Until Dawn Remake Review — 2015’s Surprise Hit Gets a Terrifying New Lease of Life

Have you ever watched Scream or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and thought to yourself “what a dumb decision, I wouldn’t have done that if the killer was chasing me”? Then how in the heck have you not played Until Dawn? The 2015 surprise hit from Supermassive Games brought the mature horror narrative-driven genre to the forefront of gaming with an incredibly enjoyable ‘choose or die’ adventure, allowing you to immerse yourself and find out what it would be like if you had control of numerous characters in a horror movie. The game did a great job, allowing you to actively participate in your very own custom-crafted horror experience, making life-or-death choices for a number of unsuspecting characters, and it was the most unnervingly fun thing we’d played in a while.

Well, the game has undergone a remake for the PS5 and PC, giving it a new coat of paint, clearer and more detailed facial animations (super important in a story-driven character game) and a few gameplay tweaks to make it more fluid and accessible; and the result is fantastic. While Until Dawn was meticulously made back in 2015, it was limited by certain constraints that have been blown wide open with the power of the new-generation of machines and game development.

Thanks to this, everything in Until Dawn Remake looks gooier and grosser than it did in the original, conversations and character models seem more realistic, the atmospheric lighting is spookier, and most of the clunky camera moments have been completely eradicated. This has been achieved by shifting to a third-person over-the-shoulder camera for most of the game, whereas previously you’d have static cameras or roaming ones for visual effect. The decision is better, as it limits your view for a tenser not-knowing-what’s-around-each-corner and just helps you play the game a bit easier.

This new visual fidelity and refined polish have really given an already great game a welcomed boost, making Until Dawn Remake the leader of the genre pack once again, rather than a relic that set the standard almost a decade ago.

If you’ve never played Until Dawn, the game’s set-up is something we’ve seen in countless horror flicks: after a prank gone wrong leaves dead bodies behind, the group of prankster friends come back together on the one-year anniversary of this mishap to atone for their misdeeds and celebrate the lives of their fallen friends. This group of eight good-looking teenagers contains all the stereotypical horror movie characters – the ditzy blonde, the bitchy girl, the jock, the nerd, the girl who’ll make it to the end of the movie because she’s more famous than everyone else. Here, however, the lives of these characters are entirely in your hands.

Until Dawn offers up a branching series of “Butterfly Effect” decisions which impact events down the line. Since you play as each of the eight main characters (and since each – or all – of them can die on a given playthrough), this makes for tension the likes of which few games offer. In other horror games, if you screw up a section you can simply replay it right then and there; Until Dawn autosaves, so if you make a bad choice, you’re stuck with it until after you beat the game. You’re always going to get to the end of the game, it’s just about who you can keep alive and who you let die in the process.

And what’s great is that it’s not just a case of left or right. The decision-making scenarios are well-crafted and require some gut-feel, because you often don’t have too much time to weigh up the options. What’s even better, is that you sometimes don’t have to choose, and doing nothing is also a viable option in Until Dawn.

The game is centred around these heart-pounding moments, but there is some actual traditional-styled gameplay involved. In between the action, you’ll be able to move freely around the level and search for clues which can help piece together what’s actually going on. There are some bonus things to spot and find and you could easily miss them if you race through the game. It adds a layer of exploration, and the remake has also included some extra collectables and things around the world which enhances those who love to scour every nook and cranny.

Even though the original Until Dawn is not old, you can’t help but appreciate how much the new visual look and gameplay tweaks improve the remake. If simply enjoyed the previous one, but weren’t a die-hard fan, there’s no too much new to be wowed at. But, if you have never played the original or this is one of your favourite games, the remake is well worth checking out.

Until Dawn Remake is available on PS5 and PC.