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    Until Dawn

    Game » consists of 3 releases. Released Aug 25, 2015

    In this PlayStation 4 horror game, eight teenagers are being hunted while they stay at a mountain retreat.

    Until Dawn Finds Horror in Conflicting Priorities

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    Darth_Navster

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    Edited By Darth_Navster
    Today is... not going well.
    Today is... not going well.

    As anyone who has watched a teen slasher flick can attest, the most common trope in that subgenre is the idiocy of the main characters. From running upstairs to get away from a killer to splitting up in the face of danger, the well-worn joke is that these coeds are simply too dumb to live. But what if the viewer got to be in control of these characters? Would they make different decisions based on the circumstances? Supermassive Games’sUntil Dawn attempts to answer that question, and in doing so crafts an adventure that does some wonderful things with interactive fiction.

    The setup for the game involves eight teens arriving at a lodge located high up in the mountains of Alberta. It has been one year since a prank at the very same lodge left two of their friends dead, and our main characters wish to honor their memory with a night of debauchery. The snowy vistas and isolated feel of the locale provide a pitch-perfect setup for when the horror begins, and the setting is augmented further by how good the game looks. Supermassive is clearly putting the Playstation 4 to work here, with incredible particle effects and stunning mountain views making the most out of the hardware. The characters themselves fall neatly into the uncanny valley, but as the story progresses I found myself noticing it less and less. The developers were smart to cast known actors, such as Brett Dalton, Rami Malek, and Hayden Panettiere, as their strong performances became a huge reason why the game worked so well despite a shaky script.

    Until Dawn knows how pretty it is.
    Until Dawn knows how pretty it is.

    As the title hints, the overarching goal of Until Dawn is to ensure that all characters survive to daybreak. Throughout the night you are given control of each character at various points in the story, with control shifting even within scenes. The constant changing of perspectives proved to be the thing that most endeared me to the game, as I delighted in the challenge of role-playing each person’s priorities. This was especially evident early on when the extent of danger has not been fully revealed, and the characters could be their self-absorbed teenaged selves. As an example, I tried to ensure Matt stuck up for his girlfriend, Emily, against romantic rival Jessica even if I personally found Emily off-putting. Alternatively, I could have chosen to side with Jessica or attempt to defuse the situation, and those options may have carried different consequences down the line. These choices and their effects are tracked in the game’s menus, which display each character’s personality traits and relationships with various meters. These meters can go up or down based on in-game actions and can alter how the characters react to situations or interact with one another. In addition, Until Dawn keeps track of major decisions through a butterfly effect menu that draws clear lines between cause and effect. As it is very difficult to know ahead of time what choices lead to what outcomes, this menu becomes vital for encouraging additional playthroughs in order to get different endings.

    "Pietr, Store-mar-eh"

    The gameplay of Until Dawn consists mainly of navigating players through environments as they search for clues, and is punctuated by conversations and quick time event driven actions scenes. The game’s structure is clearly inspired by the work of Telltale Games and Quantic Dream, with emphasis on the latter. Indeed, the game Until Dawn most mimics is Heavy Rain. Similar to that game, players take on multiple roles to solve the mystery while also ensuring that all characters survive the story. But unlike David Cage’sPlaystation 3-era breakthrough, the choices and interactions between characters in Until Dawn feels more immediate and vital to ensuring success. While Heavy Rain’s characters acted more or less independently, Until Dawn’s cast must work together to survive. An early death of one member of the group could lead to a scenario where another member does not get the help they need to survive. Of course, Until Dawn also has the benefit of Peter Stormare’s unhinged performance as a psychologist during interstitial segments to elevate the experience.

    I found Until Dawn to be a fantastic experience that I can unreservedly recommend to anyone. While the game’s cheesy script and story-driven nature lends itself to internet Let’s Plays (including a great series from our very own Giant Bomb East), I still found playing the game and personally owning my choices to be a fun and engaging experience. It wouldn’t surprise me if in a few years that the game becomes a hidden gem in the Playstation 4’s library, but I hope that it is successful enough to warrant a sequel or spiritual successor. Supermassive has hit upon a winning formula here, one that pleasantly surprised me, and I’d be delighted to play whatever they have planned next. In the meantime, I fully expect to trek up the mountain again and try to keep all those idiots alive.

