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Until Dawn: New Trailer Lets You Take Control
- Thread starter Loudninja
- Start date
Omnistalgic
Member
Sounds good..
Sounding real good...
Babyrubbinghandstogether.gif
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
I haven't been this excited for a game in ages. I NEED IT!
SlasherJPC
Banned
I'm not a home after starting a second playthrough but I can't stop thinking about the game. I will say, it doesn't appear you can skip cutscenes at all, even after beating it fyi.
User 479360
Banned
I think I'll be starting playthrough 2 tonight.
Tricky I Shadow
Banned
I know it kina depends on the choices you make, but does the game have a strong/satisfying ending? A simple yes or no will do me.
Cavaliersfan767
Banned
Yes, by horror movie standards it felt pretty satisfying.
User 479360
Banned
Cavaliersfan767
Banned
Looking forward to this
Callibretto
Member
Hmm, I think that's gonna cost them some review scores. Is there no way to load from the start of a chapter after you beat the game? Do you need to start all over from the beginningnif you just don't like that final choice near the end and what to see the alternate scenarios?
Think I can live without the Platinum on this one.
We'll see.
Couldn't even bring myself to Plat The Order and that's about the easiest damn AAA Plat in a while, but unskippable cutscenes on replays tho
Yo, that's a lot of Gold Trophies.
Vita's successor leaked :O
But honestly though, I think UD is going to sell pretty well.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Once completed you can choose your episode.
As for the alternate stuff no idea. Playing it through again and then going to skip around.
psychotron
Member
Just preordered from Best Buy. Let's do this shit! Backlog is already stacked and Gears Ultimate Edition and Dishonored both come out Tuesday as well. I'm fucked, lol.
Answer to SPOILER:
More than just a guy with a mask; I thought the story got weaker the more the game moved away from being a pure slasher movie, but once you accept that there's more going on and that the game is no longer grounded in reality, it's still quite enjoyable.
Elitist1945
Member
Amazon ship my damn game already!!!!!!
Interesting, thanks.
Dreadx_Jecht
Banned
Bit relieved to see these positive impressions. I saw a video by a fairly good sized YouTube channel that hated it. Was afraid it would cause a bit of a domino effect on people's opinions for the game.
All them kids and their Vitas jumping on that 4 cents deal.
Cavaliersfan767
Banned
There was actually another youtuber who called him out in another video. If you warch his unboxing it almost seems like he wants to play it just to bring it down. Clearly not his type of game.
Chalupa Batman
Member
Alright, here's my review. To understand where I'm coming from, you might need to know four things about me:
1. I like a wide range of games (Uncharted 1, 2, TLOU, the Batman: Arkham series, Mirror's Edge, and Ori and the Blind Forest are some of my recent favorites) and I play almost anything except RPGs and fighting games. But of all the types of games I play, linear, story-driven games are my favorite.
2. I loved Heavy Rain despite its awkward use of language ("wasteland" being the example that quickly comes to mind) and any other flaws people had with it. It's one of my 10 favorite games of all-time.
3. I hate (yes, hate) horror/scary games and movies. I avoid them at all costs.
4. I'm not sensitive in any way to frame rate. In fact, I can almost never tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps.
So, knowing the above things, here's my review:
I really loved Until Dawn. I barely knew anything about it before I played it at PSX in December, and once I did I immediately knew I was going to buy it no matter what the reviews said. This type of game is right up my alley even though the horror genre is something I avoid at all costs. That's the best praise I can give it. Even though I hate the horror genre, I couldn't stop playing. Did I play with my hand in front of my face and miss a few button prompts because of it? You're goddamn right I did. But it's a testament to the quality of this game that even though I hate the genre it's in, I couldn't stop playing.
With this type of game, it's all about writing, acting, and production values, because there is no combat or "traditional" game mechanics. Everything in this game feels like it has a high level of polish to it. The cheesy scenes are intentionally cheesy and well-done. I was concerned that they would come off like Alex's relationship with Lara in Tomb Raider (2013), but it is handled much better than that and as a result, I actually cared about the decisions I was making with all of the characters.
As far as gameplay goes, it plays similarly to Heavy Rain, with QTEs and short multi-button presses required to open doors and examine objects. One thing I really liked is that the time they give you to press the right button is basically perfect--just enough time to get it right but you'll barely make it, which increases the tension. There's also parts where you can't move the controller, not even a freaking millimeter, which is super tense and basically resulted in me holding my breath just like the character I was controlling on the screen. I already experienced this from the PSX demo but it's really fantastic and enough can't be said about it.
Also, there's some leeway with the button presses in that if you miss one it's not insta-death, which is nice and different from how Tomb Raider or Heavy Rain handled it sometimes.
