Sony is back at it again!
From “Uncharted,” “Gran Turismo,” “Twisted Metal,” and “The Last of Us,” it’s safe to say that Sony is no stranger to turning its hit games into hit films. The newest plan for Sony and its unbelievable game-to-TV run is Supermassive’s own, “Until Dawn.”
Founded in 2008 by then-previous EA employee Pete Samuels, Supermassive Games originally acted as a second-party developer for Sony Interactive Entertainment with some of their first works being downloadable content for one of Sony’s most popular level creation games, “LittleBigPlanet.” 2012-2013, Supermassive Games partnered with BBC Worldwide and released “Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock” and “Walking with Dinosaurs: Wonderbook.” The game was initially intended to be the first part of the “Doctor Who” trilogy, but ended up performing poorly, causing the BBC to cancel the videogame series.
With the horror story game market being very shallow, Supermassive Games knew a change was needed and they had something cooking. In 2015 the Supermassive Games studio dropped what would turn out to be one of its most successful video games ever, on top of being the trailblazer for the studio’s marvelous interactive drama horror game run. “Until Dawn” was poorly marketed by Sony before its release, nobody expected the game to achieve what it did. From the plot to the music to its replay value, it is safe to say that this game surpassed EVERYONE’s expectations.
“Until Dawn” follows the story of eight teenagers, Josh and his twin sisters Hannah and Beth, Sam, Mike, Jessica, Emily, Matt, Ashley, and Chris. Josh, Hannah, and Beth invite the five others to their annual winter getaway. This game is based on numerous slasher films and it is evident in the way the story has bold plot twists and a couple of violent jumpscares. The story has up to six different endings, all depending on the user’s choices. Going back to what I said about the game being interactive, Supermassive implemented countless amounts of mechanics in the game that have a chance to get a character hurt, lost, or killed. Depending on your skill and reaction time, what you do and don’t accomplish may or may not drastically affect the outcome of your playthrough.
Knowing the broad aspects of the story, it is hard to predict what Sony and Screen Gems in cooking up for this adaptation. The film is to be directed by David F. Sanberg, who is known for his role in the creation of “Shazam!”, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, “Lights Out” and “Annabelle: Creation.” It is safe to say that this man is no stranger to the horror scene. The issue stems from the fact that Until Dawn is almost like a movie itself, with the game providing elaborate cutscenes to boost the emotional value of the story and to make you feel more connected to the characters. On top of that, the game has multiple endings. I’m curious to see what this talented group of people/studios will be able to come up with in order to give us that same feeling that Until Dawn gave us all when it first dropped.
