The PS4 generation is one of the most successful in the history of PlayStation. A large part of its success was due to the appearance of licenses that became a benchmark for the brand, such as Marvel's Spider-Man, the Horizon saga, and the return of God of War in a completely different format to what it was used to in its beginnings. However, this generation also served to present projects that were very different from one another and offered a wide range of options for players.

One of them was Until Dawn, which was developed by Supermassive Games and was responsible for bringing back the slasher horror genre to video games, as it seems to have been abandoned in cinema with the passing of time. With a dynamic based on the player making vital decisions to try to mark the narrative’s events, it’s practically considered an interactive movie due to its high level of production when it comes to graphics. And in 2024, it returns to PS5 and PC to offer the same sensations, but with a much more ambitious style that’s closer to that of a live-action movie. After 9 years since its official release on PS4, Until Dawn is ready to terrify next-gen gamers.

The same experience with more ambitious production values

One of the great resources of the video game industry over the last few years is to bring back some of the titles that managed to make an impact in their time. Although it’s a practice dedicated to classic video games, in recent times, we’ve seen games from the past generation being brought back to give them a new chance on current systems. This is precisely the case of The Last of Us Part I, the remake of the original game released by Naughty Dog in 2013, and it’s also the case of Until Dawn, whose initial arrival on the market took place in 2015.

On these occasions, it’s customary to release a complete edition with additional content and even some changes from the original game so that all those players who enjoyed it at the time can experience different sensations. However, the re-release of Until Dawn lands on PS5 and PC with the same approach, without any additions. The idea is to introduce the game to new players who couldn’t experience it in its day and for them to be able to discover the mysteries that await its plot and make the decisions they believe appropriate at each key moment of the narrative line.

Until Dawn tells the story of a group of friends who gather in a mountain cabin to pay tribute to two of their friends who died in an accident in the same place. From the moment the reunion takes place, the characters experience moments of tension in which they must fight for their lives and make truly difficult decisions that could mark their future. A game in which the player's action is based mainly on these decisions, allowing the extraction of great graphic potential in this new version to give you the sensation that you’re watching a film that you can interact with at all times.

A new cinematic technique for video games

Some of the great advances implemented in the new version of Until Dawn are the cinematic techniques presented in its edition dedicated to PS5 and PC, which combine various elements to make it something really different from the original video game that saw the light of day on PS4 in 2015. With this, the team at Ballistic Moon, responsible for this new version of the horror game, has modified the fixed and shoulder camera system so that the Until Dawn experience can be observed from very different perspectives. A mix between the original footage and new third-person camera scenes offers more realism and a more direct tracking of the characters.

At the same time, although the major events remain unchanged from the original Until Dawn, the development team has decided to expand the prologue of the title to better introduce the main characters of the story and allow players to become more familiar with them before the adventure begins. These small changes provide a stronger emotional impact that can be key to making decisions depending on the situations that are gradually experienced in the game. The personality of the characters is essential and the arrival of the game on PS5 and PC allows for a deeper exploration of this aspect.

In this way, PlayStation is once again demonstrating its firm commitment to some of its greatest successes in past generations. The arrival of Until Dawn will be poised to offer production values never before seen in the industry, something that may be boosted even further with the announcement of PS5 Pro. The horror genre is one of the most impressive in the gaming industry, and this relaunch could lead the Japanese firm to give the green light to future projects that can recreate the same sensations that Supermassive Games' game did in its day.