Now, for some criticisms:
I'll use this question to start off my main complaint of the game: the actual ending is super short, almost nonexistent. There is a lot of tension/build-up to the ending, which is awesome, but then it literally just ends. I don't even think this is because I had so many characters dead by the end, I think the game ends the same way even if everyone survives. I'll test this in my second playthrough and report back.
Another thing that bothered me is the nature of the terror/"reveal". Not being a fan of the horror genre (meaning I don't have a lot of history knowing how these stories play out), I still thought the "reveal" was cliché and has been seen too many times in games I've played. That's saying something from someone who's not a fan of this genre. It's quite possible the "reveal" has been shown in trailers already released, but I've avoided all media aside from the demo I played at PSX. To be fair, this game was trying to mimic the campy/cliché vibe, so the cliché "reveal" is probably intentional, but it still bothered me to have it happen this way. It's a small complaint though as the game is still scary/campy, which is more important than the "reveal".
My only other complaint is that the preorder scene really does screw with the flow of the first part of the game. Since 25% of the characters are cut in the first 25% of the game, those two characters don't grab a hold of you as much as the rest of the cast and as a result, I felt less connected to them to start the game. This is made up over time, but it's still something that should have been avoided at all costs because your feelings for each character sets the foundation for the story and how attached you are to it.
Conclusion
Is Until Dawn worth playing? Absolutely. It knows exactly what it's trying to be and never strays from that line or even attempts to tiptoe it. It achieves what it set out to do. Each character is given adequate representation in the game so you are always vested in whichever character you're playing as, and every scene in the game is always supporting something else, whether it be atmosphere, tension, or characters. Nothing is wasted or overstays its welcome.
Is it worth $60? For most people, probably not. I say this because from what I understand about the average gamer, most people will only play this once, if they finish it at all.
But if you are interested in seeing how your choices shape the story in different ways, there are at least three total playthroughs you will get out of this: one with every character surviving, one with every character dying, and one with a mix, which will undoubtedly be most people's first playthrough. So if you want to do multiple playthroughs, it's absolutely worth $60. And similar to Heavy Rain, your choices have a dramatic impact on the story.
1. I like a wide range of games (Uncharted 1, 2, TLOU, the Batman: Arkham series, Mirror's Edge, and Ori and the Blind Forest are some of my recent favorites) and I play almost anything except RPGs and fighting games. But of all the types of games I play, linear, story-driven games are my favorite.
2. I loved Heavy Rain despite its awkward use of language ("wasteland" being the example that quickly comes to mind) and any other flaws people had with it. It's one of my 10 favorite games of all-time.
3. I hate (yes, hate) horror/scary games and movies. I avoid them at all costs.
4. I'm not sensitive in any way to frame rate. In fact, I can almost never tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps.
So, knowing the above things, here's my review:
I really loved Until Dawn. I barely knew anything about it before I played it at PSX in December, and once I did I immediately knew I was going to buy it no matter what the reviews said. This type of game is right up my alley even though the horror genre is something I avoid at all costs. That's the best praise I can give it. Even though I hate the horror genre, I couldn't stop playing. Did I play with my hand in front of my face and miss a few button prompts because of it? You're goddamn right I did. But it's a testament to the quality of this game that even though I hate the genre it's in, I couldn't stop playing.
With this type of game, it's all about writing, acting, and production values, because there is no combat or "traditional" game mechanics. Everything in this game feels like it has a high level of polish to it. The cheesy scenes are intentionally cheesy and well-done. I was concerned that they would come off like Alex's relationship with Lara in Tomb Raider (2013), but it is handled much better than that and as a result, I actually cared about the decisions I was making with all of the characters.
As far as gameplay goes, it plays similarly to Heavy Rain, with QTEs and short multi-button presses required to open doors and examine objects. One thing I really liked is that the time they give you to press the right button is basically perfect--just enough time to get it right but you'll barely make it, which increases the tension. There's also parts where you can't move the controller, not even a freaking millimeter, which is super tense and basically resulted in me holding my breath just like the character I was controlling on the screen. I already experienced this from the PSX demo but it's really fantastic and enough can't be said about it.
Also, there's some leeway with the button presses in that if you miss one it's not insta-death, which is nice and different from how Tomb Raider or Heavy Rain handled it sometimes.
Now, for some criticisms:
I'll use this question to start off my main complaint of the game: the actual ending is super short, almost nonexistent. There is a lot of tension/build-up to the ending, which is awesome, but then it literally just ends. I don't even think this is because I had so many characters dead by the end, I think the game ends the same way even if everyone survives. I'll test this in my second playthrough and report back.
