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Until Dawn - Reviews Thread (PS5/PC - 2024)

dylan-what.gif


Wait…there’s no 10 dollar upgrade option?
 

nial

Member
This game coming out a week before Silent Hill 2 Remake is actually funny, Sony has probably some of the worst launch dates possible - Horizon came out in the same week as Zelda BOTW, Horizon 2 clashed with Elden Ring and now lmao a poorly done, $70 remake of interactive story game comes out before a more action oriented, cult classic Silent Hill 2.
Eh, not really. Sony literally paid for console exclusivity on Silent Hill 2 and marketed it heavily compared to its own first-party game.
 
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pasterpl

Member
Another big flop from Sony, so soon after concord, Until Dawn peak players on steam was 2,607 (est. sales on steam are 7k units - approx. enough to cover 2-3 devs salaries for 1 year)) and it keeps falling down since launch. I don’t believe it sold very well on PS5 either. So another tax write off - loss of investment. I thought they want easy money with all of these remasters/remakes they doing (with barely any new IPs - and failure like concord) but now even remakes are starting to get sh*t and they will soon run out of games to remake or remaster as they seem unwilling to touch any big games/IPs from PS2/3 era.
 

Mayar

Member
The problem is not even the price, this is an absolutely useless remake in itself. They did not work on the mistakes of the original, they did not solve the problem with performance. This remake does not develop the plot in any way and does not add content in terms of developing the world of the game (Yes, the game has new scenes and angles, but they do not carry any plot load). Well, the funniest thing is that after all this they still had enough conscience to ask for such money + I appreciated their courage, the fact that they added a new scene, which kind of hints at a continuation at the end, although the very idea of the game and the concept of the series was that this is one separate story and it is told from beginning to end and there is basically nothing to continue.

Therefore, the reviews are natural, there is nothing surprising in them. I do not fully understand for whom this product was made, and most importantly, released.
 

Toots

Gold Member
[...]
Some of the jank from the original still shines through but there is no denying at times it crosses that line of belief and those literally are the actually the actors on screen.
I'd say if you wasn't over keen of the original this won't win you over, but if you loved the original you might be pleasantly surprised.
At first I found your post to be unreasonably enthusiastic, but then i found about the extra skins they added to the game ! Truly the photorealism barrier has been shattered.

tO9o5jb.jpeg

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  • LOL
Reactions: TGO

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Sony really should have priced it better, all the reviews talk about the price more then anything.

Sony only has themselves to blame for the disappointing reviews and the low sales. A $10 upgrade price, $30-40 for the complete package. That would have been a good price and an easy recommendation for a remaster of a 9 year old game. It's a different matter when Sony ask $70 for a remaster (with technical problems) of a game that hadn't even been that successful when it it was first released.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Sony only has themselves to blame for the disappointing reviews and the low sales. A $10 upgrade price, $30-40 for the complete package. That would have been a good price and an easy recommendation for a remaster of a 9 year old game. It's a different matter when Sony ask $70 for a remaster (with technical problems) of a game that hadn't even been that successful when it it was first released.
They charged £70 for TLOUPT1, it really not surprising at all.
 

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
They charged £70 for TLOUPT1, it really not surprising at all.

The price point Sony picked is not surprising. But it's also not surprising the game just isn't selling at that price point.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I suffered so you guys don't have to.



qPGFDBF.jpeg






Pro:
- Character models look great
- Much welcomed accessibility options to make QTE and the "Don't move" moments easier

Con:
- Very poor performance, lots of hitches, drops etc. Bizarre as this game isn't using any of the UE5 Lumen features. The wolf scene in the Sanitarium brought the game down to what felt like single digits.
- All pre-recorded video files (even the bonus content one's) also suffer the worst frame pacing I have ever seen. They play like they're recorded at 15 frames per second.
- The artistic change, especially to the first chapter, take a lot of the mood away.
- Very buggy. 5 crashes in my time through the game, also ran into multiple issues where an environmental trigger to play the next event wouldn't happen, requiring a reload. Probably the least well optimized Sony first party game I've played
- Some baffling changes from the original that frankly made the experience worse. They took away the ability to walk faster and the totems have a completely pointless minigame added to them before you can 'see' them, which makes a simple 3 second process into a minute long one.

Middling:
- They changed the original game's score. The original game had more of a darker / creepier ambient music, this game has replaced with more generic stuff and has also added The CW caliber music tracks over a few story scenes earlier in the game.

Verdict:
- If you have the original game from 2015, there is absolutely no reason to get this. Especially if you have a PS5, as that runs flawlessly at 60fps. There might be a robust Pro patch for this, but until and unless that happens, or even with a Pro patch fwiw, this is a pointless re-release at a ridiculous full price. If you absolutely must play it, I would recommend renting it or wait for it to come to PS+ or something.


