Board 8 > KCF cries and has some heart attacks as he plays Until Dawn: A Playthrough Topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have loved many non-horror games that have pervasive unsettling atmospheres like BioShock and 999, comedy/horror like Shadows of the Damned, and psychological thriller/horror like Alan Wake. When it comes to your standard horror game though, I honestly can't think of one that I hold in high regard. Part of that I think is because of the underwhelming gameplay, and from what I understand, action is largely replaced with exploration/running the fuck away. I'm also aware that this a choice-based game with plenty of cutscenes.

While I do not handle jump scares very well (and I am told that this game has a lot of them), maybe I will do better here. Probably not. Anyway, I guess I should dive into this.
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tag

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Figuratively hold on my hand everyone. Ugh, why did I decide to begin this at night? I stayed at the main menu for a few minutes lol, but I can't hold this off forever.

Oh wow, this is a bigger cast than I thought it was. I guess the box does say eight friends. Just what in the hell is this possible intruder wielding besides that knife/blade? It sounded heavy and metalic like a flamethrower.

Oh no, I'm in control! I don't want to lead her to her death! Please wake up bros and form a shield or at least become killer fodder. Alright, so three of the characters are siblings. Certainly they will not all survive the early portion of the game. I have absolutely no idea how old these characters are supposed to be, but to do a dumb "prank" like that, I am hoping high school. Oh no, Hannah is outside now!

I tried waking Josh's drunk ass, but I should have known better. This is definitely more than eight people. Uh oh, the box art does say that eight in the present with an additional two missing from a prior event. This must be that prior event. RIP Hannah, Beth, or both. I guess it is possible it can be Mike and one of the conniving bitches. Maybe it will be the drunk, passed out dudes? Oh who am I kidding, it will totally be Beth and Hannah.
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Tagging the fuck out of this.

When I played through this game I primarily did so between 12am and 4am and it was a terrific way to experience it.

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KCF0107 posted...

I have absolutely no idea how old these characters are supposed to be, but to do a dumb "prank" like that, I am hoping high school.

They're college-aged. All 18-21.

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I took the safe route and followed the noise and shadow. I basically did everything that wasn't following footprints. There wasn't enough time to do a rudimentary footprint analysis, but they looked pretty big and from boots, not whatever Hannah probably has on in her rush to leave the house.

Fucking deer! That sure didn't sound like a noise one would make. It almost sounded like a shrieking girl. Oh, I do NOT like how they are suggesting me to walk faster.

Hmm, so this totem I picked up showed Beth suffering a fatal fall, and I believe landing next to another dead body in probably Hannah. Oh shit, that's a flame. The person really does have a flamethrower. I am actually more okay if this is how Beth goes instead of being repeatedly stabbed and bleeding profusely.

The good news is that Hannah is okay for now. The bad news is that the situation quickly deteriorated. Drop Hannah or Let Go? I know that the death totem has to be from me just letting go. However, I am not a monster, and I am pretty sure that if I do let Hannah go, my reward will be a guilty conscience and that person immediately stabbing Beth in the chest or hand or whatever. Letting go. Aaaaand the totem scene plays out. Damn, they traveled pretty far. I can only hope that they died on impact with the large rock.

I'm going to laugh if that person with the knife/flamethrower isn't actually a killer and was like trying to hunt deer like a crazy person with that shit or something and genuinely tried to help there at the end. Oh well, I regret nothing.
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Tag!

I find it interesting how your choices do affect the characters' fates in this game. Also a big fan of Brett Dalton.
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This "analyst" or maybe that was just the chapter name looks and sounds just like Peter Stromare, so I am just going to assume it is. Do these responses mean anything? I chose Uneasy, Scarecrow, No, and Lonely if that matters.

And now we get the opening credits. I recognize the names Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek, and yep that is Stromare.

Just based on the video with Josh, I am under the impression that the characters either distanced themselves from each other or at least aren't as tightknit now. That begs the question why on earth would they want to come back here? I'm not buying this "it's what Beth and Hannah would have wanted" excuse. From the five minutes I was with either one of them, they didn't exactly seem like the kind of people who wanted people to party in their honor at the place where they died (I'm aware that they are legally only missing or whatever, so some may be under the impression that they could be alive).

