• Publisher: SCEA
  • Release Date: Aug 25, 2015
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3764 Ratings

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  1. Aug 25, 2015
    7
    So this game boasts about how your choices greatly influence the outcome of the story. Here's some news that will shock no one: it won't. Sure you choose who lives and who dies, but the main premise is differed only slightly and incrementally. Not like Heavy Rain and certainly not like 999/VLR. Despite this, I still had an enjoyable time with all the campy horror nonsense going on.So this game boasts about how your choices greatly influence the outcome of the story. Here's some news that will shock no one: it won't. Sure you choose who lives and who dies, but the main premise is differed only slightly and incrementally. Not like Heavy Rain and certainly not like 999/VLR. Despite this, I still had an enjoyable time with all the campy horror nonsense going on.

    There are plenty of great games that don't have much interactivity, I don't get why these types of games get **** for that. The game should be judge based on how that level of interactivity is executed and how it serves the narrative. Considering this is a horror-based choose your own adventure, it works well. Great even. The slow initial build and generic set-up hinder the game somewhat, but shouldn't wave the players interest. We've been starved for horror games, Until Dawn does a decent job at satisfying the hunger until SOMA.
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  2. Aug 30, 2015
    5
    Until Dawn has some generalized charm through its overuse of horror films tropes, but because of this aspect it is also extremely predictable which came as a surprise considering the heavy marketing of being "choice" based.

    It is amusing to see it receive such praise for being a fantastic game, when you see that games such as Beyond Two Souls, and The Order 1886 were given such harsh
    Until Dawn has some generalized charm through its overuse of horror films tropes, but because of this aspect it is also extremely predictable which came as a surprise considering the heavy marketing of being "choice" based.

    It is amusing to see it receive such praise for being a fantastic game, when you see that games such as Beyond Two Souls, and The Order 1886 were given such harsh reviews for doing almost identical things. Until Dawn is a walking simulator through and through with some quick-time events thrown into the mix so that it can claim to be a game rather than the film that it is.

    At least it looks good.
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  3. Sep 6, 2015
    7
    Je ne peux pas appeler "Until Dawn" un jeu, mais plus un film interactif.
    Mais pourquoi un 7/10 ? La durée de vie est très courte si on veut rusher le "film" et rajouter peut-être une ou deux heures pour trouver tous les indices et les totems. Il est également très mal optimiser pour la "PS4", des chutes de framrate qui peuvent descendre parfois à 20 FPS. Le "film" ne fait pas très peur,
    Je ne peux pas appeler "Until Dawn" un jeu, mais plus un film interactif.
    Mais pourquoi un 7/10 ? La durée de vie est très courte si on veut rusher le "film" et rajouter peut-être une ou deux heures pour trouver tous les indices et les totems. Il est également très mal optimiser pour la "PS4", des chutes de framrate qui peuvent descendre parfois à 20 FPS. Le "film" ne fait pas très peur, on peut prévoir ce qui va se passer dans certaine scène. Des voix VF qui sont moyens, la VO est bien mieux. Et beaucoup d'éléments scriptés.
    Je viens de dire que des points négatifs, et maintenant les points forts du jeu ! Nous ne pouvons pas nier que les graphismes sont très bien même excellent comme l'ambiance.. Grâce aux choix qu'on a fait, les fins sont à chaque fois alternatif comme dans "Heavy Rain" et "Beyond: Two Souls" et un scénario qui est bien pensée.
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  4. Sep 18, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One hour into this game, I had the unfavorable impression that this would basically consist in guiding a bunch of idiots through bad decisions. Everyone seemed unlikable and everything so predictable. After finishing, though, I have to give some credit to the writing - though the plot was still far from the most inventive, I enjoyed it, mostly because of one of my favorite legendary monsters.

    It does not come as a surprise that the butterfly effect mechanic is hugely overrated - once again, you do not get actual significantly different content in the game, you do not influence the overall story, you just choose who makes it through and who doesn't. One playthrough of the game is enough, is what I want to say, and you can quite fully understand the story even if you don't find all the clues. You can go back to the episodes and try to get your favorite character (not that there were many for me) to make it, but that's about it. You're not making very many moral choices (maybe one or two), most of them are just random and their consequences completely unforeseeable. I'm fine with that, but the opening sequence made me think the game posed as being more than that.

    What it comes down to is that you don't do much here as a player, almost half of the action seems to take place in cut scenes, except for the times you do some quick QTE button pushing or you're asked to make a choice or quite boringly wander around under cinematographic camera angles. So if you're feeling like a eight-hour long horror movie, which is sometimes my case, go for it. The plus side is that you can get rid off all the annoying characters who seem to swarm this is sort of genre and I did rise up to the opportunity.
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  5. Sep 22, 2015
    7
    The first half of this game was awesome. Loved the whole murder mystery plot and the butterfly affect. But then things started getting supernatural. The whole Wendigo thing really hurt the game for me. They weren't scary and it didn't feel like they belonged in a story like this and that they were just added to lengthen it and give the player a "real" threat, but all that meant was aThe first half of this game was awesome. Loved the whole murder mystery plot and the butterfly affect. But then things started getting supernatural. The whole Wendigo thing really hurt the game for me. They weren't scary and it didn't feel like they belonged in a story like this and that they were just added to lengthen it and give the player a "real" threat, but all that meant was a bunch of QTEs and "don't move " parts. The butterfly affect was a interesting ideal, but it's execution was awful. Most of the choices either result in the same outcome, or affect the story in an insignificant way, and this is especially apparent if you play through the game a second time. It's a shame because this looked like one of the best horror games in years for the first few hours, but by the end, I can't say I was totally satisfied. Still not a bad game by any means, but I really feel like it had potential to be great, and yet, I can't say it's any better more than a slightly above average horror title. Expand
  6. Sep 14, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Contains spoilers

    Premise:
    A group of young college students (aged late teens) travel to a cabin one winter which happens to be in the middle of nowhere, no electricity, but plenty of candles and a hot steaming bath filled with cucumber melon salt. The evening does not proceed as expected and ends with the disappearance of two twin sisters. To try to move forward in their grieving, the group decide to get together the following year in the same cabin. Unfortunately for them, this trip will quickly turn into a nightmare. The choices you select will have a weight on the outcome of the scenario.

    So I have played it and I must say and I didn't have the highest expectations for it. The marketing is exactly how it turned out but it's not the route I would have taken for the game. I think something more ballsier and I am talking about the short QTEs thrown in, surveying the environment, exploration, character development. All these things that make it what it is: An interactive movie - It is formulaic in a lot of ways, and it still felt like that same T.V slasher-cheese fest formula we are used to.

    Let's talk about the good things: multiplayer engagement - playing the game is best played cooperatively imo. Someone assumes the controller and there is hot seat rotation. As you progress, so does shouting unanimously and voting between the choices that appear as a group - creating an atmosphere of participation and engagement that works well with the survival horror themes the developers have geared it towards - rotating around eight playable ensemble characters throughout the game.

    Now about the gripes and things: as the characters are introduced in the beginning, I could not help but feel this showcase of friendship seems forced and not genuine and random. I don't buy it. It is as if the dialogue is the same kind of quirky dialogue and the voice of one strong writer buried under others. Character archetypes and narrative writing mashed together to create this friendship circle. Yet somehow, none of the characters really share many compatible social traits borne of real emotion for one another. Seldom there are some really great concepts going on for the characters but they never really develop. It doesn't help that the mo-capped actors' ages range larger than their in-game counterparts, but the script and dialogue for me personally is not there.

    Also - WTF - most of the characters have a tendency of scaring each other, verbally abusing one another, screaming. Both rather funny and deeply unnerving; perfectly calm one minute and then melodramatic. There is a good amount of tension but for goodness sake. The quirks are no substitute for actual character traits. These jump-scares combined with cheesy line reading, the game is reminiscent of slasher films: Cabin in the Woods, Saw, Scream, but I mean like we are reacquainted with some of the most obvious recycled tropes going. But it does not really commit to one of these films and is fun mess overall.

    There are romances and couplets happening too - the story follows a simple pattern based on this idea might look as follows: the storyline cuts between two characters at a time, most of the time, once the party are split. There's even friendship mechanics in the menu options with metres and emotions..., But for the most part this feature feels unpolished, cosmetic and filler - not really offering much to the gameplay. There is no real emotional core, no real development, nothing to learn from it. What is going on.

    The main girl character, Samantha (Hayden Panettiere) and the main guy character, Michael (Brett Dalton) develop interestingly. More so Emily who after giving the best worst manner of first impression I can remember in a long time becomes tolerable later on and centre of some cool QTEs. We all fall on hard-times I suppose.

    Seeing as how this is an movie blanketed as an interactive game, what really delineates from one another is the linear interactive progression with slapped-on, adrenaline pulsing QTEs. But the player-controller mechanics themselves are not particularly varied. Sprinkled throughout and repetitive in form.

    What's really bizarre is the reveal of "the stranger", aka Flamethrower man. What are you trying to do with this character. In the middle of nowhere we actually have this really cool guy. Something happens to him later on... he's managed to survive this crap. We want to invest time in him (because he's not a college student and has shifted in some power-control). It's kind of embarrassing for him... I feel bad for him... Yeah.

    In summary, this game is very weird in a likeable way but not in a way I would recommend it to someone who would play it alone. What I will say it is entirely watchable. The strength lies in the conceptual framework of group-play and bawling at the cheesy tensions it provides through to the very end.
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  7. Nov 24, 2015
    7
    some things about this game were a bit disappointing, but there were also a lot of things that took me by surprise. One issue I have with this game is how the story unfolds. I was invested at first and then it took a very unexpected turn, which was clever but I think the experience would have been better if it would have stuck to the direction this game has you believe that its going,some things about this game were a bit disappointing, but there were also a lot of things that took me by surprise. One issue I have with this game is how the story unfolds. I was invested at first and then it took a very unexpected turn, which was clever but I think the experience would have been better if it would have stuck to the direction this game has you believe that its going, without spoiling anything there is a twist and even though it was fun I think the game went a bit too wild. The other thing I wasn't impressed by was its replay value, the developers had sad that most people will only get 50% of the experience the first time through and will imidiately want to play it again, without spoiling anything, this is simply not the case, even though there is reason to replay the game, it is not for that reason. that's really everything bad about the game, everything else is great, but one thing that really surprised me was the depth of the characters and how much I actually ended up liking them. this is a great game for those who are into games where your choices matter and those who also love horror clichés because this game embraces them in the best way possible. Expand
  8. Nov 10, 2015
    7
    Wasn't scary thats for sure but i like this kind games you making choices and game depens what you choice characters and atmosphere is good woth buying.

    7/10
  9. Dec 13, 2016
    6
    Story - The story centers around 8 friends in their return to Blackwood mountains after one year from the day of accident that occured to the sisters of Josh (One of the main characters in game) and the horrors and secrets they will all uncover and experience and must survive until dawn.The game is based on the classic B rated Slash/horror films that was really popular on the 90s and itStory - The story centers around 8 friends in their return to Blackwood mountains after one year from the day of accident that occured to the sisters of Josh (One of the main characters in game) and the horrors and secrets they will all uncover and experience and must survive until dawn.The game is based on the classic B rated Slash/horror films that was really popular on the 90s and it pays homage to its story cliches. Therefore, you can both say it is a lazy effort by the developers or that they are just loyal and gave good research to those classic horror genre in its golden era. due to this, it will be very common for you to feel frustrated to the usual stupid decisions teenagers make in this game. However, what really interests me is that you as a player can decide for them in certain aspect of the game, and by doing so. You may or may not help them survive until the end. It will not change the general story however, it will give you more interactions since more characters will be alive by then. However, my main problem is that for a horror game, it never was scary for me at all. Yes there are a few jumpscares here and there and creepy places. But after finishing the game i never felt any reluctance to play it again like what games like alien isolation gave to me, i couldnt feel any more of this scary moments or pressuring moments. With these, a fair score of 6/10 will do.

