Until Dawn

Rate it

Keep eight friends alive through one night on a snowbound mountain.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (83% of 5,342 reviews)
Length: about 8 to 10 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Ballistic Moon
Released: 2024

What frightens Eight friends spend a night at a remote mountain lodge where a masked stalker sets deadly traps and something worse moves in the snow; one wrong choice or missed button press gets any of them killed for good.
Content: gore, violence, jumpscares, strong language, sexual references, death of characters.

A cinematic slasher horror game in which eight friends return to a remote mountain lodge a year after two of them vanished. You play each of them in turn, and every choice and quick reaction decides who survives until dawn. This 2024 version rebuilds the 2015 PlayStation 4 game for PC and PlayStation 5.

About Until Dawn

Until Dawn first came out on PlayStation 4 in 2015, made by Supermassive Games. In 2024 Ballistic Moon rebuilt it in Unreal Engine 5 for PC and PlayStation 5, with a new third-person camera, a new score, re-cut scenes and new areas, published by PlayStation Publishing.

The story begins a year after a prank at Blackwood Mountain's lodge ended with two sisters lost in the snow. Their friends come back to mark the anniversary, and the night goes wrong almost at once: someone in a mask is watching, the cable car is cut off, and the old mine and sanatorium on the mountain hide more than the stalker. The cast is played by actors including Hayden Panettiere and Brett Dalton.

You move through the night as each of the eight, exploring, reading clues and making choices in conversation and in danger. Quick-time events test your reactions in chases, and some scenes ask you to keep the controller perfectly still to hide. Small choices ripple forward through the butterfly effect system, and any character can die permanently, so endings range from everyone surviving to no one.

Its fear is that of a teen slasher film you steer yourself, with jumpscares, chases and some heavy gore. It suits players who like story and choices more than combat, and it is good to watch with friends taking turns on the controller, though the game itself is single-player.

How to play Until Dawn

Play each chapter as the character the story gives you, walking and looking around for clues and totems.
Choose between two options in conversations and moments of danger; the choice shapes what happens later.
React to quick-time prompts in chases and fights before the timer runs out.
When told not to move, hold the controller or mouse still to stay hidden.
Answer the psychiatrist's questions between chapters honestly; they shape what you face.

Screenshots

Until Dawn screenshot: a pale, grinning face with sunken eyes in the dark

Until Dawn screenshot: a man stands before a wall of security monitors in a dark room

Until Dawn screenshot: a pig's head on a stake lit in the dark woods

Tips

Collect totems: each shows a short vision of a possible future that can help you choose.
Do not always pick the fast, risky path in a chase; the safe route can save a life.
Read clues carefully, they can change what a character knows later.
There is no manual save; your choices stick, so play on and replay later for other endings.

Questions

Is Until Dawn multiplayer?

No. It is a single-player game, though many people play it passing the controller between friends.

How long is Until Dawn?

About eight to ten hours for one play through.

Can everyone survive in Until Dawn?

Yes. Any of the eight can live or die, depending on your choices and reactions.

What is the difference between the original and the 2024 version?

The 2024 version is a rebuild for PC and PlayStation 5 with new visuals, a third-person camera, new music and some new and re-cut scenes; the story is the same.