• This review is spoiler-free.

Until Dawn was originally going to be a PlayStation Move game for the PS3, thankfully someone made the decision to move it over to the PS4, utilising the impressive and visually stunning Killzone: Shadow Fall engine.  While you can still play Until Dawn using the PS4’s motion control functions, my preference was to use the ye old DualShock 4 the traditional way, though there are still tense moments when you must use motion controls, but more on that later.

Until Dawn follows the lives of 8 youngsters and following tragic events located in an isolated cabin in the midst of the snowy mountains, for whatever reason, the gang decide to return to the home of their recent torment on its one-year anniversary.  It soon becomes apparent that the tragic events that transpired a year prior, were no fluke and the gang is put in imminent danger as a masked lunatic straight out of the book of John Carpenters Halloween stalks and preys upon his victims.  Seriously the whole concept of Until Dawn is inspired by slasher horror classics such as Halloween, Friday the 13^th and even Cabin in the Woods, but that by no means is a bad thing.

 

When the shit really hits the fan, the gang of 8 are split up, each with their own intertwining chapters.  With Until Dawn, it’s a case of getting to know the characters as quickly as you can and by doing so it is up to you to use your best intuition on the current proceedings.  But if there’s one thing I learned from my first playthrough of Until Dawn, is that things are not always what they seem and that includes both the current events and all the characters within the game.  Yet despite you using your best instincts, it’s very difficult to predict how events will turn out, no matter how well you believe you’ve judged the situation.  However, this is one of Until Dawn’s strongest assets, as just when you believe you know what’s going on, you’re hit with another plot twist.

Though Until Dawn’s strongest aspect in my opinion is its butterfly effect system, when seemingly the smallest decision may have the biggest repercussions and could ultimately turn proceedings on its head.  From making simple dialogue choices, to how you interact with a piece of the environment or whether you choose to hide or run, each decision could be huge.  I loved this mechanic in the games from Telltale, yet in Until Dawn that depth in gameplay has been taken to new heights, albeit Until Dawn probably has had a bigger budget to play with.

 

It is possible to end the campaign with all 8 playable characters alive or dead, depending on what choices you made.  I managed to end my first playthrough with 6 of the 8 escaping with their lives, which is far better than I expected myself to do.  This adds a whole new layer of depth to the game with so many possible outcomes and endings, which of course all add to Until Dawn’s replay value.  It may have taken me around 7 hours to finish, but in a game such as this that encourages multiple playthroughs, its campaign length is about right in my opinion, so please don’t let my campaign estimate length put you off.  What might put some off however are the many QTEs.

In all fairness to Until Dawn, while it does feature a lot of QTEs, it never feels too excessive and just like games such as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, it feels natural.  However, Until Dawn’s character movement feels far less clunky than that of the classics from Quantic Dreams.  I never played through Until Dawn using the motion control method, due to me not owning the PS4 camera, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be called upon to use this feature during the campaign.  While I won’t give anything away, there are various points during the game when you are required to hold the controller perfectly still.  This may sound like something easy to do on paper, but trust me it’s easier said than done during one of the many intense moments, especially during the later moments in the campaign…do…not…move.

 

Graphically Until Dawn is a stunning game of delish eye candy and has one of the best lighting effects that I’ve seen in the new-gen era yet.  The game looks even more stunning when exploring the eerie snowy mountains past the stroke of midnight with the moon beaming down upon you.  While Until Dawn is a very linear game in terms of exploration, its outdoor locations have you wishing you could explore more.  The game also has one of the best facial animation effects that I’ve seen yet on the new-gen console, even if the framerate does seem to suffer from time to time.  It also has an impressive array of characters, featuring the likes of Hayden Panettiere (Heroes, Nashville), Brett Dalton (Marvel’s Agents of Shield) and Peter Stormare (Prison Break).

No horror game or movie would ever be complete without an equally impressive supporting soundtrack, thankfully the developers at Supermassive Games enlisted the talents of none other than Jason Graves (Dead Space series, Tomb Raider (2013), The Order: 1886).  The soundtrack supplies just as much tension as the gameplay itself and it will have you on the edge of your seat, especially when you’re hit with one of many jump-scares that will spring upon you.  I swear if you’re not on blood pressure tablets before, Until Dawn, there’s every chance you could be picking them up on prescription from your local GP; though I would say that while the many jump scares do play an important role, sometimes it feels like they’re happening just for the sake of it.

 

For whatever reason, while Until Dawn was a game that I had high hopes for, I was still somewhat reserved in my expectations.  Yet despite this, Until Dawn has quickly become one of my favourite games to release this year, especially in terms of console exclusives.  The campaign may be short and sweet, but that’s ok, because if like me, you will be playing through this game more than once to see the various possible outcomes.  It may not be the sole reason to own a PS4, but it’s certainly A reason to own one for the endearing horror fan.

It’s a tale of classic horror with the somewhat naive youths stuck in the middle of nowhere with a crazed psychopath picking them off one by one, only unlike the movies, you now control their fate.  If you’re a PS4 owner looking for a pure horror gaming experience for 2015, then I couldn’t recommend Until Dawn enough.  Just prepare yourself for heightened blood pressure and possibly a spare pair of pants to change into…dam jump scares!

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