(SPOILER FREE REVIEW)
Since I've finished the platinum trophy yesterday, and no one has wrote a review of the game here yet, it's fitting that I do one myself in case someone is wondering if this game is worth the bucks of his/her wallet.
Until Dawn is an adventure game, in the line of Life is Strange and Murdered Soul Suspect. If you haven't played those, i'll tell you the game relies strongly in telling a story, finding collectibles, and the player making choices, and sometimes QTE that are not that hard to achieve. Is it worth the time and money? Yes and no. For me this title is the worst of the trio I've mentioned before. Murdered and Life is Strange are far better than Until Dawn, but the last one is not a horrible game. Lets see one by one the reason for me saying this:
Graphics:Here the game does a pretty good job for the most part. The actors use motion capture, and we can see here the great Peter Stormare, Hayden Panettiere or the main lead of Mr Robot, Rami Malek greatly portrayed... for the most part.
And I say this, because of some cringeworthy moments which lead us to the uncanny valley. Some characters like Sam or Ashley will do some faces when they have to emote fear, but instead they will do some sort of maniac smile. Also if we stay still the camera will focus on the face of the character we are playing at the moment, and they are all the time making weird faces. Instead of making the player feel horror, they suck you a little bit out ot the atmosphere.
Thats the only negative point, as the scenarios are impressive and very well designed. We will feel the isolation everytime and the feeling that there is no escape.
Sound:This part is flawless. Excellente voice acting, great soundtrack, and sound FX that will put you on the nerves. Mayor kudos on this one.
Gameplay:As I say before, this game is mostly a story game. You have parts controlling the characters, looking for collectibles, and making choices which will decide how the story ends.
There are QTE parts, and they happen quickly, but they stay the same so it doesnt matter how many times we replay a scene, it will stay the same over and over. It depends on you if you see this as a good or bad thing. The QTE affects the story in the way of inmediate things happens, such as death or something completely different happening.
Also, there will be some moments where you will have to choose between two or three options, for example, Go to the left, go to the right, do nothing. Sometimes, with time to make the choice.
Death is permanent in this game. If one character dies, the game continues whitout him/her. For me, this is an excellent choice.
The collectibles are easy to find, and for the most part they are on plain sight (In my first playthrough I only missed 7). You have chapter select after you beat the game so you can collect the ones you are missing. Its a positive that you dont have to finish the chapter again in order for the collectible to be saved. As soon as you take it, its yours.
The bad news is, that you cannot skip cutscenes. Any of them. That means if you are replaying the game again for whatever reason, or you go to the dashboard and put the game again, you will have to sit through all cutscenes again, including the "previously on Until Dawn".
This one especially pisses me off, because the chapters are not that long and it doesn't need a reminder when it starts a new one. I could understand it if it only played when starting the game (Which it does) but there is no option to skip it, so it can become boring and infuriating very fast. You cannot leave it playing and go do something else because chances are when the cinematic ends you will have a QTE or something story related which will require your attention.
There are no loading times, the game plays as a DVD or a Blu Ray, you can even see the extras while playing and the continue inmediately playing with again, no loading times.
Characters:The center of the game. I will say, that most of them are stupid, and make things that dont make sense. Not from a standart teen mindset, but any sense at all. Some moments are forced so the plot can move forward. I cannot go into details without saying spoilers, but there is one right at the beggining of the game with the character of hannah, and the situation around her and her choice that, as I said, makes no sense at all.
For the most part, all characters suffer an evolution of personality across the story, except for one which is unbearable, Emily. Without spoilers, my favourite is Jessica.
There is one character whose existence and it's conclussion pisses me off. Ill put it in spoiler at the end of the review**
Some will say this is the point of the game, to make a dumb teen horror film like in a movie. Well, for me, it is an excuse. Making them dumb and then saying its meant to be like this, doesn't make them not dumb.
Replay value:If you're going for the platinum trophy, you will have to make a playthrough and a half (This also applies to watch another outcome of the story), and do the last chapter another time. The trophies are fairly easy and will take no effort or skill, they will be only time consuming (Not too much). After the trophies, you'll probably uninstall the game.
If you only want to view the story, the replay value is zero.
Conclusion:Until dawn is a "meh" game. Not bad, but not good either, but it moves more to the "good" side. Life is Strange and Murdered Soul Suspect are far better in all aspects. If you're looking for this type of game but have never played one of them, I suggest to look for these two titles. But if you've already played them and want more of this kind of game, it's probably going to at least entertain you. Just be aware of all the flaws I've listed here. And don't pay more than $20 or 20€.
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*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***The unknown character. This is a badass who's been fighting wendigos all his life, who managed to kill before the great evil spirit... and he dies in like 2 minutes after we met him in a stupid way. Everytime I see this cliche, it makes me mad, and this time it is no exception
2.5