3/10
 
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xrnzaaas

Member
Sony seems to be removing the option to buy the PS4 original in select countries. Very scummy move to push people towards buying only the remake and another proof we need retail market to survive. Meanwhile it's still possible to buy OG versions of games like RE4 or Dead Space.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
I suffered so you guys don't have to.



qPGFDBF.jpeg






Pro:
- Character models look great
- Much welcomed accessibility options to make QTE and the "Don't move" moments easier

Con:
- Very poor performance, lots of hitches, drops etc. Bizarre as this game isn't using any of the UE5 Lumen features. The wolf scene in the Sanitarium brought the game down to what felt like single digits.
- All pre-recorded video files (even the bonus content one's) also suffer the worst frame pacing I have ever seen. They play like they're recorded at 15 frames per second.
- The artistic change, especially to the first chapter, take a lot of the mood away.
- Very buggy. 5 crashes in my time through the game, also ran into multiple issues where an environmental trigger to play the next event wouldn't happen, requiring a reload. Probably the least well optimized Sony first party game I've played
- Some baffling changes from the original that frankly made the experience worse. They took away the ability to walk faster and the totems have a completely pointless minigame added to them before you can 'see' them, which makes a simple 3 second process into a minute long one.

Middling:
- They changed the original game's score. The original game had more of a darker / creepier ambient music, this game has replaced with more generic stuff and has also added The CW caliber music tracks over a few story scenes earlier in the game.

Verdict:
- If you have the original game from 2015, there is absolutely no reason to get this. Especially if you have a PS5, as that runs flawlessly at 60fps. There might be a robust Pro patch for this, but until and unless that happens, or even with a Pro patch fwiw, this is a pointless re-release at a ridiculous full price. If you absolutely must play it, I would recommend renting it or wait for it to come to PS+ or something.


3/10
You got way too much time on your hands to platinum it 😳
Also based on your review score you would have gave the original on original hardware a 4 or 5/10
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Sony seems to be removing the option to buy the PS4 original in select countries. Very scummy move to push people towards buying only the remake and another proof we need retail market to survive. Meanwhile it's still possible to buy OG versions of games like RE4 or Dead Space.

Wait, really? That's pretty fucking shitty.
 
I suffered so you guys don't have to.



qPGFDBF.jpeg






Pro:
- Character models look great
- Much welcomed accessibility options to make QTE and the "Don't move" moments easier

Con:
- Very poor performance, lots of hitches, drops etc. Bizarre as this game isn't using any of the UE5 Lumen features. The wolf scene in the Sanitarium brought the game down to what felt like single digits.
- All pre-recorded video files (even the bonus content one's) also suffer the worst frame pacing I have ever seen. They play like they're recorded at 15 frames per second.
- The artistic change, especially to the first chapter, take a lot of the mood away.
- Very buggy. 5 crashes in my time through the game, also ran into multiple issues where an environmental trigger to play the next event wouldn't happen, requiring a reload. Probably the least well optimized Sony first party game I've played
- Some baffling changes from the original that frankly made the experience worse. They took away the ability to walk faster and the totems have a completely pointless minigame added to them before you can 'see' them, which makes a simple 3 second process into a minute long one.

Middling:
- They changed the original game's score. The original game had more of a darker / creepier ambient music, this game has replaced with more generic stuff and has also added The CW caliber music tracks over a few story scenes earlier in the game.

Verdict:
- If you have the original game from 2015, there is absolutely no reason to get this. Especially if you have a PS5, as that runs flawlessly at 60fps. There might be a robust Pro patch for this, but until and unless that happens, or even with a Pro patch fwiw, this is a pointless re-release at a ridiculous full price. If you absolutely must play it, I would recommend renting it or wait for it to come to PS+ or something.


3/10
WHat dumbass decided to change the totem system? lmao. This all sounds horrible.
 

Mayar

Member
Also based on your review score you would have gave the original on original hardware a 4 or 5/10
Why?

When the original came out, it was a completely new IP and a new experience for players.
The original now works more smoothly and stably
Changing the color scheme clearly did not benefit the atmosphere of the game, and I consider it the most controversial decision
The original soundtrack, especially the main theme of the game, is much better than the remake

And yes, at the time, the game did not make a splash either, but it fully deserved its rating of 7 points (Metacritic) at the time.
Considering the overall quality of the Remake and its technical condition, takes away 2-3 points, we get 3-4, everything is fine.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Meta critic sitting at 72, has more reviews though
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Why?