    Gameplay - Gameplay also returned to the days where Resident evil and Silent hills dominates the horror genre with its fixed camera in your exploration. As to the interactivity of the game, i can say that it is good despite its lack of quantity esp. those scenes where you should not move since most of them will usually result in your character being put in a bad spot or may jump to their deaths. Another to thing to add that the whole campaign is short but since it is a story driven which changes based on your choices, it has a great level of replayability. You can decide to kill them or try to challenge yourself to make them all survive. With this regard, a good score of 8/10 deserves this aspect of the game.

    Graphics - As to the environment, it is almost perfect. The places are haunting, creepy and will really give you the goosebumps in your exploration. As to the character design, i liked how the developers really put effort in the motion captures of its characters. Their facial expression are realistic and detailed. However, my main problem is the FPS drops that comes more often than not in its cutscenes and due to this, delay of sounds or voice sounds occurs which gives me major problems since it is a game where you spend most of the time watching than playing it. Therefore, a score of 7/10 deserves such plus and minus.

    Music and Sound - The music of this game overall is good. The timed sections has that loud music which puts more pressures to you and the haunting ones are properly inserted in those creepy areas which adds to its uneasiness. As to the sound, Id say it has its ups and downs, as to the ups, voice acting of the characters is good and also the sudden sounds that comes in within jumpscare moments are spot on. In fact, i had more jumpscares from the sound rather than from the game's visuals. The downs is the same with the cutscenes that sudden framedrops occurs which makes the sound delay and not following the mouth movements of the characters. Considering all the factors i have said. it deserves a score of 7/10.

    Average score = 6.75 (I dont round off my scores since i dont give perfect scores and zeroes i.e. 9.6 rounded off to 10)

    Supermassive games really showed that they have potential to make story driven interactive games. It needs some improvements like its story and also that bad fps and needs more scary moments, but overall, i was satisfied with the game. I hope they would continue to improve in this aspect and release games in the future that would be in the level of quantic dream games. awesome and hope they live until dawn, lol.bad joke i know just kidding.
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  10. Aug 16, 2020
    7
    لعبة قصيرة ولا تقدم الكثير
    مجرد لعبة عادية
  11. Sep 7, 2015
    7
    I really enjoyed Until Dawn.Although any story twists and shocks barely raised an eyebrow on this horror veteran.As an interactive movie,it's a great success,but as a video game it is less successful.It really needed more meaningful interaction besides QTE and conversation choices.Sadly,all of the characters were dull and predictable,though it was hard to dislike Sam and Emily wasI really enjoyed Until Dawn.Although any story twists and shocks barely raised an eyebrow on this horror veteran.As an interactive movie,it's a great success,but as a video game it is less successful.It really needed more meaningful interaction besides QTE and conversation choices.Sadly,all of the characters were dull and predictable,though it was hard to dislike Sam and Emily was obviously designed to be despised by every player( Just die you b**ch) .Still,it deserves a better sequel with better writing that doesn't treat it's audience like foolish horror amateurs... Expand
  12. Sep 1, 2015
    7
    This game had great graphics, a pretty interesting plot, and kept me cringing everytime I made a decision. I kept asking myself, "Did I just send that character to murderville?". Overall, I had a great time with it. If you are not a fan of games like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, then you will probably hate this game. It has a lot of slow gameplay where you just explore theThis game had great graphics, a pretty interesting plot, and kept me cringing everytime I made a decision. I kept asking myself, "Did I just send that character to murderville?". Overall, I had a great time with it. If you are not a fan of games like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, then you will probably hate this game. It has a lot of slow gameplay where you just explore the environment and look for clues. However, if you do enjoy those types of games then this will give you an entertaining way to spend the evening. Even-though anyone can die in the game I feel that the replay value is still not too high. Once the big twist is revealed it just seems like who dies and who doesn't is not too important; it seems like the end result is roughly the same regardless due to the nature of the plot. Replay value isn't the purpose if you are in it for a pretty good story that plays out like an old school slasher flick and that is what I was playing it for so....mission accomplished! Expand
  13. Aug 27, 2015
    7
    Don't let the yellow circle around the number fool you into thinking this game is only okay; Until Dawn is quite good, it just isn't good enough to warrant a $60 purchase.
    After reading some of the other reviews, I feel the need to mention a one thing before getting to the review proper: Until Dawn was meant to be a love letter to the horror film genre. To clarify, the characters, the
    Don't let the yellow circle around the number fool you into thinking this game is only okay; Until Dawn is quite good, it just isn't good enough to warrant a $60 purchase.
    After reading some of the other reviews, I feel the need to mention a one thing before getting to the review proper: Until Dawn was meant to be a love letter to the horror film genre. To clarify, the characters, the different types of villains, and the setting as a whole were meant to feel familiar and stereotypical. Not unlike Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods, Until Dawn isn't really meant to be a standalone experience - you won't enjoy what you're seeing to its fullest if you haven't also seen at least some of the substantial source material.
    So the player controls 8 teenagers (portrayed by actors who most certainly are not teenagers) as they wander around a spooky house, a sanatorium, and the forest and such surrounding the two locations, picking up things and piecing together what happened at varying points of the mountain's past. The game jumps you from character to character to try and keep the narrative going. The characters have set attributes, as well as relationship meters with all of their friends, and your actions as each character alter how the others perceive you. Choices you make as one character resonate with the others, and change the story.
    On that note, the "butterfly effect" system the game is so proud of (it even gets its own intro cutscene), isn't as robust as the ones found in the Telltale games, or even that of Chrono Trigger. Supposed recaps of certain situations happened differently during my playthrough than they had when I was playing them. While the consequences were the same, there was an odd disconnect in seeing things that I didn't do work out the same way as the things I actually did. Similar problems arose regarding lines of dialogue that didn't make sense in the context of my actions.
    Gameplay-wise, most of the game is walking around looking at things and flipping them over. If you've played L.A. Noire, that's honestly the best way to describe it - right down to the over-the-shoulder camera when you pick something up and use the right stick to rotate it. Here, however, is where the most noticeable problem of Until Dawn shows itself: it doesn't control well at nearly any point in time. The game operates on a nearly fixed camera (think Resident Evil, or a Telltale game again), but the right stick is still used to move your character's light source around. Everyone turns too slowly, and the light sources, whatever they may be, are difficult to control, because it's hard to tell whether the game wants you to move the right stick in relation to the camera or the character. I'm pretty sure it changed sometimes, as well. But that's tolerable; the real problem is once the right trigger comes into play.
    Players use the right trigger (R2) to pick up objects, push buttons, open cabinets, and so on. To push a button, you must hold R2 until the character's finger presses the button, then release R2. To pick up an object and perform an action with it, you must hold R2 to pick it up, and keep R2 held while doing whatever else is required; releasing R2 will cause your character to place the object right where they found it and then just hold their hand in front of it, like they're trying to manipulate it with the Force. Furthermore, for some strange reason, all of the actions that involve movement in one of these R2 sections translate that movement to the right stick, not the left. Anyone who's played just about any 3D game will understand that the right stick is used for camera control, and that this is wrong. These sections appear often, but thankfully aren't usually time-sensitive.
    In all honesty, however, the thing that really lowered my opinion of the game was the lack of a consistent story in this story-based game. In trying to wrangle all of the horror subgenres into one game, the developers made a story with far too much going on at once; as though they were aware of this, they then sliced away every plot point previously mentioned, and put an entire new one in for the game's last third. With more than half the game involving a series of red herrings, the final, much more action-packed hours lack the tension and interest that was built up for the majority of the game. Furthermore, Until Dawn is, like the horror films it so lovingly emulates, predictable to the extreme. Every plot twist is foreseeable, even after the radical shift in subject matter in the last section of the game. And, as a side note, most of this horror game's "scares" are jump scares that have no context nor significance to the plot at all.
    Despite these concerns, I still enjoyed Until Dawn, as did my family and girlfriend who all sat down to watch the story unfold. But I think I enjoyed it more than some because I got it for about $30, rather than the full price. Like a bad horror film, rent it, or buy it on sale, and you'll have a good time.
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  14. Aug 28, 2015
    7
    I hate interactive movies. I hate the Telltale games, and I didn't much care for Heavy Rain. It certainly isn't worth $60, maybe $20, and it doesn't even have much replay value as there are very few differences besides the few different endings and some scenes where dead characters will be missing.
    Still, it was enjoyable and after the first fairly dull 3 hours I found it hard to put
    I hate interactive movies. I hate the Telltale games, and I didn't much care for Heavy Rain. It certainly isn't worth $60, maybe $20, and it doesn't even have much replay value as there are very few differences besides the few different endings and some scenes where dead characters will be missing.
    Still, it was enjoyable and after the first fairly dull 3 hours I found it hard to put down. It literally kept me up until dawn, and then some.
    I killed off a few characters the first time and immediately though, "I shouldn't have done that. That was stupider than a teen in a typical horror movie." But other times all I did was miss a quick-time event sprung on me after a 10-minute non-interactive scene.
    The plot is a bit predictable, but slightly twisty and fun. The characters are typical shallow horror movie types, but I tended to care more about them as time went on. I was rooting for them to die at first, but trying to save them by the end.
    I just don't understand why the couldn't have built in a few real game mechanics. Why not let me run and climb like in Tomb Raider instead of pushing a triangle at the correct moment to jump to a higher ledger or slide under a tree? I don't get that.
    Still, it is something different and quite entertaining. Although there are passages where the characters look like the "zombie" children from The Polar Express, the acting and animation is usually quite good and many emotions are conveyed.
    It is far from perfect, but it is a milestone in the interactive movie genre.
    It is at least worth a rental if you have a PS4. Or buy it and lend it to friends when you are done. One or two times through is enough unless you really want to get all the collectibles, and have to sit through hours and hours of the same non-skipable scenes again and again.
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  15. Aug 30, 2015
    7
    Sure, this can hardly be called a "video game" as that term has been defined over the last 30 years, but whatever the hell you call it, it was a wonderful experience. I know this because (1) I completed the game over the weekend and (2) my wife was as engaged in watching me play it as I was. As a (now) casual gamer married to a woman who hates video games these two things never happen. ISure, this can hardly be called a "video game" as that term has been defined over the last 30 years, but whatever the hell you call it, it was a wonderful experience. I know this because (1) I completed the game over the weekend and (2) my wife was as engaged in watching me play it as I was. As a (now) casual gamer married to a woman who hates video games these two things never happen. I suppose that says more about how this experience is not a video game than anything else, but video games are evolving and I suppose this will be a case study on that point.

