Until Dawn

[XtremelyBaneful]

interestingly, this was the top trending game during august.

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/09/08/youtubes-top-10-trending-games-august

 

[Lily Adler]

So I saw a bunch of YouTube Let's Plays of this game, but never watched until ProJared's. So my first impressions were Night Trap meets Heavy Rain with a little Cabin in the Woods thrown in for flavor. As for the story

Spoiler

Wendigos was definitely a direction I was not expecting it to go to. I did expect Josh as the Maniac due to his mannerisms and the Sergeant did sound like him as well (whether or not it was intended). But I honestly thought it was just going to be he who was killing them for revenge against getting his two sisters possibly killed (yes Beth, not Hannah). I was suspecting the guy with the flamethrower to be good as the plot twist, though.

Haven't played since I don't have a PS4, but it looks like this game succeeds where Heavy Rain failed in which your ability as a gamer and your choices DO MATTER in the end.

 

[FrozenBanana00]

I watched various you tubers play the game and it's interesting to see how some of them make the exact same choice each time.

 

[Havok83]

Game sold better than expected. Looks like we might we get another

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/until-dawn-sales-better-than-expected-sequel-ideas/1100-6431319/

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

i wish they would release actual sales numbers

 

[Dave McFly]

FYI if you do not have this game yet and are a game stop rewards member the game is 39.99 from 26th to the 2nd . I do not have the game and will be picking it up for that price .

 

[Havok83]

Its been that price on Amazon for the past two weeks

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

halloween trailer

 

[Superhero 101]

http://www.ign.com/videos/2015/11/1...nt page)&utm_content=18&utm_campaign=Blogroll

Brett Dalton (Ward) playing the game for the first time.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I rented this from Redbox and have been plowing through it since I had the last two days off. I'm pretty close to the end I think (on chapter 10). I really, really enjoyed it up until the [blackout]Wendigo[/blackout] reveal. I mean...what? I felt like there was something more going on than the psycho, but I sure as hell didn't expect that.

 

[Havok83]

I rented this from Redbox and have been plowing through it since I had the last two days off. I'm pretty close to the end I think (on chapter 10). I really, really enjoyed it up until the [blackout]Wendigo[/blackout] reveal. I mean...what? I felt like there was something more going on than the psycho, but I sure as hell didn't expect that.

I liked it bc it was unexpected. Good twist and despite all the cliches, wasnt completely predictable

 

[Tron Bonne]

I liked it bc it was unexpected. Good twist and despite all the cliches, wasnt completely predictable

I didn't like it much because I was really digging the '80s inspired slasher vibe of the whole thing up until that point.

 

[Matt]

I didn't care for it either. Its like the writers couldn't find a clever way to tie the slasher (Josh) into the disappearance of the sisters so they just went somewhere completely out of left field. But as Tron points out, it completely changes the nature of the story. It suddenly shifts from slasher movie to monster movie. The change doesn't feel natural at all. It just happens and as a result it makes the game feel very disjointed. Especially since everything Josh was doing turns out to be fake. The entire first half of the game is a prank. Then suddenly the player is thrust into an entirely different story. It is odd.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. I just could've done without that twist. If the writers wanted to make a monster movie game, that is what sequels are for. They should've followed the "slasher movie" through to its end.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, pretty much. It really feels like two stories sewn together. There are hints about the [blackout]Wendigo[/blackout] in the first half, but not enough to really to change the feel of the events per say. I enjoyed it, but I wish they would've just stayed on that one track as opposed to shifting gears so quickly.

Anyway, just finished it, and my survivors were Ashley, Sam, Emily, and Matt. I sort of facepalmed with how I lost Mike in the end, totally dumb on my part.

 

[Matt]

Yeah, pretty much. It really feels like two stories sewn together. There are hints about the [blackout]Wendigo[/blackout] in the first half, but not enough to really to change the feel of the events per say. I enjoyed it, but I wish they would've just stayed on that one track as opposed to shifting gears so quickly.

Anyway, just finished it, and my survivors were Ashley, Sam, Emily, and Matt. I sort of facepalmed with how I lost Mike in the end, totally dumb on my part.

Haha, yeah. My survivors were Sam, Ashley, Emily, and maybe Jess. I cannot recall. I lost Mike in the same way, but I thought it was fitting for him (kind of a heroic sacrifice). The writing for Mike actually turned out to be really impressive. His arc is the best in the game. He goes from typical, dumb, ass hole jock (the type you'd expect to see get offed toward the end of the second act of horror movie, probably trying to save himself at the expense of his friends) into the most heroic character of the game and it feels like a very natural evolution.

This game actually really impressed me. It was well acted. The Butterfly Effect/branching stories actually worked pretty well. It is just the twist that is my one gripe with the game. It is so random and makes the story feel very disjointed.

I know that this game spent a very long time in development (originally planned for the PS3). I can't help but wonder if the writers just kept going back and forth between slasher movie and monster movie and finally just said "screw it, we'll do both!"

 

[terry78]

The twist feels like something Joss Whedon would've thrown into a Buffy episode.

 

[Matt]

The twist feels like something Joss Whedon would've thrown into a Buffy episode.

Maybe, but he wouldn't have done it in such a clumsy way. Plus, Whedon would've done the reverse as a twist. He would've spent the entire episode making the characters and audience believe that a monster was killing people, only for it to turn out to be a human serial killer.

