Until Dawn 2024 Review: Is This Horror Game Remake Worth Your Time and Money?

Not all video game remakes are created equally. For every masterpiece like Final Fantasy VII Remake or Metroid: Zero Mission, there are more superficial facelifts, such as 2018’s Shadows of the Colossus or 2020’s Destroy All Humans! These titles bring visual upgrades but leave gameplay nearly untouched. The 2024 remake of Until Dawn firmly falls into this latter category. With stunning visuals and a familiar cast, the game still feels more like a retouched classic than a reimagined experience. This leaves players wondering does it justify its hefty price tag, or is it a case of daylight robbery?

The Appeal of Until Dawn: Revisiting the Original’s Legacy

The original Until Dawn captured horror fans’ hearts in 2015, blending interactive storytelling, choice-driven gameplay, and a slasher movie vibe that felt fresh. Its success spawned a series of similar narrative-driven horror games from Supermassive Games, including The Dark Pictures Anthology and The Quarry. Yet, many argue that no successor has quite matched Until Dawn’s mix of suspense, gore, and genuine horror.

But here’s the question: can nostalgia alone carry a game that’s nearly a decade old into the modern era of gaming? Let’s dive deeper into the 2024 remake to see if it’s worth the revisit or if it’s just clinging to past glory.

Visual Upgrades: Stunning but Sacrificing the Atmosphere

The remake of Until Dawn benefits from a new engine, Unreal 5, giving it a visual overhaul that is nothing short of breathtaking. Characters like Sam (Hayden Panettiere) and Dr. Hill (Peter Stormare) have never looked better. The snowy, isolated setting of Blackwood Pines feels more immersive than ever, with detailed textures and dynamic lighting that create a realistic, almost cinematic experience. Snow crunches underfoot, and sunsets gleam off windows these touches add a lot to the eerie, atmospheric mood.

However, these visual enhancements come at a cost. The higher fidelity comes with frame rate issues, a problem that plagues many remakes pushing modern hardware. During key moments, the game falters, much like the panic-stricken teens it portrays. Frame rate dips and occasional crashes break the immersion, transforming the scares into frustrations. While I managed to get through the game relatively unscathed, other players weren’t as lucky, reporting multiple crashes.

Moreover, the remake shifts the camera from its original fixed angles to a more traditional over-the-shoulder view. While this new perspective offers better environmental exploration, it detracts from the original’s cinematic feel. The fixed camera angles of 2015 added a suspenseful, slasher-film tension, where every turn could reveal a lurking horror. Now, with a more free-roaming camera, the game feels less like a tightly directed movie and more like a survival-horror shooter without the combat.

Gameplay: The Same as You Remember… for Better or Worse

Gameplay in Until Dawn (2024) remains largely unchanged. This might sound like good news for purists who adored the original formula, but for many, it feels like a missed opportunity for innovation. Decisions still shape the fate of your teenage cast, and quick-time events remain pivotal to survival. These mechanics were groundbreaking in 2015, but in 2024, they feel a bit dated, particularly since other horror games have expanded upon this concept with more interactive and complex systems.

The totem system, for example, still offers glimpses into potential character deaths, helping players make more informed choices. However, picking up and rotating the totems has become a slow, finicky process. This added complexity seems unnecessary and drags down what was once a quick and intuitive mechanic. It’s like trying to pick up a coin with chopsticks more frustrating than fun.

Another peculiar downgrade is the removal of the ability to walk faster, which was present in the original. Characters now move at a sluggish pace unless engaged in a chase sequence. This change makes exploring the eerie environments feel more like a chore than a thrill, especially when combined with somewhat clunky controls. The slower movement feels at odds with the urgency of surviving a horror game, where speed and agility are key to survival.

Performance Issues: Technical Struggles Undermine the Experience

Performance is where this remake falls apart, almost literally. While visually stunning, the game struggles to maintain consistent frame rates, even on a PlayStation 5. During intense scenes, the frame rate stutters, and in the worst cases, the game crashes. Other players have reported even worse performance, with some experiencing multiple crashes within the game’s first few hours. In a game where every decision and moment counts, these interruptions are immersion-breaking at best and rage-inducing at worst.

For a premium-priced title, these performance issues are hard to overlook. The PlayStation Store still lists the original PS4 version, which runs smoothly at 60fps on the PS5 and costs a fraction of the price. Without an upgrade path for existing PS4 owners, players are forced to pay full price for a remake that doesn’t always deliver a superior experience.

The Soundtrack: A Surprising Letdown

One of the more puzzling changes in the 2024 remake is the removal of the original soundtrack. The haunting score and licensed tracks of Until Dawn (2015) played a huge role in establishing the game’s mood, from the chilling opening theme to the tension-filled background music. In the remake, the original soundtrack has been entirely replaced. The new score misses the mark, often feeling out of sync with the game’s pacing and tone. It’s like trying to watch a horror movie with a comedy soundtrack it just doesn’t work.

Worse yet, the iconic opening song, which became synonymous with the Dark Pictures series, has been scrapped. For long-time fans of the franchise, this change is jarring and diminishes the game’s emotional impact.

Narrative Tweaks: Does New Always Mean Better?

Story-wise, Until Dawn (2024) remains mostly faithful to its predecessor, retaining its blend of teen horror tropes, choice-based consequences, and gory thrills. However, there are subtle but significant changes. A few new scenes have been added, and some existing ones have been re-edited or removed altogether. These alterations give the game a “director’s cut” feel, but not always in a good way.

Many of the new changes seem to have been made with modern audiences in mind, but they also feel like unnecessary censorship or simplifications. Scenes that once had bite now feel dulled, perhaps to make the game more accessible to a broader audience. For fans of the original, these changes may come as a disappointment.

Final Verdict: Is the Until Dawn 2024 Remake Worth It?

Ultimately, Until Dawn (2024) is a mixed bag. If you’ve never played the original, this remake offers a visually stunning way to experience the story for the first time. The core narrative remains strong, the cast is as engaging as ever, and the improved lighting and textures add a level of immersion that wasn’t possible in 2015.

However, for fans of the original, the 2024 remake may feel like a step backward in some ways. Performance issues, clunky controls, and a lack of meaningful gameplay changes make it difficult to recommend at its premium price. Add to that the strange changes to the soundtrack and narrative, and the remake feels less like a tribute to a beloved classic and more like a rushed cash grab.

At the end of the day, unless you’re a die-hard fan of the series or missed out on the original, this remake might not be worth the full price of admission. As far as remakes go, Until Dawn 2024 struggles to live up to the high bar set by modern reimaginings and ultimately feels like a missed opportunity.