THE BACKLOG 1.0: Until Dawn

I want to welcome you all to a BRAND NEW article series that I want to experiment with (read between the lines: you all are my guinea pigs) called THE BACKLOG!!!!

*insert confetti and trumpet fanfare*

My goal here in THE BACKLOG is to go back and take a game that I bought and either didn't play to completion or that I didn't play at all. Hence why it’s in my backlog. Yes, that means that quite a few of these games will finally be taken out of their shrink wrap. Just as a little aside for all of those who think I buy games because of some kind of assumed future value, I don't. I buy games because I genuinely intend to play them, but as it were....things happen....what can I say? Between working nights at the old hospital, "working" on my writing and this very site this is being posted on, and of course being the most kick-ass dad I know how to be, my time to play games like I used to is very short. And unlike the days of old, I simply cannot play everything anymore, and honestly I don't want to.

Also let me note that it is going to be my goal to keep THE BACKLOG as spoiler free as possible, because maybe I want some of you to go and try these games as well.

SO WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS....

Releasing on August 25, 2015, produced by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 4, Until Dawn was actually one of my most anticipated titles of last year. I followed it, I was all over the press releases, and I played the demo that was put out. As a fan of games like Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain, which are from a different developer, but similar in design, I was very much intrigued. Quite simply I wanted this game. Unfortunately my local Best Buy didn't get it on release, so I wasn't able to get it on release day. Now I know I probably sound pretty silly proclaiming how much I wanted a game but not making sure I got it by preordering, but it happened. I got a little comfortable thinking that it would be there and I would be able to pick it up using that Gamer's Club Unlocked 20% discount, cake right? Luckily a few copies must have fallen off the truck from Target or Wal-Mart, and the local thieves traded them in at GameStop, so I was able to pick it up at a steal "used" two days after release. Now the problem with that is I had taken the time off the day of release and the day after, meaning that was my allotted time to play it before having to work the remainder of that week throughout the weekend, on top of dad mode duties. Needless to say this meant that I didn't get to it that week when I wanted to. But considering I did have a semi-set schedule I could have gotten to it the following week, right?

NOPE!!!!

The following Tuesday was September 1st 2015, which marked the release of BOTH Mad Max and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, both of which cut out huge swaths of my available time. This then went right into the busy holiday season, and other huge releases, which naturally just pushed this one further back on my calendar. Not that I didn't want to play it. I just wasn't able to make the time for it. That is....until this past weekend.

DOWN TO THE DETAILS

Falling in-between a few genres, it’s hard to nail down exactly where Until Dawn lies. It's not just survival horror; it’s not just an interactive drama either though. The general plot of the game is it’s your typical "teen horror movie", except for your choices decide the fate of EVERYONE involved. The very basic gist of the story is that a year after the tragic disappearance of two of their fellow companions, 8 friends get together at the location of the event to reunite, mourn, and cope with what happened the year before. The location is a secluded snow lodge, and as you can expect, teen angst and hormones, combined with unforgiving weather, leads to a very volatile situation. Especially when things start happening that just don't make sense. Someone....or something is watching every move these kids make, with less than noble intentions. You have all the usual horror movie character archetypes on display. The virtuous girl, Sam (Hayden Panettiere), the jerk/playboy, Mike (Brett Dalton), the nerd/smart guy, Chris

(Noah Fleiss), the nervous homely girl, Ashley (Galadriel Stineman), the bombshell, Jessica (Meaghan Martin), the weird kid, Josh (Rami Malek), the mean girl, Emily (Nichole Bloom), and the token....uhhh jock, Matt (Jordan Fisher). All the characters can live, and all of them can also die. If a character dies, the game just continues, there is no game over, there are no continues or do overs. The way that this is accomplished is that the game uses a unique save system that prevents you from simply restarting checkpoints if you get an undesired result while playing. So the only way to alter events initially is to restart the ENTIRE game, which encourages an honest play through on your first run.

The save zapping system dubbed "The Butterfly Effect" states that "A tiny butterfly flapping its wings today may lead to a devastating hurricane weeks from now", and this is made more than apparent in how almost every little thing you do and every choice made directly effects the fate of each character. These choices will not only be moral and ethical choices, but also very innocuous things like how you treat nature or if you choose to walk or run in tense moments. So it pays to always be very cognizant of your surroundings and make wise choices based on that. The game is primarily focused on exploration, with emphasis placed on finding the many clues hidden throughout the game with the help of onscreen prompts that will help unravel the story. The more clues and items you find, the more aware the characters in game are of the events taking place around them, and thus the chances for survival exponentially increase. There is very little in the way of combat, with the action taking place through the use of quick time events (QTE). Understandably this could be a major deterrent to players who want a more action focused experience, but given the way the game is paced and presented, the use of QTE over a traditional combat system is optimal.

The main narrative is broken up episodically, with each new chapter starting with a recap presented as "Previously on Until Dawn", wherein the major plot points and decisions are shown to you again. Also each chapter is followed by a therapy session whereas you (the player) get evaluated by the therapist, Dr. Hill (Peter Stormare). In these therapy sessions, Dr. Hill asks you questions that pertain to how you are playing. What scares you? How do the events unfolding make you feel? Which characters do you like? Who do you like more, or less? And the way you answer these questions also has an effect on how the narrative will play out. Say for instance you tell Dr. Hill you don't like knives and gore, well I can guarantee you that in the course of your game, both of these will be made to appear prevalently.

Graphically the game is absolutely astounding. Yes there is a minimalist approach by using a snowy setting, but when the snow is rendered in such crazy detail, you almost feel the cold coming from each crunch of the white fluff underfoot. The actual characters themselves are eerily and scarily realistic. I listed each of the character's names, as well as the actor that portrays them, so you can take a chance to go and look them up and see how closely each of them look to their real life counterparts. My only real complaint is that there is still a very Silicon Valley look to each of them. While skin textures and things look simply astonishing, little mannerisms like blinking and certain lip synching just appears off. Also at times, characters look rather "toothy". It’s hard to explain, but it's very much instantly recognizable once it’s seen. These are all very minor nitpicks though, because the game is still very much enjoyable even in spite of these gripes.

WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT?

In my opinion....ABSOLUTELY. My first raw run of the game took about 9 total hours, so it’s a very easy game to play through. It never feels intrusive or like work because as noted, the game is going to continue regardless of who lives and who dies. I am proud to say that maybe because of my being a horror afficionado, and recognizing all the obvious tropes, that I was able to keep all the characters alive on my first go, thus earning the best possible ending. The only casualty I had were a couple of phalanges. I was also able to find 80% or more of the collectibles hidden throughout. But given how the game was not a chore to play, and also given how once you complete the game the option to start at particular episodes opens up, I can definitely see myself going back and playing it again. If only to see how each character can die or to alter their motivations to see how they will then react to one another differently.

This game is a perfect "date" as well. Say you're a guy OR girl who wants to share your love of gaming with your significant other. Throw this bad boy in and while YOU play, you let THEM make the decisions for you, thus involving them in the interactive story. I guarantee it will create a memorable experience that you two can share because the events that unfold will be YOUR SHARED STORY.

Unfortunately I hate to say that even now, 5 months post release, the game still sells at full retail of $59.99. So if you want to experience it, look for either a used copy, use a rental service (like GameFly), or simply borrow it from someone who has it. Regardless of how you do it, I say that it's a game that while it may not be necessary to have in your own personal collections, its most definitely a game that deserves to be played.

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