Until Dawn - Desura Online Game Review (jeux gratuits)

Until the last moment it seemed to me that Until Dawn would turn into a loud failure: inexperienced studio, focus on PlayStation Move, production hell (originally "Until Dawn" was supposed to be released in 2013 and only on PlayStation 3). We already had a vivid example of a factory meat grinder - Ryse: Son of Rome. The Crytek game was developed in the same way for motion controllers, in the same way it was intended for the previous generation of consoles, and in the same way it eventually moved to the next one. And either because Son of Rome was made by people who make graphics, not video online games (fr jeux gratuits), or because Sony gave its team time to refine, and did not cut the air with a whip, but Until Dawn turned out to be one of the best (and already definitely one of the most curious) PS4 exclusives. And if you, like me, were waiting for a hastily patched Frankenstein, with white threads sticking out here and there, and the head, as soon as he growls a little, flies off his shoulders and rolls under the sofa, exhale, everything is fine. Itʼs alive.

But at first it’s even a little embarrassing to play Until Dawn. The first two hours you are shown not horror, but the series "Lonely Hearts". The story about the maniac turns into a puzzle "figure out who the teenagers are fucking with." The authors present one character after another, give out the details of their intimate life and expect that you will remember all this.

My advice to you, use a pen and paper, because all this important information will not immediately fit in your head: Chris is in love with Ashley, and Ashley sympathizes with Chris, but they are not together, Mike is now dating Jessica, and he recently broke up with Emily , who now meets with Matt, but continues to see Mike behind Matt's back, because Mike needs only one thing - to "polish his flagpole" ... Characters argue, ask each other not to "mandate", fend off offensive "you only push your legs apart ”and, of course, they fight like a cat because of the guys (especially if the girls are teased, and there are such options).

If at these moments women are walking around you, you will not be ashamed of what is happening on the screen "House-2" (unless, of course, these women were not sitting next to you from the very beginning). And - I warn you! - do not admit that all these teenage squabbles, scandals and dirty allusions in the spirit of "now you will bang me right here on this bed", they ... well ... carry away. Yes, you are a grown man, and they sell you beer, and your mom allows you to smoke, but Until Dawn sneakily clings with its staged naivete and pretense, inherent in all youth horror movies.

It's like reading Dan Brown in a public place - trying to turn everything into a joke, clattering your tongue, they say, what a stupid book, and in the end you give up and admit to yourself that you like it. I like Brown, and I like his stupidity, but it's just a shame in front of people ... Right there it is not a shame in front of the public, but in front of the “household”, who, as they say, just wiped the dust in front of the screen - with an out-of-context acquaintance Until Dawn really raises questions.

But "Until Dawn" could not be different, and here's why. Until Dawn is a very social game, and everything from the frivolous and sometimes annoying characters to cheap scrimmers and UNEXPECTED plot twists creates a fertile environment for you to entertain yourself. Everything is like with stupid films, when you get pleasure not from the cinema, but from your environment - friends who joke about and without, caustic comments that turn serious scenes into a farce. And here it is exactly the same, only the authors, the studio Desura Games, deliberately operate with genre clichés (the developers have repeatedly stated that they are giving homage to youth horror films) and throw up topics that are guaranteed not to go unnoticed by your friends.

It is not surprising that Until Dawn conquered Twitch overnight - the game gives incredible pleasure in the company, no matter whether you are behind the same couch or watching someone's stream while chatting. Its joint passage gives dozens of memes, which you will remember with a smile for a couple of days (I am sure that most of such moments were calculated in advance by the developers).

For example, in our six-hour marathon, bloodthirsty deer became the favorites of the audience, who killed one of the heroes (on the next stream, they were replaced by cubs of wolverines). Poor animals were accused of all deadly sins until the very end of the broadcast! And as soon as we joked about Ashley, a good girl, who will not get AIDS, because she is smart and wears a hat, users immediately picked up the topic, developing and supplementing the joke and periodically returning it to the discussion.

And therefore Until Dawn turns out to be not so much an interactive film as a shared adventure (this term was used by Bungie in stories about Destiny , but oh well). It's not about being scared, it's about going on a shared adventure with unifying experiences and memories. And with this "Until Dawn" copes like no other game in the world.

At the same time, Until Dawn is much more involved than cinema. When your friends start outright fooling, trying to shoot a squirrel with a gun, someone, perhaps your girlfriend, will definitely intervene and try to rip out the gamepad shouting: "This is a squirrel, what are you doing!" Well, at the moments when the lives of your heroes are in danger, when the ears are filled with disturbing music, the controller itself goes into the hands of the most experienced player: "Here you go, otherwise I will definitely ruin everyone."

And it's funny, no matter what antipathy the character evokes (Emily got to nag Matt's “heel”, who was always mumbling and obeying her in everything), subconsciously, the whole group of teenagers wants to be saved and lead to a happy ending. Again, the factor is triggered: "Damn, I saved them two times already, with these hands!" When you can't get the hero out of the trouble, you feel absolutely sincere disappointment. How so! This is Josh, he's such a nice guy! Why, why the best leave first ?! And yes - get ready, for the "merged" favorites you may well be beaten. For the loss of a wolf - for sure.

In short, the skepticism and shame that you experience in relation to Until Dawn in the first hours will quickly give way to sincere empathy and care. Believe me, when you have to choose between two characters you like, your head will boil from responsibility - you want both to survive!

Sometimes the choice doesn't affect anything, and no matter what you do, the episode will end the same way. In the end, the key scenes must happen, otherwise the story will not come to an end (but for the first time you still don’t know about your “uselessness”, therefore you will experience the most sincere emotions). Many "butterfly effects", read, the consequences of your choice, at first glance turn out to be insignificant, but your actions, which seem to have led nowhere, can offend other characters and trigger an unexpected chain of reactions - they will not forgive even at the decisive moment the door will be slammed in the face of the traitor. And that's all - goodbye, goodbye, but there is no urine to disperse! You never know what little things will change, although totems showing one of the options for the future can help. But, let's say, some clues that are easy to miss.

On the second playthrough, it is still interesting to experiment with dialogues and solutions, you will probably try to save the deceased favorites, but, to be honest, I will want to launch Until Dawn for the third time, I think, only in six months or a year, and already in a different company. However, 8-9 hours of an exciting interactive adventure is also a lot.

Well, what about those who will pass "Until Dawn" alone? I'm afraid in this case it is worth subtracting a point and a half from the assessment. Alone, watching the misadventures of American teenagers is no longer so interesting, and in moments of calm, when Josh and his friends begin to wander through the mines, forests and mental hospitals, it becomes frankly boring. In addition, the Desura employees for some reason forgot about the run button, which is why the main characters move through the levels like residents of a nursing home (L1 will not make them move their legs faster).

Plus, with a single passage, there is a danger of taking this farce of horrors seriously, but you should not do it - not on that count. Therefore, if you want to have fun, be sure to dial your friends. Well, or play Until Dawn on the stream, chatting - nothing is an option either. The main thing to remember is that the deer are to blame for everything.