When the original came out, it was a completely new IP and a new experience for players.
Agreed
The original now works more smoothly and stably
But it wasn't at release, hence why I said "would have" original hardware
Changing the color scheme clearly did not benefit the atmosphere of the game, and I consider it the most controversial decision
The colour grading is mostly noticeable in the beginning which in my opinion is a improvement giving the context of the beginning, the game quickly resolves to the blue tint of the original with improved colour grading to make it more natural then artificial
The original soundtrack, especially the main theme of the game, is much better than the remake
I can't say I noticed much if any difference with ambulance music and the absence of O'Death is not missed, the intro & song just reminded me of a Netflix show anyway and didn't really suit the game
But Out of the Shadows does suits to game better, but that's just my opinion
And yes, at the time, the game did not make a splash either, but it fully deserved its rating of 7 points (Metacritic) at the time.
I agree, I think it deserved the score it got because it was very poorly performing game that dropped a low as the 20's
All performance tests show's the Remake says at 30fps but have really bad frame pacing.
Something many highly rated games suffer with too
Considering the overall quality of the Remake
The overall quality is high but the performance and bugs do hamper it.
Oliver(on DF Direct) said he can see a lot effort and time has gone into it that's why it's weird that it has such easily fixable bugs.
But that doesn't stop reviews saying things like this
"When you look at it as a standalone game, the Until Dawn Remake has a lot going for it. Its 4K graphics and improved lighting, seamless scene-to-gameplay action thanks to the PS5’s SSD, the usage of the DualSense’s full immersive suite of features, the enhanced audio profile, the tweaked camera angle, and the reworked scenes too all make this a quality horror experience and reaffirm Until Dawn as Supermassive’s best project so far."

And yes some reviews will focus on the price and performance as if Silent Hill 2 doesn't drop to 20fps and has graphical bugs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
and its technical condition, it takes away 2-3 points, we get 3-4, everything is fine.
So should Silent Hill 2 get marked down 2-3 points too




And that's not including the graphical glitches DF pointed out.
Look I'm just saying if you got the original and don't care either way, just pass on this.
But if you do love the original and they fix the bugs and frame pacing...then it maybe worth a look when it cheaper down the line.
And that's is all I'm saying.

Games of Today Games of Today
WHat dumbass decided to change the totem system? lmao. This all sounds horrible
Original - Pick up, turn it round= Unlock premonition
Remake - Pick Up, controller vibrates stronger as you inspect it and find the right spot = unlocks premonition

I didn't think much of it but obviously it must of been a chore for some ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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Mayar

Member
So should Silent Hill 2 get marked down 2-3 points too
Honestly, I think yes, it is necessary

I am so tired of the state in which games are released, and most importantly, that they are given for reviews and at the same time the technical component of the games is not taken into account in any way when rating. This is very important, and unfair in relation to the end consumer
If the game is in an extremely unstable technical state upon release, it should lose its rating by 1-2 points for sure. Well, or at least this should be indicated. At the same time, if, for example, the situation is corrected by a patch and we remove 2 points from the game, we will return only 1 point, since yes, the game received corrections, but this does not justify the state in which the game was released.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
Wait, really? That's pretty fucking shitty.
Turns out they're hiding it - the purchase isn't available via a browser and the only way to do it is through the console's store.

Who knows if it's temporary or if they're preparing for an actual delisting.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Honestly, I think yes, it is necessary

I am so tired of the state in which games are released, and most importantly, that they are given for reviews and at the same time the technical component of the games is not taken into account in any way when rating. This is very important, and unfair in relation to the end consumer
If the game is in an extremely unstable technical state upon release, it should lose its rating by 1-2 points for sure. Well, or at least this should be indicated. At the same time, if, for example, the situation is corrected by a patch and we remove 2 points from the game, we will return only 1 point, since yes, the game received corrections, but this does not justify the state in which the game was released.
As do I, but you see the double standards.
It has to be applied across the board otherwise a review has no weight.
 

Mayar

Member
As do I, but you see the double standards.
It has to be applied across the board otherwise a review has no weight.
I don't see any double standards here yet. A person can make double standards for themselves at will. If we take the same Silent Hill, I don't think that it currently deserves 8.5, its rating should also be at the level of 7 (No matter what anyone says, but Silent Hill as a game is much better in terms of plot, atmosphere and music than Until Dawn, even if you compare the originals). After they fix the problems, yes, we can talk about 8 or 8.5.

Another question is that it is now considered the norm to do reviews and give ratings, absolutely not taking into account the technical state of the game at the time of release, and this is wrong, and there can be no talk of any double standards here.

We all go or have gone to the cinema, and I think if you come to the cinema and start watching a film, and the film jams, the frame rate jumps, and sometimes the film just freezes and you have to turn it off and on again. I think in that case, like all normal people, we will ask for a refund for such a session. But we have reached a point in the gaming industry when a game can be released in an extremely mediocre state and receive good press and ratings, and this is basically considered the norm.
 

Shin-Ra

Junior Member
Games media/journalists constantly flip-flop between being in the interests of the games industry and the games consumer.

But ultimately, if the games consumer gets fed up of buying games at launch with inferior polish to older, patched games, the value of new releases goes down and so does revenue and profits.
 
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