Summary
The recent Sony State of Play event offered a new look at theUntil Dawnremaster. With the game being almost a decade old at this point,Until Dawnis being revamped for the PS5 and PC. It will be interesting to see how Ballistic Moon reworks Supermassive Games' surprise PS4 hit, especially when it comes to the new camera perspective.
Back in February, Sony officially confirmed theUntil Dawnremaster. Since then, there have been a few updates here and there, but one of the most surprising changes confirmed for the game has been the introduction of a new camera perspective.TheUntil Dawnremaster will use a third-person viewpoint, and the success of the entire game may be riding on this major change.
Until Dawn’s New Third-Person Perspective Could Make or Break the Game
There has been intriguingspeculation about theUntil Dawnremaster, but the third-person camera has raised plenty of questions about how it will affect the overall tone of the game. Based on the reveal trailer from the State of Play event, there are already some surprising changes that make the game’s energy feel different, like the removal of the game’s blue-tinted color grading, and a third-person camera is sure to be an even bigger difference.
Stepping Away From the Fixed Camera Perspective
Until Dawnoriginally featured a fixed camera perspective. This viewpoint was a fun throwback to the likes ofthe originalResident Evilgames. Not only did this pay homage to classic horror titles, but it also helped make the game feel incredibly cinematic.Until Dawnembraced the tropes of teen horror movies by isolating a group of young adults in a remote cabin while unknown horrors pick them off one by one. The fixed camera helped bring this concept to life, so a third-person perspective runs the risk of losing that cinematic feeling.
The reasoning for this change in perspective is to put players in the shoes of the characters so they can feel as if they’re living out the scenarios themselves. Although this reasoning is understandable, it’s still a tricky task to pull off when the fixed camera angle was such an important part ofUntil Dawn’s vibe. In fact, the game is so cinematic that there is set to be alive-actionUntil Dawnmoviein the works.
Seeing Until Dawn in a New Light
On one hand, it could be exciting to experienceUntil Dawnin a completely new light, but on the other hand, a third-person camera could prevent the game from retaining its true essence. Betweenthe remaster and theUntil Dawnmovie, the game is in an interesting spot at the moment. The remaster runs the risk of straying too far from the original, while the movie could also feel completely different with a fresh cast.
What madeUntil Dawnsuch a special horror game is that it embraced its uniqueness. It took long-running horror movie tropes and put a fun spin on them by giving players the ability to control the narrative as an outside viewer. Putting players in the shoes of characters with a third-person camera might, unfortunately, be missing the point. The third-person camera could eithermakeUntil Dawnfeel exciting and freshor not likeUntil Dawnat all. Either way, players will get to see how the third-person perspective works once the game launches in the Fall of this year.