Motherfucker, this knife/flamethrower again person again? I suppose the odds are high that it is not the same person. I have an initial impression that it could be Josh as he may feel guilty that he passed out drunk and is also livid at the rest of the group for their actions that led to his sisters' disappearance. This would account for the bogus "this what what they wanted" thing. This also assumes that someone told him the truth about the circumstances regarding the prank or their evasiveness led him to suspect them of foul play.

And here are officially introduced to the dilligent, considerate, and adventurous Sam, played by I am assuming Hayden. Luckily, these "don't move" segments shouldn't be a problem as I will be playing either near a desk or nightstand. I don't care if that is not playing the way it was intended!
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Oh no, I made the mistake of looking at Sam's stats. She is a total buzzkill with her low funny rating and poor relationships with everyone. Chris' bag was sitting there on a bench with the phone ringing. I can close the bag or snoop, but this is an easy call. Not only am I not a snoop, but there is no way that snooping does not come back to haunt me.

I had her pick up a different totem. This one says guidance, so maybe I am supposed to do what this shows. I didn't really understand it, but I guess this guy kneeling in the snow (Mike or Josh?) is supposed to stop what he's doing and look in the direction of where the bird is?

Enter the methodical, protective, and humorous Chris. For some reason, he looks familiar. I am assuming that all characters are modeled after the actors portraying them. As for the character himself, I don't recognize him. He must have been the dude passed out across from Josh in the intro.

There was a poster hanging on the side of the building here. Wanted: Victor Milgram for Arson. This just screams like a red herring to me, and this said 1998 right? There are smartphones, so I'm guessing this is 15 or so years later given the game came out in 2015.

Now that I am in control of Chris, time to check his stats! He's protective but very low on bravery!?. He's also not very close with Matt or Jess. I feel like I know all the dudes now (Matt must be the black guy), but all the girls except Sam are a total mystery to me.

"I'm a badass" *Does a little jig with a loaded rifle*
And Chris takes a commanding lead as my favorite of the young adult characters (Stromare's Hill is probably my favorite for how confident and creepy he is).

Yeah, I'm not shooting this squirrel. What do you take me for, a psychopath?
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As Chris and Sam use the cable car to head to their deaths, the irreverent, trusting, and confident Jess enters. Well shit, the sudden appearance of Chris and Sam has been the most startling thing. I confessed that Jess was Mike's new girlfriend because really who gives a shit. These people are apparently adults and should be able to emotionally handle basic crap like that.

I really should stop "obsessing" over these various character meters, but I will at least inspect the initial breakdown when I am in control of a new character. Chris did all the teasing in that situation, but I feel like Sam's meter with Jess went down further than Chris' did. Hmm, Mike and Matt's meters are awfully close with Jess, and only one is her boyfriend.

And now we get officially introduced to three other characters. We have the intelligent, persuasive, and resourceful Emily, the motivated, ambitious, and active Matt, and the intelligent, driven, and persuasive Mike. Man, these are tropey horror character archetypes right? I hope so because Chris is really the only one that I give a shit about so far.

Emily is intelligent and persuasive my ass! That was as unconvincing of an excuse as she could come up with. I don't even have to tell Matt that she be lying as it is already clear to him. However, screw Emily. She can do what she wants. I let her go do whatever she was going to do with Mik...I mean Sam. The cutscene ended with me not controlling Matt any longer, which bugged me because I could have sworn that I saw the glint of light coming off of some object in the distance like it was interactable.
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Up next is the academic (nerd), inquisitive, and forthright Ashley. Man, she looks VERY familiar. I am positive that I have seen her before. I want to check out the voice actors to verify, but I'm afraid that I could be spoiled to something. Wow, shocker, Emily and Mike are getting touchy. I paused to write that reaction down, and I happened to see that I was pausing as Matt's face was showing up, so I ended up not getting startled like I was supposed to.

