Until Dawn - PS4 Game Review
Posted on: 2015-09-18
Our rating:
The story of Until Dawn takes place in a forest cabin on top of a snowy mountain where several teenagers are there to party and mourn their two friends; the friends who went missing a year ago to the day. Things aren?t all as they seem though.
Until Dawn takes classic and somewhat clichéd tropes from 80s & 90s slasher and horror movies to craft a gripping and scary interactive adventure. The choices that you make really do matter and have an effect on the overall story.
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The story of Until Dawn takes place in a forest cabin on top of a snowy mountain where several teenagers are there to party and mourn their two friends; the friends who went missing a year ago to the day. Things aren’t all as they seem on the mountain though - they start to notice unusual things happening and weird noises in the forest. They soon find out that they’re not alone as they’re being stalked by a psychotic killer, ghostly entities are pursuing them and a strange creature prows through the forest.
The gameplay is fairly simple as this is more of an interactive film, but has a modern take of the point and click adventure where you explore the environments looking for clues, key items and soaking in the atmosphere while talking to other characters. You’ll be controlling each of the teenagers with tank controls from games such as the original Resident Evil trilogy, with quick time event button prompts when you’re being chased to climbing walls, etc. So if you’re familiar with Heavy Rain or Beyond: Two Souls then you’ll feel at home with this game.
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The main aspect in this game is choice: every little decision can alter anything in the story and maybe get that character killed. From not helping someone up to arguing against someone, this so-called the butterfly effect, which you can take a look at any moment in the menu, will change stats to certain characters personality traits. So choose wisely when you’re in conversation or making a decision when you’re in tense and dangerous situations because it could be the difference between life and death.
Graphically this game is supremely impressive. It’s not quite in the uncanny valley, but they have motion captured the actors superbly. You can see every little detail such as the raise of an eye brow to the sudden change from happy to angry. That said, when the actors attempt certain expressions, such as a grimace, it looks a bit odd because the motion capture doesn’t quite pick it up. Besides that it looks amazing.
The only negative I really have for this game is that the frame rate starts to drop to 20 frames per second in some of the cut-scenes. This can be fairly annoying but it doesn’t happen too often so it’s not something that ruins the experience.
Overall, Until Dawn is a tense and creepy adventure that will keep you hooked from start to finish. It has great re-play value as the story can be different when you go back and make a different decision. This is a great start to the busy season of gaming; if you have a PS4 and are looking for a decent horror game pick this game up.
4.5/5
Reviewed by Sam Coles, The Bristolian Gamer, for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol.
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Tags: Review, Game, Gaming, Playstation, PS4, Computer, Console.
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
