For years, Supermassive Games was mainly known for working on existing franchises, releasing DLC forLittleBigPlanetand portingKillzoneto the PS3. But then Supermassive broke out with an original IP calledUntil Dawn, which defied expectations, earning surprisingly strong sales and positive reviews from critics.Until Dawnset the stage for Supermassive’s future projects, and instantly made the studio one to watch for horror fans.
Until Dawnis like a big budget take on Telltale’s adventure games, with players making choices that impact the narrative, watching interactive cut-scenes, completing quick-time events, and occasionally exploring the environment for clues. As far as the story goes,Until Dawnsees eight different playable characterstake a trip to a secluded cabin in the winter, only for their lives to be put in immediate danger by all kinds of horrible things.
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Until Dawn’s cast includes Rami Malek andHayden Panettiere, who provided both motion capture and voice work for the game. Including Hollywood stars helpsUntil Dawnachieve the slasher-movie vibe that it’s going for, with Malek and Panettiere truly adding a lot to the proceedings. Playing the game is just like playing an interactive slasher movie, with player choice ultimately deciding who lives and who dies.
Until Dawnreviewspraised the game for its story, graphics, clever use of QTEs, and for taking advantage of some of the DualShock 4’s unique capabilities. It’s also sufficiently scary, withUntil Dawndoing a solid job of building tension and hitting players with jump scares at just the right moments. As far as cinematic survival-horror games go,Until Dawnis definitely one that’s difficult to beat.
After horror fans have played throughUntil Dawn, they may want to consider checking out some of the sequels, assuming they have a PlayStation VR headset handy. Supermassive followed upUntil Dawnwith an on-rails shooter for PlayStation VR calledUntil Dawn: Rush of Blood, as well as a VR prequel calledThe Inpatient. A full-fledgedUntil Dawnsequel has yet to materialize, but perhaps it will happen at some point down the line on PS5.
Meanwhile, Supermassive is still producing games that mimic theUntil Dawnstyle of gameplay.Supermassive’sDark Picturesanthology seriesis very similar toUntil Dawn, but with some changes, like the inclusion of a co-op game mode. Between theDark Picturesgames andUntil Dawn, Supermassive is becoming one of the top studios to watch for fans of the horror game genre.
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