Highlights

  • Until Dawn is being remastered for PS5 and PC, with a new third-person perspective to immerse players in the horror experience.
  • The original fixed camera angle added to the cinematic feel of Until Dawn, making the new perspective a risky change.
  • While the third-person camera may bring fresh excitement, it also runs the risk of altering the essence of what made Until Dawn unique.

The recent Sony State of Play event offered a new look at the Until Dawn remaster. With the game being almost a decade old at this point, Until Dawn is 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 the Until Dawn remaster. 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. The Until Dawn remaster will use a third-person viewpoint, and the success of the entire game may be riding on this major change.

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Until Dawn's New Third-Person Perspective Could Make or Break the Game

There has been intriguing speculation about the Until Dawn remaster, 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 Dawn originally featured a fixed camera perspective. This viewpoint was a fun throwback to the likes of the original Resident Evil games. Not only did this pay homage to classic horror titles, but it also helped make the game feel incredibly cinematic. Until Dawn embraced 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 of Until Dawn's vibe. In fact, the game is so cinematic that there is set to be a live-action Until Dawn movie in the works.

Seeing Until Dawn in a New Light

On one hand, it could be exciting to experience Until Dawn in a completely new light, but on the other hand, a third-person camera could prevent the game from retaining its true essence. Between the remaster and the Until Dawn movie, 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 made Until Dawn such 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 either make Until Dawn feel exciting and fresh or not like Until Dawn at all. Either way, players will get to see how the third-person perspective works once the game launches in the Fall of this year.