We now have a release date for the upcoming, current-gen version of Supermassive Games’ slasher horror Until Dawn.
The game will arrive on both PC and PlayStation 5 this autumn, on 4th October. What better way to get yourself ready for the run up to halloween than doing your utmost to save that poor group of unsuspecting teens from the horrors of the night.
In addition to announcing a release date, the Until Dawn team has also shared a few details about how it has enhanced the game with changes to graphics, gameplay, story elements and “more”. Before I get into all that, though, you can check out a new trailer for Until Dawn showing off some comparisons between the remaster and original below.
Right, time for those aforementioned enhancements.
First off, and as you will have seen in the trailer, the team has overhauled the Until Dawn’s visuals, with the game being “built from the ground up” using Unreal Engine 5. This means that the character models, environments, props players can interact with and so on have all been updated. The game has also been “completely relit” and includes raytracing, which has allowed the developer to focus on “a more atmospheric and ‘modern horror’ experience”.
Until Dawn will also have a new camera control mechanic on its release, which will allow players to “see the world… from entirely new perspectives”.
“Blending the cinematography of the original with the introduction of a modern third-person camera, we hope to bring new life to characters and locations. The camera’s flexibility allows us to place new emphasis on important moments and tell the story from a view closer to the characters,” the Until Dawn team said.
From a narrative point of view, this version of Until Dawn’s story will feature a reworked prologue. While the original narrative is “intact”, adjustments have been made to the prologue to help with some pacing. This includes more screen time with the Washington family, but I won’t say any more to avoid potential spoilers. The developer hopes the adjustments here will increase the emotional impact of the prologue.
In addition to nicer visuals and the like, Until Dawn’s rerelease will also provide players with new collectables to scoop up and the implementation of new accessibility and usability settings.
If you didn’t play Until Dawn on its original PS4 release, I would recommend giving it a bash. Our Until Dawn review from 2015 called the game “weird, gory and surprisingly moving”.
You can pre-order Until Dawn from 21st August. And yes, a PSN account is required on PC.
Elsewhere in the news, it was recently announced that the upcoming movie adaptation of Until Dawn will see actor Peter Stormare reprise his role from the game, as psychiatrist Dr Hill.