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The Grizzly Gazette

“Until Dawn” Transcending Medias

In Until Dawn, teenagers face horrors on mountain retreat, survival hinges on player choices. (Photo by Supermassive Games)
In “Until Dawn”, teenagers face horrors on mountain retreat, survival hinges on player choices. (Photo by Supermassive Games)

“Supermassive Games” is an esteemed video game development company, and one of their most successful projects is a game called “Until Dawn”. 

This game has an interesting story and great characters, which has captivated audiences for over eight years. 

Following its release in 2015, YouTubers and home gamers alike have played the game and praised it for its amazing graphics and storytelling, as well as its engaging and new gameplay features that make it stand out compared to many other games. 

It’s a “choose your own adventure” type of game, based on the butterfly effect. You play as one of the main eight characters at one time, and your choices matter. 

One can see why this game got incredibly popular. 

And now, almost a decade later, the announcements of an upcoming movie and remastered game have been released to the public— sparking a rekindled excitement around the game.  I’m excited to see where the writers take the movie. Especially because the story is a butterfly effect route, and for the movie to be viable it would have to have one distinct storyline. 

As much as I would love an “everyone survives” route, I just don’t think that it would happen. To maximize the horror and suspense, going into the movie with the idea that everyone will survive effectively dismantles any stakes that could be present. 

Rather, I think it would be likely they chose to go for a different ending, such as any one of the “sole survivor” routes. 

A “Mike and Sam sole survivor” ending would hone in on the final girl/boy trope their characters possess, and it would provide a lot of interesting depth to the characters afterward

As for predictions, it is impossible to tell for certain, but from a storytelling standpoint I think it’s safe to say that Mike and Sam will survive, along with some others that could be more randomized. 

I feel like Ashley wouldn’t survive,  as one of her deaths is pivotal in feeling the true horror of the situation, and is probably one of the most terrifying scenes in the whole game (I wish the game had a lot more moments where the Wendigo used the voice mimicking). 

That scene—especially at the end credits where Jess (the one whose voice got mimicked) talks about never actually calling out for help- creates a full-stop moment of realization for players.

Further than those three, I can’t say for certain what’s going to happen, but I’m still excited nonetheless.

Hundreds of fans are anxious to see how gameplay mechanics and dialogue options will be played out in a movie format, as well as the computer-generated imagery (CGI) for the Wendigo. I hope they stay true to Native American folklore on its appearance rather than the modern Hollywood deer-man type. 

No matter what ending the writers choose to move toward, I feel as if the movie will still be fairly strong. 

Is it premature to hype up a movie before it even comes out? Sure. But this—what I can only assume to be mostly a passion project—has very detailed scripts and a creative team behind it. I really doubt that the movie will be a full cash grab, as a lot of the hype for the game has dwindled in the eight years it’s been out. 

There’s no way to tell, though, but I have high hopes.

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