Until Dawn (2015)

Until Dawn is the definitive recommendation that I make to anyone looking for a horror game, because it’s as close to classic campy horror as you can get. There are horny teenagers, a cabin in the woods that’s on top of a snowy mountain, and a jock, cheerleader, goody-goody, and every other archetype imaginable. To make things even better, there’s a nearby asylum that was abandoned, a creepy groundskeeper, and the uneasy feeling of something in the woods watching our delightful cast of rowdy teens. It’s got it all and then some.

Until Dawn plays like a cinematic adventure game (think Heavy Rain or even Telltale’s catalog) where different chapters drop you into the perspectives of the star-studded cast, including Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Brett Dalton (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), and Jordan Fisher (Hadestown) as they try to separately make it through the night. As the title suggests, the characters need to survive the schlocky writing and terrors of the mountain till morning, and true to the games I mentioned earlier, the story can go in just about any direction, including countless ones that end in the main cast getting ripped to shreds by the harsh environment, the game’s central threat, or even each other! It’s a single-player game, but Until Dawn really thrives in group settings where everyone treats it like one big interactive horror movie. Have some drinks, make some snacks, and decide on the fate of these poor bastards in one of the best party games and horror games of the last generation. — MT