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    Evilbill

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    Game sounds and looks pretty cool, unfortunately I don't have a PS4. Womp Womp. Good write up though!

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    bybeach

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    #2  Edited By bybeach

    I appreciate what you got out of this, and what was involved here for you to even work with. I guess my problem is that the last thing I want to be doing is herding around a bunch of wrapped up teenagers, especially to have some of them horrifically die by my decision making and unintended results. I get the reason why one would enjoy this, oddly enough it can be a thinking person's game.

    But nooooooo... despite the attention to graphics, scenery and such. I not like the scary screamy hacky horror movies.

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    Darth_Navster

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    @bybeach: I completely get where you're coming from, and for the most part I stay away from horror games (I will never play Amnesia or Alien: Isolation, for instance). That said, Until Dawn takes on such a ridiculous B-movie vibe that it almost cancels out the horror aspects. I wholeheartedly recommend checking the GB Playdates at the very least. The crews reactions to the game are well worth it.

    @evilbill:Thanks! And yeah, boo to exclusives. I mean, I get why they exist, but it's always a bummer to see a game you want to play on a platform you don't have.

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    kmfrob

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    This sounds like something I could really enjoy with my partner. I've been putting off buying it until it is on a major sale or on PS+ as I know for me it will be a one-time play type thing, but maybe I will jump in earlier.

    I really enjoyed Heavy Rain first time round (perhaps aided by being a bit caned), but when I went through it a second time and tried to see what I could do by letting things play out in different ways I was left severely disappointed by how much it funnels you into certain story climaxes. Is Until Dawn different in that sense?

    Have you played oxenfree? I've been umming and erring on that for a good while now too. I think it looks really interesting.

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    monkeyking1969

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    Until Dawn is a fun game with occasional 'teen horror' tropes and a few 'punctuating' gross-out scenes.

    It was on my Top-10 games for 2015 and as was brought up at teh wrap up of e3 2016 by Austin "Until Dawn" represents everything David Cage tries to do but never quite pulls off....Until Dawn nails it. I love Quantic Dream games and I love what Supermassive Games did with Until Dawn. Right now Supermassive is getting into VR games(UD: Rush of Blood, Tumbler VR), but they should get back onto another 2D Until Dawn game.

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    packerman120

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    Picked up this one and ran through it with some mates. We all loved it. Perfectly plays on those horror movie vibes whilst still managing a tangible story. And as @monkeyking1969 quoted from Austin, it really is what David Cage has always wanted to do, and has come so close to, but never really pulled it off.

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    Darth_Navster

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    @kmfrob: I actually knew nothing of Oxenfree until you mentioned it. If it's anything like Until Dawn then I'm very much interested. Off to watch the Quick Look!

    As for if Until Dawn offers more differences in story than Heavy Rain, I would say yes and no. There is still an overarching narrative that happens and certain plot-critical characters will not die until later in the story. But because the only real goal in the game is to survive the night, the game is able to make significant changes to specific story beats and kill off characters early on. The loss of characters in particular will have significant effects down the line and will even prevent you from seeing certain scenes or exploring certain environments. Add to that the "Butterfly Effect" menu which shows specific causes and effects, and Until Dawn is a lot more transparent than Heavy Rain about how you affect its story.

    @monkeyking1969: As someone who remains unimpressed with VR post-E3, I'm a bit disappointed that Supermassive got pulled into Sony's big Playstation VR push. Perhaps with the tools and engine in place, maybe Sony can farm out a sequel to another developer? I mean, Ready At Dawn can't be doing much right now (please don't say a The Order sequel).

    @packerman120: Austin's David Cage comment is absolutely spot-on. Until Dawn is basically the game David Cage should be making if he stopped focusing on broad "visioning" and instead focused on seeing ideas through to execution, and I say this as a fan of Quantic Dream's often inconsistent work.

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