Until Dawn PS5 Review: A Brilliant Nightmare with Rough Edges

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Our verdict:

Until Dawn for the PS5 is more than just an upgrade in graphics. Revamped scenes and additional gameplay mechanics make this a horror worth exploring. It is an interactive adventure marred by frustrating bugs and crashes, but one that’s still well worth the scares.

Pros

  • Stunning graphics
  • Multiple choice narrative
  • Frightening jump-scares
  • Expanded mechanics
  • New scenes, dialogue, and ending

Cons

  • Sluggish movement
  • Occasional stiff animations
  • Persistent crashes
  • Slow pacing

Until Dawn at a Glance

Category Our rating (Out of 10) Comments 
Graphics 9 A significant improvement over the original that highlights the full power of the PS5. Held back only by occasional choppy animations in cinematics and gameplay.
Gameplay 6 Despite the new additions, the core gameplay still remains mostly the same. The game functions more like an interactive movie than a game. Movement feels slow and unresponsive to the joystick. Crashes occur frequently in the first few chapters.
Story 7 The story remains mostly faithful to the original, with new scenes and endings to better link its many ideas together and feel less disjointed. It leans into cliche horror tropes a bit too heavily.
Replayability 7 Its multiple-choice system, spurred by the butterfly effect, means players can re-approach chapters for different outcomes. However, the crashes at the beginning of the game deter me from re-experiencing it again.
Overall 7.25 Until Dawn is a solid horror experience that far surpasses the original, but its core gameplay and performance issues make it unsuitable for everyone.

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

The game's story is determined by choices made by the player
The game’s story is determined by choices made by the player. Source: Joey Morris via Techopedia

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.

Key gameplay includes:

Butterfly Effect: Scenes have multiple choices that branch out to different outcomes/endings.
Quick Time Events: Press the correct buttons and inputs in intense moments.
Don’t Move: Some sequences require you to keep the mouse/controller still to succeed.
Horror Elements: Jumpscares, chase scenes, intense atmosphere, and more.

New Fear Unlocked

Totems are discoverable items that show glimpses into the future
Totems are discoverable items that show glimpses into the future. Source: Joey Morris via Techopedia

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.

New features include:

Upgraded Graphics: Visuals have been remade to offer beautiful scenery and improved character models.
New POV: Over-the-shoulder and first-person perspectives vary gameplay.
Revamped Scenes: Some scenes, including the prologue, have seen revisions to better fit the story.
Hunger Totems: New type of totems that add to the game’s story.

Who Will Survive?

The eight characters of Until Dawn see major graphical improvements
The eight characters of Until Dawn see major graphical improvements. Source: Joey Morris via Techopedia

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.

New story developments include:

New Ending: A brand new ending to offer shocking story revelations and expand on certain storylines.
New Scenes: Revised scenes and additional dialogue to improve tone and pace.
Dr. Hill: Dr. Hill, who was previously kept to the sidelines, plays a more active role in the story.

Glitches in the Dark

Until Dawn currently runs at 30fps when the PS5 is in resolution mode
Until Dawn currently runs at 30fps when the PS5 is in resolution mode. Source: Joey Morris via Techopedia

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.

Key issues to consider:

Crashes: Crashes occur near the beginning of the game, although this may be fixed in future updates.
Bugs: AI companions can experience issues in movement.
Movement: Controlling characters often felt slow and sluggish.
Frame Rates: Frame rates are inconsistent and rarely ever reach 60 fps on PS5.

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.

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References

  1. Until Dawn | PlayStation (US) (Playstation)
  2. Until Dawn™ on Steam (Store.steampowered)
Joey Morris
Gaming Writer
Joey Morris
Gaming Writer

Joey Morris is a Gaming Writer for Techopedia. He has spent several years writing on his own blog site and for other creative publications. He has written reviews, features, and even a digital magazine. He has also produced podcasts, video essays, and held interviews with various experts in the gaming industry. He enjoys playing video games as both a profession and passion.