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| Until Dawn provides the scares on PS4 |
UNTIL Dawn is an interactive drama survival horror video game developed by Supermassive Games and exclusive for PlayStation 4.
It marks a transition from developing child-friendly titles driven by user generated content, to an adult single player horror game. Supermassive Games succeed at this and while Until Dawn is a must play of this generation, it is not necessarily a must keep.
The interactive drama game is a genre that pretty much died in the nineties after a plethora of poor quality FMV games were produced to capitalise on the technological advances that CD-ROM offered.
It has since seen a resurgence, particularly on Sony consoles, with the likes of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. However, an issue with these games, and that Until Dawn suffers from, is that once they have been completed the player knows the story and is left sitting through extensive cut scenes to watch different endings.
Until Dawn pushes the technological capacity of the PS4 that makes PS3 games look extremely old. The sound is outstanding at creating a great atmospheric and claustrophobic tension that rivals Alien: Isolation.
The voice acting is exceptionally well executed with the actors bringing the characters fully to life. However, the graphics and animations for the characters can harm this as they fall into the uncanny valley.
The uncanny valley describes our strange revulsion toward things that appear nearly human, but not quite right. An example of this is the animation of humans in Pixar films when compared to The Polar Express.
The animation and art design of humans in Pixar films is slightly cartoonish whereas The Polar Express went for CGI by performance capture, resulting in audiences being uncomfortable with the replication of human faces.
This game proves the point that an ultra realistic graphic style does not guarantee emotional connection. I was more consistently engaged with the coloured blocks of Thomas Was Alone then with the characters in Until Dawn.
The plot of Until Dawn is a cliche horror film, eight friends return to a remote cabin on a snowy mountain on the anniversary of the death of two of their friends last time they were there.
If this was a film you would be screaming at the screen at the stupidity of the characters for doing this kind of trip. However, because you are in control of them you have only yourself to blame. There are eight characters to control and if they die they’re gone for good.
You can see in the video below me playing the prequel chapter to the game, this will show you how the gameplay works.
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| Until Dawn makes you choose the fates of the eight characters |
The gameplay is an excellent single player experience that does not require a bolted-on multiplayer experience, much in the same way it wouldn't fit with other titles like The Witcher 3, or Fallout 4.
The controls are adequate when moving around the environments. Quicktime events are a large part of this game so there's never a moment when you can relax and watch a cutscene as a call to action can always be found.
The quicktime events are mainly used for choices that will dramatically change the game, such as taking the risky option of jumping down a ledge or the safe option to climb down, each one will have a different outcome.
Furthermore, how you interact with characters will influence how they react to you later in the game. You play across all eight characters so you have the ability to change their personality and their friendships.
PRO TIP - Do not create tension and arguments between characters. Although this is entertaining you may be punished for this later in the game.
The game is broken down into chapters and our interspersed with a psychological evaluation, like in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, that will tailor the scares and environment towards you. For example, if you state that a scarecrow is scary, a scarecrow is showing up later.
Camera Angles are incredibly important in horror games as they are typically positioned for dramatic effect but this can result in control issues for the user when they switch like in the original Resident Evil.
Until Dawn excels at not allowing this to interfere with the user experience and providing moments of movement in the corner of the screen that will make you jump.
The game utilises the Playstation Camera to record your reaction to the scares throughout the game so that you can watch them back later. However, if you are playing this game then you want to play it in the dark, so the scares don't really show your reaction. just the light of the controller moving across the screen and the expletives you will shout out.
The main issue with the plot is that it begins to fall apart in the second half. Mainly this is due to the player figuring out what is going on in the story.
Like all horror films the scariest part is when you don’t know what exactly the horror is that is causing the deaths. Once this is revealed it looses it’s potency for terror.
The issue with this as a video game is that it is much longer than a two hour film so the boredom creeps in. It will take around 8 hours to complete the game on the first playthrough. I strongly recommend trying to complete this in one sitting with all their lights off and a good set of headphones.
Although Until Dawn does offer replay value in multiple endings and different outcomes you can choose throughout the game, the plot stays the same. There is plenty secrets to unlock but the jump scares remain in the same situations.
This is a great game and if Blockbuster still existed I would recommend this for a rental, over a purchase.
Until Dawn is an interactive drama at its core and should be treated like one when it comes to deciding which game you fancy playing through again.
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| Sony exclusive for PS4, Until Dawn |
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