The 2015 game Until Dawn was a massive hit and brought exciting and innovating storytelling to the horror genre that still holds up today. Cinematic, Until Dawn puts you in control of eight teens stranded at a mountain resort with a monster on the loose.
While the idea sounds cheesy, Until Dawn took the story to the next level with its quick time events and unique “butterfly effect” mechanic in which nearly every decision, both small and large, determined the path each teen would take and whether they would ultimately survive until dawn.
While nothing quite like Until Dawn has rattled the horror game scene in the same way, there are still many spine-tingling games with a focus on storytelling and the cinematic experience. Here’s our top ten picks.
10) Call of Cthulhu
Set in 1924, you play as Private Investigator Pierce tasked with solving the tragic and sudden murder of a painter and her family. Although a skeptic, Pierce quickly realizes that there are supernatural forces beyond his understanding at play and is forced to delve into a mystery of madness horrors untold.
While a little rough around the edges, Call of Cthulhu is the perfect game for fans of both Until Dawn and Lovecraftian mythos. With several nods to the original eldritch tales and a heart-racing story, Call of Cthulhu is a game that will keep players glued to the screen until the very end.
9) Indigo Prophecy
On the flip side, we have a much older but still amazing and innovating horror game for its time. You play as Lucas Kane, a cop that is possessed into killing people.
Indigo Prophecy is on this list because of its absolutely bonkers storyline that keeps you guessing until the end. Throw in a couple of jump scares, some heavy story based decisions, and three different endings and you have a classic cinematic horror game rich with story.
8) Vampyr
The year is 1918 and London is struggling to cope with a flu epidemic as well as a string of mysterious and not so human murders. You play as Jonathan Reid, a doctor and a vampire, faced with the moral dilemma of helping patients or feeding off them.
Like Until Dawn, Vampyr relies heavily on the power of choice and decisions you make in the game will shape Jonathan’s story, giving you various endings, both good and bad.
7) State of Decay 2
In State of Decay, you lead a group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse that has nearly wiped out humanity. Switch between characters at whim, but be careful, if killed that character will remain dead and your group of stragglers will have to continue life without them.
What makes this game so unique is its permadeath mechanic, not unlike Until Dawn’s. While more open world and survival based, every character in State of Decay has a unique and sometimes heart-wrenching backstory, so every decision your character makes could be their last.
6) Control
Control follows protagonist Jesse Faden who serves as the new director of an organization that hunts down supernatural artifacts, one of which Jesse is able to control herself.
While not a traditional horror game with jump scares, Control draws inspiration from the fictional SCP Foundation and relies on keeping up a tense atmosphere laden with existential dread and overall weirdness.
5) The Walking Dead: Telltale Series
Set in the comic book universe of The Walking Dead series, this game boosts a choose your own story style of play in which the protagonist takes in a young girl named Clementine as they struggle to survive during a zombie apocalypse.
While the Telltale series features a point and click style game and beautifully different art to Until Dawn, its real time decision making, emotional storytelling, and horror elements keep players wanting more.
4) Oxenfree
Oxenfree also features a drastically different art style to Until Dawn, but don’t let your guard down just yet. You play as Alex, who joins a group of friends on a camping trip to a deserted island only to accidently open a rift to a ghostly horror.
Oxenfree is equal parts horror and storytelling as it keeps the tension and dangers high while also exploring the characters’ complex relationships and the history of the teens’ haunted town.
3) The Last of Us
In The Last of Us, you play as Joel and are tasked with protecting a young girl named Ellie as you travel to a safer part of the US as society has fallen apart and a zombie-like virus has infected most of the population.
This highly rated game lives up to the hype with its quick time prompts, heavy decisions, and puzzles. It might just scratch that horror itch and more.
2) Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
By the same makers of Until Dawn, we have the first of the Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan. The game centers around a boating trip gone wrong in which our group of characters find themselves trapped on a haunted ship, faced with dangers both supernatural and human.
While Man of Medan didn’t quite live up to its predecessor, it still features some pretty terrifying moments and relies on similar butterfly effect mechanics. The game also features a multiplayer mode in which players can control different characters all in real time and make their own decisions, changing the outcome of the ending.
1) The Inpatient
The Inpatient is actually a prequel to Until Dawn set 60 years prior. You play as a patient at Blackwood Sanatorium with amnesia and face a series of decisions and interactions that will shape your story as you try to uncover the mystery behind your illness.
The inpatient remains true to the Until Dawn feel while also mixing things up a little with its first person perspective. However, your decisions still remain critical to the story’s outcome, and with horrors abound, you’ll have to watch your back at every moment.
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