Until Dawn Remake Review: Buggy and unnecessary

And Sony's already seemingly distancing itself from it.

Until Dawn is a PS4 game first released 9 years ago, and is yet another of Sony’s console-exclusive titles that didn’t need a remake in the first place. What’s worse, this one is a buggy, uninspired mess.

The original Until Dawn was meant to be a PS3 title released in 2012 before some massive reworks catapulted it onto PS4 in 2015. It was hardly Supermassive’s first game — it formed back in 2008 and largely worked on PS3 DLC for Sony — but it was the one that put the studio on the map.

Leaning into 80s slashers and providing a cast of quirky teenage characters to save or slaughter made Supermassive the studio for horror. Spectacular titles like The Quarry and the entire Dark Pictures Anthology franchise have followed.

But back to where it all started: Until Dawn, a game we awarded 8/10 in our initial 2015 review. At its core, it’s essentially a glorified visual novel mixed with a bit of a walking simulator, all topped off with a bunch of quicktime events. While it’s not earth-shattering, it was something quite unique at the time, and having relatively unknown actors who became big was the unintended icing on the cake.

Hayden Panettiere (Heroes, Scream 4) was arguably Until Dawn‘s biggest get, but those who haven’t played the title in a while might also forget that Rami Malek (Mr Robot) and even Nichole Sakura (Superstore) have large roles.

I didn’t forget that, as Until Dawn resonated with me back in 2015 and has led me to gobble up each and every title that Supermassive has released since, including its latest, The Casting of Frank Stone. In fact, when I got back into my PS5 big-time back in April — and since have been collecting Platinum Trophies — I ensured that one of those Platinums was Until Dawn, which I earned back in June of this year.

With a very recent PS4 (on PS5) playthrough under my belt, and after spending a handful of hours with this new remake, let me tell you this: the remake isn’t needed, it’s overpriced, and it’s a disservice to Supermassive’s original. Framerates are abysmal, and I’ve had the game crash at least once per chapter so far. Soundtrack changes are for the worse, removing tension in some places and pandering to top 40 tracks in others.

The move from Decima to Unreal Engine 5 has of course meant that things look amazing, but I’d also argue that things didn’t look all that ugly to begin with. Worse, a move away from fixed camera angles and to over-the-shoulder perspectives really demonstrate how choppy and sluggish this remake is. I wouldn’t be surprised if its performance will be used as another tool in Sony’s arsenal, after it’s already taken to the stage to tell us that our base PS5s are bad and that the only solution is a $1,200 AUD PS5 Pro to deliver both frames and resolution.

As leaks have already revealed, there is some new content at the top and tail of Until Dawn. One set of new content revolves around an expanded prologue to the game, and I don’t think it was needed. One big issue I have with most Supermassive games is that they take way too long explaining and setting up what’s to come — it was a point I brought up in Frank Stone. This new prologue merely extends that, setting more of an unnecessary stage before we actually get to the good stuff.

The one thing I would recommend Until Dawn remake for is new accessibility options which parallel the work that Supermassive has been putting into its titles of late. There are myriad options on offer, including auto-passing of “Don’t Move” segments and quicktime events in general. Seeing these options in a game that revolves around them is certainly a welcome addition.

The biggest issue I have with all of this is that Sony knows it’s delivered a dud. Marketing and promotion of this title is nowhere to be seen, especially in contrast with Sony’s other console-exclusive, big ticket horror title for October: Silent Hill 2. Whereas Konami’s title has gone the route of the Resident Evil 2 remake, merging old and new in a tight little package (and we’ll have more on that in soon), Until Dawn is essentially a shot-for-shot remake. I’d be more comfortable calling it a remaster.

Again, the issue here is that Until Dawn didn’t need a remaster. Or a remake. I would wholeheartedly recommend everyone reading this buy and play the 2015 original, and I would equally recommend you banish this remake from your mind to never think of again. Fun fact: one image in this article is from the original and not the remake. Have fun deciding which is which!

If you need further help deciding which version of Until Dawn is for you, let me finish with this: the original is $25 AUD on the PlayStation Store right now and runs better than the 2024 remake, which itself is priced at a jaw-dropping $110 AUD. Case closed.

Update: A patch, downloaded today after the publishing of our initial review, has cleaned up some choppiness and framerate issues. Nevertheless, our assessment of the package still stands.

Until Dawn is available on Windows PC, PS4, and now as a remake on Windows PC and PS5.

Until Dawn was reviewed using a code purchased by the reviewer on PS5. Learn why our Sony first-party titles are reviewed after their release dates and associated embargoes, and click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.