Until Dawn
"A group of teenagers spend the weekend in a ski lodge on the anniversary of their friends' disappearance, unaware that they are not alone."
- IMDB
RIP Hayden Panettiere
Quantic dream was pretty much the only of its kind for forever. Until Dawn came in, owned the genre during it's hype, & we've had some solid choice based games since.
This game is just one big cringe 80's horror movie trope and I love it.
The isolated cabin on the mountain is so reminiscent to the Cabin in the Woods. After watching the movie, I do wish Until Dawn was a bit more like that film, or at least someone else should make a game about that movie. Tangent here - but unlocking which horror monstrosity that comes after you is such a great idea for a game. Can someone get on that?
O' Death by Amy Van Roekel is a staple in my Halloween music playlist. This is honestly my favorite version.
My favorite characters are Chris, Emily, Mike, and Josh. Rami Malek as Josh was a phenomena. Oscar winning actor just giving an Oscar winning performance. Being an Agents of SHIELD fan, I'm always happy to see Brett Dalton. Emily is a bitch, but she's my bitch. It's funny to see her die and it's funny to see her complain during the credits if she survives. Chris is a solid dude and I wish him & Ashley the best.
I've mentioned a couple cast member but I'll say it again - Rami Malek. A few years short of his Academy worthy portrayal of Freddie Mercury - he is here to deliver this insane performance. Critically acclaimed for Bohemian Rhapsody & Mr. Robot - but as Until Dawn is my greatest guilty pleasure, this is probably my favorite role of his ngl. Also some Kingdom Hearts royalty - Hayden Panettiere & Meaghan Martin. We also have Jordan Fisher and I also really love Nichole Sakura as Emily.
Therapy sessions are amongst my favorite parts of the game. They don't mean anything but they're kinda wacky but creepy and Dr. Hill is iconic.
It was just a prank, Han!
I honestly don't think there are any implications to your choices in the beginning. The twins die no matter what & Hannah becomes a wendigo. I do think it's funny that new players may be terrified at the amount of choices they make and are made to believe early on that all choices matter when in fact some do not.
Friendship
Sorry but I love Josh.
Sorry but I low key like Mike & Jess. Their cringey flirtations just match with the vibe. And you can totally technically kill Jess by hitting that bird with a snowball right?
Jealousy
Chris & Ashley are the otp of this game. Unproblematic and pure. They are precious and must be protected at all costs. Chris almost reminds me Wash from Firefly but that might just be because he kind of looks like Alan Tudyk.
Talking about Totems in this game - I feel like they're just collectables. Totems here and the tarot cards from the Quarry just seem to give a teaser as to what could happen. But there isn't really context clues to help make decisions. I think a lot of people try to read into them for any clues, but that's just not their purpose and I'm fine with that.
Jess & Emily are the bitches that get stitches and I love them for that! Jess is this sassy ho that really has the worst night out of all the teens if we're being for real. She gets pulled through a window and is dragged across the wilderness by this freaky creature. She ends up in the mines and essentially has no actual idea what happened to her until the next day if he survives. Emily is the bitch I love to hate. Honestly top 3 characters for me. It makes me laugh as she suffers in further sequences and Nichole Sakura just has solid line delivery that also makes me laugh.
The scariest part of the game is honestly these first few chapters. There's a slow burn as we see shadows of Fire man and noises of Wendigos. And the cheap little jump scares do work. A lot of tension and mystery is built up and our protagonists just don't know. It's easy to get the heebie jeebies at the start if it's your first time playing.
We start getting some solid lore when we enter the mines for the first time. We eventually learn that the miners of the mountain were trapped at some point, with survivors turning to cannibalism and cursed to be wendigos.
Mike and Jess walk across god's country to get to that cabin. It was literally a Lord of the Rings hike across the mountain - like why did it take so long? It is quite eventful though. They're out in the wild. They see weird shit through the telescopes, hear freaky noises in the trees. They pull pranks and flirt and it's all cringe but I love it. Again, all the campy horror movie vibes are a win for me.
Sam & Josh have a little segment together and it's really bittersweet in a way. If you played before, you know what Josh is planning. You know he is under a full psychotic break, off his meds, losing so much control. Sam and Josh share some sweet moments and you see potential in something stable that Josh will never have. Sam could've been his rock if he asked for help. Instead he concocted this elaborate revenge scheme that didn't even get revenge on the right people. He lost it, bro.
Haunted
Of course in a game trying to play on scary movie tropes, we gotta bring a Ouija board in for a scene. With Until Dawn and the Quarry being in the same realm, we got ghosts, wendigos, and werewolves in this cinematic universe. I wonder what paranormal focus Until Dawn 2 will have?
The Jess & Mike experience really picks up. Like ewwww the deer incident. And the chase sequence - chased by what? I don't think they knew or saw what they were even running from. They got over it pretty fast though once they scurried into the cabin. But broooo that cliffhanger! Jess gives this epic cringe monologue to the void and then gets yoinked from the window of the freaking door. Things escalate so fast in this chapter.
Then Ashley and Chris get kidnapped by a totally different assailant. Here's the masked maniac that just came out of nowhere. I love the chaos and confusion in this part of the game. I always think back to how invested I was when I first saw these scenes.
