Ballistic Moon’s remake of Until Dawn is proving one of our most difficult review assignments of the year. Here’s the rub: Supermassive Games’ cult interactive movie is still very much one of the best examples of the genre you can find on any console, and we highly recommend you play it. However, the PS4 version is just nine-years-old, and while this new-gen re-release does demonstrate some seismic graphical upgrades, it’s largely the same experience at its core – with no discounts or incentives for existing owners. To make matters worse, the original runs at 60fps with PS5 backwards compatibility, while this new edition targets an inconsistent 30fps, which feels like a downgrade.
First, the good stuff: this is still a fantastic game. Inspired by teen slashers, it’d mostly be forgettable in movie theatres (good luck to its upcoming big screen adaptation, then), but its interactivity makes it memorable and unique. You play as a group of different dislikeable teens, all hateable for a variety of reasons. After a prank goes awry in a remote log cabin, the cast decide to meet in the winter wilderness a year later to pay their respects to their fallen friends – and also frolic in the snow while they’re at it. Things take a turn for the worst when a series of grisly murders unfold, and a host of red herrings emerge to keep you on your toes.
The writing and performances are pitch-perfect, and it’s a surprisingly social experience, as friends and family will all want to share their opinion on who you should save – or, indeed, leave to die. The game is also paced brilliantly: the constant switching perspectives and gradual foreboding really draw you in, before the figurative sh*t hits the fan. With a running time of about eight hours, the game is approximately the same length as four horror movies, but it never outstays its welcome – and there’s replay value in repeated playthroughs, as you explore different outcomes.
While the story mostly follows the same beat-by-beat structure as its predecessor, the opening has been extended to give a bit more context to the prank played on Hannah Washington, which leads to her untimely demise and overshadows all of the events that follow thereafter. We actually went back to the original to compare, and we much prefer this new opening – especially with the inclusion of La Roux’s In for the Kill, which fits perfectly. However, it should be noted that not all of the music alterations hit as hard as this one, which is a shame.
The other big change to this version, visuals aside, is how the camera has been brought in closer to the characters. While there are instances where the original fixed angles persist, other moments offer an over-the-shoulder perspective, similar to what you’d find in third-person shooters like Resident Evil 4 or The Last of Us. Personally, we’re indifferent to this change: it does feel more modern, but the controls are still largely quite slow and sluggish, so we’re not convinced it makes a meaningful improvement to the game. That said, it doesn’t ruin the experience either, so it is what it is.
Graphically, this is a powerhouse, though. Running in Unreal Engine 5, the character models and lighting are extraordinary – even if the original motion capture feels a bit outdated these days. Ballistic Moon has made some minor artistic changes: the blue hue of the original has been abandoned in favour of more natural colour grading, while the lighting of the opening scenes has been changed to convey a more gradual progression into night. Going back to the original, all of the characters look like porcelain dolls compared to this native PS5 version – it really does look sensational.
But that comes at a cost: the original, while inconsistent on PS4 hardware, runs at a largely smooth 60fps through PS5 backwards compatibility – while its remake struggles to hold a steady 30fps. It’s not a game that relies on a high frame rate – it’s filmic in nature, after all – but even with the new visuals, it does feel like a step backwards to effectively cut performance in half. The problem is perhaps exacerbated by the fact the title takes regular plunges, meaning you’re looking at under 30fps a lot of the time. This is a game that feels like it needs the PS5 Pro, which is never going to go down well.
At least the other PS5 specific improvements fare better. The DualSense’s haptics are well incorporated to add extra tension to dramatic moments, while the adaptive triggers are used to demonstrate indecision in difficult moments; pulling either L2 or R2 to make a choice will require some physical exertion, forcing you to commit. All of these features can be toggled on and off in the settings, along with a suite of other accessibility options that make QTEs easier to complete and so on. As always, it’s good to see Sony’s commitment to accessibility extended here.
But other than that, aside from a small change to one of the game’s endings which potentially sets up a sequel, this is the same campaign you’ve played before. And that makes recommending it tricky: clearly a lot of work has gone in to overhauling the visuals and tweaking the gameplay in certain instances, but we’re not sure it represents an increase in price from $19.99/£15.99 to $59.99/£59.99 – especially with no upgrade path. In fact, while we personally like and appreciate a lot of the improvements, we’re not even sure we’d recommend this remake over the original considering the costs involved. That’s a huge problem.
