Until Dawn PS5 Review: A Brilliant Nightmare with Rough Edges

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Until Dawn at a Glance
2. The Nightmare Returns
3. New Fear Unlocked
4. Who Will Survive?
5. Glitches in the Dark
6. The Bottom Line
7. FAQs
8. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Until Dawn at a Glance
2. The Nightmare Returns
3. New Fear Unlocked
Show Full Guide
4. Who Will Survive?
5. Glitches in the Dark
6. The Bottom Line
7. FAQs
8. References

Until Dawn at a Glance

Until Dawn remake brings the original 2015 horror experience developed by Supermassive Games to the PS5 and PC. When it first launched on the PS4, it offered a unique premise of a high-budget interactive experience — bringing the 1980s horror movies of the past to life.

Our playthrough of the remake revealed that, much like the story itself, nothing was as it seemed. This new addition successfully triumphed as more than just a graphical upgrade. It manages to creep its way into one of the best horror games, though a few performance issues and mishaps hold it back from becoming nightmarishly good.

Our Until Dawn review goes over everything to know about the remake, including similarities and differences to its original counterpart, core gameplay mechanics, and the main story without any major spoilers.

The Nightmare Returns

Until Dawn for PS5 is an interactive narrative-driven horror experience featuring mechanics and elements similar to games such as Detroit Become Human, where there is less emphasis on physical gameplay and more so on critical choices. The main selling point is the butterfly effect system, where the choices you make both in a scene and in gameplay can affect the story’s outcome – for better or worse.

Because of its extensive number of choices, dozens of different endings can be unlocked, which offers additional hours of replayability for players wishing to see it all. Though after one playthrough, I wouldn’t blame you if you decide you’ve had your fair share of frights for one night.

Whilst it isn’t the most terrifying experience (looking at you Outlast & Silent Hill 2), the game is scary and not for the faint of heart. Featuring a variety of jumpscares, intense quick-time events, and the Don’t Move sequences that force you to keep the controller absolutely in heart-racing moments. The Don’t Move sequences can be turned off in the new settings, which offer more accessibility options.

The game strives to deliver a horror movie-like experience, which will appeal to some but not all. It is more passive in player involvement than other horror games such as Dead Space, and the story pace can be rather slow at times in order to build up suspense and tension.

The overall enjoyment of the Until Dawn remake depends on whether you enjoy watching games rather than playing them.

New Fear Unlocked

The core gameplay and story have remained largely the same, but there are some noteworthy additions that help elevate and refine the game’s quality.

Until Dawn PS5 graphics have seen significant overhauls, rebuilt from scratch to display beautiful environments to admire, the lighting has been redesigned to offer more vibrant colors, and address the PS4 game’s flat color palette.

The characters in the game, and the monsters you encounter, have seen significant improvements on the PS5. Lip-syncing aligns better with the English dialogue that is spoken and expressions appear more natural, especially when conveying fear or shock. However, the animations in certain cutscenes could use some more polishing, as some characters will come to an abrupt halt mid-action a good while before a cutscene transition, which often breaks immersion.

Camera positioning is the most noticeable change to gameplay in the Until Dawn remake. Where once every scene took place from a fixed position, there are more varied instances of closer over-the-shoulder and even first-person perspectives. This is a major improvement over the original, which allowed me to better see what I was interacting with and better navigate the world.

Some scenes in the remake have been revamped to improve pacing, offer more varied gameplay, or include additional dialogue to better understand the story. This is evident the moment you load the game’s prologue, which features a new explorable area, varied perspectives, and a new sequence of events to kickstart Until Dawn.

Other changes include a new type of totem, which can be found throughout the game and offer glimpses into potential futures. Only the new type, called Hunger Totems, offers glimpses into the past to reveal new story developments critical to the overall narrative.

Who Will Survive?

The main story takes place one year after the tragedy of sisters Beth and Hannah, who died in the woods after Hannah was pranked by the main Until Dawn cast and ran away from the party.

You’ll control the fate of Sam, Mike, Ash, Chris, Matt, Em, Jess, and Josh as they survive a series of horrific events until dawn approaches – hence the title. Each ending will vary depending on who out of the eight survives and how you have influenced their relationship with each other. In the new Until Dawn, new endings have been added to tie off loose ends established by the previous game and offer new exciting developments.

The Until Dawn characters are your stereotypical bunch from a classic horror movie but are distinctly unique from one another. For example, Sam has strong morals, Ashley is kind-hearted yet sensitive, and Josh is charismatic but troubled by the death of his sisters. Whilst they aren’t the most memorable characters, it’s interesting how each one develops as you progress through the chapters.

Between chapters, you” be greeted with one-to-one therapy sessions with Dr. Alan J. Hill, who will reflect on your playthrough up to that point. Whilst his sessions are interesting and feature fun developments that play into the multiple-choice gameplay, they ultimately serve as a brief reprieve and are inconsequential to the main story. However Dr. Hill does play a crucial role in new story developments surrounding one of the characters in the game.

Glitches in the Dark

Our Until Dawn review has been mostly positive, as there is a lot to praise, but there are also key flaws that need to be addressed.

My experience with the game saw great technical difficulties, particularly during the prologue and first few chapters of the game. My game saw several instances of crashes that prevented me from progressing through the game. This issue could only be resolved after resetting my console to factory settings and re-installing the game. A day-one patch or future update should address these issues.

I also encountered several bugs and issues throughout my playthrough. A. My companions would occasionally not move or continuously walk back and forth when transitioning through different sections of the levels.

There is also the matter of performance, as Until Dawn on the PS5 slim saw drops in frame rates down to 30fps. I recommend switching your PS5 settings to performance mode in order to see more consistent results.

Movement in this game remains unchanged but is rather slow and sluggish. Whilst this is by design, I often character movements didn’t match joystick inputs without extensive changes in the settings. Turning with characters, especially in fixed camera points, feels awkward, particularly in smaller spaces.

The Bottom Line

The Until Dawn PS5 gameplay, visuals, and story create an immersive horror tale worth venturing into for those with thicker skin than most. Its multiple choices through the butterfly effect, large cast of characters, and intense narrative moments make it worth playing again and again.

While dealing with its crashes and bugs can be a scary thought, it is ultimately outweighed by the many revisions that make this game stand out as more than just a remake. The Until Dawn release date has arrived, and the game is currently available to download for $59.99 on the PlayStation Store and on Steam.

FAQs