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Until Dawn
PlayStation 4
Scary Fun, But Could Have Been Much More
3/5 stars
Until Dawn is a kind of choose-your-own adventure horror game. It has some pretty big names attached to it (both in direction and in the voice acting) and, much in the same vein as Heavy Rain, is more of an interactive movie than anything else. Even if the story is a bit predictable and cheesy, the game is clearly aimed at fans of horror movies and, in the right atmosphere, I think this could be a very fun evening (or stretch it out across a few) as you revel in the choices (good or bad) you decide to make.
Presentation: Graphics-wise, the game could have done better. There is clearly jaggies and the like abundant and even though the faces look pretty good, the overall movement and feel is still a bit too mannequin-like. However, the voice acting itself is really good. It helps when you have some recognizable names attached - Peter Stormare (prolific actor who has been in everything from Prison Break to The Black List - often sporting an Easter European accent), Hayden Panettiere (Heroes and Nashville), Rami Malek (who was nominated and won several awards for his performance in Mr. Robot) and Brett Dalton (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) are the biggest names while cult horror actor/director Larry Fessenden helped to write and even plays a small part in the game. Yes, some of the lines are cheesy, but I think that's the point. I really like the chapter setup - as it provides an easy place to break not too short, not too long.
The game also does well in setting up the creepy atmosphere - you have an isolated cabin in the snowy mountains, along with an abandoned mine and a long-dormant asylum. The game throws in some random jump scares to keep then tension high as well as a plenty of creepy music and sound effects. Though I wouldn't say the score is exactly memorable, it does a nice job of setting the horror vibe just right - and amping things up when you're in danger. Overall, while I don't think this pushes the limits in terms of graphics, in terms of what the game aims to be, I think it's good enough.
Story: The game opens with a group of friends at the cabin when a cruel trick sends a pair of twin sisters running into the cold night. The two are never seen again and one year later, the group of friends who are still alive come together in hopes of putting the past behind them and moving on. This includes the sisters' brother Joshua (Malek), who puts on a fun-loving persona but clearly hasn't gotten over the events of that night; Samantha (Panettiere) a adventurous sort who seems most empathy for what happened, Michael (Dalton) and his new girlfriend Jessica (Meaghan Martin) your alpha male/femlae - the life of the party and homecoming queen - the pretty people, Michael's ex-girlfriend Emily (Nichole Bloom) and her new boyfriend, Matthew (Jordan Fisher) - she's the bitch and he''s the jock (and also token minority). Finally you have Chris (Noah Fleiss) and Ashley (Galadriel Stineman) - the joker and the introvert - Chris is in love with Ashley but has never told her how he feels.
The game does a decent job of giving the characters their own (broad) personalities, but in this type of game/movie you're not going to get a deep insight into these people. Whaever the point is soon after arriving, strange things happen. First the cabin has no power, and things go downhill from there - the game features two main stories - one dealing with a very human threat and another more supernatural presence. The story isn't exactly hard to figure out as both branches are fairly predictable. The game distinguishes itself by providing "Butterfly Effects" in the forms of totems you can find scattered about. These come in several forms: danger, death, warning, good luck - all that give you some insight in to how certain decisions could affect the outcome in the future. Some are vague, some less so - and collecting them also gains you access to a short movie (that seems to be presented in a mystery/crime TV episode) that further helps illustrate the story.
Gameplay: As mostly an adventure game, the bulk of the game is walking around. You can interact with several object (they will give off a reflection) these open up clues, uncover totems and can (sometimes) injure or even kill you - so just remember, be careful what you decide to mess around with. At certain times the game will present you with a choice - these are sometimes timed choices - these are what determines the direction the game takes and many result in a butterfly effect that will resonate down the line. Do you kill that squirrel or leave it alone? Spy on your ex or leave it be? And so on and so forth. This is where having a big group is better (and crazier), decision by committee - and maybe death by the same way as certain decisions will result in the death of characters.
Besides this, you have the dreaded QTE events. Push one of the four face buttons in time or fail. There is also a few times where you must aim a cursor within a set time. I didn't fail many, but when I did - ho boy, it wasn't pretty. But, by far, the one thing I hated the most was the "stay still" command in which you are supposed to hold the controller motionless - because the PS4 controller is so sensitive, I always seemed to fail these. Apparently you need the steady hands of a surgeon to succeed without setting the controller down. Anyway, many people find these events annoying, and so do I, though I feel they were few and far enough in between not to be too bad.
Replayability: With a number of different choices/branching paths you can take for several characters (and the fact whether they live or die - or at least how they die) at least Until Dawn has decent replay for those willing to go through the story a few different ways (or for those who fail too many QTEs).
Overall: Until Dawn is best enjoyed with a large group of people - hand the controller around, yell at the stupid people doing stupid things, enjoy the B-movie horror story and marvel at the talent involved.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 2/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Replayability: 4/5
Overall (not an average): 3/5
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