    Unfortunately, the thing most likely to kill you in this otherwise tense experience are its first 2.5 hours. This part of the game just moved too slowly and the scares had no substance to them. As a fan of the horror genre, that “thing lurking in the shadows” can only turn out to be a harmless **** so many times before I stop taking you seriously. This isn’t to say that the scares should commence right out the gate, but too many false starts are what nearly caused me to put the controller down on this one forever. If the creators want to lull me into a false sense of security before unleashing the proverbial beast, I would appreciate it if they were quicker about it next time. This wouldn’t be so bad in a game where you can do more than walk at a snail’s pace, but with the exception of its set pieces, that’s really all you can do here. This has the effect of forcing you to endure 2-3 hours of slow, uneventful “gameplay” through the introductory chapters. I'm too damn busy to spend all that time doing nothing.

    Another gripe I had is that when you are in control of them, the players can never move faster than a slow amble. If you hold down the L1 button you go from moving at 1 mile per hour to moving at 1.2 miles per hour. However, the game rewards exploration, possibly more so than any game I have ever played. This sends mixed messages by encouraging you to check every corner of every environment, but also making it frustrating to walk your character's slow ass across the room. This frustration is exacerbated when the characters have to explore some of the larger locales. The experience would have been much better if you could at least jog. This would have allowed me to get through the game’s slower moments without sacrificing the tension I am sure the developers were trying to achieve with the whole walking thing. I’m left wondering why the creators of the game even gave you the option of “walking faster” by holding L1, when there was no meaningful difference in the character’s pace.

    Notwithstanding the above, there are many things I found in this game that I want to see in future video games. The setting is fantastic and the graphics are incredible. The game is just amazing to look at. I also appreciate how the choices you make have consequences that the game forces you to live with. The game is constantly saving, so if a decision you made results in a character’s death, or leaves the character without a weapon, you have to move forward with that. What made this feature so interesting is that the consequences of your decisions are not always readily apparent: sometimes the consequence of a decision you made much earlier in the game does not manifest itself until the game’s final chapters, when the **** really hits the fan. Another quality I found interesting is that the choices I made did not always turn out the way I would have expected.

    Despite what I am reading in other reviews: the story and characters are brilliant. Reviewers are complaining that the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes to which I say two things: (1) no, they aren’t really, and (2) so what? On that first point, the characters definitely start out as stereotypes, but they (and how you feel about them) will change based on the decisions you make. At one point early in the game, you rank the characters based on how you feel about them. Naturally, I made my choices based on the things I had observed up to that point. As the game progressed however, the way I felt about certain characters changed dramatically. I have never had an emotional attachment to video game characters quite like I did in this game. By the end of the game, each character was a byproduct of the decisions I had personally made. So, if you played the game and still think that the characters are stereotypes, then perhaps that says more about you than the characters themselves.

    Lastly, I prefer conventional video games where the interactivity aspect manifests itself more in the gameplay and less in player decisions. I hated Beyond Two Souls and the minute I learned that this game was going to be much like that gameplay-wise I was seriously off-put. In fact, I un-preordered Until Dawn and did not buy it. Instead, I rented it and I am damn glad I gave it a shot because when the developers address its issues in future games, I am looking forward to giving them my money.
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  16. Sep 2, 2015
    7
    Basically an interactive movie. The gameplay consists of some quick time events. That's it. Very similar to tell-tale games.
    Personally it wasn't that scary, not like Outlast anyway. My wife tho, she crapped herself, but still loved watching me play, and wanted me to start again right after finishing the game.
    So depends what your cup of tea is. For me it was a bit meh
  17. Sep 17, 2015
    7
    This was my first time playing a tell tale game, or what ever you call this type of game. I liked the idea of ripping off all the stereotypes of teen slasher horror movies, giving control to the player of each character's choices.

    As far as horror goes though, it's not scary at all. After first two chapters I knew there was nothing to be scared of in this game other than trying to
    This was my first time playing a tell tale game, or what ever you call this type of game. I liked the idea of ripping off all the stereotypes of teen slasher horror movies, giving control to the player of each character's choices.

    As far as horror goes though, it's not scary at all. After first two chapters I knew there was nothing to be scared of in this game other than trying to predict the countless jump scares there are. And there are a lot, but ya that's it for horrow, no sense of dread at all. By chapter 4 I was just running though each scene w/o a care for what was coming up.

    I finally got through the game with 1 survivor. I doubt I will play it again though. The butterfly effect was very well executed during my play through, but at the same time you can pretty much guess what will happen if you play again and make the other choices. Game certainly has replayability, but only for completionist. Not worth the $60, get it used or in the sales.
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  18. Aug 26, 2015
    7
    If you like games such as the "Walking Dead" or "Wolf Among Us", I would say that you should definitely consider buying this game.

    I wanted to give this game a better score, but it had too many shortcomings for me. The story is a little cliche for my tastes. It's basically one of the "bunch of college friends go to [insert isolated area] and end up getting chased around by [insert scary
    If you like games such as the "Walking Dead" or "Wolf Among Us", I would say that you should definitely consider buying this game.

    I wanted to give this game a better score, but it had too many shortcomings for me. The story is a little cliche for my tastes. It's basically one of the "bunch of college friends go to [insert isolated area] and end up getting chased around by [insert scary monster(s)]" horror stories. A lot of the decisions you make are actually more of an illusion of choice in which you are presented with two options, but no matter what you pick the same thing happens. This is mainly used to keep the plot pushing forward, but it can still be annoying. Certain things in the plot just don't make any sense, but this is generally very minor. The voice acting is also pretty bad at times, and the dialogue makes me think I'm watching a high school play.

    The graphics are nice (even though it's usually too dark to tell anyway) and the game does a good job of constructing an atmosphere. If you are a big fan of interactive stories, you would probably like this.
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  19. Aug 28, 2015
    6
    Are you a horror-game enthusiast? Did The Evil Within not go the distance for you? Do you want to control the fates of every teen horror archetype in one night? If you have responded yes to the above, this game will be a very pleasing play through for you. The best thing about Until Dawn I saw is, anyone can play it, and play it very effectively. The difficulty is sub-par, so if you areAre you a horror-game enthusiast? Did The Evil Within not go the distance for you? Do you want to control the fates of every teen horror archetype in one night? If you have responded yes to the above, this game will be a very pleasing play through for you. The best thing about Until Dawn I saw is, anyone can play it, and play it very effectively. The difficulty is sub-par, so if you are hunting for a horror-esque game with a high-level challenge, check out Bloodbourne. Until Dawn grabs you from the shaking events on the prologue and doesn't let go for more than a minute to "relieve" your nerves, and then shakes you even harder. Something great Until Dawn did was bring the player into the horror experience. You, the player, have to progress through the dark, dreary abandoned mine shaft. As the game has a great deal of positives, there are negatives I experienced. The characters in the cast fell short for me, none of them were memorable to me and when(if) they died, I shrugged and kept on going. Another issue I had with the game was how badly the story was told, lore wise. The game would give you facts about an event and not five minutes later would completely refute it. I understand the mystery aspect but as an avid mystery genre fanatic, giving the player clues to connect and losing the relevance of key "clues" I found through the game was really irritating. As a game with a new age horror experience, this game is worth a play through. Rent it on gamefly if you are able to...The replay-ability is abysmal and you will not like hearing the same dialogue and jump scares more than once. Expand
  20. Oct 10, 2015
    7
    Not so many impactful choices as there seem to be in the beginning. The irritating characters won't help either. The game is beautiful though the uncanny valley is evident throughout. All in all, it a nice game, but a bit overrated. The games from Quantic Dream and Telltale have more meaningful choices and much better scripts.

    Having said the above, I enjoyed my first playthrough as
    Not so many impactful choices as there seem to be in the beginning. The irritating characters won't help either. The game is beautiful though the uncanny valley is evident throughout. All in all, it a nice game, but a bit overrated. The games from Quantic Dream and Telltale have more meaningful choices and much better scripts.

    Having said the above, I enjoyed my first playthrough as much as I enjoy a teen horror movie with a not so great 3rd act. But this (movie) genre tends to have a bad third act almost every time. At least now you get to choose which one will die.

    tl;dr
    Enjoyable first playthrough, a bit overrated
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  21. Aug 25, 2015
    7
    A video game obsessed with its own narratology, detracting from the overall immersion. As far as interpretation goes the Butterfly Effect motif is spoon-fed, when it should be implied. The conceit found with the nuanced campiness is that it's actually not to a fault, but what ruins this subtlety is the flimsily implemented motion-controls.
  22. Aug 28, 2015
    5
    One undeniable factor about Until Dawn is that the graphics are simply amazing, you can really see emotions on the characters faces and especially on their mouths (unlike the up and down motion on a lot of games) so that definitely adds to the game for me.

    It is a VERY cinematic experience (littered with cut scenes) that focuses on you making decisions to engross you, rather than all
    One undeniable factor about Until Dawn is that the graphics are simply amazing, you can really see emotions on the characters faces and especially on their mouths (unlike the up and down motion on a lot of games) so that definitely adds to the game for me.

    It is a VERY cinematic experience (littered with cut scenes) that focuses on you making decisions to engross you, rather than all out action. For me personally, it was a bit too much of the former although it does have its moments. The story isn't bad, nor is it good but it does rely on jump scares (like a classic horror film),

    If you enjoy Telltale games then you'll probably love this or, and this may sounds strange, a couple looking for something to do at night! You can argue over the decisions ;)
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  23. Sep 10, 2015
    5
    Not overly impressed by this game but will give it more of a go to see if it gets better...
    Really dont expect much after everything thats on the PS4 so far though. PC gaming looks far better and a lot more actual quality games so far.
  24. Nov 27, 2015
    5
    So, here we have Until Dawn, an interactive video game that revolves around a group of characters trying to survive a night in a remote estate. You the player take control of various characters, and in turn have to make choices that will impact who survives in the end. It's a pretty straight forward story akin to 1980s slasher films.
    The game's biggest strength is the voice work turned in
    So, here we have Until Dawn, an interactive video game that revolves around a group of characters trying to survive a night in a remote estate. You the player take control of various characters, and in turn have to make choices that will impact who survives in the end. It's a pretty straight forward story akin to 1980s slasher films.
    The game's biggest strength is the voice work turned in by the actors. Although the dialogue is at times cringeworthy the delivery is done well by most of the cast. The other thing that stands out in this game is the visuals. The game looks downright gorgeous at times, and it maintains a solid frame rate throughout the experience.
    That however is where the positives end. Truth be told I have a hard time calling this a game at all. It is more of an interactive movie where sometimes you get to walk around, and sometimes you get to make a mundane choice. This could possibly be forgiven if the game had any significant scares in it, but the only this this has going for it in terms of scares are the thousands of jumpscares it throws at you near the end. I was expecting good things from this for the fact that it was an exclusive, but what I got was an extremly dull, and at times boring experience. Something no gamer wants to go through while playing a game.
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  25. Jul 5, 2016
    6
    Nice butterfly effect but no playability, the story is linear so u make the choices but the story still the same no big changes, the graphics are ok, but not spectacular, at the mid game i was just wanting to reach the end of the game. I WONT BUY THE SECOND PART IF THERE IS...
  26. Apr 22, 2016
    5
    me duele darle esta calificacion porque realmente me encanto este juego pero si somos justos a parte de la toma de decisiones no hay nada atractivo en este juego, la historia es la misma de siempre, chicos alocados que se quedan solos en una cabaña y un asenino o varios los persiguen para patarlo, la misma formula de viernes 13, masacre en texas, y en cierta parte tambien halloween, y elme duele darle esta calificacion porque realmente me encanto este juego pero si somos justos a parte de la toma de decisiones no hay nada atractivo en este juego, la historia es la misma de siempre, chicos alocados que se quedan solos en una cabaña y un asenino o varios los persiguen para patarlo, la misma formula de viernes 13, masacre en texas, y en cierta parte tambien halloween, y el gameblay es muy aburrido parace mas bien puzzle que terror y aun asi la toma de decisiones ya existía en silent hill shattered memories el cual lo considero 10 veces mejor Expand
  27. Apr 22, 2016
    5
    ¿Película interactiva o Juego casual?

