Until Dawn Comes to PlayStation 5 and PC in October 2024 [IGN]
The remastered game — which sees the player control a group of eight teenagers vacationing in a spooky mountaintop cabin — has been built in Unreal Engine 5 and therefore offers updated character models, environments, interactable props, visual effects, animations, and more.
Remaster studio Ballistic Moon promises a more “atmospheric experience” which fits with the conventions of “modern horror,” helped by these features alongside the addition of raytracing and enhanced materials. Comparisons with the original game from 2015 can be seen below.
Perhaps most prominently, the remastered game features a reworked prologue, with adjustments to its narrative pacing. “We’ve given the Washingtons extra screen time to explore their close family bond and get to know them a little better,” creative director Neil McEwan said in a PlayStation Blog post. “We have also reframed some of the original scenes and developed the context around the infamous prank. We hope this enhances its emotional impact.”
Until Dawn’s updated version also has revised cinematography that uses a combination of fixed and over-the-shoulder camera views. “Blending the cinematography of the original with the introduction of a modern third-person camera, we hope to bring new life to characters and locations,” McEwan said.
Myriad new accessibility and usability settings have also been added, as well as an alternative challenge to the Don’t Move mechanic, which was a focal point of the original Until Dawn’s criticism.
Until Dawn for PS5 and PC was announced in January 2024 as the latest in a long line of ports and remasters.
In our 7/10 review of the original, IGN said: “Until Dawn is an inconsistent horror game, but it’s still a heck of a lot of fun.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.