Another thing that bothered me is the nature of the terror/"reveal". Not being a fan of the horror genre (meaning I don't have a lot of history knowing how these stories play out), I still thought the "reveal" was cliché and has been seen too many times in games I've played. That's saying something from someone who's not a fan of this genre. It's quite possible the "reveal" has been shown in trailers already released, but I've avoided all media aside from the demo I played at PSX. To be fair, this game was trying to mimic the campy/cliché vibe, so the cliché "reveal" is probably intentional, but it still bothered me to have it happen this way. It's a small complaint though as the game is still scary/campy, which is more important than the "reveal".
My only other complaint is that the preorder scene really does screw with the flow of the first part of the game. Since 25% of the characters are cut in the first 25% of the game, those two characters don't grab a hold of you as much as the rest of the cast and as a result, I felt less connected to them to start the game. This is made up over time, but it's still something that should have been avoided at all costs because your feelings for each character sets the foundation for the story and how attached you are to it.
Conclusion
Is Until Dawn worth playing? Absolutely. It knows exactly what it's trying to be and never strays from that line or even attempts to tiptoe it. It achieves what it set out to do. Each character is given adequate representation in the game so you are always vested in whichever character you're playing as, and every scene in the game is always supporting something else, whether it be atmosphere, tension, or characters. Nothing is wasted or overstays its welcome.
Is it worth $60? For most people, probably not. I say this because from what I understand about the average gamer, most people will only play this once, if they finish it at all.
But if you are interested in seeing how your choices shape the story in different ways, there are at least three total playthroughs you will get out of this: one with every character surviving, one with every character dying, and one with a mix, which will undoubtedly be most people's first playthrough. So if you want to do multiple playthroughs, it's absolutely worth $60. And similar to Heavy Rain, your choices have a dramatic impact on the story.
User 479360
Banned
This game being $74.99 in Canada will likely hurt it. Damned dollar.
UberTag
Member
I suspect it'll drop in price as quickly as The Order: 1886 did. And be $30 in time for Black Friday / Boxing Day.
Hopefully the pre-order DLC will be available for purchase at large at that point for everyone.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
Thanks. I'll be sure to check those out.
I think the game will have huge legs despite lacking multiplayer, a lot of big streamers are planning on playing it, & you'll likely see a lot of people playing it on YouTube and twitch over the next year, so that's going to give it lots of sales over a long period of time.
Chalupa Batman
Member
One thing I forgot to mention is how awesome the Butterfly Effect system is. There's a menu that shows all the choices you make and groups them together so you can see how they effected each other. It's really well done and is fascinating to go through. Even the smallest decisions have a huge effect later on, which obviously is the definition of the butterfly effect. It's fantastic.
You know what, I'm damn tempted to pick this up. As mentioned earlier, this has been completely off my radar, but I just realised I'm a bit burned out on open world games right now (haven't been able to finish Witcher 3 or Dragon Age, still haven't opened up my copy of Arkham Knight, and even then still have MGSV pre-ordered). I feel like Until Dawn is the kind of game I could sink time in to, to break away from the monotony and longevity of some of these other open world games I'm playing. To instead offer some more accessible, less time consuming, uncomplicated entertainment. Something that I can actually finish, which is always a bonus lol.
I plan on playing this with my wife watching me, seems like it's the kind of experience people, even non gamers would enjoy.
I remember the day i got Heavy Rain i was with a friend who doesn't play videogames at all. I don't remember why he was there but he did go with me to pick the game and sat beside me as i fired up. After around 3 hours he was hooked, he didn't want to leave my house. I hope this game offers a similar experience, Heavy Rain is one of may favorite last gen games.
I remember the day i got Heavy Rain i was with a friend who doesn't play videogames at all. I don't remember why he was there but he did go with me to pick the game and sat beside me as i fired up. After around 3 hours he was hooked, he didn't want to leave my house. I hope this game offers a similar experience, Heavy Rain is one of may favorite last gen games.
I doubt it (at least for now)... The Order had several major issues even before launch, mainly due to its poorly implemented third-person shooter nature and poor storytelling and character building. I also highly doubt that Until Dawn will be met with as much criticism as TO received when it launched back in February. Based on the latest impressions, it seems the story is more focused (despite the genre) and the characters are well-written, two things that TO lacked unfortunately in the overall game. Although, it will surely be on sale for Black Friday, maybe not at 30$... most likely around 40$ USD or 45~50$ CAD (which is 25$ off).
I guess the game having "fake choices" narrative was false? Someone in this thread said the choices didn't matter, but then he disappeared.
