As a member of the microscopic group that earnestly enjoyed their time with the ill-fated PlayStation Move peripheral, this editor was extremely excited for Until Dawn when it was announced at GamesCom 2012 a couple of years ago. Previous titles like Sports Champions and Tumble had proven that Sony’s motion controller was at its best when software was designed specifically for it, and Supermassive Games’ teen horror affair promised a blockbuster-like experience built from the ground-up for the luminescent wand. Now, with a PlayStation 4 re-reveal rumoured to be right around the corner, we’ve put together this list of reminders regarding the game.
British outfit Supermassive Games is making it
Guildford is very much the centre of the gaming universe here in the UK, with the likes of Lionhead, Media Molecule, and No Man’s Sky creator Hello Games all located in the South East town. It’s no surprise, then, that Supermassive Games was founded in the small historical settlement, where it’s gone on to work on a number of first-party PlayStation titles since its inception in 2008. Its catalogue is a bit hit and miss, with favourites such as Tumble accompanied by duds such as Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock. However, with much of its work very much centring on motion controls – and good ones at that – it’s no surprise that it was selected to create a more mature PlayStation Move project a few years ago.
The title was inspired by teen horror
While survival horror is nothing new, Until Dawn was originally pitched as a teen horror title, meaning that it intended to fill a subset in the genre that’s not often explored. I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream are good examples of this format, with the release’s story focusing on a group of friends who visit the last known destination of their buddy on the anniversary of his disappearance. Naturally, things were set to go awry, with you needing to play as different characters in order to find out exactly who was hell bent on offing your fraternity. While the direction of the plot may have changed, Sony boasted that it had signed up Hollywood screenwriters Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick to pen the plot, so we’re guessing that the premise will remain the same.
The scares were once powered by the Killzone engine
As already alluded elsewhere in this article, most dedicated PlayStation Move titles seemed low-budget compared to the big PS3 exclusives at the time. Until Dawn was different, however, as it was using Guerrilla Games’ proprietary Killzone engine to power its action. “Ever since we announced the [PlayStation Move], many teams have been working on different concepts – but this title is really, really advanced,” Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said in 2012. “It’s very creepy; the game actually runs on the Killzone engine.” In fact, at the time, the Dutch developer was actually providing technical assistance. It’ll be interesting to see whether that’s still the case two years on, but if this ends up employing the same technology as Killzone: Shadow Fall, then expect it to look the absolute part.
PlayStation Move may not be required anymore
We suppose that it was inevitable that PlayStation Move’s first big proper first-party title should end up, well, not supporting the motion controller – and rumours to that effect emerged last year. While the developer was hush about the reports, updated box art hinted that the release would merely be compatible with the bulbous baton rather than required. Of course, the peripheral does work with the PS4, but it’s hardly been used thus far. The platform holder does, however, appear to be tying the Nintendo Wii-like controller to its Project Morpheus virtual reality headset, which has prompted some speculation that Until Dawn will be the visor’s first official title. If that’s the case, it’ll be interesting to see whether the game will be exclusive to the wearable accessory – or just merely compatible with it.
Are you shaking with terrified anticipation over your next look at Until Dawn? How do you hope that the project has evolved over the past couple of years? Let us know in the comments section below.
Comments 5
PS Move is long dead, so I doubt it will be required
Didn't Ryse follow the same sort of development path? Moved from one format to another, dropped Kinect support etc? Let's hope that's where the similarities end.
Thing is, as a piece of tech, you can't really criticize the Move, its fully functional, there is nothing wrong with it technically and to my knowledge, its the most accurate motion control in gaming. I had a ton of fun with it anyway, the House of the Dead games are essential to my game collection, and they're amazing to play on the PS Move, some of my favourite titles in the whole PS3 Library even- yes, right a long side games such as The Last Of Us and God Of War III, there is House of the Dead 3, 4 and 5 on my list of favourites. I think if people just gave it a chance, they'd come around sooner or later.
So as a horror nerd, and a guy who see's the potential in the Move, I was real excited for Until Dawn, now the thought of this being compatible with Morpheus is an exciting one since Morpheous- if I end up buying one- is going to be primarily for horror games
I don't mind if it uses Move, though I would have to buy the PS4 camera. But I hope it doesn't require Morpheus... I really don't want one of those, but I do want to play this game... I have ever since it was announced.
Even at $30 for a used PSMove controller + navigator, I still wouldnt pick it up to play this one game, especially with the chance Sony can implement their patented "make 'em, but never support 'em" business plan.
Their best bet is to make it all optional, or this game will have a hard time making back it's budget. Even if they announce it with Morpheus, they should still put the option to use a regular controller.
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