    Cuando alguien me pregunta que *#$%"& es Until Dawn es la interrogante de mi título la que se viene a mi cabeza y no me hes fácil de contestar, ya sea la persona no entiende los conceptos o porque yo mismo no tengo la claridad de como clasificarlo. La historia es el clásico thriller de terror de los 80s-90s que llenaban las salas de los cines,
    ¿Película interactiva o Juego casual?

    Cuando alguien me pregunta que *#$%"& es Until Dawn es la interrogante de mi título la que se viene a mi cabeza y no me hes fácil de contestar, ya sea la persona no entiende los conceptos o porque yo mismo no tengo la claridad de como clasificarlo.

    La historia es el clásico thriller de terror de los 80s-90s que llenaban las salas de los cines, donde los protagonistas poco importaban, la historia era sólo la base necesaria para introducir a la verdadera estrella "El Villano". Sagas como Pesadilla o Viernes 13 no son recordadas por la joven valiente que sobrevivió al final de la cinta, sino por el emblemático villano que será recordado como un icono de la cultura pop.

    Until Dawn tiene todos estos elementos menos el más importante un villano carismático que recordaremos al final del viaje.

    Nos presenta un buena historia donde nuestra tensión como jugadores es mantener con vida a los personajes típicos del estereotipo estadounidense.

    La jugabilidad es casi nula y mi evaluación es un punto por sobre The Order porque al menos en este título los QTM (Quick Time Event) sí están bien implementados.

    Until Dawn es un titulo prescindible al cual no recomiendo su compra por el precio completo, pero si esta la opción de conseguirlo a un muy bajo valor o prestado sería 100% válido como actividad grupal. La verdad es que es una película, y por lo tanto puedes disfrutarlo con tu familia o amigos.
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  28. Jan 27, 2016
    7
    Impressive presentation and graphics that make you feel like you entered a horror movie. The game is ultimately about trial and error to achieve its full potential. Lots of quick time events and tough decisions that can mean life or death for characters whose personalities vary greatly on play throughs depending on your choices which aren't always clear or easy to make, Would get a higherImpressive presentation and graphics that make you feel like you entered a horror movie. The game is ultimately about trial and error to achieve its full potential. Lots of quick time events and tough decisions that can mean life or death for characters whose personalities vary greatly on play throughs depending on your choices which aren't always clear or easy to make, Would get a higher score if they found a way to extend the games play-ability after you reach the "true ending." If you like the survival horror genre i would recommend it, but I can't say the full $60 is worth it since I'll probably never play it again. I got it used for 25 bucks and feel it was well worth that though. Expand
  29. Oct 19, 2015
    5
    If i wanted a true horror game, i would play Resident Evil for the Gamecube or Dead Space again.
    Until Dawn have a great idea on paper, but the execution being the "cinematic" approach, it falls short on my taste.
    It looks great, but true horror doesn't comes from jump scares, it comes from making you fear what can or cannot happen in the moment, but being a video game, you need to make
    If i wanted a true horror game, i would play Resident Evil for the Gamecube or Dead Space again.
    Until Dawn have a great idea on paper, but the execution being the "cinematic" approach, it falls short on my taste.
    It looks great, but true horror doesn't comes from jump scares, it comes from making you fear what can or cannot happen in the moment, but being a video game, you need to make people also feel this in terms of gameplay, making the person question if it is worth fighting or not enemies, wasting ammo and items for minor enemys you might not have enough against a boss monster.
    If anyone want those Light Novels games with horror elements, i would suggest playing this, but if you want a true horror game, try to find the Resident Evil Remake for Gamecube which is a far superior GAME than Until Dawn.
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  30. Oct 1, 2015
    7
    Tier 2
    + One of the most visually impressive console games released to date, particularly concerning lighting and animations
    + Demonstrates incredible cinematic prowess that pushes the adventure game genre to a new level + Engaging, visceral, and fun in its execution and delivery ? Suffers some pacing issues in its attempt to cover so many genre tropes and characters ? Interesting
    Tier 2
    + One of the most visually impressive console games released to date, particularly concerning lighting and animations
    + Demonstrates incredible cinematic prowess that pushes the adventure game genre to a new level
    + Engaging, visceral, and fun in its execution and delivery
    ? Suffers some pacing issues in its attempt to cover so many genre tropes and characters
    ? Interesting exploration mechanics, though in many instances they distract from the cinematic immersion by making the experience feel like gamey "search for the glowing objects"
    - Treats its players like idiots in its tutorials and communications of the objectives
    - Ending feels rushed and cheap compared to the story building up to it, greatly undercuts the achievements of the game's earlier chapters
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  31. Mar 4, 2016
    6
    I'm disappointed in the characters, voice acting, the ppl constantly trying to scare each other, the writing of the characters is horrible(corny forced conversations that real ppl don't have), the stories just not believable. I mean u came to a house a year to the day after the main characters sisters died. And when they get there (they all showed up separately alone in the dark... At 11I'm disappointed in the characters, voice acting, the ppl constantly trying to scare each other, the writing of the characters is horrible(corny forced conversations that real ppl don't have), the stories just not believable. I mean u came to a house a year to the day after the main characters sisters died. And when they get there (they all showed up separately alone in the dark... At 11 pm. Way to late to enjoy the day) immediately everyone goes separate ways and it even seems they hate each other. The one needy hot girl ( back to the bad writing) has to take a bath right away.. Even tho it's just a one night event. So u risk ur life to start the hot water heater. Ok. Now the guy who sisters died wants to do a quije board séance? WHY!? Last quick little story spoiler. Why would the one couple get there late just to wonder several hundred yards away into the deadly night to have sex at a cabin??? I'm angry! The main house has soo many open rooms!!! Bad job creators. Only reason it gets a 6 is the creativity. Expand
  32. May 1, 2016
    7
    Until Dawn is a decent horror survival game.The first few hours are a little slow but once your past that it gets pretty entertaining. I like how you think its taking you one way and then goes another a couple of times. Your choices will influence who lives and who dies, its like your own teen slasher with a twist. The visuals in it are pretty impressive also, I did pick this game up forUntil Dawn is a decent horror survival game.The first few hours are a little slow but once your past that it gets pretty entertaining. I like how you think its taking you one way and then goes another a couple of times. Your choices will influence who lives and who dies, its like your own teen slasher with a twist. The visuals in it are pretty impressive also, I did pick this game up for $20 so if you can get it for around that certainly not money wasted. Expand
  33. Aug 12, 2017
    7
    What started as what seemed like an interactive low-quality horror movie the first time I played it almost had me staying up until dawn playing it the second time I booted it up. Some of the scares were surprisingly effective and the decision making had real impact on the story. Also, the game's graphics are some of the best I've seen and the animations are well done (although cutscenesWhat started as what seemed like an interactive low-quality horror movie the first time I played it almost had me staying up until dawn playing it the second time I booted it up. Some of the scares were surprisingly effective and the decision making had real impact on the story. Also, the game's graphics are some of the best I've seen and the animations are well done (although cutscenes look choppy for some reason). It isn't a masterpiece and some parts were disappointing but overall it's a pretty good game. Expand
  34. Sep 27, 2015
    6
    Until Dawn is only okay and didn't live up to expectation. The game states that it's possible to keep everyone alive, that right there is a lie ( I won't tell who) and it's a decide how the character dies who dies. And the choices some purpose but most are only to increase relationship and characteristics stats. There was one point where I wanted one person to stay alive and in to die butUntil Dawn is only okay and didn't live up to expectation. The game states that it's possible to keep everyone alive, that right there is a lie ( I won't tell who) and it's a decide how the character dies who dies. And the choices some purpose but most are only to increase relationship and characteristics stats. There was one point where I wanted one person to stay alive and in to die but it always kills the same person with every single choice because of a huge plot devices later in the game making it too linear. And the choices don't matter because of one slap in the face ending like Mass Effect 3 except of what color of the explosion was, it was how many people got out of the house. Besides the poor butterfly effect mechanic the game looks gorgeous and game play maybe repetitive but is cool with use the controller itself and not just the buttons. The acting is great although some cheesy one liners can be heard and the horror elements are very well used although some people may get bored with the jump scares.

    Overall this game is alright with great graphics, game play and acting but the whole butterfly effect mechanic is disappointing, it does change how some people die but no matter how many times you play it one person always dies, and ending is always the same killing any chance for replay ability. The story is a joke as well and the Doctor Hill parts are worthless during the end.
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  35. Jun 8, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. my biggest complaint comes from your choices because they are like if you walk this person dies not leaving them and the biggest choices you don't now are even important like shoot that rat this person dies or if you don't shoot it this person does not and the ways the people die is like you do not press cross fast enough or move when it says not to and in the middle of a what you think is a cutscene but the graphics are good and the story has some good twists but biggest problem is that there is twist that tells you that every button you press every brave choice you made to save your friends is or was **** it did not matter Expand
  36. Jan 28, 2016
    7
    Until Dawn is one of them rare games that provides you with a unique experience and (for some) lasting appeal. Visually, this game is beautiful. Even though it's set entirely at night, it still looks great. You take control of several teenages who have returned to the location where 2 of their friends went missing the previous year for some sort of closure, but unfortunately for themUntil Dawn is one of them rare games that provides you with a unique experience and (for some) lasting appeal. Visually, this game is beautiful. Even though it's set entirely at night, it still looks great. You take control of several teenages who have returned to the location where 2 of their friends went missing the previous year for some sort of closure, but unfortunately for them things get stranger and darker... I did enjoy this game a lot, but I felt that the end was a bit rushed and the amount of QTE's made some of the more suspensful scenes feel too regimented and in turn, less suspensful. If it allowed me to climb up walls within the caves myself, or run and jump/crawl in real time, rather than pressing X or Y when prompted, I think I'd would've felt a lot more immersed. On top of this, the game relied far too much on replaying the game to try and discover certain clues regarding the background of the characters and area you're in. This meant that by the time I finished the game there were a lot of unanswered questions and I didn't feel an urge to play through it all again. Overall, Until Dawn is a good game and definitely worth playing if you're a fan of puzzle and horror games. Expand
  37. Jan 2, 2018
    6
    parece una película alemana de esas tan malas que echan por las tardes, y cuando parece que va a mejorar, pues no, empeora
    la base del juego es que mueran la mayoría de personajes viendo la historia desde el punto de vista de los 2 protagonistas, el resto es un añadido de poco valor y se nota el copy & paste
    el platino está bien para ver un par de diferencias en la historia, pero, al
    parece una película alemana de esas tan malas que echan por las tardes, y cuando parece que va a mejorar, pues no, empeora
    la base del juego es que mueran la mayoría de personajes viendo la historia desde el punto de vista de los 2 protagonistas, el resto es un añadido de poco valor y se nota el copy & paste

    el platino está bien para ver un par de diferencias en la historia, pero, al final, más que efecto mariposa, es efecto embudo
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  38. Mar 4, 2017
    7
    It's a solid story and solid gameplay. Relies too much on jumpscares in the front though. I'm not normally a horror type person but I still really enjoyed the story. It was not something I'd go back to but it was a good little game.
  39. Jan 10, 2018
    5
    I just bought my youngest daughter a PS4 for Christmas and decided to pick up a couple of exclusive titles that I always wanted to play but couldn't. Until Dawn was one of them. I love choice/consequence type games and I kept hearing how good this was. After an hour into the game I was seriously thinking of just removing the game from the PS4 and pretending I never saw it.