 

[Havok83]

the major story points should probably be put in spoiler tags

 

[Matt]

The game has been out for 4 months. I think people come in this thread at their own risk, at this point.

 

[Havok83]

Its been out a few months but alot of people just got a PS4 via BF and holiday sales, so the game is new to them. I played it so Im not affected but for a game that so heavy on story to be spoiled on it, kind of ruins the experience

 

[TeeKay]

The black dude died in mine. He didn't make it.

EDIT:Matt was his name. Is there any version he survives? I liked him and I hated Emily. Whiny *****. She bloody survived in mine.

 

[Havok83]

The black dude died in mine. He didn't make it.

EDIT:Matt was his name. Is there any version he survives? I liked him and I hated Emily. Whiny *****. She bloody survived in mine.

Everyone can survive and everyone can die.

 

[Resistance61513]

Here is what I took away from the game...I'm going to put my thoughts in a spoiler tag because, as Havok pointed out, there are still people who haven't played the game. Personally, I think it's something that needs to be experienced with no preconceived notion of the story.

Spoiler

Until Dawn is probably my favorite game of this new generation. I had very little faith in this game. Especially when looking at Supermassive's track record. The marketing for this game was poor and didn't really highlight the high points of the title. A lot of the dialog and things were out of context and came off poorly. If anything, I think it was a brilliant marketing strategy. While most seem to not agree, I liked that it was marketed one way but delivered something differently.

It was, in a way, refreshing. In the digital age, secrets and surprises are very hard to keep. A lot of fans/viewers type casted the game as something it wasn't, a "horror slasher". While that element was very interesting and fun to explore, it felt like we got a double feature. We got a slasher and a monster movie. One that, in my opinion, worked very well hand in hand. I feel the monster story line definitely complimented the game mechanic.

While it was scary running from the psycho killer and trying to escape, I enjoyed that Supermassive went the "unforgiving" approach with their death system. In my eyes, it made the encounters with the wendigos all the more harrowing. You were just a human going up against these creatures of super human strength, speed and agility. Honestly, I'm a sucker for those kind of monsters. Anything that can crawl on walls, I'm sold.

I've never heard of the wendigo fable until this game. I thoroughly enjoyed that take on the "monster" storyline because it fit with the atmosphere of the game. In desperate times, people do regrettable things. It was cool exploring the repercussions of those actions through this story.

I enjoyed the creatures design and it was honestly a nice change of pace from the typical
"zombie monster" that's been plaguing media recently. I commend Supermassive and the writers, for the story they crafted. I thought it did an excellent job evoking a sense of dread and despair and they laced horror tropes beautifully through out the game.

I think what I had the most fun learning is...people, when spectating horror films, claim they know what to do in the situation. Looking at the global statistics of various choices, I don't think a lot of people would be surviving in these types of situations.

I'm really looking forward to the Until Dawn sequel. Albeit, I am hesitant. I don't think lightning can honestly strike twice with this universe. As stated above, not having a preconceived notion elevated the experience to grander heights. I think if we were to face the wendigos again in another installment, we would become desensitized to them. A lot like how the Necromorphs in Dead Space lost their scare/fear factor.

Who knows, maybe the folks at Supermassive will make a pure "slasher" title? If anything, there are a few areas of improvement in my opinion. A few that maybe everyone won't agree with but, I feel like the game needs to be a little more unforgiving. Or at least have a difficulty setting. I wish the QTE's kind of came a little faster and decisions had to be made more on the fly. There was a bit of hand holding in the game and I'd like to experience something that is truly visceral.

I couldn't even begin to imagine a title like this on Virtual Reality. The possibilities are endless...

 

[Victarion]

My thoughts on the direction of the storyline

Spoiler

Count me with those that liked the twist. While I enjoyed the atmosphere of the first half, the slasher subgenre of horror was never one I cared for. I was starting to feel underwhelmed until the wendigos put in their appearance. They probably open more plot holes that I've missed or that didn't occur to me, or that I've just forgotten, but I enjoyed their inclusion.

Funny enough, when you come across the deer skull totem thing early on, my first thought was

Spoiler

man, a wendigo would be cool. You never see that in the horror games. Then I returned to my original train of thought: excellent environments, great atmosphere and likeable characters, but we'll probably end up with another psychopath as tends to happen with these horror games.

 

[Sundancer]

I didn't care for it either. Its like the writers couldn't find a clever way to tie the slasher (Josh) into the disappearance of the sisters so they just went somewhere completely out of left field. But as Tron points out, it completely changes the nature of the story. It suddenly shifts from slasher movie to monster movie. The change doesn't feel natural at all. It just happens and as a result it makes the game feel very disjointed. Especially since everything Josh was doing turns out to be fake. The entire first half of the game is a prank. Then suddenly the player is thrust into an entirely different story. It is odd.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. I just could've done without that twist. If the writers wanted to make a monster movie game, that is what sequels are for. They should've followed the "slasher movie" through to its end.

Yup.

I'm late to the party and the $20 bucks I spent was still worth it, but that genre twisting threw me off.

EDIT: replaying just to pick up the clues is real slow with all the cut scenes. I wish we could skip the "previously on..." ones at least.