Until Dawn Remake: Before You Buy – A Familiar Yet Unnecessary Revamp
In a gaming industry that has embraced the remake craze, Sony has taken another bold step by remastering Until Dawn, a horror game beloved by many. Originally released in 2015, the game became an instant favorite for fans of interactive, cinematic horror experiences. Now, less than a decade later, the remake of Until Dawn offers some graphical improvements and tweaks but leaves the question—was this remake really necessary?
A Visual Overhaul with Unreal Engine 5
One of the biggest draws of this remake is the visual upgrade, thanks to the use of Unreal Engine 5. The new version undeniably looks better than the original, with improved lighting, character models, and frame rates.
The game feels more modern in terms of visual fidelity, and long-time fans will notice that the infamous “potato people” character models of the original are now far more polished. The facial animations and environmental details have received a significant bump, offering a smoother, more cinematic experience.
However, despite these improvements, the visual upgrade may not justify the game’s $60 price tag. The original Until Dawn was already visually impressive for its time and still holds up relatively well today. While the new coat of paint is certainly welcome, it doesn’t drastically change the experience.
This remake doesn’t introduce groundbreaking new visual elements that would make you feel like you’re playing a completely different game. So while the game looks better, it’s hard to argue that these upgrades are worth the steep price.
Same Story, Same Game
If you’ve played the original Until Dawn, you won’t find many surprises here. The remake sticks extremely close to the original, with very few changes in terms of gameplay or story. You’ll experience the same characters, same events, and the same choices that can lead to multiple endings based on how you play.
For those unfamiliar with Until Dawn, it’s an interactive narrative-driven horror game where players make decisions that affect the outcomes for a group of friends trapped in a remote mountain lodge. The story centers around a classic horror setup: a tragic prank, a mysterious killer, and the group returning to the scene of the crime a year later. The game draws heavily on slasher movie tropes, offering everything from jump scares to psychological tension.
The game’s decision-based mechanics are one of its biggest strengths. Throughout the narrative, you’ll be tasked with making choices that determine who lives and who dies, with the possibility of saving or dooming all the characters. The game does a fantastic job of making each decision feel weighty, and the consequences of your choices unfold in often unexpected ways.
What sets Until Dawn apart from other interactive horror games, like those from Quantic Dream or Telltale, is its campy, slasher-inspired tone. The characters are intentionally over-the-top, and the dialogue is often cheesy, but it works within the framework of the genre. Despite the occasional ridiculousness of the story, Until Dawn is engaging and tense, keeping players on their toes throughout its relatively short but action-packed playtime.
Minor Additions & Accessibility Options
Although the core experience remains unchanged, the Until Dawn remake does offer a few minor additions. The prologue has been slightly expanded, offering a bit more context to the prank that kicks off the main storyline. Some new notes have been added for players to discover, providing additional background information about the characters and the setting. However, these additions are minor and don’t drastically change the overall experience.
One welcome improvement comes in the form of accessibility options. The remake includes new settings that allow players to adjust the difficulty of QTEs (quick-time events), even allowing players to automatically win or lose them. For those who prefer a more relaxed experience or want to see the hilarious consequences of failing every QTE, these options are a nice touch. The ability to make characters clumsy and prone to failure adds an extra layer of fun for players who enjoy experimenting with different outcomes.
Improved Gore and New Endings
One area where the Ballistic Moon remake team clearly put in some work is the gore. Death scenes in the original Until Dawn were already pretty graphic, but the remake dials the violence up a notch. The more detailed character models make the gruesome deaths even more intense, and the game doesn’t shy away from delivering some truly horrific moments.
Additionally, the remake introduces a few new endings, but they are fairly short and don’t add much to the overall experience. These endings provide a bit of intrigue for players who want to see every possible outcome, but they likely aren’t enough to warrant purchasing the game if you’ve already played through the original.
Performance & Technical Issues
One of the biggest complaints about the original Until Dawn was its performance issues, particularly with frame rate drops during intense scenes. Unfortunately, while the remake has improved performance overall, it’s not without its own issues. Stuttering and occasional freezes can still occur, though they are less frequent than in the original. For a remake of a game that isn’t particularly old, it’s disappointing that these technical problems weren’t completely ironed out.
Is It Worth the Price?
At the end of the day, the biggest question surrounding the Until Dawn remake is whether it’s worth the $60 price tag. For players who have already experienced the original game, the answer is likely no. While the improved graphics and minor additions are nice, they don’t justify the high cost for a game that is otherwise nearly identical to its predecessor.
For newcomers, however, Until Dawn remains one of the best examples of the choose-your-own-adventure genre. It’s engaging, suspenseful, and delivers a satisfying horror experience. But even then, the remake’s price feels steep, and it’s hard to argue that this version offers enough improvements to warrant a full-priced purchase. A $20 PS5 upgrade or a more modest price point would have made this remake far more appealing.
Final Verdict
The Until Dawn remake is a solid update to a great game, but its high price and minimal changes make it hard to recommend for anyone who already played the original. The graphical improvements are nice, and the game’s tension and decision-making mechanics still hold up exceptionally well. However, if you’ve already been through the harrowing events on Blackwood Mountain, there’s little reason to return at full price.
If you’re new to Until Dawn and haven’t played the original, this remake is still a fun, thrilling horror experience, but consider waiting for a sale before diving in. The scariest thing about this remake isn’t the game’s monsters or tense moments—it’s the price.