    I
    I just bought my youngest daughter a PS4 for Christmas and decided to pick up a couple of exclusive titles that I always wanted to play but couldn't. Until Dawn was one of them. I love choice/consequence type games and I kept hearing how good this was. After an hour into the game I was seriously thinking of just removing the game from the PS4 and pretending I never saw it.

    I expected a good story, really good voice acting considering who the VA's were, but all I got was an inconsistent story and voice acting that was cringe worthy at times and ok at others. It reminded me of B horror movie and l love a good horror movie, but this was your typical B movie where everything is predictable. There were no scary moments, the story was all over the place with no real pacing and the controls/camera angles were often frustratingly bad. That could be from my inexperience with controllers, but I haven't had that problem in other console games.

    In all I was really disappointed by the game. Having played The Last of Us and Beyond Two souls just before Until Dawn, maybe I set my expectations a bit to high.
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  40. Jun 12, 2020
    6
    One problem I had with Until Dawn is that your decisions are often guesses at best. Run away or hide? How am I supposed to know which one is right? Even in real-life scenarios you'd probably be depending on luck and guesses, so I won't crucify the game for that.

    The characters are rather one-dimensional and stereotypical in nature. Most became so annoying that I'd happily have watched
    One problem I had with Until Dawn is that your decisions are often guesses at best. Run away or hide? How am I supposed to know which one is right? Even in real-life scenarios you'd probably be depending on luck and guesses, so I won't crucify the game for that.

    The characters are rather one-dimensional and stereotypical in nature. Most became so annoying that I'd happily have watched them all die were it not counter-intuitive to winning the game. This is true of a lot of teenage slasher films, so you could also argue they captured this fairly well.

    The exploration and character movement however, was painfully slow and monotonous. Sections of the game were tedious and monotonous, meaning I couldn't wait for the final chapter for the wrong reasons. Much of the game was dark, so there wasn't even much interest to be had with manually controlling the character anyway.

    The story is decent and not overly complex. I found myself wondering why the hell they chose to come back to a deathly location in the first place, but again this is horror movie logic we're dealing with.

    Overall, I want to give kudos for the developers attempting to do something different and would love to see this improved on in future where it could make for a very good game. Life Is Strange showed some very good promise also before faltering in its sequels, so I would love to see this genre expand and evolve. I can still recommend this game, but just know what you're getting into, unlike the kids in this game.
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  41. Aug 30, 2019
    5
    This game is more of a 30 dollar type game chessey horror movie with bad dialog and more qte then I like. This game should have been a digital download why waste money on a print version. About 7 hiurs of game play then what trade in for half of what ypu paided for it.
  42. Aug 3, 2020
    7
    ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  43. Jan 2, 2021
    6
    Decent experience with choices that change the story (more than any Telltale game) that ends up making you feel a bit empty the the amount of posibilities this game had and what ended up being. Is not bad, but it could have been a lot better, and honestly after knowing that you cant change the ending and two characters have plot armor pretty much destroyed the game for me and my will toDecent experience with choices that change the story (more than any Telltale game) that ends up making you feel a bit empty the the amount of posibilities this game had and what ended up being. Is not bad, but it could have been a lot better, and honestly after knowing that you cant change the ending and two characters have plot armor pretty much destroyed the game for me and my will to play it again. Expand
  44. Jun 25, 2018
    6
    After a prank goes wrong, and results in the death of twin sisters, a group of teenagers return to the mountain on which the tragedy occurred one year later in order to remember their friends. Things soon take a turn for the worst however....

    It's difficult to play Until Dawn without making immediate comparisons to Quantic Dreams titles Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. Thankfully this
    After a prank goes wrong, and results in the death of twin sisters, a group of teenagers return to the mountain on which the tragedy occurred one year later in order to remember their friends. Things soon take a turn for the worst however....

    It's difficult to play Until Dawn without making immediate comparisons to Quantic Dreams titles Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. Thankfully this effort from SuperMassive Games is more interesting than either of those titles but your opinion of the game will still hinge greatly on just how interactive you expect want your games to be. The story itself, while a little out there, is relatively entertaining and the excellent cast (that includes Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek) make a good job with the script. As the player you can't change the overall direction this story takes but your decision and actions, or lack thereof, decide how the characters react to each other and ultimately who lives and dies.

    Unfortunately, from a gameplay perspective, Until Dawn is far less successful. A large portion of the game is made up of wandering around (you can't even run!!) until you see a highlighted object that you can interact with. Occasionally you'll have to react quickly to certain events but this is always handled by QTE sequences in which you again just press buttons as prompted. A bit of editing to allow the important decisions to be made more frequently certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss.

    These type of "interactive movies" continue to show promise but is there any reason the gameplay can't be enjoyable as well?
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  45. Aug 24, 2017
    7
    A middle way between Telltale's adventure games and the survival horror of Resident Evil. A very engrossing story and presentation, although full of horror cliches and some annoying teenage characters. Despite the branching nature of the story, I didn't feel the need to go back and play it again, but the first run was very memorable. Unlike many other "choose your own adventure" titles,A middle way between Telltale's adventure games and the survival horror of Resident Evil. A very engrossing story and presentation, although full of horror cliches and some annoying teenage characters. Despite the branching nature of the story, I didn't feel the need to go back and play it again, but the first run was very memorable. Unlike many other "choose your own adventure" titles, Until Dawn definitely makes you feel like your actions have consequences. Some really horrific ones... Expand
  46. Nov 1, 2015
    7
    I rented this game and finished over the course of three days. I'm not big on horror movies / games, but I wanted something to play for Halloween and this fit the bill. I think its a solid rental choice but not worth 60 dollars.

    Game has incredible environments and fantastic character models. The character's faces are definitely uncanny valley stuff, but from a distance I'd swear they
    I rented this game and finished over the course of three days. I'm not big on horror movies / games, but I wanted something to play for Halloween and this fit the bill. I think its a solid rental choice but not worth 60 dollars.

    Game has incredible environments and fantastic character models. The character's faces are definitely uncanny valley stuff, but from a distance I'd swear they were footage of real people, just very well done.

    At the beginning I felt like I was piecing together a mystery, and it my main drive to continue playing. That said, as the game progressed and the story came together I just wanted it to pick up the pace and end.

    I still don't understand why these teens go on vacation to a lodge during a harsh Canadian winter and never turn on the heat or one single light, except late in the game when they're told its a bad idea. They also wade through rivers up to their waists.

    There are times when the story just made no sense to me, but I won't spoil anything. Characters make some insane choices that you have no control over. I mean, if you were told to stay put for one more hour till its daylight, would you choose to go out into the dark alone where people have died? I understand the game would be pretty boring if you just waited out the danger but at least give me a plausible motive for decisions like this, and the classic "let's split up" bit.

    The game has a stats in the form of characteristics as well as a relationship status bar. These play
    no role in anything, so far as I can tell.

    I can't really provide much insight into just how important your choices are, other than determining who lives and who dies, as I have only done one play through. The game is roughly 10 hours long, and I don't feel like doing another play through - the Red-box is still picking rummaging through my wallet.

    Once beaten, the game does allow you to start at various chapters to try and alter the story.
    I don't know how much the endings vary; only two people survived in my play through.

    I know I've mostly went on about the issues I've had with the game but its well worth a rental if you're in the mood for Quick Time Event, choose your own adventure horror.
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  47. Sep 9, 2017
    7
    Until Dawn is undoubtedly a unique gaming experience. It's tributes to the horror genre are cool and it's visually appealing. I like the decision making and how it altered certain things, but that's the thing - it only alters certain events within the story. The story will always be the same only with maybe some character deaths and some revelations into their feelings. I was a bitUntil Dawn is undoubtedly a unique gaming experience. It's tributes to the horror genre are cool and it's visually appealing. I like the decision making and how it altered certain things, but that's the thing - it only alters certain events within the story. The story will always be the same only with maybe some character deaths and some revelations into their feelings. I was a bit disappointed that you can't REALLY alter the story with your choices. I don't think the game fully capitalized on it's potential but for what it is I enjoyed playing it but I don't see myself playing it again. Expand
  48. Oct 23, 2019
    7
    Story starts off cliched, then stops being cliched only to be ridiculous.
    Split second forced key prompts shape the story in the most unjust way and there is no way to change them without replaying whole chapters. Player doesn't get to see the consequences of their choices, they get to see the consequences of their button pressing skills. Whoever still thinks this is a good idea to shape
    Story starts off cliched, then stops being cliched only to be ridiculous.
    Split second forced key prompts shape the story in the most unjust way and there is no way to change them without replaying whole chapters. Player doesn't get to see the consequences of their choices, they get to see the consequences of their button pressing skills. Whoever still thinks this is a good idea to shape a story needs to be fired.

    And the locked camera is terrible with this game. 80% of the time you are expected to move a character looking at them 10 meters away, from the ground. It's impossible to see what's ahead. If they thought this type of camera was really important to the game when it really isn't, they should've done a better job directing them.
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  49. Sep 27, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Really good atmosphere combined with a good story is always a good sign. The only thing I didn't like about this game is how cheap the butterfly effect is. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty well designed. The problem is that it only affected who lived or died, but it did not change progression of the game whatsoever. And even where you had the chance to choose sometimes there was nothing you could do about it (SPOILER: When Josh "dies" for the first time). Expand
  50. czg
    Nov 20, 2021
    5
    Paid 17 quid for this overhyped game, even that was too much.

    The story and the clue gathering could be interesting, but... - Characters are dumb, annoying, one-dimensional teenager jocks and drama queens. - Jumpscares. - QTEs WITHOUT A RELOAD FEATURE. Missed one button prompt? Too bad, the likeable character is now dead and you will have to play through the entire 5-hour game with
    Paid 17 quid for this overhyped game, even that was too much.

    The story and the clue gathering could be interesting, but...
    - Characters are dumb, annoying, one-dimensional teenager jocks and drama queens.
    - Jumpscares.
    - QTEs WITHOUT A RELOAD FEATURE. Missed one button prompt? Too bad, the likeable character is now dead and you will have to play through the entire 5-hour game with the rest of the **** cast. No, there is no reload. I'd like to send a heartfelt **** you to the designers.
    - Oh wow, the visuals! Not bad, I'd say, I just can't understand why every character has a full set of dentures from the whitest porcelain.

    Good for you: if you like trash horror and mediocre gamedesign.

