I completed Dark Souls 3, NG+17 (Journey 18) while contemplating which video game I feel like playing next. Finally, I decided upon Until Dawn as I wanted a laid-back, linear experience where you can't "lose". Further, it was surprising that we got this game free as Playstation Plus members, as it has very high production values, which wasn't surprising as it uses Guerrilla Games's Decima Engine.
Further, since the game uses a lot of quick-time events (QTEs), this would be a perfect opportunity for me to get more used to the paddles of the XBox Elite. I found that I keep hitting the upper right paddle for Triangle, since Triangle is the top face button, so it may take quite a few months to unlearn this.
As the paddle inputs are not burned into muscle memory, all but 2 of the characters survived. I wasn't upset that anyone was killed, except for the wolf who protected Mike. I almost wanted to do that chapter over again to save the poor animal, but since it's near the end of the game, I pushed through because I was dying to find out the conclusion.
So it's a "bad sign" that I didn't empathize or care about any of the characters, the only time feeling sad when the wolf was killed. It was no surprise that Emily, the stereotypical Asian-American woman who is intelligent and bitchy (this appears to be the "go to" depiction of Asian-American women in the media) was killed due to my not really paying attention to her QTEs.
But even though I couldn't care less about the characters, the story was gripping and suspenseful. I felt that the twist of the Wendigo was a let-down as it didn't seem to fit the story in a cohesive manner, preferring that the perpetrator of the killings is Josh and delving more into his psychological profile (perhaps going into his childhood history and the family dynamics), and then ending with Josh's arrest. I prefer horror movies that are psychologically disturbing and creepy, rather than the gore/slasher/jump-scare techniques.
The camera angles can be problematic as you can only move the camera so many degrees, as opposed to 360 degrees so you don't get a panoramic view. The character's movements are also awkward at times, and rather slow to move even when pressing the L1 button to walk faster. Although not as pronounced as in Horizon: Zero Dawn, the game has the trademark Decima Engine's quirkiness with the characters' eyes sometimes rolling up, so I hope Guerrilla Games will fix this in the future.
Comparing it to the other interactive game I played, Heavy Rain, Until Dawn doesn't quite have the brilliant plot, deep character development and intrigue, to the point where you genuinely care about all the characters, even the perpetrator. Nevertheless, it's a truly fun and enjoyable game with great atmosphere and suspense.
Even so, I very much appreciated Until Dawn for helping me break out of my video game rut, that led me to obsessively play through Dark Souls 3 NG+17, but not being so compelling that I can't move onto another game. In fact, thanks to Until Dawn, it renewed my interest in interactive games, so I may play another free game we got as Playstation Plus members, Tales from the Borderlands.
Rating: B, Highly recommended if you want a fun, suspenseful, scary and non-demanding game that's highly polished with very high production values, especially at the price point of being free (if you were a Playstation Plus member during that month), or $15 on Amazon.
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