Until Dawn Review
Platform: PS4
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Author: K.D.
Aw crap, that’s gonna be me isn’t it? 🙁
Designed for replay value in order to unlock the depth of just what the hell is going on in Blackwood, Until Dawn brings us back to horror survival, with sprinkles of ethical dilemmas and questions of morality. This game progresses in a way similar to that of the legendary Telltale style where your actions dictate the route your storyline will take, or options that will become available.
But of course, what better to up the scare factor by asking you what scares you? Right off the bat, before the game starts, it asks you some pretty basic questions that, already, change the way the game will be played. It asks you to make a choice between statements like, “I’m a leader” and “I prefer to be led”, or choices like “Suspense is what horror’s about” vs. “Horror is all about the gross”. I like it already; a personalized fear fest! In terms of mechanics of the game, controls are kind of like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, where the left stick controls general movement and the right stick controls the direction you’re facing/pointing your flashlight. The simplicity of the controls makes it easier to focus on the important task: SURVIVE.
Alright, story time! So, what’s the story behind this spooktacular game? Remember all those teenage horror camping trip movies? Basically that, plus some devious Jigsaw traps from the Saw series. Ten friends go off the Blackwood Pines lodge on Mount Washington for the yearly winter escape. Almost all of them are douchebags and play a prank on one of two twin sisters, Hannah, making her look completely asinine in front of the boy on whom she is crushing HARD. Exasperated, humiliated, and bunch of other verbal adjectives later, she runs off into the woods followed closely by her sister Beth. After a touching scene of comforting, the girls are on the run once again, this time because some creeper gets close to them. Long story short, they get chased to a cliff and stuff happens. ONE YEAR LATER. The eight remaining characters (who are all playable) revisit in order to pay their respects to the fallen twins ~wink wink~ and maybe find out what happened. And that, ladies and gentlemen is where our main story takes place.
The engine used for this game is freakin’ spectacular and is also the upgraded engine from Killzone Shadow Fall. Right off the playable bat, you can walk your character up to the screen and actually see the fuzz on her sweater! Stay there long enough and it’ll give you the option to zoom in on her AND LOOK AT THE FUZZ ON HER TUQOUE! Top notch graphics coupled with precise motion capture gives fluidity to the movement from characters. There’s also some particle and real-time reflection systems in place to help with the realism. At certain points, however, the animation gets a bit clumsy
To compliment the realist appeal to the game, background music is kept to a minimum, and in most places completely removed in place of atmospheric sounds. That being said, the score is incredibly well done and very well-suited to the purpose of the game. Things will get a little tense, but sorry Dead Space fans, no frantic violins before you’re attacked! Instead, we get a soundscape that seems to reflect the situation we’re in with subtle musical stings. It’s really disquieting hearing almost total silence in a horror game because we’re just not used to it. Wise decision, Supermassive Games!
Oh, also… it’s possible to survive with all eight of your characters. Play on!
Story – Not the most compelling, but definitely still enjoyable. I give this half a star.
Game Play – Simple, but effective. One star awarded.
Graphics – Amazing, aside from hiccups here and there. One star awarded.
Audio – Beyond a doubt, the best part of the game. One star awarded.
Replay – in order to really complete the game, you have to play it again, and the butterfly effect system allows for diversity in subsequent runs. One star awarded.
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