The 2015 breakout smash Until Dawn was a massive hit for Sony and developer Supermassive. The title allowed players to take control of eight different teenagers of varying degrees of horrible, as you try to make sure they all aren't murdered throughout the night. The title plays like an 80s slasher film, and you quickly realize there's a lot more going on at their ski lodge than you might believe. Today, we're going to be taking a look at this main cast and ranking them on likability. There's... not much of that to go around, depending on how you choose to make your characters act. Without any further ado, let's get into the rankings.
8 Emily
"IT'S JUST A PRANK HAN!" No matter how you choose to make your Emily act, she's pretty awful. She's dismissive and mean toward everyone in the group, and doesn't care to protect the others as much as herself. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but pretty much everyone else in the group deeply cares for everyone else. She's not even one that has some sore of a character arc where she improves throughout the game. She's just generally awful the whole time. Terrific.
7 Mike
Look, Mike goes through his whole little hero arc through the back half of the game, but that doesn't mean that he's super likable. He's sort of portrayed as a womanizing jock-type guy in the beginning of the game. He definitely improves throughout the game though. At the same time, he wants to ensure the safety of his friends as much as he possibly can, which at the very least puts him at a higher ranking than Emily. Still, that's not something that is hard to do in the slightest.
6 Josh
While there certainly is a case for putting Josh at the bottom of the list, that's not where he'll be today. Simply put, while Josh put his friends through torture, there was reasoning behind it. Those friends were the ones that inadvertently caused the deaths of Hannah and Beth, his sisters. While his reaction was, well strong, he didn't actually harm anyone... too much.
He also lives with multiple forms of mental illnesses, which further puts his mindset into perspective. Josh certainly isn't the most likable in the cast, but at the very least is a sympathetic character with reasonings behind his extreme actions.
5 Ashley
Eh. Ashley isn't really that great either way. She doesn't really stick out as super great, or super awful. Then again, she is one to hold grudges, and if you don't treat her right she may or may not gleefully cause the death of some of her friends, so that's something to look out for as a red flag. She really isn't too willing to risk herself in order to keep everyone else safe, but also tries to help the others if it is in her interest. Ashley is in the middle of the list for a reason. She's not overly likable or unlikeable.
4 Chris
Chris is certainly on the more likable side than the rest of the cast. He is one of the members of the group that is willing to risk his own life in order to ensure the safety of his friends, and can do so multiple times throughout the story depending on the player's choices. He's certainly one to try and keep everything lighthearted and fun, being one of the more humorous members of the group. He also has a very close relationship with Ashley, despite his unwillingness to admit that he has a crush on her, which is a nice little aspect of his character that certainly affects story beats throughout the game. Oh, he also was one of the few people who didn't help to play a merciless trick on Hannah, so we can confidently say that he isn't trash, terrific.
3 Matt
Matt is a nice guy that is saddled with the burden of Emily as a girlfriend. She completely controls their relationship, which can easily make one feel bad for Matt. While he is somewhat of a pushover, he loves his friends and wants to make sure that they all make it out alive. Matt is a character that is very easy to lose early on into the game, so many players won't get a chance to see his full character arc, which is a shame. He's certainly one of the kinder characters in the game.
2 Jessica
Jessica is painted as a stereotypical flirty popular girl, but there's a lot more to her than that. She has a pretty good relationship with most of the cast, save for a few obvious Emilies... oops, exceptions. Her relationship with Mike is obviously one of the best, and the two really show just how much they care for one another throughout the game. Jessica also shows that she has what it takes to survive. She has a very rough night, and players who are able to to keep her alive will have a badly wounded Jessica on their hands. However, she refuses to lay down and die, showing just how brave she really is.
1 Sam
Of course, Sam and her towel are without competition in terms of likability in the Until Dawn cast. This is illustrated right away in the prologue. Sam is the only character that suggests that absolutely humiliating Hannah isn't the best idea, and tries to get the prankers to stop. She has a good relationship with everyone in the game, and is generally just a kind person all around. She's also one of the leaders of the group, and works as hard as she can to make sure that everyone makes it out of the night alive. She is shown throughout the game to be saving other characters, taking action when others seem scared, and of course, is instrumental in saving the others during the final act of the game. With all this considered, it is easy to see why Sam takes the no. one spot on the list. She's kind, selfless and brave, and is without a doubt the most likable character in the game.