    Overall, it will worth its price when it's in the £3 bargain bin.
    Tip for the designers: flashing the word 'intelligent' next to a character will not make them so, they have to act like that through the story.
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  51. Feb 12, 2016
    6
    Gameplay : 5
    Graphics : 8
    Story : 7
    Sound : 8
    **********************************************************************************
    Overall : 6
  52. Aug 18, 2017
    7
    Pretty solid horror experience. Audio/visual quality and the overall presentation is quite high and there is no shortage of scary or shocking moments which is what you mostly want from a horror. There might be a little too many typical teen cliches thrown in but at least it changes pace in the second half, the entire thing also escalates a little too quickly to my taste, I always enjoyPretty solid horror experience. Audio/visual quality and the overall presentation is quite high and there is no shortage of scary or shocking moments which is what you mostly want from a horror. There might be a little too many typical teen cliches thrown in but at least it changes pace in the second half, the entire thing also escalates a little too quickly to my taste, I always enjoy horrors at the beginning when the tension is building up before it gets all crazy and that's cut pretty quickly here. In terms of gameplay it's just some basics, with various QTE thrown in, this is more about the story and decisions you make than the actual gameplay, but in terms of horror experience you get from it, it works pretty well. 7/10 Expand
  53. Apr 2, 2016
    7
    Good story, great cast, extremely atmospheric and scary but it has the worst performance of any game I've played on PS4 and it really hurt the experience for me. Even if you don't normally notice frame rate issues I'd be surprised if you don't notice how poorly Until Dawn runs as it's that bad, it spends most of the game under 30fps, with a lot of the time in the low 20s and even lower, itGood story, great cast, extremely atmospheric and scary but it has the worst performance of any game I've played on PS4 and it really hurt the experience for me. Even if you don't normally notice frame rate issues I'd be surprised if you don't notice how poorly Until Dawn runs as it's that bad, it spends most of the game under 30fps, with a lot of the time in the low 20s and even lower, it felt incredible choppy throughout which killed the immersion for me. I had to knock a whole point off due to this issue as it hurt the game so much for me. The game would have been much more enjoyable had they either optimised it better or knocked the visuals down a little to maintain 30fps throughout. Expand
  54. Dec 19, 2022
    7
    I played Until Dawn (2015) in 2022 and thought it was a good game that I liked.
  55. Nov 22, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I enjoyed Until Dawn thoroughly. It's definitely a great game, so why am I only giving it a 7? Well, first of all is the re-playability. Once you know the story, there are no more surprises for next time around. That's not a bad thing on the whole - often with re-plays you already know the story. But the problem with Until Dawn is that you *expect* a different story given the 'Butterfly Effect' system. You even expect your interactions with other characters to change the story - but they don't. (There are certain stat bars for how you have interacted with the others, but whether you get along well with someone, or not well at all - nothing seems to change within the story).

    The 'Butterfly Effect' system is used to change how the story pans out. And it doesn't. Well, it does. Kind of. People can live or die depending on the choices you make, but this will not necessarily impact the way that your game will follow through and end. That, in itself, is disappointing.

    These points aside, Until Dawn was a very enjoyable game on my first play through. With plot twists, I never knew what was next. The game kept me on the edge of my seat constantly and I couldn't stop playing - I just had to know what was going to happen next!

    The graphics are superb and the sounds are chilling. The story was enjoyable and, at some points, unexpected.

    Despite my review score, I would definitely recommend playing through Until Dawn, however don't expect anything dramatically different if you decide to play through it again for a second time. It's a game every PS4 owner should try at some point.
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  56. Feb 28, 2019
    6
    Not that crazy of a game. It won’t leave you mindblown nor make you think about the story days later finishing it like some very good games would do. It’s entertaining enough to make you play until the end but the story is not that scary and some game phases are boring. Nevertheless it’s not totally a predictable story either, some things will feel unexpected. Some camera issues can alsoNot that crazy of a game. It won’t leave you mindblown nor make you think about the story days later finishing it like some very good games would do. It’s entertaining enough to make you play until the end but the story is not that scary and some game phases are boring. Nevertheless it’s not totally a predictable story either, some things will feel unexpected. Some camera issues can also make it imperfect by times. Dialogues and characters are cliché most of the time.
    The multiple endings are nice for replay if you like the game enough to be feeling like doing that. It’s the main argument of this game.
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  57. Nov 10, 2015
    6
    Overall this is a fun and enjoyable game but there are some pretty major issues. First off it's basically a movie that you make some decisions that really don't end up changing anything at all except the end cut scene, and even that is the same for all but the head count. No matter your ending a second and third play-through aren't worth the hassle unless you're dying to see somethingOverall this is a fun and enjoyable game but there are some pretty major issues. First off it's basically a movie that you make some decisions that really don't end up changing anything at all except the end cut scene, and even that is the same for all but the head count. No matter your ending a second and third play-through aren't worth the hassle unless you're dying to see something again you've basically already seen. At the end of the day I think you'd be better off watching a youtube Lets Play. Or rent it, like I did. Not worth $60. Expand
  58. Nel
    Jan 23, 2017
    7
    Until Dawn is a story movie like game. The game revolves around you walking, and doing QTE. At the first playthrough it is fun, and enjoyable, but the second playthrough to collect the missing totems, it is an absolute pain not to be able to skip scenes which you already have seen.
  59. Jul 6, 2021
    7
    It's a solid game that is very unique in the game play however the only thing I did not like was the button decision as sometimes is too fast for one to react, aside from that I enjoy the game.
  60. Dec 26, 2015
    7
    So this game boasts about how your choices greatly influence the outcome of the story. Here's some news that will shock no one: it won't. Sure you choose who lives and who dies, but the main premise is differed only slightly and incrementally. Not like Heavy Rain and certainly not like 999/VLR. Despite this, I still had an enjoyable time with all the campy horror nonsense going on.So this game boasts about how your choices greatly influence the outcome of the story. Here's some news that will shock no one: it won't. Sure you choose who lives and who dies, but the main premise is differed only slightly and incrementally. Not like Heavy Rain and certainly not like 999/VLR. Despite this, I still had an enjoyable time with all the campy horror nonsense going on.

    There are plenty of great games that don't have much interactivity, I don't get why these types of games get **** for that. The game should be judge based on how that level of interactivity is executed and how it serves the narrative. Considering this is a horror-based choose your own adventure, it works well. Great even. The slow initial build and generic set-up hinder the game somewhat, but shouldn't wave the players interest. We've been starved for horror games, Until Dawn does a decent job at satisfying the hunger until SOMA
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  61. May 21, 2018
    7
    Una película interactiva, con muy buenos graficos, y rejugabilidad para completar todos los posibles escenarios, divertido, aunque no da tanto miedo como otros, hace sufrir mucho el sistema refrigeración de la consola, compra recomendada.
  62. Feb 4, 2020
    7
    Finde ein sehr gut gemachtes Spiel, hatte echt paar mal richtig schieß, aber das lag mehr an den Jumpscares
  63. Aug 15, 2017
    7
    The game is so overrated. The main characters are so DUMB!!! We have crazy monsters messing around but NOO ... let's separate GUYS!!! But the creators really managed to express all details of horror genre.
  64. Dec 20, 2020
    7
    Игра хорошо создаёт напряжённую атмосферу, имеет сносный сюжет и кучу хоррорных шаблонов. Визуально посредственна, но при этом умудряется ронять фреймрейт до неприличных цифр. Геймплей здесь особо нет, нужно лишь принимать решения, поэтому любителя такого жанра может и понравиться.Игра хорошо создаёт напряжённую атмосферу, имеет сносный сюжет и кучу хоррорных шаблонов. Визуально посредственна, но при этом умудряется ронять фреймрейт до неприличных цифр. Геймплей здесь особо нет, нужно лишь принимать решения, поэтому любителя такого жанра может и понравиться.
  65. Sep 8, 2017
    7
    Let me start off by saying I was extremely hesitant about buying this because it was such a short game. I only did because it was on sale for $10. I am glad I bought it for sure.

    This game is hard to review because the story is based on your choices. You can play it multiple times and have multiple endings or scenes in the game. This is the only game I am actually looking forward to
    Let me start off by saying I was extremely hesitant about buying this because it was such a short game. I only did because it was on sale for $10. I am glad I bought it for sure.

    This game is hard to review because the story is based on your choices. You can play it multiple times and have multiple endings or scenes in the game. This is the only game I am actually looking forward to playing again.

    The only reason I didn't score it higher is because although the graphics are awesome, the sound and characters facial expressions do not always match up with the dialogue. Also, some of the characters teeth appear black, lol. But, my biggest complaint, and I seriously do not understand how this game got released with this issue, is the sound of the dialogue. The talking literally sounds muffled or like they are talking through a tin can. Look it up, it is a known issue. it can be overlooked because of the gameplay, but it is a bit ridiculous.

    This game has great replay value and definitely worth the $10.
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  66. Dec 6, 2020
    7
    Until Dawn is an interactive story that does a good job at maintaining tension and a creepy atmosphere throughout.

    The fact that your choices in the game determine who, if any, of the cast of 8 friends dies helps to keep you on the edge of your seat even when the gameplay consists largely of walking and quick time events. Just knowing that one wrong choice or a slip up during a QTE
    Until Dawn is an interactive story that does a good job at maintaining tension and a creepy atmosphere throughout.

    The fact that your choices in the game determine who, if any, of the cast of 8 friends dies helps to keep you on the edge of your seat even when the gameplay consists largely of walking and quick time events. Just knowing that one wrong choice or a slip up during a QTE could lead to a character's death gives some weight to the proceedings.

    The plot is very messy and all over the place, but it's still quite gripping. The characters are alright and although some of the early dialogue is a bit cringe worthy, apparently that may have been a deliberate effort to establish a campy 80s slasher vibe. There's some famous faces in Until Dawn and the actors' performances are well translated through the use of motion capture.

    Even with a messy plot, some underdeveloped characters and janky walking controls, Until Dawn is an enjoyable experience. The horror is perhaps a little too reliant on jumpscares, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't spook me a number of times. The game does a lot right and if you're in the mood for a good scare, you can't go wrong with this.
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  67. Nov 25, 2017
    7
    The choices in this game have consequences, dire consequences, and it's really fun to see the butterfly effect and how it changes the story. It feels like a 90s slasher film in video game form and I commend them for sticking to that theme throughout the narrative. The cast dives into their roles and makes it work and the wife and I found ourselves switching to who we were rooting for toThe choices in this game have consequences, dire consequences, and it's really fun to see the butterfly effect and how it changes the story. It feels like a 90s slasher film in video game form and I commend them for sticking to that theme throughout the narrative. The cast dives into their roles and makes it work and the wife and I found ourselves switching to who we were rooting for to survive at the end of the game. The lore behind the games is pretty interesting, the monster type not my favorite, but I did like how the monster came to be. Some janky animations here and there, but a good looking game overall. The interlude between chapters are a welcome treat, until those go away. It ends abruptly, which I wasn't too fond of, but the ending credits interviews are a welcome treat. Not a bad game overall. 70/100 Expand
  68. Jun 27, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. More of a interactive movie than a game. The first act was a loads of dark fun. Yeah quite tense really and genuinely scary in some places. The second act was groan worthy, because it went into pure flights of fantasy. I would of preferred if they had of kept the story grounded in reality, because people can be generally more scary than anything made up. If you are into Telltale games then this is in a similar vein. Expand
  69. Nov 27, 2017
    6
    Until Dawn is a good game, very jump scary decent story some weird movement mechanics but overall a good game able to be played by gamers of any skill level. The downside is it beats to death the butterfly effect, but your choices don't really change the outcome. Would be nice if there were actions that caused an entirely different story rather than just encounters later in game. OverallUntil Dawn is a good game, very jump scary decent story some weird movement mechanics but overall a good game able to be played by gamers of any skill level. The downside is it beats to death the butterfly effect, but your choices don't really change the outcome. Would be nice if there were actions that caused an entirely different story rather than just encounters later in game. Overall the first play through will be great and exciting, but once play through twice to see the different outcomes you will be disappointed by the lack of events. Expand
  70. Oct 29, 2018
    7
    Я напряженно и с большим интересом ждал развязки, был очень разочарован такой абсурдной развязкой с какими-то вэндиго.
    На самом деле 610, но так уж и быть, накину один балл за эксклюзивность.
  71. Jun 9, 2020
    7
    If you're a fan of campy 70's and 80's horror movies than youll like this game. I had a very good time basically acting as the director aandmaking choices based on what I wanted to have happen to each character. But i feel the games story wouldve been better had it focused on 1 main villain rather than have a pretty weak supernatural element alongside it. Overall it was a good game.
  72. May 27, 2018
    7
    Buena aventura gráfica,o cómo se le llama ahora película interactiva,Me gustan bastante este tipo de juegos,y para mi es superior a los juegos de telltale.
  73. Nov 3, 2019
    6
    Кинцо на пару вечерков, совсем не страшное, а местами даже смешное. Как для того времени очень даже.
  74. Jan 22, 2019
    7
    The concept is almost perfect, but God, I hate teenagers :) And they could have seriously give us more time for the timed button-minigames...
  75. May 9, 2021
    7
    A lot of people had a problem with the sudden shift in focus at about the halfway point, but I thought it was fine. This is just a teen horror flick, but perhaps the only game to ever correctly offer branching paths that actually vary from one another, instead of being mere "illusions" like Telltale or BioWare games. Recommended, but don't expect anything brilliant -- there are far tooA lot of people had a problem with the sudden shift in focus at about the halfway point, but I thought it was fine. This is just a teen horror flick, but perhaps the only game to ever correctly offer branching paths that actually vary from one another, instead of being mere "illusions" like Telltale or BioWare games. Recommended, but don't expect anything brilliant -- there are far too many draggy scenes of slow walking around pitch black corridors for that. Expand
  76. Dec 9, 2019
    7
    It is was a mistake to play this game after Heavy Rain, Detroit and Beyond Two Souls. The meaning and style are the same, but this game looks crude and weak compared to Quanticdream projects, but that is only because Detroit and the other are very-very storng.