Oh man, now this is an actual tough decision. I feel bad for Matt even though he probably already suspected that Emily was lying before. I feel like if I hide this, then either it will get uncovered at the most inopportune time and/or that Ashley will suffer as a result of not being...forthright. I let him see through the observation binoculars (I'm sure there's a more common name for them that I'm forgetting). Well okay, this did not go as I expected. He seemed to be genuinely surprised. I am not confident that I made the right decision.

Jess and Mike got into a friendly snowball fight, and I guess this is what the totem foretold. I just supposed to not hit the bird? That's it? Well, I wasn't planning on it, so mission accomplished.

If Hill is like a therapist, and I'm his client, I wonder if during these segments I am simply me, the player, and these tests are meant to shape the game somehow with psychoanalysis. I could also be Victor or the person seen with the knife and flamethrower. It's early, so maybe I will get pulled in a direction eventually.

Anyway, the test itself made me laugh a little, but I guess fears and phobias can be quite irrational. It just seems weird to be scared of rats and cockroaches more than snakes.
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I love this game.

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I started Chapter 2: Jealousy and was introduced to the complex, loving, and thoughtful Josh. I don't know when this game autosaves. I have been on the lookout for symbol on the screen, but I just haven't seen it. Anyway, the last thing I did was have a conversation as Chris with Josh about taking Ashley to bone town or whatever Josh's specific phrasing was.
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Extremely rough ranking of all the eight young adults after very little experience:
1. Chris
2. Jess
3. Sam
4. Josh
5. Ashley
6. Matt
7. Mike
8. Emily
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Do not read this ...

I bet he beats the game with two survivors.

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Ashley is Galadriel Stineman, who has been in random stuff (notably she's Gwen from Ben 10)

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I love this game so much. I want to replay it often but it definitely a game that suffers from knowing what's happening. Tag.

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KCF0107 posted...

1. Chris
2. Jess
3. Sam
4. Josh
5. Ashley
6. Matt
7. Mike
8. Emily

Pretty much exactly how you're supposed to feel at this point except Jess seems a little high.

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*looks at sig*

yep, still good

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Tagging. Great game

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Tag. I generally dislike horror as a genre and especially jump scares but this game was so good.

I've been meaning to go back to it to get the platinum trophy for awhile now.

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Tag! This game is an absolute gem, I'm so glad that at least around here it's gotten a good level of recognition.

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DeathChicken posted...

Ashley is Galadriel Stineman, who has been in random stuff (notably she's Gwen from Ben 10)

I looked her up and have seen nothing that she's been in. I guess that she just has one of those faces.
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Emily is Nicole Bloom from Superstore and you wouldn't even realize it lol.

Emily is best girl.

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BakusaiTenketsu posted...

Emily is Nicole Bloom from Superstore and you wouldn't even realize it lol.

Emily is best girl.

I was stunned when I discovered they were the same actress. You can definitely hear her voice but the characters couldn't be more opposite.

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KCF0107 posted...

Extremely rough ranking of all the eight young adults after very little experience:
1. Chris
2. Jess
3. Sam
4. Josh
5. Ashley
6. Matt
7. Mike
8. Emily

I'm out.

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Even Emily's actress didn't like Emily, judging by the behind the scenes bits

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DeathChicken posted...

Even Emily's actress didn't like Emily, judging by the behind the scenes bits

Emily was a bitch but Ashley can be worst girl

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I got the "Previously on Until Dawn" segment, and I am paraphrasing from Josh said when Sam was watching a video on the bus ride, but it was something like, "I want to spend quality time with each and every one of you to share some moments that we will never forget, for the sake of my sisters." That can easily be interpreted that he blames everyone for Beth and Hannah's deaths and wants them to pay. I'm still onto you buddy.

It's certainly makes me feel safe that the axe holder on the side of the building has its axe missing. I wish Chris actually said something instead of staring intently at it as if he wasn't understanding what he was looking at.

The lightbulb blew out, and the only source of light is with a lighter. Certainly this isn't where Chris meets his end right? I feel like everyone has to make it inside the lodge before the potential deaths commence. Oh, and of course Josh has to bail for bogus reasons. I'm really not feeling good about Chris being alone in the dark with his low bravery.

