Until Dawn (2024) Remake Game Review – A Horror or a Money Heist?

fortressofsolitude.co.za:

I don’t need to be The Shining‘s Danny Torrance to know what you’re thinking: “Why does Until Dawn—Supermassive Games’ 2015 horror hit—need a remake nine years later? And why should I even care?” Before you grab your pitchforks, let me tell you exactly why this new version of the classic interactive horror slasher should actually be on the radar of every horror game fan.

While it’s true that nobody was screaming for a Pet Sematary-style resurrection of the original game (most fans were craving a sequel instead), Ballistic Moon (not the original developer) saw the opportunity to give this not-so-dusty classic a fresh coat of blood—or rather, a stunning new layer of shiny Unreal Engine 5 visuals. While some folks with Supermassive DNA were still lurking behind the scenes, the approach here isn’t to reinvent the game but simply to tweak the original and give fans an enhanced experience. The logic: prettier graphics + improved gameplay + new camera angles + same story + extra bits of cutscenes = new game.

For those of you new to this blood-curdling tale, Until Dawn tells the story of eight friends who reunite at a remote lodge on Blackwood Mountain. A year earlier, a nasty prank they had pulled on a friend turned deadly. Haunted by the past, the group soon realises that something or someone wants them to pay for their transgressions. It’s up to you, your fast instincts and clever decision-making, to decide who lives to see the dawn and who dies a scream-worthy death. It’s a shaken and stirred cocktail of Scream, Cabin in the Woods, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Final Destination – all the teen horror classics, actually.

The first thing you’ll notice when loading up the new version of Until Dawn is the sharp new visuals. Everything looks better: the skin textures, the clothing materials, the lighting, the atmospheric environments… Everything. The 2015 version was already impressive. But the skin lift here makes the game feel even more realistic – enough to make you