for successfully delivering new thrills to both horror games and narrative-driven adventures. There’s a constant sense of tension whether it’s due to the dire atmosphere or the fear of making a mistake which, crucially, can cost a character their life. There’s some genuinely effective scares even if a couple are on the cheap side, and with an impressive presentation and excellent replay value incentivising multiple playthroughs, it is a game which any horror fan should check out, even if the tongue-in-cheek clichés can seem overbearing.
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VERDICT
“Until Dawn is a game which any horror fan should check out. It's superbly presented, and offers extensive replayability, even if the tongue-in-cheek clichés can seem overbearing.” OVERALL: 8/10 |