Until Dawn Reviews
The game really lives up to its promise and vision, and that's a rarity in an age of hype.
Until Dawn is everything that Quantic Dream games have tried to be – unsuccessfully – for the past decade. It emulates horror movies while demonstrating a clear understanding of what makes those movies work, its focus on consequence is nervewracking and intricate, and its story is silly but strongly delivered.
While there are flaws here and there, Until Dawn is a very well put together experience, mixing great graphics and complex storytelling in a super-tight package. If you fit its very specific target, meaning that you enjoy the specific kind of horror it reproduces, and you don't mind old-style adventure-like gameplay and quicktime events galore, you'll find it a really exceptional and fairly unique game, that will scare the hell out of you in all the right ways.
Until Dawn is a horror themed version of Heavy Rain or Beyond if they were made by talented work-for-hire journeymen instead of an inconsistent auteur
Until Dawn is a B-movie delight for horror fans, thanks to creative narrative mechanics and excellent production values.
There's a well written and unchanging lore here. It's campy, but it's horror and was never billed as anything else. The events on the mountain are set in motion and then wrapped around each of your decisions and characters' fates. There are certain points and choices that will cause each character to die, some in a variety of nasty and horrific ways, and something about taking the reins of a character in a horror movie is just satisfying. Instead of yelling at the screen that they made a stupid choice, you get to beat yourself up for what you did to get them killed. When the sun rises and the final survivors are tallied up, you'll realize Until Dawn isn't perfect, but no matter which choices you make, it's one hell of a ride.
Until Dawn is the proper slasher game fans have always wanted, and succeeds at creating a wildly unique and enjoyable narrative experience. Beautiful graphics and sound, amazing performances and engaging stories make this a must-play for any horror fan.
There is no doubting the actors commitment to their archetypes, though, and their performances are a big part of why you start to warm to even the coldest character. You end up wanting them all to survive, unlikely as that seems.
While Until Dawn lacks complex gameplay, it counters with compelling characters, astounding visuals, and a thought provoking storyline. A masterful fusion of art forms, Until Dawn is a refreshingly self-aware experience that no thriller fan should pass up.
Sometimes funny, sometimes cheesy, sometimes downright scary and tense as hell, Until Dawn is one wild ride, and while not everyone will think it's worth the entry price, I couldn't be happier with the end results.
Equal parts teen slasher, action adventure, and psychological horror, Until Dawn throws a lot at the board and nails only some of it. But its biggest win is choice--permanent, unpredictable, and meaningful.
Until Dawn struggles with clunky video game elements and rough pacing, but mitigates it with B-movie slasher mainstays and a willingness to embrace player failure.
Despite the butterfly effect's premise, a ham-fisted story means you won't care about who might live and who might die. It's not enough to save the game from disappointment, and in the end, Until Dawn is its own self-inflicted nightmare.
Until Dawn is definitely a nice surprise. Despite not being marketed as a huge exclusive like Uncharted or God of War, it's arguably the best one available on PlayStation 4 with the exception of Bloodborne; if you like horror/thriller movies and you don't mind Quick Time Events, you're definitely in for a treat.
Until Dawn is a pleasant surprise, and something that fans of interactive stories will really appreciate. As a schlocky horror it's a success, but its fiction actually goes beyond simple slasher – even if it remains intentionally silly throughout. The sometimes sloppy controls will irritate, while the performance capture could have been better, but neither of these issues are nightmarish enough to pull you out of the popcorn flick plot, which is buoyed by the impressive, if not gigantically impactful, butterfly effect. A ridiculous romp is what was promised, then, and this one will keep occupied all night long.
If you like this genre, then Until Dawn is worth checking out for its outstanding production values and its solid, but somewhat predictable, writing.
I really enjoyed my time with Until Dawn, and I'm itching to replay it. In many ways, it reminds me of Quantic Dream games like Heavy Rain, except it works and works very well. It respects its characters and the player while offering those same kind of immersive cinematic experience those games went for. If you're a horror fan, Until Dawn is a must-play. It's a love letter and a fresh creation of its own and worth seeking out.
Ultimately, Until Dawn is a bold experiment that pays off far more than it doesn't. Though the story's set pieces are set, the outcomes are not, and if you've got the snooping skills to find all the totem guides, the reflexes to ace every QTE, and the luck to pick Hide instead of running away at the wrong time, everyone just might make it out alive.
It lives up to its title, as players will be glued to it all night, exhilaratingly racing to one of the many potential endings.