Conclusion
Until Dawn drags a contemporary classic into a new generation, and its interactive teen slasher silliness more than holds up today. With vastly enhanced graphics and minor gameplay tweaks, this is still a highly recommended game. The problem is it costs three times as much as its nine-year-old predecessor, and doesn’t have an upgrade path. For all of its grisly glamour, that makes this remake a tough sell – especially when it runs at half the frame rate of its predecessor when played using PS5 backwards compatibility.
Comments 84
Tough game to review! Any questions, shout me!
"To make matters worse, the original runs at 60fps with PS5 backwards compatibility, while this new edition targets an inconsistent 30fps"
How does a game like this require all the power of the Pro to be able reach the same frame rate as the 9 year old PS4 version? This would be a hard sell with a $10 upgrade option, I'm going to be happy with my old copy and pretend this "upgrade" doesn't exist.
I've yet to play Until Dawn, but by the end of this review I've been convinced to play...the original. I love PS5 controller features, but they just don't seem necessary for a game like this, and frame drops for the absurd jump in price is pretty appalling. I'll grab a cheap copy of the PS4 game and play it on my PS5 later this month!
@get2sammyb
Seems you marked down for price. I never agree with that. Especially as you won’t change the score when the price drops. I remember enjoying it hugely. Definitely better than a 6. Frame drops are sad, but visuals are more important in a game like this, and I’m sure they’ll be fixed with patches. I’d give it an 8 just based on the game and improved graphics.
Thanks for the review, it really covered all the points. Even if I don’t think that a game’s price should impact the score (as it will inevitably change, in time) it’s weird they are not offering the 10$ upgrade for this after getting customers used to it.
Maybe I will get it in the future, on a deep sale, as it seems something fun to play in company.
@Tecinthebrain Because it's running on Unreal Engine 5 and looks a lot, lot, lot better than its PS4 predecessor. But I agree — it's a weird situation.
@thefourfoldroot1 It's a tough one to review but I felt value had to be part of the equation when a version of the game already exists on the system and is a third of the price.
Ultimately, I concluded that, while I like the remake and agree it's a great game, I'd probably recommend people get the original right now.
Them removing O Death and the blue tinted atmosphere is what will keep me from buying this remake. Such a waste of resources that could have benefited something else.
Good honest review and a remake nobody asked for. Sony are all over the place with their upgrade paths
@Nepp67 what resources are they wasting? they gave ballstic some work to redo the game , and clearly they wanted to make game more in line with their not so secret sequel firesprite is working on. what on earth would it have benefited if they didn't do this?
Shame it doesnt include a remaster (just a port would do) of Rush of blood, then I would have seen some value in this remake.
But hey I'm sure there is an audience somewhere and I hope they enjoy it as it is a good game....just be sure that nobody makes it out alive.
I wonder why they didn't use the new version of the decima engine for this game they might have been able to hit a smooth 60fps.
I don’t consider myself a framerate snob but going from 60fps last gen to 30fps this gen seems pretty poor better visuals or not.
What a strange world.
For sure a wait for £10 or Plus kinda game since I've played the PS4 game.
The only reason this got remade is because Sony wanted to bring it to PC and wanted to improve it for the PC crowd, and wanted to appease PS5 owners with also releasing a console version.
I heard that some of the dialogue has been altered to make the characters more endearing and likeable than they were in the original. Is this true? If so, that's a horrible change to make. One of the best things about Until Dawn (2015) was how downright awful and hostile to each other some of the characters were, to the point of hilarity. Smoothing over the rough edges of Emily and Mike is a cowardly thing to do.
Cannot imagine paying full bob for this. Possibly the most creatively bankrupt project in video game history.
Loved the original and I'd love to play this but the price is way too high and Silent Hill just came out...
I'm usually quite into remasters (big fan of TLoU pt.I) but this one genuinely puzzles me. Was Until Dawn really that popular? Surely it would have been cheaper to upgrade the original for PC (higher frame rates, better textures etc.) rather than remake the entire game in a new engine - and one that struggles with high frame rates at that.
@Dman10 im pretty sure it was remade to be like the sequel they are working on
Awful remake. My friend got it and we spent the day playing it and yeah its a really bad remake. So much music removed including the main theme, poor framerate, new lighting kills the atmosphere and the new camera angle is just mind boggling dumb. The OG version played on PS5 is the best way to play Until Dawn.
