Until Dawn

[Gamerforlife]

I think this awesome game deserved its own thread. So if anyone wants to discuss it you can do so here. For anyone who doesn't know about it, the game is like a mix of Heavy Rain and recent Telltale Games developed titles, with a heavy dose of survival horror and a very cinematic presentation involving some recognizable television actors playing lead roles (Hayden Panettiere being one of them, and a very recognizable male character Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans will recognize). The game has an auto save function and it's the only save you get, so if something bad happens (i.e. someone dies) and the game auto saves...you have to live with it (there are ways around the one save system though if you don't want to play the game with such high stakes). It's entirely possibly for EVERY character to die if you're doing really poorly. Decisions you make will affect the story in other ways too beyond who lives and dies. The game is built around the idea of the Butterfly Effect, so some decisions you make won't have ramifications until later in the game. Lastly, the game has an interesting stat system like an RPG. Your choices will alter character's stats which can have some minor effects on the story.

I'm gonna post some vids of some of my favorite parts of the game. Obviously don't watch if you haven't beaten it AT LEAST one time, though it's very likely there's stuff you won't see even after one playthrough as that's the nature of the game.

SPOILERS!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMjMDE2t2iU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjuPSAUqStQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogCKf3zpTk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bWpLXqhsyw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut-u9L9qyi0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AfgYXLTy_w

And here's an awesome vocal track from the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzJ0Bw37yIA

[RyaNtheSlayA]

So, did you manage to save everybody?

I got everybody on the first go. I think I'll replay it a little later and try and get everybody killed.

Boy that twist before the final acts though.

[Reprise]

Meh, I thought the ending was pretty mediocre. I managed to save everyone, except Matt. I wasn't a huge fan of the bit when

they revealed the wendigos. The story, although generic, was engaging up until that point. The second Josh was revealed as the psycho (I totally called that at first, btw, although they threw me off the scent) and they showed the wendigos were the real murderers, it just turned into an average 'monsters trying to kill people' story. I didn't really like that.

[SNESdrunk]

My girlfriend is a huge horror game buff, well versed in the SH and old RE games and such. She just finished Outlast the other day and said it was just okay. Any chance she'd like this?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

A better indication of whether she'd like Until Dawn would be if she likes horror movies - specifically stuff like SAW. It definitely has a medium-budget early 2000s horror vibe.

[SNESdrunk]

A better indication of whether she'd like Until Dawn would be if she likes horror movies - specifically stuff like SAW. It definitely has a medium-budget early 2000s horror vibe.

Ah, right on, thanks

[Gamerforlife]

So, did you manage to save everybody?

I got everybody on the first go. I think I'll replay it a little later and try and get everybody killed.

Boy that twist before the final acts though.

Had I been playing the game legit I'd have lost Matt for sure, and probably Jessica and Emily too, but I was backing up my save file on USB and the Cloud, so I was able to redo a few parts and beat the game with every one alive. I also kept...

the wolf alive without even realizing it was possible for him to die.

A better indication of whether she'd like Until Dawn would be if she likes horror movies - specifically stuff like SAW. It definitely has a medium-budget early 2000s horror vibe.

Ah, right on, thanks

Until Dawn actually feels much less like a horror video game and much more like an interactive horror movie. I mean they even went out and hired some well known actors for the game and motion captured them into the game and recorded them doing voice overs. Seeing REAL people play these characters made me feel like I was watching a legit movie rather than just playing a video game. The last time any game did that for me was probably Ghostbusters: The Video Game on the Xbox 360, which felt like it was basically the third Ghost Busters movie

Every time I saw Mike I was like, "Look! It's Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! That's so frikking awesome!"

EDIT: Speaking of the actors in the game, it speaks well of how far consoles have come now that in game character models look like real people. I know PC gamers will scoff at that comment. We get it, PCs are always ahead of the curve, but as someone primarily interested in console gaming, I'm glad we're reached this point graphically. In talking about the game in other threads I haven't brought it up but the game is absolutely gorgeous and the sound work in the game is excellent, as it needs to be for a game in the horror genre.
This is a good game to show off the PS4 to someone who hasn't purchased it yet, and I also think this is an EXCELLENT game to convert someone with a casual interest in gaming.

[Gamerforlife]

The Don't Move gameplay mechanic is one of the coolest, though occasionally frustrating parts of the game. When you're hiding from a dangerous pursuer you have to keep your controller perfectly still so that your character doesn't move or make a sound. Those parts of the game are some of the most immersive experiences I've had in a video game as I'm literally holding my breath (like my character in the game is probably doing) in order to keep even the slightest movement or vibration on my part from being picked up by my controller

That is one of most clever uses of motion control I've ever seen in a game. It makes you virtually experience the same fear and tension your character in the game is probably feeling

[Omerta]

I'm not sure how much I'm gonna play this one. I popped it in and my disc drive has been going nuts ever since. Must have angered my PS4.

[Omerta]

Musta been something weird that needed a reboot.

Played through it in one sitting. I had low expectations going into it. The story ended up being much better than I imagined. I can't see myself playing it all multiple times to get all the different "effects". Ended up saving everyone so I'll just YouTube the endings and deaths.

Don't run out and pay premium dollar for it. Grab it as a rental or wait until it drops between Andy Jackson and Alex Hamilton range.