4/5 ★ – Hill417's review of Until Dawn.

Have you ever watch a horror movie and and groan whenever a character makes a really stupid decision that gets them killed? Well what if I told you that there was a game where you could control the fates of our would be victims? Then you’ll get a kick out of “Until Dawn”. If I had to describe “Until Dawn” I would say it’s the ultimate horror movie simulator. Our plot features eight teenagers staying at a cabin in the snowy hills, but a series of strange events unravels whatever fun they had plan and now have to find a way to survive the night. What monster is terrorizing them? Better question is: what ISN’T?! We have ghost, psycho clowns, creepy dolls, SAW like death traps, abandoned facilities, and a hint of the super natural. This sounds like the developers were throwing everything and anything into a blender, but seeing the characters surviving one nightmare only to immediately be thrown into another one is strangely amusing. Albeit it can be stressful later on to see if the decisions you made paid off. This is a choice based game where every action you select will determine wether you live or die. A lot of games always emphasize that “your choices matter”, but they hardly amount to anything. So I commend developers “Supermassive Games” for actually following through with the mechanic. Making the right decision wasn’t as clear as day. In fact sometimes ignoring common sense was shockingly the right call. What makes these life or death calls all the more tense is that the characters could literally die at any minute if they’re in a bad hiding spot, don’t have a weapon to defend themselves, or straight up leaving each other for dead if they have been in an argument. Whats scarier then all three combined?: failing a “quick time event”. If you don’t press 
“triangle” or the “square” button in time then your character can trip or not make the jump in time which in turn will lead to their death. I said it already, but it’s weirdly amusing seeing someone you tried so desperately to keep alive only to miss one button prompt and watch them get killed in ridiculous fashion. Whats even harder is finding the will to let them live at all. Theres at least two very terrible people in the group and at some points the game will tempt you to kill them off yourself. If you’re not sure about what decisions to make then be sure to look out for the totems, this games collectibles. Each totem will bestow upon you a five second look into a possible outcome of how they can die or live. However the “when and where” is random. Those events could happen twenty minutes from now or in the last chapter so you’ll want to be certain your taking the right steps to prevent what you saw. Where the real fun lies is playing with your friends. There isn’t any co-op, it’s a full on a single player game, but when your friends are watching you play, have them weigh in on what you should do and share a laugh or scream together, it makes the experience all the more fun and memorable. So if you’re not in the mood for a terrible cheesy horror movie, try an enjoyably cheesy horror game.