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As Until Dawn is a nearly 10 year old game, beware of major spoilers below!
When it was announced that Supermassive Games’ golden child, Until Dawn, was being remastered, my visceral reaction boiled down to two feelings: ecstatic, because more people would be introduced to the game, and confused, because the original game was released less than ten years ago. It started to make more sense to me when the film adaptation of Until Dawn was announced around the same time (which I also had a lot of thoughts about)–obviously, a remaster of the game drums up anticipation for the film coming out in 2025–but at the same time, one of the many reasons Until Dawn is held to such a high standard is because of how gorgeous the game is. I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly there was to remaster? Having played through the remaster (which means I’ve played through Until Dawn about 10 times now), I am happy to say that this is the definitive version of the game I’d recommend to folks–Ballistic Moon did a great job updating it–but I still can’t help but think it was an entirely necessary remaster we needed at this time.
As mentioned before, the most notable difference between OG Until Dawn and the remaster is the graphics and aesthetics. If you’ve played the original, its apparent from the new opening of the game that there are overt changes to the style of the game–the score, cinematography, and colors are considerably different (most notably, the blue filter of the original has been significantly toned down, if not completely removed in some places). This is obviously a bit harder to quantify as “better” or “worse” than the original. Personally, I appreciated a lot of the changes. While I love a moody color filter (I’m a big fan of how the original Twilight film looks, if that’s any indication), I felt more encouraged to explore the environment simply because things look a bit clearer than in the original (the camerawork also heavily plays into it, but I’ll revisit that later). I can see how players of the original game would feel like something is missing due to the stylistic changes, be it nostalgia or how the aesthetics contribute to the overall themes of the story, but for new players and overall gameplay, I stand by that it makes the game feel more accessible through sheer clarity, if nothing else.
While on the topic of graphics, in addition to the stylistic changes, the characters have also been given significant updates. Aside from a couple instances that look a bit wonky, I’d argue this update was a net improvement. Some voice lines were brushed up that desperately needed it (for just one glaring instance, Beth no longer sounds like a robot in the prologue when she asks, “Where is my sister going?”), and the characters’ expressions were tweaked so that you don’t have moments where Sam is smirking next to a Wendigo that’s about to impale her. The juxtaposition makes it clear just how rough around the edges the original game was. Like I said before, the original game is still gorgeous, but the graphical changes make sense and elevate the experience. The stakes feel higher when the characters actually do look scared shitless.
The most notable improvement that the remaster provides, and what I feel makes it the definitive version of the game, is the gameplay updates. The camerawork in OG Until Dawn could sometimes get frustrating–fixed angles that frequently changed and how slow the characters moved could sometimes make exploring the environment a bit of a slog (I’m thinking specifically of the segments of Mike in the sanatorium). The remaster has swapped out many of these moments to be over the shoulder instead, and in some cases, even allows the characters to jog a bit. Coupled with what I previously mentioned about how the graphics have a bit more clarity due to the stylistic choices, it gives so much more agency to the player to explore. In a game like Until Dawn, where a primary gameplay element is gathering clues to find out what happened around the mountain, it’s a huge plus to feel like you have more control to explore your surroundings.
While a difficulty setting wasn’t implemented (which has become more commonplace in Supermassive’s recent titles), a huge change was made to one of Until Dawn’s most infamous gameplay elements: the “Don’t Move” segments. The original game made use of the Playstation 4 controller’s DualSense motion controls. You had to remain completely still while holding the controller, and if you made one slip up, in some cases multiple characters would instantly take a dirt nap courtesy of the Wendigo. The sometimes infuriating thing would be that the game seemed to have a mind of its own and would arbitrarily input that you move (I’ve personally had entire playthroughs ruined due to the feature). The new “Don’t Move” segments involve keeping a cursor within a circle for a duration of time and is much more forgiving. Definitely easier, but still requires your full attention and maintains the intensity of the situations.
The above gameplay updates may seem small, but compounded together, it makes the game much more user friendly, feel a lot smoother, and most importantly, more easy to get immersed in.
The last notable thing to touch on is the content additions. While there isn’t too much, there’s enough to excite veteran fans and provide new players with a fuller experience than the original. For starters, an optional gameplay segment between Matt and Emily that was previously locked behind pre-order copies of the original Until Dawn has been implemented into this version. There’s also two new optional ending cutscenes that have huge implications. I won’t spoil them here, but as a long-term fan, I was a bit mind-blown at them and the fact that one potentially hints at another chapter directly tied to the title.
Until Dawn is one of the most exciting titles in survival-horror. It already has a cult-following and conversations around it were already lively before the remaster was even announced, so with the remaster now released and the film adaptation coming up in the near future, I’m eager for new audiences to be exposed to it. While the original stands on its own, and I respect folks who may have valid reasons as to why they prefer it to the remaster, I will personally be happy to recommend the remaster to folks in the future knowing that it provides the smoothest gameplay and fullest content.
Until Dawn is available now on PC and PlayStation 5.
