As part of an upcoming Gamasutra article I'm
writing, I’m checking some narrative games and one was Until Dawn. I didn’t
have it so I borrowed it from a workmate (Thanks, Patrick!) and had the chance
to finish it. Well, finish one branch that is. It's one of those storytelling
games whose ending changes based on some key decisions you make along the plot
Overall it's a variation of the Heavy Rain model: It lacks exotic gameplay but the story is much more polished, centered and
digestible. That would be the first "plus" on the list. Aside from
that it's a nice adaptation of the teenage horror movies into a videogame - which
feels fresh - there is a good amount of story background through dialogues and
collectibles and graphics are well executed
One thing I particularly valued was the branching
journal, which explains all the decisions you made so far. Similar to the
choice recaps at the end of Telltale games, but more nicely presented and
always available
On the minus side it doesn't add so much in terms
of game mechanics to the genre, and the homage to how those movies are resolved
make it a bit predictable. Is still a good game, excellent if you like the
genre, particularly if you consider that the tone of both Quantic Dream and
Telltale products is extremely dramatic: No matter which decision you make, you
know the characters will be doomed to an uncomfortable outcome. Also in those
games most of the golden path is pre-defined, and trick you into petty choices
to make you believe the plot has actually changed when actually it hasn’t that
much
In Until Dawn you can either save all characters or
they can all die, so the decisions seem to be more meaningful, and actually
there is a “Happy ending” you can achieve. In short, highly recommended for the
storytelling genre lovers, or people interested in entering into that type of
games. Not sure about other type of players, though
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