All the differences between Until Dawn — the original and the remake

Ballistic Moon confirmed that they are staying largely faithful to the original Until Dawn story, and the remake is mainly focused on a visual update of the game. However, the authors allowed themselves certain liberties in rethinking some moments of the story, added new mechanics and items related to the narrative, and so on. Let's figure it all out!

Reworked visuals

The first and biggest focus of the remake is the reworking of the visuals of the 2015 original: water and snow are visible on the characters, there are improved facial and body animations. The visualization of injuries has improved, and the death of characters has become more bloody. From now on, bruises, cuts, abrasions, and tears are visible on the characters' bodies. Lighting effects have also been changed so that scenes and characters can have a more emotional impact throughout the story.

New Camera Controls

One of the biggest changes in the Until Dawn Remake is the switch to a third-person (over-the-shoulder) camera view from a fixed camera. Ballistic Moon creative director Neil McEwan said it "breathes new life into the characters and locations." Cinematics have also been overhauled. Fixed camera angles are still present in the remake, but any moments where the feature remains have been changed to give players a completely new experience.

Prologue Rework

Until Dawn Remake has a completely reworked prologue, which is another big change from the original. McEwan explained that the decision was made to add more context, tell more about the Washingtons, and give the prologue more emotional impact. Specifically, the developers have given more background on where the story begins. Beth, Hannah, and Josh have been given more attention so that players can better understand the relationships between their family.

New Collectibles

The original Until Dawn had totems you could find to help you make better decisions in the future, and they'll be back in the remake. There's also a new totem tree called "Famine." The Famine totems will give you a different perspective than the original ones, though Ballistic Moon hasn't confirmed exactly how they work. Additionally, the remake will have all of the totems from the original, but their locations will be different. So even if you played the 2015 Until Dawn, you'll have to find them all again in different places.

New Areas and Interactions

Along with the new totems, there will also be smaller new areas to explore that will unlock new interactions between characters. These interactions will add more context to the events that happened on Blackwood Mountain and the places you can find there. This will expand the story of Until Dawn to add more context to scenes that were lacking it.

Stay Calm Mechanics

Until Dawn's Don't Move mechanic essentially forced you to hold the controller still to change the outcome of certain scenarios. That will of course remain in the remake, but players will also be able to use the new Stay Calm mechanic.

This is a new setting you can change if you have third-party peripherals that don't have the gyro mechanic, and it can also be enabled for experienced players who want something new. Along with the Stay Calm mechanic, Ballistic Moon also adds new accessibility settings and additional PC settings for players on that platform.

New Ending

Yesterday, we reported that players have already found a brand new ending to the game that hints at a sequel to Until Dawn. In it, Josh might survive!