A return to Until Dawn has been confirmed for PlayStation 5 and PC, but it’s not a simple remaster. Instead of simply porting the game to new systems, developer Ballistic Moon is completely remaking the narrative horror game.
Releasing sometime later this year, the new Until Dawn game completely recreates the game in Unreal Engine 5. Originally reported as a simple remaster of the PS4 game, this remake makes some rather drastic changes to the original.
For example, the original Until Dawn narrative is being expanded to make it more “nuanced and emotional” than the original. This includes overhauling some of the original locations, adding new sections and making “unexplored emotional parts” of the already-beloved story.
The story isn’t the only thing changing either. Ballistic Moon has revealed that the studio will be ditching the original game’s blue filter for a “broader cinematic tonal colour pallet” as well as the original music for new compositions by Mark Korven.
Most drastic is the change in camera. The original game featured fixed camera angles, similar to classic Resident Evil, that made you feel like a director of the game’s characters. It was masterfully done, but this new version instead opts for a more generic third-person camera instead.
“[We've added] third-person camera, which means you can now look behind the curtain of the original game, exploring enhanced and new locations with new interactions and collectables,” reads the PlayStation Blog. “Incorporating a third-person camera and adding contextual character movement animations, the game now allows the player to really feel the experience of that fateful night.”
As a huge fan of the original Until Dawn, the number of changes being made here is rather bizarre. However, the original game is still playable on PS5 via backward compatibility, and it’s still a brilliant time, especially with friends.
Alongside the new Until Dawn PS5 remake, Sony is also making a movie based on the game. Some changes in this new version may even be seen in the movie version. Who knows?
Until Dawn PS5 is set to release later this year.