Game Review: Until Dawn- The horror game raising the stakes and standards that every good gamer is raving about!

This generation of consoles has seen a shaky start, insiders across the internet suggesting that game developers had little faith in the newest Playstation and Xbox offerings and so simply didn’t make games for them. There have been a lot of re-releases, some HD remastered, some just collections of older games like the Uncharted series that you can play on your new console. This has left the Playstation 4 feeling a little barren, so when I heard the hype about Until Dawn I ran to the shops to grab a copy and some munch, thus began one of the best first play through experiences of my life.
 
The game is based around a really well executed decision making mechanic called “The Butterfly Effect”, meaning as the player controls each of the eight characters in the chapters every one of their choices has major consequences (and the games auto save system means you can’t just go back and change it, you have to replay the whole game for a new story that goes in the other direction). A simple choice like not locking a door earlier in the game or choosing a snarky instead of kind approach to another character could mean they die or someone else dies later in the game. You can end up saving all eight, some or none of the group depending on how you play entirely. This makes every second of game play feel vital and important, you get out of the game what you put in, and so if you miss most of the clues, like the characters you too will miss most of the story in that play through. There is also another cool mechanic in the totems you find across the mountain, depending on the type of totem they give you a few seconds clip or “vision” of the future, so if you put your Sherlock Holmes cap on and pay attention you can avoid fatal decisions. I loved these two mechanics so much; it made me feel like I was responsible for saving them as every death felt like a stupid mistake on my part.

Until Dawn is gorgeous, Super-massive Games have squeezed every ounce of pretty out of the Killzone Shadowfall engine, textures are rich and movements are wonderfully fluid. The cinematic approach to how you move through levels really adds to the creepy ambience of the game, sometimes camera angles change so quickly it is a little jarring, but well worth the incongruity for the overall affect it has on you. While using professional actors like Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere(too many times I shouted ‘Save the cheerleader, save the world!’ as I’m sure most did while trying to save her character), added emotional depth to the weight of the story, I really cannot praise the acting in this game enough. Some critics have called Peter Stormare’s turn as the psychiatrist Dr Hill over the top or hammy, but personally I found him right on the money and love how he delivered the dialogue. The sound effects in this game are also well crafted; the addition of small details like dripping water and the sound of the wind really help to make the game immersive and atmospheric. Throughout the game is scattered with small homages to classic horror movies and games such as Friday the 13^th, Silence of the Lambs, Silent Hill and Resident Evil which will tickle any major horror fan.
Overall Until Dawn is a definite contender for the best release of last year, the love and attention to detail that clearly has been put into it has paid off. With a sequel in the works under the working title Until Dawn: Rush of Blood and sales figure far exceeding what was estimated, let’s hope developers learn from this success and we are treated to more high quality story driven games this generation.

Cara Davies