    The main story of the game is rather simple, but all additional materials (evidences, photos, mails) are interesting enough, and
    It is was a mistake to play this game after Heavy Rain, Detroit and Beyond Two Souls. The meaning and style are the same, but this game looks crude and weak compared to Quanticdream projects, but that is only because Detroit and the other are very-very storng.

    The main story of the game is rather simple, but all additional materials (evidences, photos, mails) are interesting enough, and i would go throught this game just to find them all and read more attentive.

    The graphic and optimization looks bad, even for 2015 year, it was rather unpleasant to play and watch some moments of the game. Also was disappointed about game's camera - it is awful.
    The gameplay very simple after quantic's game.

    But to sum up, i would like to play this game one more time, just to better immerse yourself in the atmosphere.
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  77. Sep 5, 2020
    6
    A game that wants to harken back to 80s horror films, complete with plenty of teenagers that may do anything stupid at any moment, or have petty fights in the middle of life-or-death stakes. Most of the characters are straight unlikable where you couldn’t care less if they died or are around in-game so little that you wonder what the point of them are. I saw reviews that all said how muchA game that wants to harken back to 80s horror films, complete with plenty of teenagers that may do anything stupid at any moment, or have petty fights in the middle of life-or-death stakes. Most of the characters are straight unlikable where you couldn’t care less if they died or are around in-game so little that you wonder what the point of them are. I saw reviews that all said how much they didn’t like Mike but he became my favorite character because he got stuff done and didn’t panic about it.

    This whole game banks on the butterfly effect, that every action you make has consequences and will affect the ending of the game. Shocker it doesn’t. Many of the choices end up with the same path, leaving you feeling vastly disappointed. I’m okay with my choices not really making a difference in the game but when you tell me that they do and will and I clearly see they don’t, it’s really a slap in the face and screams of developer laziness. That perhaps they wanted to make this deep game but could not but still pretended that they did. One choice had you choose which person you would rather sacrifice with a ban saw, I chose the girl to save my bro and the game sacrifices my bro. I sat there stunned because I knew I had chosen the proper button, for a while I thought maybe I had messed up, until it turned out that whichever decision you make your bro will die. Then there were weird ‘nature’ decisions that said if you hurt animals or nature would have major consequences, which were just dumb. Many of the choices you could make were dumb, hey you wanna shoot the explosive barrel right in front of you? I’m sure nothing could go wrong, it was literally a death totem. They present these to you so fast that once again they’re just hoping you make a wrong choice, like you have an itchy trigger finger.

    Story-wise problems I had is that up until a point (about halfway) the main antagonist (the killer), which I had really cool ideas of who it could be and why (none of which happen), is blatantly revealed to you in the room before you come face to face with the killer, like written on paper and you read it obvious, (you know in case you did no investigating whatsoever), so when the killer takes off their mask and is like dun-dun you’re like ‘yeah I know, I just read it 5mins ago’. And then after this reveal the character promptly drops out of the story, basically forever. And then the whole story takes a shift into the new antagonists. Not the ‘we had parallel plot-lines going and finished up one and continued with the other’, but we started a whole new plotline midgame. A new protagonist is introduced and promptly killed off after he gives you exposition of what’s going on up on the mountain. Basically the game switches into why Mike is my favorite character since you switch over to him and he investigates and solves the whole mystery himself. The second-half plotline should have been the whole game, solving the mystery of what’s happening on the mountains and its dark past was pretty interesting and had me trying to piece it all together. If they had focused on just that, they could have fleshed it out more and made a stronger story and game. The outside narration with the psychiatrist could have just been completely cut out as it served no purpose, once again nothing you said to him matters or really has any effect. …Spiders… Overall, you have to be playing this game really poorly to have anyone end up dead or have the game cheat you at the end. I found totems, made decisions and proper button presses and only had the one person get his head popped like a pimple because suddenly the game wanted you to get off the linear path they put you on to find a journal, basically saying all the other stuff you found telling you about what happened to the sisters, no one knew cuz apparently they don’t talk about this stuff between characters.

    The only gripe with gameplay I had was the moments where the game told you to keep the controller steady (as though they thought you were so frightened you’d be shaking and find this impossible). It actually should have told you to keep the controller within the outlined field they had at the bottom of the screen because it artificially moved the icon and you had to move to counteract it. I physically placed the controller on the ground and yet the icon moves anyways. The game is doing it to cheat and make you screw up in pivotal moments, because the first couple times I was so still but it failed.

    In the end, most of this game felt like it was just straight up copied from Supernatural’s S1E2 Wendigo episode. I guess the game is worth one playthrough, it does have spooks and some interesting moments, just don’t expect anything spectacular.
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  78. Jan 23, 2019
    7
    Everything is ok with this game except the fact that they lie a little bit when selling this as a "infinite variations" game. I enjoy it like a child but then, when compare my play with anothers and see the truth...just meh.
  79. Dec 19, 2020
    7
    Klasik amerikan korku filmi havasında. Karakterlerin hemen hepsi mal. Oynanış olarak pek bir şey vaadetmiyor ama keyifli. Korku dozu yerinde.
  80. Mar 27, 2021
    6
    Where the actors mainly followed very bad scrips in the first hours, it became more compelling later in the game. However, I never really sympathized with the characters. Above all, it felt like a story that took too long and never seemed to end. There were some nice elements such as keeping the controller still when your character had to stay quite. When seeing the credits, however, itWhere the actors mainly followed very bad scrips in the first hours, it became more compelling later in the game. However, I never really sympathized with the characters. Above all, it felt like a story that took too long and never seemed to end. There were some nice elements such as keeping the controller still when your character had to stay quite. When seeing the credits, however, it felt like a disappointing story with lots of choices with the same outcome. Expand
  81. May 22, 2020
    5
    An actually pretty good take on a cliche scenario. Sometimes it wastes time on fake jumpscares but the plot twists were actually good.
  82. Feb 10, 2021
    7
    Чем раньше вы будете проходить игру тем лучше. Я говорю это как челочек которому уже 23 года, а игра вышла 2015, мне тогда было 18, если бы я проходил игру тогда, то закономерно бы поставил игре 5 за сюжет, реализацию, геймплей и механик, но на 2021 год, ее есть с чем сравнивать. Возьмем любую игру Quantic Dream и в этом жанре, любая их игра, кроме наверное "Fahrenheit indigo prophecy"Чем раньше вы будете проходить игру тем лучше. Я говорю это как челочек которому уже 23 года, а игра вышла 2015, мне тогда было 18, если бы я проходил игру тогда, то закономерно бы поставил игре 5 за сюжет, реализацию, геймплей и механик, но на 2021 год, ее есть с чем сравнивать. Возьмем любую игру Quantic Dream и в этом жанре, любая их игра, кроме наверное "Fahrenheit indigo prophecy" выигрывает в этом жанре, как в механике, так и в сюжете. Но в любом случае, Sony проделали колоссальную работу над игрой и для 2021 года игра выглядит просто шикарно. Посчастливилось стать обладателем PS5 и сыграть в сие творение. Жаль что раньше не времени ни денег не было что бы ее пройти. Эх. Expand
  83. Dec 27, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Until Dawn is a very good game with a very good playing-style. Is basically a soap opera with choices. It is a very pretty game and I really like the fact that you can lose any character in any moment and the game doesn't give a second chance to 'revive' them. Die? Next.

    The real problem with this game is the fact that it is not good optmized in the beginning. A lot of frame-drops will wait you in the early game, you can be sure. Other 'problem' is the fact that after the middle of the game, in the last 4 chapters, the game doesn't scare you anymore. When you finally see the wendigos, all horror goes away because you know what are trying to you kill. And the jumpscares doesn't scare like before.
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  84. Jan 6, 2020
    7
    Two games for the price of one... that's both a good and bad sign. The gameplayis like watching a so-so quality Netflix horror-drama -combined with Telltale-like button prompts. It's fun, and you'll enjoy reaching the end, but there's some frustrations that will have you ready to throw away the controller along the way. A lot of praise has gone towards the 'cinematics' and the characterTwo games for the price of one... that's both a good and bad sign. The gameplayis like watching a so-so quality Netflix horror-drama -combined with Telltale-like button prompts. It's fun, and you'll enjoy reaching the end, but there's some frustrations that will have you ready to throw away the controller along the way. A lot of praise has gone towards the 'cinematics' and the character design... but I'd have chewed off my left arm for the ability to actually run around the game rather than shamble, zombie like, throughout the environment. Given the 'fear factor' of the story (especially the 2nd half) the almost leisurely pace of movement I found very immersion-breaking. The acting (from 'REAL' actors is a mixed bag... I found Rami Malik's character work particularly annoying (and surprisingly 'b grade') towards the end, and was really wanting to kill him off - no matter the cost. The one thing that annoys me however in these types of games is when you are given the choice where the outcome could not have been anticipated... 1 + 1 = 0. Randomness is fun when you can correct for it - not when it's in a turn-based experience with no repeats (other than starting the level again). It means you don't feel like the outcomes are earned - or deserved. Overall... very simple... enjoyable enough... but perhaps best played drunk with friends. Expand
  85. Aug 15, 2021
    5
    Great graphics, atmosphere and actors. Annoying characters, a nonsense plot, stupid plotholes and way too many cliches.
  86. May 27, 2020
    7
    an interesting story and the purpose of terror in the game was very well placed but the gameplay is terrifying, very bad.
  87. Feb 17, 2020
    7
    07/10......................................................................
  88. Jul 9, 2020
    7
    Игра представляет из себя хардкорный челлендж, графика и интерактивные механики топ. Минусы : очень неудобно перепроходить, концовка неудовлетворила
  89. Aug 4, 2022
    7
    Didn't understand the hype this game created in a past. Just played it for the first time, and partially disappointed. I usually like such genre of games. But story in this particular one is so bad, especially the second part, it should have ended in a middle. They picked all the cliche from cheap horror movies. And added all the stupid moments from them, "let's split" etc. I also likedDidn't understand the hype this game created in a past. Just played it for the first time, and partially disappointed. I usually like such genre of games. But story in this particular one is so bad, especially the second part, it should have ended in a middle. They picked all the cliche from cheap horror movies. And added all the stupid moments from them, "let's split" etc. I also liked the quality of the game, and how it's made. Liked doctor sessions a lot, nice idea. However the story and the character behavior are the key in such games. And this game fails both.
    Still a good game, worth playing for free or with a good sale off. But nothing special.
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  90. Jul 6, 2021
    7
    Quite enjoyable. I know most of the "choices" are illusory, but they were still incredibly engaging. And almost heartbreaking when a character you really tried to keep alive dies :)
  91. Jul 14, 2020
    7
    until dawn is a good storytelling game and graphics are pretty average, turn around game. surprised me in the end.
  92. Jan 14, 2021
    7
    Enjoyed playing the game more than I thought. They almost got it perfect for a survival horror game. Allowing you to make choices which impact the storyline made the game even better for me. I definitely think they could’ve made a sequel for this game.
  93. Jun 27, 2020
    7
    At first sight this game looks visually unbelievably good. It is obvious that developers wanted to make it look really like an interactive movie but after a while I realised that it has so much makeup on the characters that at the same time it looks somehow totally unreal.

