This is a hard day for us, because we are reviewing a game which represents the type of horror genre Wes Craven’s movies are like. First, we would like to say, God bless you Wes, R.I.P.

.

The developers of Until Dawn made a great job. This game is one of the best nerve-stretching Horror-Adventures we played until now. First we thought, that the story would be very predictable, but it isn’t. Until Dawn uses a lot of the typical cliches we have already seen in movies, but the developers realised it in a such great creative way, that we’ve been really surprised how good the game and it’s story is.

.

.

First, we would like to talk about the actors in Until Dawn. The eight avatars we are playing are typical teenager-characters known from horror-movies. For example, you have a shy girl which fell in love with the Nerd or a blonde Cheerleader and a huge Superstar in this game. Here are some of the stars which have a role in the game according to IMDb:

.

Cast overview:
	Hayden Panettiere	…	Samantha (voice)
	Peter Stormare	…	Dr. Hill (voice)
	Rami Malek	…	Joshua (voice)
	Brett Dalton	…	Michael (voice)
	Meaghan Martin	…	Jessica (voice)
	Galadriel Stineman	…	Ashley (voice)
	Nichole Bloom	…	Emily (voice)
	Jordan Fisher	…	Matthew (voice)
	Ella Lentini	…	Hannah and Beth (voice)
	Larry Fessenden	…	Flamethrower Guy (voice)
	Graham Reznick	…	Radio DJ (voice)
	Heather Robb	…	Sheriff (voice)
	Brian McGuinness	…	Ranger / Detective (voice)
	Tiffany Bartok	…	Detective (voice)

.

Until Dawn is about 10 hours long and we get a connection to the characters very early in the game, because we see their feelings very close. This shows who outgrows about himself in critical moments and who collapse. As a player you are so close to the characters that you starting to worry about them. It is up to you to decide what happens next and if one of them dies.

.

.

.

.

We thought that the story is more predictable, but the game surprised us. A group of teenagers have a party in a cold winter night on a hill  which was coated with an Indian curse. Near to their house is a sanatorium. In addition to that, two sisters disappeared at this point a year ago. Then, when even a madman appears and starts to hunt the teens, the classic story begins: Will the blonde girl be the first that get killed or will the two Nerds survive the chase? We don’t want to spoiler anything, so you have to find it out by yourself.

.

What we can say is, that the story of Until Dawn begins like in a classic slasher movie and raises to think about known cliches, but after we have seen that there is more going on, the game throws this known cliches overboard. We’ve been shocked.

.

Until Dawn is like Life is Strange, more an interactive movie than a game. At the first moment we had the feeling of being more a spectator than a gamer because of the many cutscenes. But only at the first view minutes. This changes after we start to search for notices or stripes, run away from the killer or open doors and investigate clues.

.

What we like is that the developers offers the player a large freedom of choice and movement. This helps that the game does not get boring at any time. There are also some shootings you have to manage with. Because of Permadeath you can not see the end of the story when your character dies. Your decision is relevant In this game. For example, you have to choose if you shoot on the person that is hunting you or on a box to distract him? But what if you are shooting on a comrade which only reacts on your aggressions? Should you still fire to be safe or risk to lose a friend? Players have to decide things like that in such a few seconds. And all your decisions have far-reaching consequences.

.

You are talking with a therapist between the game’s chapters. This man wants to know what we fear. For example, if you choose that you fear needles more than a crowd of people, the killer could hunt you with a needle the next time. Depending on how you respond, the game changes.

.

The game’s main mechanic is the Butterfly Effect. We make decisions through the game and this decisions, however it seems can affect the entire game. In many other games the decisions you take not changing much of the game’s story but in Until Dawn could an entire storylines get lost.

.

What we like is that Until Dawn takes no consideration, second chances are rare but this increases the replayability. We often thought about, what would happen if we would decide differently while we played Until Dawn. What we love is, that the horror, which is produced by the great atmosphere and fantastic story does not let up if you play the game once again.

.

Until Dawn looks amazing. The characters, all of which are played by well-known actors (list above) such as Hayden Pannettiere or Peter Stormare convince because of great facial expressions. Whether they are afraid to death or disparaging a rival pattern: Every emotion is clearly visible and captured faithfully via motion capture. What we also like is the love to all the details. The textures of faces, cloth or hairs are accurately worked out even during the game’s sequences. Difference between the video sequences and the playable game is almost not recognizable. We also love the sounds and music in this game. This helps the immersion. We love that the actors also recorded their voices for Until Dawn.

.

Until Dawn has a great atmosphere and the game is exciting and scary at the same time. We like the story and the decision which can change the end of it. The characters feel alive because of the detailed facial expressions and their comprehensible behavior. The characters get our compassion every time they are violated or even die because of us. Because of that the horror is more personal in Until Dawn than in other games.

.

We would like to play the game more than once because we would like that all eight teens survive the night. In addition to that, the many decisions we have to make keeps us asking “What would happen if..?” Unfortunately, this is not a game for everyone. Players have to like that games like this have more video sequences than interactive gameplay. This game is for players who love a great story with different endings and like »Choose Your Own Adventure« books. We like Until Dawn, because on the one hand it plays with predictable cliches in his story but on the other hand it changes the story in something completely unexpected. We think that this game is a must have.

.

.

.