Josh Chiavetta

It’s not very often a video game comes along that has as much cinematic substance as an award-winning film. There are an increasing number of next generation, pseudo “choose your own adventure” games that meet these criteria. One such game is 2015’s Until Dawn. Not only does this immersive game take you to multiple horror sub-genres a la Cabin in the Woods, but the characters insidiously draw you into their world and you grow to adore even the more pompous and nauseating characters. You desperately try to help each member of an 8 person clique survive a night at a secluded mountainside cabin as ghosts, serial killers, and monsters hunt them. This game has a unique gimmick in the form of a scientifically questionable “Butterfly Effect”, with each decision coming to aid or damn you later in the game. I feel a renewed sense of wonder in the world, a new piqued curiosity at what my life has in store and how will each of my actions affect the world around me?