Until Dawn Remake PS5 Review
Summary: The remastered Until Dawn for PS5 retains its original charm while enhancing accessibility and visuals, although some fans may miss the original's blue filter. While it doesn't introduce significant new content or a performance boost, it offers a polished experience worth exploring, especially for newcomers.
4.5
A worthy remaster
The remastered Until Dawn for PS5 retains its original charm while enhancing accessibility and visuals, although some fans may miss the original’s blue filter. While it doesn’t introduce significant new content or a performance boost, it offers a polished experience worth exploring, especially for newcomers.
Amidst a flood of remakes and remasters across the industry— and especially from Sony lately—it wasn’t exactly a shock to see that Until Dawn would be next in line for a next-gen glow-up. I personally don’t get too hung up on whether a game needs a remaster or not, just like I don’t have strong feelings about whether a good horror film should be a slasher, found footage, or psychological. As long as more people can enjoy the original appeal, I’m fine with anything that leads into that purpose and doesn’t divert ‘drastically’ from it. Thankfully, the game still retains its distinctive game-y take on beloved horror movie conventions with its PS5-exclusive revamp, all while expanding its reach to include more players in its spooky fun.
When I booted up Supermassive Games’ 7-hour interactive horror drama, the first thing that jumped out at me was the option to enable a screen reader. The game will actually test the feature for you by saying the text out loud, then ask if you want it to keep it on. If you do, every menu will have accompanying voiceover. I’ll admit, this is something I wouldn’t have appreciated before, but ever since I’ve personally started dabbling into web development, I’ve learned just how much effort goes into making games and websites accessible for visually impaired users. So hats off to the devs for this thoughtful addition. Other accessibility options include a dyslexic font, control over subtitle visibility and contrast, and the ability to adjust the success rate of Quick Time Events (QTEs)—which is a great touch considering the game’s infested with them.
Once I had my settings sorted, I dove into the first chapter only to find the entire prologue had been remade—or at least somehow remixed. Originally, Until Dawn’s starting segment was about a group of friends whose trip to a mountain lodge goes horribly wrong after they pull a nasty prank on two of their own. While the core premise is unchanged, the way the group was introduced and the scenes unfolded felt different. Some elements were changed or expanded upon in some way or another, but the motion capture was awfully awkward. Everyone moved so stiffly that it gave me a strikingly bad premonition about how the rest of the game was going to be mocap wise. Thankfully, once I got past the prologue, the actors’ movements and facial expressions were incredibly lifelike, even more so on PS5 than the original PS4 release from nine years ago. So for those who might let the prologue’s weirdness cloud their judgment, don’t worry—things are much better later on (though not as better for the cast itself).
As expected, the group would reunite at the lodge a year after the tragic incident, and all the classic tropes ensue: teenage drama, chase sequences, lots of screaming, and creepy psychologists breaking the fourth wall. It’s got the full horror package, just like the original. James already highlighted the charming aspects of the original Until Dawn in his review, like its tense atmosphere, how every decision matters thanks to the butterfly effect mechanic, the photorealistic graphics, and the nail-biting “don’t move” segments. I won’t rehash all of that, but I want to take a moment to point out how Until Dawn is still special among other PS5 exclusives in how it lets you shape each character’s personality, dynamic, fate, on top of what uncomfortable devices would appear as jump scares later on like spiders or snakes depending on the early choices of each player. It’s really great when every press and moment you spend with the game has a meaning and a payoff, and Until Dawn is a great example of that.
Switching from fixed camera angles to an over-the-shoulder view also enhanced the characters’ expressions and helped immerse me in the tension. That said, the game’s still locked at 30 FPS despite being rebuilt in a new engine (instead of the original Decima). It’s not a huge deal breaker since the game is more cinematic than action-heavy, but it’s worth noting. Most of the changes players would care about (or I felt were a priority here) are visual, like facial textures and character models and natural landscapes, and those were heavily improved. Picture comparisons of the cast simply don’t give them enough justice; you need to see the guys and gals in action and see their tired faces and hear their strained voices under escalating tense situations and against the backdrop of the labyrinthine undergrounds of the snowy mountain to notice how the new engine really made the actors’ efforts much more noticeable and impactful.
It’s also the reason why I didn’t bother naming the cast and saying “hey look it’s Hayden Panettiere from Heroes! or Rami Malek from Mr Robot!”. All the actors did a fine job of filling in the in-game counterparts’ shoes, and no one really outshined the other because of their previous experience of Hollywood star power. Though I have to say Nichole Sakura (who plays Emily) in particular has some of the best action sequences I’ve seen in any horror experience, let alone Sony exclusive video games. The real selling point here is not their previous fame, but how their exceptional acting was delivered alongside the new remake enhancements.
One point that might cause (and is currently causing) contention among the fans is how Until Dawn ditched the blue filter from the original. I agree somewhat that the filter elevated the tense atmosphere and made the night the guys and gals spent at the lodge feel longer and the dawn they were waiting for more distant. But I also believe that removing that filter highlighted the new details in characters’ faces, hair, and clothing more and let them shine, and those parts in my opinion are the most important tools in how Until Dawn told its story, not the screen filter itself. Still, I think there should have been an option to keep the original filter for original fans’ sake. I’ve also heard some reports of crashes, but I only experienced one right at the start, likely due to the game not fully installing yet; the experience was a smooth ride for me from start to end .
On a positive note, the pre-order DLC from the original release which added about 10 extra minutes to a particular couple’s storyline is now fully integrated into the game. So the remake can be considered fully complete story wise. But from a technical perspective, I was a little disappointed that the remake didn’t include some online or co-op features that were later introduced in Supermassive later works like The Quarry or The Dark Pictures Anthology series. Of course, A faithful remake doesn’t need to include features that didn’t exist in the first place, but it would’ve been a welcome upgrade, especially if they wanted to modernize the experience a bit more and elevate it to the same standards as its successors. Also the game isn’t 100% faithful per se, since there’s this new ending that appears after the post-credit scene. I’m not sure what it was trying to hint at to be honest—perhaps a sequel? It certainly did leave me with some intrigue unlike the original which didn’t leave any loose threads.
Final Thoughts?
Ultimately, Until Dawn can be a bit of a mixed bag depending on how you view it. If you’re expecting a big performance boost, the creepy blue atmosphere from the original, or enough new content to justify the full-price tag, you might be left wanting. But if you’re fine with 30 FPS, the upgraded motion capture, and improved accessibility, then this remaster should be right up your alley. Oh, and if you get it, don’t forget to look at how the DualSense glows differently depending on the character (I didn’t even know it could glow pink and orange!) silly, I know.
Gallery
Game Details
Primary Format – Games – Playstation 5
Game Genre – Role Playing Game
Rating – R18+
Game Developer – Supermassive Games
Game Publisher – Sony Computer Entertainment
About the Author
Mohamed Hassan Mohamed from Egypt has been covering Japanese and indie games for more than 5 years for local and international outlets. He is very interested in the Japanese language and culture, and is a long term fan of JRPGs, indie games and visual novels.
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