    Until Dawn is a story driven game where you have to make choices and you can lead the story in many directions. What
    At first sight this game looks visually unbelievably good. It is obvious that developers wanted to make it look really like an interactive movie but after a while I realised that it has so much makeup on the characters that at the same time it looks somehow totally unreal.

    Until Dawn is a story driven game where you have to make choices and you can lead the story in many directions. What will happen to your characters in the story is totally up to you.

    The story itself is a classic horror story so to say and it is a total cliche; a group of young, boring (some of them really stupid) teenagers with a very bad sense for humour spend their holiday at a house in the mountains and there is some mysterious horror that they encounter. We have unfortunately seen this so many times in video games, movies… Observing the story, there is nothing fresh or new there.

    The gameplay is based on walking around and interacting with things, which feels good in this game that has a stunning graphic. Your choices really have an impact on the story and the ending of it can be with all characters as survivors but your choices could also get them all killed. There is nothing like “game over” in this game so you will have to accept the consequences of your choices. This is the thing that this game does good.

    If you do not mind an average scenario, the plot and you do not mind typical commercial American hollywood acting, you might like this game. I enjoyed observing Until Dawn technically. You really want to see the these graphics but the story is not something that you I could call great.
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  94. Jun 24, 2020
    7
    A game that is based on the classic Hollywood horror movie theme, where your decisions lead the storyline to a small extent. I enjoyed playing a lot, but it's not a myth. A production with an above average story and beautiful characters.
  95. Nov 15, 2022
    6
    Una de las mayores decepciones de todo el catálogo de PS4. El rendimiento de este juego es lamentable y la historia está llena de tópicos. Eso no es lo peor, sino que es predecible y aburrido. No es un mal juego, pero en absoluto me lo pasé bien con él. No repetiría.
  96. Nov 10, 2020
    7
    As far as story games go, this game is decent. If somebody asked me what story games I'd recommend, I'd say Detroit, then Heavy Rain, then Until Dawn. I'd say that this game focuses more on the death aspect of characters than other story games. Meaning the story doesn't really branch past whether a character is dead or not. I've played through it a good amount of time. Some of theAs far as story games go, this game is decent. If somebody asked me what story games I'd recommend, I'd say Detroit, then Heavy Rain, then Until Dawn. I'd say that this game focuses more on the death aspect of characters than other story games. Meaning the story doesn't really branch past whether a character is dead or not. I've played through it a good amount of time. Some of the characters are likeable, some are not. The graphics are good, but it doesn't run great on my launch day Ps4. I actually really like the ending scene, and the Wendigos are quite creepy, as intended. Again, it's decent. I would probably recommend. Expand
  97. Apr 10, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Until Dawn can be summed up in one sentence: Those B category horror movies but it's interactive.

    In the beginning you get introduced to the main eight characters in the span of like 30 minutes but getting to know them even barely can and does take multiple chapters which to me is slow as hell. Nothing that meaningful or interesting happens in the first few chapters; even in the middle I felt like only a few moments here and there had action or meaningfulness or just something that didn't put my mind on autopilot.

    This game hasn't really age well in my opinion. Well, at least the story certainly has not. The visuals still look great, nothing wrong there but the story as I've stated before feels every bit like a semi-garbage horror movie in which everyone makes the dumbest decisions and like a third of the dialog is so cringe you don't want to watch it. The time it got more interesting was when the wendigos showed up. Until then most thigs were not really interesting or significant. There are also some decisions that can be critical for no apparent reason. For example if you shoot Ashley when she and Chris are tied up, she lets Chris die for no reason when a wendigo is chasing him. First off: the bullet was a blank (as Josh explains) and Two: Ashley wanted to save Chris and Three: they doth have a crush on each other; this makes no sense. But I digress, there are some unnecessarily significant choices.

    Whether someone likes a character is entirely dependent on them but I disliked Emily the most simple because she was acting like and entitles **** most of the time. My favorite is either Mike or Ashley. I liked Mike because he is the coolest for me and most exciting things happened while he was around. He's just more memorable than the others to me. He's not the most loyal or funny (which is a trait that should've been left out of this game in my opinion because of its insignificancy) so he's not perfect by any means. Ashley was also likeable because she seemed like the most compassionate (which would've been a better choice than funny); well at least in my playthrough, who knows what she would've done if I played differently. Matt was a strong meh; he just didn't get enough screen time. Everyone else was fine enough.

    Josh's intentions didn't really make much sense for me. I don't get why he wanted to torture everyone. Yes, his sisters suffered a terrible death but that is no reason for him to make his friends suffer. He clearly suffered major trauma because of the events in the final chapter. He went to a therapist who I really hated. He was so ambiguous most of the time; the time I even remotely liked Dr. Hill was when he was calling Josh a psychopath. His hallucination in the mines just before dawn was giving off exactly how he feels inside and a bit later he gets killed by Hannah's wendigo (which to my knowledge requires a living human but I guess a wendigo bite can resurrect people) which I find odd because, yes wendigos kill people to eat them but it being Hannah had some significance considering it's pointed out in the game but I don't know why it's important.

    To fellow people who like the horror genre, most jumpscares won't get you like most didn't get me. There certainly were some very cheap ones where you almost expect to get jumpscared. The wendigod are fairly scary in my opinion; not enough to constantly fear of them whenever they're around but they're scary enough. The sound they make is sort of typical, like you *would* expect a monster that looks like that to screech. The kills they make if where they really shine for me. It was shocking to see Matt just getting hanged by a wendigo or see one break Josh's (and more's if you play like that) head, etc.

    For the ending when the people are at the lodge I have to say that that is the most intensive 5 minutes of the game - as it should be since it's the end - I don't know why the wendigos try to kill each other. The don't move sections are awesomely tight. For me the game decided that I moved when I did not and that cost Mike's life. I didn't know Mike died until the house lit ablaze; it seemed like the wendigo just yeeted him out of the way to focus on Sam, like it didn't seem like it hurt at all. This would have made me replay that chapter but I didn't want to play through so much just to get there.

    Verdict: I enjoyed my time with Until Dawn for the most part. I wish I wasn't playing this when the writing was cringe/awkward, the controls refused to work at times, or when I had to look up where is something because it was so well hidden I couldn't find it in 10 minutes. It is well worth the $20 on the PS Store or if you find it for cheaper, like I did for $10, definitely give it a try.
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  98. Oct 19, 2021
    7
    Прикольное кино, но не могу сказать, что мне было страшно.
    Сюжет очень предсказуемый и мне с первого раза удалось спасти практически всех. Кто играл, тот догадался кого спасти проблемно.)
  99. Jan 1, 2021
    7
    A good interactive horror flick.

    Good - the totem hints are vague enough that you can usually read what it's trying to say, and it is satisfying to successfully save a character based on the hint when the event comes. - the don't move sections are tense - the QuickTime events windows are very small, but not impossible to hit. It actually feels satisfying to get the timing. -
    A good interactive horror flick.

    Good

    - the totem hints are vague enough that you can usually read what it's trying to say, and it is satisfying to successfully save a character based on the hint when the event comes.

    - the don't move sections are tense

    - the QuickTime events windows are very small, but not impossible to hit. It actually feels satisfying to get the timing.

    - the branching storyline is great. My decisions made an impact on which characters lived or died. Most of the choices were a little ambiguous, but clear enough to get through it with common sense. If I ended up killing a character it was usually my own fault.

    - the game reminds me of final destination. A movie concept I liked.

    - the motion capture was done very well. The emotions of the characters feel organic.

    Bad

    - Chris knows the monsters hunt at night after meeting the old man, so they should have stayed in the basement until dawn. Plot hole.

    - the game is too short.
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  100. Feb 28, 2021
    5
    Spoiler Alert!

    Until Dawn è un film interattivo horror che va visto per quello che è, un gioco ispirato ai film horror trash basati su stereotipi e clichè. E personalmente trovo che da quel punto di vista il gioco funzioni, il problema del gioco è dato dalle inutili scelte date al giocatore che raramente portano a qualcosa di rilevante in quanto il percorso del gioco porterà sempre allo
    Spoiler Alert!

    Until Dawn è un film interattivo horror che va visto per quello che è, un gioco ispirato ai film horror trash basati su stereotipi e clichè. E personalmente trovo che da quel punto di vista il gioco funzioni, il problema del gioco è dato dalle inutili scelte date al giocatore che raramente portano a qualcosa di rilevante in quanto il percorso del gioco porterà sempre allo stesso identico scenario finale del quale può solo cambiare il cast che lo vive. Inoltre il gioco non ha un vero gameover in quanto si arriverà sempre all'ultimo capitolo anche se si gioca malissimo, e questo è ridicolo. Until Dawn è un film simpatico ma un pessimo videogioco.
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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 103 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 86 out of 103
  2. Negative: 1 out of 103
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 14, 2015
    65
    A barely interactive horror film about typical American teenagers. You know, with a cabin. In the woods. And a psychopath. We’ve all seen that, we’ve heard these dialogues, we all know these characters. Still Until Dawn has a pretty good story and is a nice homage to horror flicks and despite being a collection of simple QTE’s can both engage and surprise. [11/2015, p.44]
  2. Oct 28, 2015
    80
    It's tense, smart, and able to arouse the player's curiosity until the end. Some design choices are a bit controversial, and the acting is not always spot on, but it's definitely a great homage to horror movies.
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Oct 16, 2015
    80
    Gameplay-wise, not exactly a killer app, but anybody who looks at those visuals will be dead impressed. Short, but plenty of reasons to replay, and it’s the spookiest game since Alien: Isolation. [November 2015, p72]