“Until Dawn,” a horror drama developed by Until Dawn. Similar to their other games, it utilizes quick-time events in order to test the players’ fast reaction skills. While they also build up a unique story throughout the telling of the game, building an almost cinematic movie feel. On average, the game takes about eight to ten hours to complete. For full-time completion, this can range from fifteen to nineteen hours, or there are many unlockable collectables and trophies. Another similarity this game shares with others by Supermassive Games is the number of endings: Until Dawn has 256.
The story starts with a group of ten friends spending time together at one of their parents’ lodges up on Blackford Mountain in Western Alberta, Canada. As the moon rises and the safety of the day vanishes, some of the group start to wind down and call it quits for the night. Some of the others, trying to reveal the “secret’ crush Hannah has on Mike, set up a prank.
Hannah finds a note that was supposedly written by Mike; the letter told her to meet him in his room later in the night. Little did Hannah know that almost all of her friends were hiding in that room, recording it all. Hannah finds Mike, and as things start to escalate, the friends reveal themselves, leaving Hannah in an intense state of embarrassment.
She runs out of the lodge into the woods with her twin sister, Beth, trailing behind her. As the two go deeper into the wilderness, they are met with strange noises surrounding them. Out of nowhere, they hear something behind them, coming after them fast. They sprint, hoping to find safety, but in the end, trip off the side of a cliff. Holding on to the side with everything they have, above them, they can hear sounds as well as flames. A mysterious figure attempts to help them, but it is of no use as they plummet.
It is later revealed that on impact, Beth dies, while Hannah is left stuck in the caves alone. Similar to what other miners abandoned in caves on this mountain had to do, she resorts to cannibalism. The spirit of the Wendigo takes possession of Hannah, turning her into a monster.
The rest of the friends—Hannah and Beth’s brother, Josh—are distressed. They can only assume that the twins are lost in the woods or even dead. A year later, the friends return to the lodge following Josh’s wishes. While they hope to spend time together peacefully, the group goes through twists and turns as the truth of the mountain is revealed, as well as how tremendously Josh was affected by his sisters’ deaths, as he tries to get his revenge on the group.
