Until Dawn is the epitome of the cheesy horror genre, it's like the characters in the story have never in their lives seen a horror movie, the concept of fear or making rational decisions based on their surroundings just never seems to factor in. This unfortunately is not indicative to only this game but pretty much all horror movies I have ever seen. If I happen to be invited to a friend's cabin in the woods that is only accessible by a dodgy cable car, and a series of scary spooky things happen on the way to said cabin, you can bet I'm going to be as cautious as a squirrel hiding his nuts. I wouldn't be taking a bath alone wearing headphones in a creepy house where the lights aren't working, or wondering off on my own to go and investigate what that weird sound was. I don't even think I would have gotten out of the car, just because of the eerie surroundings and strange shadows between the trees. I basically would have told my friends, cheers guys hope you enjoy dying and drove home.
We tend to disregard these logical decisions when watching scary movies, because I think deep down inside we love the thrill of getting a fright and feeling uneasy. There is just something really exhilarating about getting scared, you know it's coming when the music starts to build, try to look away, and suddenly out of no where an animal jumps out. I would say it almost an art form to properly scare the audience, and this game definitely got that right.
The Washington lodge on Blackwood Mountain, the family holiday home of Josh and his two sisters, Beth and Hannah. The group of friends who are all more or less high school seniors decide to play a rather mean prank on one of the two sisters, Hannah, only five of the group are in on the prank. This then results in Hannah running away out into the dark cold forest and her sister Beth chasing after her. The two get lost and then are pursued by a fire-spewing individual who corners them on a cliff, where they both fall.
One year later Josh invites everyone back to the mountain lodge to mark the anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of his two sisters. Things get pretty creepy from the moment each of the friends arrive. They get split up due to a multitude of factors like doors being locked, pathways being blocked. There is also a thick tension in the air between the friends as some of them are now dating others in the group, and there seems to be an awful lot of secrets. When they all eventually reach the cabin, matters only get worse, the power is out and the keys to get in go missing. When they finally get inside the lodge they realize that that it is not only them there, someone or something is lurking about with ill intentions.
The environment and landscape is beautiful and the dark snowy cold adds a great element of fear and isolation. The camera angles while playing really make you feel alone and do a great job at encouraging the feeling that you’re always being watched through the dark woods and with the use of tracking shots.
The game was designed to be played a few times over and the game mechanics utilizes an in-game system called the butterfly effect, where every decision made by a character can have either positive or negative effects on the game. It is based on the ancient Chinese philosophy that a butterfly flapping it's wings on one side of the world could have disastrous effect on the other side. During the game you play with each one of the characters and your actions have consequences, and depending on the choices you make, that also determines what path you follow and how the game ends.
"Before we begin, there are a few things I need to make sure you understand. You see, no one can change what happened last year. The past is beyond our control. You have to accept this in order to move forward. But there is freedom in this revelation. Everything you do, every decision you make from now on, will open doors to the future. I want you to remember this. I want you to remember this as you play your game. Every single choice will affect your fate, and the fate of those around you. So, you have committed to commence with this 'game'. This is significant. And I want to help you see it through. Sometimes... Sometimes these things can be a little scary... even terrifying... but I am here to make sure that no matter how upsetting things may get, you will always find a way to work through it. Alright. We will start with a simple exercise. Could you please pick up the card? And I want you to look at the picture on the other side, and tell me what you feel about it. It is essential that you answer honestly in order to get the most out of this experience." - Dr. Hill
Until Dawn does have some really great scary moments which caught me completely off guard and ended with me swearing just from the fright. The play through will take you about ten hours which is not too long but you can then obviously do it again, making complete different choices which will almost result in a utterly different story. Some of the really great parts of the game are where you need to make split second decisions, which require some nimble fingers to follow the control prompts. I started the game with the motion controls but this became more of a hindrance, so I would recommend sticking to the standard layout.
It was a a fun game to play, although I didn't bother to play it through for a second time. I don't think I would recommend any of you buy it, unless you give it a test run first or you find it in a bargain bin. Then again if you are a horror fan you might enjoy this kind of game. The cast was great and the dialog felt realistic. I'm sure you will recognize most of the real life actors who feature in the game. Playing with the Hayden Panettiere's character in a towel for most of her scenes was pretty funny. Save the cheerleader, save the world.
They developed LittleBigPlanet as well as LittleBigPlanet 2 and a few other games that I have never heard of. This game is unfortunately only available on PlayStation and was originally released for PS3 in 2014, but was then released in 2015 on the PlayStation 4. Hopefully if you are a PS Plus subscriber you picked it up a few months back.
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