Until Dawn

About

"Until Dawn" is a survival horror game on PlayStation 4, featuring an interactive drama with multiple endings. The 'Butterfly Effect' system means player choices significantly impact the story, including character lives or deaths. Gameplay requires multiple plays to experience all content, with tough decisions and unforeseen consequences shaping the narrative.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 92,540 reviews

story7 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Until Dawn offers a compelling and engaging narrative experience with strong character performances and stunning visuals.
The game successfully blends horror with choice-based gameplay, allowing for meaningful decisions that impact the story.
It provides a unique interactive survival horror experience that appeals to fans of the genre, with a well-paced story and atmospheric tension.

The game is relatively short for a full-price title, which may leave some players feeling unsatisfied.
There are occasional technical issues, such as poor lip sync and framerate drops, that detract from the overall experience.
Some players may find the reliance on quick time events and certain gameplay elements to be frustrating or inconsequential.

story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
17%
25%
"Until Dawn" is praised for its engaging and suspenseful storytelling, featuring well-developed characters and impressive voice acting that enhances the horror experience. While the narrative is interactive and offers a thrilling atmosphere, some players feel that early decisions have limited impact on the overall story, leading to a sense of predictability and diminished replay value. Despite these criticisms, the game's stunning visuals and immersive gameplay make it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre.
- “Until Dawn succeeds on so many levels of storytelling and creates this amazing interactive survival horror experience.”
- “Suspenseful, engaging, well-written horror story.”
- “Until Dawn is a survival horror game unlike any other, as the course of its story changes as you play in real-time.”
- “You'll feel somewhat cheated when it comes to early decisions making a difference; for a full-price game, this is a painfully short experience. Replay value is diminished by set plot points throughout the game.”
- “The camera angles are unflattering, and the story becomes predictable at its midpoint.”
- “The story overall doesn’t change, which detracts from the experience.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
The gameplay of "Until Dawn" is characterized by its engaging narrative and meaningful choice-based mechanics that enhance the horror experience, complemented by strong performances and impressive sound design. However, some players note issues such as poor lip sync, occasional glitches, and a length that may feel excessive, with certain gameplay elements lacking significance. Overall, while the game offers a thrilling and replayable experience, it may only appeal to dedicated gamers seeking to explore its branching paths.
- “Until Dawn is a fascinating horror experience, using the creativity of its gameplay to approach the genre in a new and surprising way.”
- “It’s well-paced and the blending of horror with choice-based gameplay is a fantastic union.”
- “The narrative offers dozens of branching paths with varying outcomes, choices matter in big ways and affect the rest of the game, actor performances are incredibly good, mechanics are utilized in a meaningful way that feeds into the horror film experience, and repeat playthroughs offer new information and scenes.”
- “Very poor lip sync detracts from otherwise good acting; occasional glitches detract from gameplay.”
- “But Until Dawn is longer than it should be, has a lot of gameplay elements that feel inconsequential, and its replayability will only be an asset for the most dedicated of gamers.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its stunning graphics, engaging narrative, and strong performances, which enhance the horror experience. However, some users noted issues with sloppy controls and performance capture, though these do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. The branching paths and meaningful mechanics contribute positively to replayability, despite minor optimization flaws.
- “The narrative offers dozens of branching paths with varying outcomes, choices matter in big ways and affect the rest of the game, actor performances are incredibly good, mechanics are utilized in a meaningful way that feeds into the horror film experience, and repeat playthroughs offer new information and scenes.”
- “Beautiful graphics and sound, amazing performances, and engaging stories make this a must-play for any horror fan.”
- “[thrilling, engaging story, brilliant sound design, knockout performances from protagonists, narrative gameplay that’s fun without impeding story, graphics are stunning at times].”
- “The sometimes sloppy controls will irritate, while the performance capture could have been better.”
- “The optimization issues make the game feel sluggish and unresponsive at times.”
- “Frequent frame drops and long loading times detract from the overall experience.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The graphics in the game are consistently praised for their stunning quality, enhancing the overall experience alongside brilliant sound design and engaging narratives. Players appreciate the visual fidelity, which complements the thrilling story and character interactions, making it a standout title for horror fans.
- “Beautiful graphics and sound, amazing performances and engaging stories make this a must-play for any horror fan.”
- “Graphics are stunning at times.”
- “Amazing visuals.”
- “The graphics quality feels outdated, making it hard to immerse myself in the game world.”
- “Character interactions are hindered by poor graphics, which detract from the overall experience.”
- “The visual design lacks detail, leaving the environments feeling bland and uninviting.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate its depth and engaging elements, others feel that predetermined plot points and control issues limit the experience. The game may appeal more to dedicated gamers seeking to explore different outcomes, but many find the replay value insufficient for a full-price title.
- “Mind-blowing amount of replayability, great acting, story pace, atmosphere, and camera angles.”
- “You'll feel somewhat cheated when it comes to early decisions making a difference. For a full-price game, this is a painfully short experience; replay value is diminished by set plot points throughout the game.”
- “Some slight control issues and structural quirks hamper some of the replayability.”
- “But Until Dawn is longer than it should be, has a lot of gameplay elements that feel inconsequential, and its replayability will only be an asset for the most dedicated of gamers.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its cinematic quality and ability to evoke a strong horror movie feeling, enhanced by great acting and effective camera angles. Players appreciate the immersive experience and the game's replayability, which adds depth to the atmospheric storytelling.
- “Highly cinematic, nails the horror movie feeling, extremely atmospheric.”
- “Great acting, story pace, atmosphere, and camera angles.”
- “Mind-blowing amount of replayability.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
200%
The game's stability is marred by very poor lip sync that undermines the quality of the acting, along with occasional glitches that disrupt the overall gameplay experience.
- “Very poor lip sync detracts from otherwise good acting.”
- “Occasional glitches detract from gameplay.”