With those saying a review score shouldn't reflect it's price because it will ultimately become cheaper, rendering the review score outdated - doesn't the same ring true for games that receive major updates or had huge bugs squashed? Star Wars Outlaws will probably require brand new reviews by next year, for instance.
It's amusing that some people felt Broken Sword Reforged's initial price was too much, but this game absolutely takes the biscuit with it's price being double the amount. Oof. I enjoyed completing the original but in all this time never feltinclined to go back to it, so this remake is a hard pass for me for that reason alone, regardless of future discounts.
@Areus The original was on Decima, so yeah, it’s a bit odd. But Unreal 5 is also really nice. The game looks great and, while it’s a shame to see the poor performance, I don’t think it really affects the gameplay in something like this.
@Acquiescence They all seem pretty dislikeable to me so I can’t say I noticed that if it’s true. I’d be surprised if they changed the dialogue because I assume they’d have to re-record it to do that.
@Dman10 rumours of a sequel and in the short term more likely because of the movie?
The fact PC hasn’t got it is probably just an added bonus.
@BecauseBecause We’re looking at how we can do re-reviews for games as it’s going to get more important moving forwards.
This whole notion of "games that were released last gen shouldn't be remade" is total hypocritical double standard BS.
Resident Evil 1 was remade after only 6 years, same with Metal Gear Solid and they are among the most celebrated games of all time. Nobody complained about it back then either. Same with the remake of Tomb Raider which became Anniversary. All full price remakes, released 10 years or less after their originals and nobody complained about it.
Yet today people complain about full price remakes of games from the previous gen (in the case of Last of Us 1 even of two gens prior). Why is this so bad today but wasn't 20 years ago ?
RE 1 Remake also cost full price at release, only 6 years after the OG had come out. And everyone praised the F.... out of it (Deservedly so, its a fantastic game). But today remakes are only worthy to be made if the OG is 20 years old ?
Bull.
@Octaslasher I want to clarify I’m fine with remakes. But I suppose the difference is that tech evolved faster in the examples you shared. The jump between Resident Evil PS1 and Resident Evil GameCube is MASSIVE, even though there’s only a few years between them.
The other thing is you can play Until Dawn on PS5 already with a great frame rate. Same with The Last of Us 1.
As I’ve said already, I like both remakes a lot. But that does create a strange situation where the remakes can seem more “unnecessary”.
I dont care how many graphical touch-ups there are here, even if it was free, this is such a 'supermassive' downgrade from the PS4 version running at 60fps (on PS5), that if I wanted to play this game again I would hands down pick the PS4 version.
@get2sammyb Hey just wondering if this is the "complete" version. When the game originally came out they took a section of the game out to make it a pre order bonus (for whatever dumb reason) so just wondering if that was put back for this release. Thanks!
@Octaslasher your examples where from a time with huge differences in the generations and no way to play the OGs on the current hardware.
Completely different situations now. Especially with Until Dawn that is even on PS Plus in it's (good) PS4 version.
@JackiePriest Yes, it has that scene!
@Dman10 Yep. A lot of people don’t realize that.
This has no real purpose except that it's also running on pc.
@twitchtvpat Ballstic working on a game of their own bud.
lol i knew this game would bomb.
This is odd. FPS I question as if it's cinematic sure 24FPS nah 30 is closer but in terms of mo cap/audio that is odd they didn't work on that or whatever the case to improve it. I get it requires more work but it feels more remake like then. But remaster it is then I guess.
It can probably fit the horror still but can be noticeable probably. I don't know I haven't played it.
Focus on accessibility is nice to have for sure.
Music eh can vary.
But frame rate I get it's filmic/cinematic but yeah if it pushes too much the visuals aren't worth the push to look good and run terrible. Them having done a 60FPS via PS4 BC on PS5 with an update does say a lot though to make that case here.
I hate devs doing that, you want it to be choppy to look good and terrible presentation by all means. XD Your visuals regardless of shadows/textures aren't enough to cover it up it being a horror game and all.
Seems expensive and wasteful to not improve it, sure costs more but would land better 'being new'. Cutting corners?
Over the shoulder has a place but you don't need it for EVERYTHING.
Just visuals/to be in articles/resold is a bit eh.