Therapy sessions becoming more decrepit & scary and this turns out to be a reflection on Josh's spiral to madness. The more intense and scary they become, the further from control Josh has of his mind. Such a cool detail you only appreciate after your first playthrough once you know everything.
Malevolence
The next chapter jumps you right into Mike's pursuit of Jess. I always think about my playthrough and how I literally got Jess killed because of a couple of missed QTEs....
While Josh is messing around with Chris and Ashley, the Wendigos enacted the true revenge by going after Mike & Jess - especially if you get her to hit that bird earlier. Is the wendigo that got her Hannah?
Chris's choices over the next chapters really dictates his relationship with Ashley and nothing else. This does have a consequence later that I will bring up again. But if you ship these two, this is your time to play along with Josh's shenanigans.
Mike finds himself in the sanitarium, one of my favorite places in the game. This is where all the lore is at, folks. When the miners turned to Wendigos, they were brought in to be studied and that started a whole freaky experimentation era. Mysteries of the mountain are explored as Fire man lurks in the halls. You have that opportunity to fall for the hand trap to cut off Mike's fingers - a totally missable and unnecessary interaction so sorry if you took the bait.
Sam has been in the bath like the whole time.
Creepy masked killer segment is well done. But why would Josh do this to Sam? What was his plans for everyone? Why were his 1st targets the good guys? Did he want to do all this to Matt & Em but Sam just happened to be there instead? He definitely is trying to push Chris & Ashley together, but Sam's torment was just cruel & Josh was totally crazy.
Vengeance
The watch tower sequence was so chaotic. "They're coming for me!" Yeah, Emily, just you lol. I know Chris is meant to be that funny guy in the friend group but Emily is my comic relief through the whole game. What's crazy is that the game punishes you for trying be heroic & I think it's actually hilarious. If Matt doesn't have the flare gun, he's dead immediately. I think it might frustrate players because he might be the easiest to kill just from the watchtower choices alone. So just let Emily fend for herself and he'll be okay.
This game tries to cover all bases in horror - ghosts, monsters, slasher, creepy dolls. It honestly kind of works especially considering all these things could be real, not just Josh's engineering.
Shoot Chris or do nothing, I ship it tbh.
Violence
Mike returns after literally going through hell and Josh is revealed to be the Psycho. But like literally because as Chris states, he's off his meds and is really losing it. Thank you Rami Malek. This Oscar award winning actor really owns this part of the game. Josh is crazy and I love him.
Omg Emily is STILL alive !!!
Again - the irony that the actual perpetrators got serious comeuppance while Josh terrorized the innocent. Emily literally found Beth's head. The mystery unravels. We are learning about the horrors of the sanitorium. We're learning of Beth's final days in the mines. Pieces are starting to come together as the secrets of the mountain are slowly being revealed as the game officially determines it's not just Josh. We are seeing the Wendigos in action.
Then Fire guy shows up, he drops all the lore, then dies because plot.
At this point Ashley either loves or hates Chris. The difference could actually get him killed. The only consequence is right here. Ashley could literally leave him out to die.
This is the safe room, Em!
Being an Agents of Shield fan is wild going in to this game. Brett Dalton as Mike just hits different. I love Emily but Hail Hydra! It's so funny to me to kill her in this scene after whispering that lmao.
Understand the palm of my hand bitch!
Repentance
Josh's insanity sequence was gold. Though his story is really so sad. He lost his siblings then his mind then his life. Though I think his sister might win in the trauma competition. Hannah ate her sister & became a Wendigo.
If alive - Jess & Matt have been wandering the mines this whole damn time lol
It is dawn.
Mike is the MVP, let him live at all costs. I think Mike really turned out to be a solid redemption story. He really dived head first into danger and was fully committed to facing all the threats of the mountain. He could be a real hero despite the immature prank that we first met him with.
Who would I want to live? Chris & Ashley for sure. Mike & Matt as well. Sam should probably live but I wouldn't be upset if I accidentally kill her, same with Jess. I'd love Emily to live for her end credits interview alone. But I also want to do the hail hydra thing & kill her as Mike lol.
Overall
The Horror elements just work. Nice balance of jump scares & environmental build up. There was a mystery with many moving parts which caused uneasiness. Who was the real villain? Who is watching us from the shadows? What is real & what is Josh?
I honestly don't know what it is but I adore all of the characters. They make me laugh. I might root for them sometimes but I'd be lying if I said the Kill Everyone route isn't fun. I loved this setting of an isolated cabin on a snowy mountain. It gave Cabin in the Woods vibes but then the Sanitorium and Mines added so many layers to the setting and lore. The cringe is peak. It gives so much nostalgia to the campy 80s horror films we love to watch for no reason.
Just a rant that I'm bringing over from my Quarry review - I hate people, specifically Youtubers, that play the game and get mad when they choose a decision and dislike the results and then complain. Their mindset is always "oh I didn't know the choice would lead to this." I don't know if they're just defending their decisions or genuinely complaining about the game - but not knowing the outcome is the point. With these divergent path games, we make decisions that appeal to us at the time, and we plant the seeds of our consequences, good and bad. Literally the entire point of the game unless you specifically know how to get a specific outcome.
Until Dawn was such a phase of mine. Can't believe it's been 11 years and a new one is around the corner - whether or not you consider The Quarry to be the unofficial sequel. I love these games & I'm excited to see what's next in Until Dawn 2!
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★