With summer drawing to a close, and Halloween just around the corner, there's nothing better than a good scary game to make those long nights seem that little bit scarier. Unfortunately, on consoles, there isn't too much in the way of new releases to keep you on edge - but thankfully, the PS4 exclusive Until Dawn more than fills that void. Right from the start, this is a game that sucks you into a nightmare you control. And even the logo jumping onto the screen is enough to make us jump (seriously!)
The tale here will be a familiar one to anyone who knows their horror. For years, a group of well off teenagers have had an annual trip up into the mountains, to stay in a remote lodge. Everything went well up until last year, where two of the friends never made it back - instead, they went missing, and have recently been declared dead, although no-one quite knows what happened. Deciding that the best thing they could possibly do is to return to a place where their friends mysteriously vanished in the middle of the night, the group of eight return to the cabin, where things, inevitably, start going horribly wrong. Trapped on the mountain, and with someone trying to kill them, it's a race to survive Until Dawn.
Argh!
A PS4 exclusive, Until Dawn is a mostly third person horror game that places you in control of a group of teens (although you only control one character at a time), playing through their personal stories as they look to survive the night. As the title suggests, all you have to do is try and make sure they survive "until dawn", with ten chapters to play through, each taking up roughly an hour of in-game time. The interesting twist is that each of the characters' stories interlink, and the story has more branches than a particularly ancient tree. Anyone can die, and anyone can survive - and the only thing standing in the way of the whole group snuffing it is you, and the choices you make.
Ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? Or seen the film based on its premise? If not, in a nutshell, it's the idea that every decision we make changes the future. Seemingly insignificant choices now can have a big effect on how your life plays out - and this idea plays a big part in Until Dawn. With less of a focus on combat than other games, Until Dawn feels more like a point and click style adventure of old, or, perhaps more like the PS3 adventure, Beyond: Two Souls. Instead of testing your trigger finger, Until Dawn tests your mind - and even knowing that every decision you take may have an effect on the game's outcome is enough to put you on edge. You won't know if a decision you're making is a crucial, game changing one until you've actually made it, and butterflies appear on your screen whilst you scream, "Oh no! What have I done?!"
And it's terrible, because every time you make a decision, it instantly makes you doubt yourself - you always end up wishing you'd made a different choice. Brilliantly, it's also very hard to guess which options are good and which are bad. Were the obvious choices just a bit too obvious? What if they were just red herrings? And what about the countless grey options that could be either? Sometimes you don't even have to make a choice at all. During the quick time events, a button pops up on screen, and although you're supposed to mash it before the timer runs out, you can also choose to let it run out, and see what happens. As we're reminded in the game, "sometimes doing nothing is the right thing to do" - but knowing when to do nothing is another skill entirely!
It's not the most colourful of games, really
Each of the characters has their own little foibles, and distinct personality, too, with several dealing with personal issues as they make their way through the night. For some, getting to know them made us like them more - whereas for others, you find yourself not really caring if they don't make it through until morning... It's worth noting that Until Dawn has assembled an all star cast too, from Hayden Panettiere (her from Heroes and A Bug's Life), to Brett Dalton from Agents of SHIELD, each of which have been intricately recreated in game, with some top notch animation making them feel more like real people, rather than drawings on a screen. The added bonus of having a strong cast is it makes the voice acting that much more believable, too, with characters showing emotion and seeming like they're genuinely fearful of their lives, as opposed to some of the other famous voice acting fails.
However, Until Dawn isn't without its issues. The camera angles in the game are a little bit strange, and can make steering your character in the right direction more than a little bit awkward. When directing a character down a path or corridor, or even to the other end of a room, the camera stays where it is, while the character would walk off into the distance. If you've never played a game that does this, it can be more than a little bit tricky to get your characters to go around corners without getting stuck! This does however, also help create a spooky atmosphere, as every time we had to send a character off down a corridor, we felt the fear mount, as we had no idea what was lying in wait...
That's a good question...
Throughout your exploration you'll also come across various collectibles. Some are referred to as being "clues", which instantly makes you reach for your deerstalker hat as you try to piece together a theory about what might possibly be happening on this spooky mountain, and who might be behind it all. Littered with red herrings and false leads, it's a game that'll keep you guessing right up until the very end - and every time you discover a new clue, it'll change your whole perspective!
In fact, all the collectibles serve some sort of purpose. The other collectibles in the game are called totems, carved mini statues that once picked up show you a glimpse of a future event that lasts a couple of seconds. The themes of the totems are death, guidance, loss, fortune and danger. By picking one up and witnessing what might happen in the future, you're given the opportunity to try and steer everyone onto a different path, or to stay on it and let events unfold the way you've seen them.
Another twist to the game, which makes it even more special, was that at the beginning of each chapter you'll find yourself in a creepy room speaking to an even creepier psychiatrist. Questioning what you think of the different characters, and also delving into our deepest darkest fears, these scenes are set in a first person perspective, so it's not actually clear who the psychiatrist is talking to for most of the game…
We loved every second of our time with Until Dawn. Even when we were trembling with stress and fear, the fact that a game was able to make us feel so scared was something else. Now we're at the end, and we have the answers we were looking for, but our experience isn't yet finished - instead, we'll be heading back through again to find all the collectibles that we missed the first time. And this time, we'll be trying to save them all...
So, do you feel like being scared witless, to the point that every decision you're faced with makes you want to cry? Then you'll be wanting to pick up a copy of Until Dawn! An entertaining game for anyone who enjoys being scared out of their pants - and the perfect party piece with a group of friends around for moral support - Until Dawn is well worth a look. Do you think you could keep everyone alive until dawn? Only one way to find out!
Format Reviewed: Playstation 4