I'm happy with my copy of Hidden Agenda for Playlink thanks. XD
I know it's an remake with different developer.
But an paid upgrade would be nice.
Ain't no way I'm pay full price.
Can’t wait to see what fails first, this demake or the movie.
Played and loved the original but it was a one and done deal. Guess they've gone about it the wrong way with pricing for those that already own it anyway so meh.
Good for accessibility though for QTE's. My aged fingers detest QTE's.
Got a feeling it'll be heading to psplus at some point.
@get2sammyb A movie? Seriously? Seen that movie many times in the 80's and 90's. Flop alert.
will play it when it comes to ps+ extra
@Nepp67 " they" as in sony , with firesprite making it.
I'm absolutely baffled whey they didn't port this to the latest version of Decima instead. There's some weird obsession with Unreal engine despite its very obvious and consistent performance issues.
That aside, I really don't see the value in this remake at that price. When are they going to start remaking games which aren't already playable just fine on the very same console?
@get2sammyb
Fair enough. I don’t necessarily disagree with value forming part of the review. The problem is that value differs per person. I’d rather reviewers just judged a game on its own merits then added a section specifically detailing the price and then stating their “recommended purchase price” . Channels like PSVR Without Parole do this for every game and I find it very helpful. It’s also more future proof, barring inflation issues.
If memory serves, Sammy gave the remaster of the excellent Heavy Rain a low score as well, so I'm getting the impression he's a bit harsh on older games.
Will get it at some point, possibly when the frame rate is fixed.
@thefourfoldroot1 I strongly agree though based on previous discussions, it seems that opinion is divided. Damned if they do, damned if they don't, it seems. Also, it's worth keeping in mind that games launch with serious technically issues that affect the score they receive, even if they're soon afterwards fixed. So, there is no ideal solution here.
@naruball your accusing him of bias because you disagree? Heavy Rain was ***** imo.
And yeah, it may be patched etc.... I so miss polished games on release date. Nintendo wins.
Regardless of price, this is very disappointing. Considering the price, and lack of upgrade path, it's downright awful imho
Surely a "remake" of a 9 year old (still available) game should be improving in every way, not fumbling as this clearly seems to be. What a waste
@get2sammyb @Areus My guess is that they used UE5 because the rumoured Firesprite sequel might well be doing the same so they wanted it to look visually consistent.
@Dman10 well good luck to them trying to sell it at that price on pc 😂 i certainly won't be getting it i already played and paid for it years ago on ps4, price is absolutely absurd for an old game.
Saved myself the money and time and just watched the ending on youtube, I will say again NO-ONE asked for this. I'm glad I hold onto my PS4 games
@twitchtvpat Do you understand the concept of labour and reaources? If you sell a car only to build the exact same car but slightly prettier even if you have the money you have wasted time and materials. It would bave benefitted art and gaming in general to focus on new experience than to squeeze money out of people in a new generation for "it looks better".
There's so many games from PS3 era and earlier I'd love to see a remake of, but the sad reality is that it's mostly newer games in no need of this that keeps getting remade.
Is there a legitimate reason this game exists, it's hardly a silent hill 2 remake type of thing, I just see it as a complete waste of money by those that made it and those that buy it.
I wonder if the reason there is no upgrade path is because it's a different developer from the original. It's also not a developer that Playstation owns directly like a Nixxes so maybe they just said they wouldn't work on it if it wasn't full price.
Not that that justifies it. I'm not interested myself either.
The original already looks really good. Don't really see the point of this. Specially when the framerate drops from 60 to 30 in this remake.
Will buy or pick on sub with ps6 whenever it comes.
$60!?! For a version that runs terrible?
Just play the PS4 version instead.
Yet another pointless remake...
No upgrade path = no interest. Sony had the option of $10 or $0 from me. They chose $0.
Apols if mentioned above but imho worth noting that this is a really short game. I played it back in the day like most and remember it as a 4-6 hour affair at best - which for £20 wasnt so bad.
Nice little game, a break from the norm but certainly a once and done £20 blast and not a £40+ proposition.
@lindos There is replay value in seeing the different outcomes, but I suppose it depends on how much you care.
I wouldn't touch this with a 10ft pole, and I platinumed the PS4 version years ago. But after playing some of the Dark Pictures games (which were trash) there is no way I'm giving anyone anymore money for these games, especially a graphical upgrade / FPS downgrade, and not for a 6/10 game. Did this even need a remake/remaster or whatever it is technically? Who is greenlighting this crap?