I'm glad the "butterfly effect" is working though, I already spent money on this game so I don't want it to be a disappointment.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Def my wife loved watching. Having a Until Dawn party with a huge group of people the weekend of release. Majority rules on decisions hehehe
PhantomVash808
Member
Has anyone seen any commercials for this game on TV yet or is Sony not going to market this game because I haven't seen 1 tv advert in the US. However I seen a ton of commercials for the Order prior to release.
Also if Sony was smart they would release a demo as I know the demo for Heavy Rain convinced a few of my friends to pick up the game.
Monday night can't come soon enough I'm so excited for this game.
Also if Sony was smart they would release a demo as I know the demo for Heavy Rain convinced a few of my friends to pick up the game.
Monday night can't come soon enough I'm so excited for this game.
As far as I can remember... Heavy Rain "never" received any TV commercial in the US and in CAnada. So, there's that. Also, most of the commercial of TO were targeting fans of shooter/3rd-person shooter games (most likely dudebros). It's only on launch that most of them figured that The Order wasn't as solid gameplay-wise as the trailer made it seem.
p.s. I just want to say that I am big fan of The Order:1886 universe. There's a little bit of hope in me saying that there might be sequel if sales are okay-ish.
The same thing happened for Telltale's The Walking Dead when they released a demo (did they release a demo? I don't remember frankly).
PhantomVash808
Member
woops
You should probably fix your quote (mine in your case).
PhantomVash808
Member
Yup your right about Heavy Rain, it did not have any TV ads in the US but Beyond Two Souls did so I was hoping Until Dawn would get a few.
p.s. I also am hoping The Order 1886 receives a sequel. It wasn't the greatest game but I enjoyed it. It's universe felt very promising and I was hoping for a sequel to flesh out the studios actual vision very much like AC1 to AC2. Sadly with Sony cutting ties with Ready at Dawn its highly unlikely we will ever see the Order 1887.
No need to double post... You could just fix your original post with a [/QUOTE] after the "okay-ish" part.
EDIT: Nevermind.
SCE has the IP (as far as I know). So they could always use the Santa Monica Studio as the go-to studio for the sequel since they acted as the "producers" on The Order: 1886. Which leads me to wonder... what if, besides the obvious new God of War project, SSM were tackling some kind of revamped sequel for The Order. It's not like it's dead in the water... people are still talking about it (not for the good reasons but still). Furthermore, Cory Barlog, who came back at SSM, had experience with Cinematic Third-Person Shooter to some capacity (see Tomb Raider [2013]). So... nothing's impossible?
PhantomVash808
Member
SCE has the IP (as far as I know). So they could always use the Santa Monica Studio as the go-to studio for the sequel since they acted as the "producers" on The Order: 1886. Which leads me to wonder... what if, besides the obvious new God of War project, SSM were tackling some kind of revamped sequel for The Order. It's not like it's dead in the water... people are still talking about it (not for the good reasons but still). Furthermore, Cory Barlog, who came back at SSM, had experience with Cinematic Third-Person Shooter to some capacity (see Tomb Raider [2013]). So... nothing's impossible?
Your right Sony does own the IP but it seems like Sony is trying to distant themselves from the series for now. So though Sony can have Santa Monica or another dev team create the sequel I don't see them doing this any time soon sadly. However after this years E3 I learn to never say never.
Chalupa Batman
Member
I can't think of a single choice that doesn't have a consequence. It's crazy, things that I literally put no thought into turned out to be game-changers due to the butterfly effect. In the menu it tells you exactly how your choice effected something else. It's fascinating and I've never seen anything like it.
Now maybe different choices can lead to the same initial outcome, but it's not fake because they affect other things eventually.
NotTheGuyYouKill
Member
Pre-ordered during E3, baby.
It's only sixty bucks for me.
I think.
Edit: Goddammit, fuck you Amazon. 75 bucks again? What happened to my goddamn E3 deals
UberTag
Member
I'm not saying that Until Dawn will drop in price because it's poorly received.
Quite the contrary actually... I think it'll sell half-decent and wind up with a Metacritic somewhere around 75-80 this week.
I just think that first-party Sony games routinely drop in price because they're oversold to the retail channel. Not because they're bad.
LittleBigPlanet 3 and inFamous: Second Son both dropped in value quite rapidly as well. The only publisher whose game prices drop quicker is Ubisoft.
If this was another time of year, I could buy the "sales legs" logic. But with so many heavy hitters on the way, that's a tougher sell for me.
Streamers can always rent, borrow or buy this game used if they want to take a run through it. It's quick like The Order in that respect if you're not replaying it.
The depth comes from seeing how decisions alter the flow of the game in both drastic and subtle ways.
If you still have it in your E3 order (provided you didn't drop your total game count in that order from 3+ games), the discount is reflected on the side and will be applied when your credit card is charged. So that price of $74.49 will drop to $52.14 (plus tax and any shipping).