After The Dark Pictures, Until Dawn 2 can't just be more of the same

The last thing I expected to see from this week's State of Play was a bonafide sequel to Until Dawn. But it turns out that Firesprite Games (best known for Horizon: Call of the Mountain) has been hard at work on a follow-up for quite some time. This isn't just another rail shooter made for a virtual reality headset like Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, but a narrative horror experience with big stars, big choices to make, and lots of big scares. Report me for the hell of it.

But despite my initial excitement, I was also left with many lingering questions. It's been over a decade since the original Until Dawn, and in that time we've seen both survival horror and the formula this game helped popularize evolve in nuanced ways. Original developer Supermassive isn't working on the sequel, instead spending the last few years creating The Dark Pictures, a sprawling anthology of horror adventures that experiment with the Until Dawn formula but still try to deliver the same unpredictable narrative-driven horror.

Characters can die at the drop of a hat and fully evolve each playthrough, making you feel like a single mistake can change everything. I'll never forget playing Until Dawn for the first time at university and screaming with delighted joy with friends by my side as three of our favorite characters bit the dust in a haze of sweaty anxiety. If the sequel can deliver on this, I'll be happy, but I sincerely hope it does so much more than that.

The dark images proved that until dawn needed to evolve

Whenever another title in The Dark Pictures anthology comes out – six have just been released, plus the similar standalone title, The Quarry – I always hear people online commenting something like “I wish they'd just make Until Dawn 2 already”, even though about twelve people played the latest remaster only to have the studio behind it quickly shut down.

There is a desire for linear yet punchy horror experiences, but the mixed critical and commercial reception of each entry in The Dark Pictures proves that the millions required to make them a success are not forthcoming. But I have a feeling they'll do it for Until Dawn 2, and Firesprite will try to recreate the mechanics and narrative cadence of the original rather than take huge risks. At least that's the vibe I'm getting from the reveal trailer.

To Dawn 2 characters testifying to murder

You've got Neil Newbon playing a muscular wildcard who can secretly be a bizarre villain in disguise or turn out to be your most valuable ally, along with a bunch of obnoxious youngsters with shit-tight grins eager to film their fake ghost hunting show so they can spend all their time on a mysterious island getting drunk and having sex. Much like Until Dawn, I bet we'll make instant first impressions of many of these characters, only to have our feelings rekindled over and over again as the plot progresses. I pray for a moment in the opening on the same level as “It's just a joke, Han!”

The Dark Pictures took that gameplay formula and used each new entry as an opportunity to experiment with different game mechanics and character perspectives, while using whatever horror theme they could to play with the aesthetic to boot. Actors like Will Poulter, Jesse Buckley and Lashana Lynch leading the charge didn't hurt either.

More recently, Directive 8020 gave us more direct control over each character while adding more involved combat and exploration mechanics that go far beyond the Telltale-inspired horror of previous entries. We don't know much about Until Dawn 2 yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony and Firesprite go back to basics to capture the mainstream audience they want.

Until Dawn 2 can't just be more of the same

But I desperately want to see it take risks, or ask us to think more strategically about some of the decisions we make and how they will affect the story. Until Dawn allowed us to pause the game and analyze the different personality traits of each character, but rarely did these have any major impact on the game. Imagine if switching perspectives gave us access to unique abilities when choosing dialogue options, or perhaps choosing to pick a lock or leave a door open, as a character will save additional hours ahead.

I've seen some fans worry that this game won't be named Until Dawn because of its setting, but if it's anything like the original, there are several locations and characters we haven't met yet that will make the mystery go much deeper.

Having a stock combat system is a terrible idea when everything about Until Dawn is based on running away from countless horrors and surviving by the skin of our teeth, but giving us new tools or strategies to deal with these threats instead of insta-fail quick time events would be a step in the right direction.

It has to give us enough mechanical agency to feel like we're making a legitimate difference. Although there are only so many paths, the story can really go down before the repetition sets in. The Dark Pictures has spent nearly a decade figuring out how this formula can evolve on itself, and Until Dawn 2 would be foolish not to learn some lessons of its own.