@Perturbator I feel the same way. Oblivion, 2 Fallouts, Dragon Age Origins, GTA IV off the top of my head, all just wasting away on the PS3, none are playable on PS4/5 other than cloud streaming, which is yeah no thanks. For some reason though it seems like they want to remake things from the middle of the PS4 gen, like come on guys 2017 wasn't even that long ago...
The original still holds up really well.
Absolutely a unnecessary remake I'm probably never gonna touch.
PS5 Pro is a must in this situation. Are they going to do this from here on out so people buy the pro? lol
Excellent review overall Sammy. I loved the original back when I played it but I can't really justify the $60 price tag as someone that already played the original. Glad I didn't end up buying it
This the kind of game, where you can just enjoy watching a youtube playthrough. Sure the fate of some characters end up different, but it always ends the same anyway.
I'm just going to buy the PS4 version when on sale again it's £16 right now free with PS+ Extra but I may look for a disc version. No way I'll be buying this, for it to run 30fps with Unreal 5 I wonder if it's optimise
Price is fine. Bugs will be patched. Loved the original and this remake is a very easy 8/10 for me. Pre-ordered and don't regret it whatsoever.
@get2sammyb Understood - but it is quite short per run through isnt it? I know some argue they'd pay $200 for a 2 hour game if brilliant but I tend to think £5ph is the max I would pay.
There is no excuse for a game like this to run anywhere below 30fps.
This isn't a needs a pro, it's a they are terrible at optimization.
A game so confined to the point it basically.is a modern take on a point and click adventure that frame rate shouldn't even come into play.
Esp not from first party.
Not when we have games like Spiderman 2, Horizon 2, God Of War Ragnarok. All amazing in their own right, 2 of them are huge open worlds, and all run at stable 30fps fidelity or 60fps performance, with at least 1 game having the option of a ray trace 40fps version.
There is 101 more things going on in the back ground of all 3 of those games than a game which has the exact same things happening each scene. The only.thing changes is the scene after you've made a choice.
In my eyes unacceptable.
The first game was awful to play.
Will give the remake a very wide berth
@HONOTO i already explained it , firesprite is clearly working on a sequel to until dawn. its not exactly a super secret at this point , so i'm surprised they haven't announced it yet. no ones getting squeezed out of money though. you either buy it or not but in the end its your own choice , no ones being forced to spend their money.
There have been a lot of really unnecessary remakes lately, but this might be the worst offender of all. I just don't get it.
@MARl0 I 100% agree. So much hype for a truly dysmal game
I get the feeling that the performance may be sandbagged slightly so they can make a big(ger) deal out of the Pro since it’s already listed as a Pro Enhanced title and I’d imagine that means it will be stable 60fps
I loved the original game on PS4 and I have preordered the Pro so I will get this…..but I won’t pay full price as I just don’t think it’s worth it. If they’d offered an upgrade path (even half price like Darksiders II) I’d probably have got this day one and waited a month to play it on the Pro but at full price it just doesn’t seem value for money over the original
I know it's a remake and not a remaster and I do want to play again, but will pick it up on a heavy discount.
I think the move to remake already great looking games to make them look REALLY good is cool and I´m all for it. I like looking at the most amazing graphics possible. But if the performance takes such a big hit, what´s the point?
Pros - Looks outrageously good.
Console - Outdated motion capture.
Very inconsistent frame rate.
???
@get2sammyb Just how much of the musical interludes have changed? Though a while since I last played it through,do recall the background music to be suitably creepy & atmospheric! Seems bizarre choice dropping it!🙄😕
Agree the lack of upgrade options & lack of new content to justify the price...even if they'd done something like reworking The Inpatient "prequel" from its PSVR origins might’ve at least offered something extra.
It should have been €40 game new nothing more. It's a pity they ruined the original by locking story content with a preorder paywall on PS4.
@Almost_Ghostly Firstparty titles should run good on releases no excuse and that nonsense that they will patch it such a terrible practice if you release a early access game price it accordingly.
This still runs at 30 frames. I heard that out of 3,000 games on the ps5, only 7 games don't offer performance mode. Now they've added another one? I already have the platinum trophy. There's no reason to buy this.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...