Originally published: Aug 31, 2015 – G4 Canada
As a life-long horror fan, even I am waving the white flag at this point. Please, no more supernatural beings. No more ghosts, apparitions, phantoms, spectres, poltergeists, or wraiths. Stop overdosing us with North America’s version of Japanese horror. No matter how well it is done, it still isn’t the same and never will be.
As it happens, someone must be hearing my pleas. With the current Scream TV series, the upcoming Scream Queens and Friday the 13th television shows, it appears that the slasher genre—one of my favourites—is finally making a killer comeback. Horror icons such as Jason, Freddy, The Shape, Ghostface and others are making returns not just on the small screen but the digital screen as well, with their inclusions in games like Mortal Kombat and the like.
While the trend is reassuring, nothing beats experiencing all of the chills and thrills of a claustrophobic, spooky environment where danger could lurk around each and every dark corner. Like last year’s Alien: Isolation, Until Dawn captures all the trademarks of its genre so very perfectly. Horror fans—specifically slasher movie fans—this is the game for you.
Like all good slasher or Giallo movies, Until Dawn is about more than guts and gore. There is a mystery at the center of all the fear and loathing. Until Dawn’s story won’t fool veteran fans based on the hints that are dropped throughout the game, especially if you know your horror movie plots. But the unexpected left-hand turn later on is very, very jarring. It doesn’t ruin the experience by any means—it just puts the story on a different path that is not as gratifying.
In the manner of Evil Dead and Friday the 13th, Until Dawn does a great job of isolating its victims. During the winter, a group of friends reunite at a hinterland cabin at the behest of their mutual pal, Josh (voiced by Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek). All of the stereotypical characters are present and accounted for: the awkward nerd, the bitchy entitled brat, the he-man hero, the sporty girl, and the creepy loner.
Their dialogue and reactions are very genuine. It helps that Malek is not the only recognizable star making an appearance either. There’s Hayden Panettiere from Heroes, Brett Dalton (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Nichole Bloom (Shameless), Galadriel Stineman (Ben 10: Alien Swarm), Noah Fleiss (Josh and S.A.M.), and Meaghan Martin from Camp Rock.
Josh himself is a bit of a frantic, manic oddball who wants nothing more than for everyone to party like “porn stars,” but also honor the deaths of his twin sisters, Hannah and Beth. Red flags from Prom Night and Carrie are raised when we witness how the sisters died—sort of, kinda—as a result of a prank gone horribly wrong by Josh’s friends. Before you can say “Don’t go out alone!”, weird things start happening, characters are isolated, and the really, really gruesome body count begins.
Interspersed throughout the story are bizarre therapy sessions between who we assume is the killer and their shrink, the creepy Dr. Hill, voiced with sinister glee by Peter Stormare. It’s a shame this scenario isn’t explored more and is kinda left hanging when all of the plot threads come together.
The really great thing about Until Dawn is that, like some gruesome Choose Your Own Adventure, you bounce around from player to player and the decisions you make ultimately decide their fate, the fate of others, and the course of the story. The producers and developers call this “The Butterfly Effect.”
If you decide to keep a weapon for yourself, another character might be left defenseless when they face a life-or-death situation. If you elect to save one person over another or keep secrets from someone, your judgment calls can have positive or negative effects on future events. The mechanic works well, even though most of the time there’s no logical way to predict the outcome of your choices.
Although you will walk around, collect clues, and interact with the environment, there are a ton of action sequences requiring you to attack, shoot, execute quick-time events, and make rapid-fire decisions without a moment’s notice. Because they come without warning, these quick-time events can be easy to flub.
One of the cooler mechanics that plays into the eerie atmosphere is when you’re required to hold the controller absolutely still as danger lurks nearby. Not only does this crank up the tension, but it intensifies the anxiety as you wait stock-still for the crisis to pass.
Sometimes, the best course of action is to make no choice at all. Refusing to shoot a wild animal or pick who lives or dies can work out well. Having that option adds another aspect to the whole Butterfly Effect mechanic.
Fair or not, it is difficult to go back and undo what you have done in Until Dawn. You can go back and replay segments once you’ve beaten the game, but until then, you are stuck with the consequences of your choices. A word of warning: search entire areas for clues before moving on. There are times when you enter a new area or trigger certain events that prevent you from returning to where you were. This is the game’s biggest—and perhaps only—serious flaw.
Although the shocking jump scares are expertly timed and are guaranteed to have you fumbling your controller, they are not what makes Until Dawn so scary. Like any great horror movie, it is the calculated storytelling and the ominous setting. Supermassive Games certainly did their homework in making Until Dawn a heartfelt bloody valentine to the horror and slasher film genre.
Whether it be The Revenge, A New Beginning, The Son Of, The Curse or The Return, we hope Until Dawn gets the sequel it—and its fans—deserve.
Until Dawn
Format: PlayStation 4
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Supermassive Games
ESRB Rating: M for Mature
Official Site: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/until-dawn-ps4/
Rating: 9 / 10
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