This loss totem depicts I believe Emily being burned to death. I'm not sure I'm all for this makeshift flamethrower plan. Now that I am thinking about it, should I be questioning why there are these totem pieces lying around? If Josh really did bring everyone here with a darker ulterior motive, did he for starters see everything that the totems show (assuming everyone would be seeing the same thing) and secondly place them around for a particular reason?
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I don't think that last names for any of the characters have been revealed, but I'm guessing this Washington family I'm seeing in this news article is Josh/Beth/Hannah. Victor was fired by them and swore to get the entire family. I'm still thinking red herring.

Ugh, I could really use less of these creepy noises that I'm not sure have any real sources lol. I should know better than to keep walking next to all these glass windows, but I'm getting as much of the outside light as I can.

Victor was recently made a free man. You want me to get off of Josh's case, but you're going to have to do better than that for me to believe that Victor really is behind all of this. How old was that voice message though? Beth and Hannah did die a year ago, but I don't know if anyone has used the lodge since then, among other things.

I'm sure that they would have notified me or given some sort of hint that this is a timed event, but I'm starting to get worried that I cannot find this stupid bathroom lol. This is killing me...
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Okay, I am going upstairs now. Wish me luck! Well that was easy, why didn't they just tell me the bathroom was upstairs!? Oh jesus christ, was that a freaking wolverine? I can see how it got in, but damn man. Well Sam says it's a wolverine, so I guess that settles it. I know Chris isn't brave and all, but when a violent wild animal just bursts out of nowhere, I would think that Ashley and Sam wouldn't be nonchalant.

Now that the gang is gathering inside, Josh does say that nobody's been to the lodge for some time, which doesn't exactly help answer my question about the voice message. Briefly in control of Matt, I decided to just confront Mike with what was seen using the telescope. I know this is a fool's errand, but I want less melodramatic drivel in the later portions of the game. Against my better judgement, I decided to just apologize to Mike after his half-assed explanation in hopes this will just blow over (it totally won't). Jess, make that everyone, was in earshot of that conversation, and she ascts like nothing happened lol. I would think she would be the type to get jealous.

Uh oh, we all JUST got here, and people will be leaving to go their separate ways outside of the lodge already. Mike and Jess are going to some other cabin, at Josh's request I might add. Matt and Emily are going back to the cable car because Emily needs her dumb pink bag. Sigh. Man, the way Rami delivers some of Josh's lines are downright ominous. Something is definitely up with that dude.

In control of Mike, I tried to get Jess to stop talking about Emily mostly because I don't want to hear it, but I guess I will not be getting what I want this game. Oh sure, let's go into this dubious shed. Hmm, I had to rewatch this danger totem just outside of it several times even though it is straightforward. A girl I assume is Ashley is punched or bludgeoned in the face by someone clearly taller than her wearing a scary mask. I don't really have anything else to say about that other than it would indicate one of the guys or someone outside of the group.
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And of course, the potential killer makes an appearance outside of the shed. For the time being, I am going to call him "Josh" to make things simpler, for me anyway. Man these sudden camera angle changes never fail to fill me with dread. The noises man...this sounded just like what I thought was coming from the deer in the intro. Maybe that's "Josh's" audio queue.

Oh, so because the path is blocked, we are going to go through an abandoned mine. Uh, how about we just go back to the lodge. I would rather take my chances with "Josh" out in the open than inside a dark, potentially dilapidated mine. Oh goddammit Jess! You are now at the bottom of the character rankings with your clumsiness!

Okay, so why the fuck should I, as Mike, jump down into this mine? I see literally no benefit to doing so. I don't care if this sours Mike and Jess' relationship, but bitch, push that cart! Okay, I am pulling out all the stops to prevent Mike from going into the mine, so I gave Jess the flashlight. Mike jumped down anyway, with "Josh" just behind. I tried my best Mike to save you. This dangerous trek through the mine would go better if Jess wasn't lagging the exact space behind to where her ass wasn't blocking every twist and turn.

Huh, so I found another loss totem, and I have been wracking my brain to figure it out. The victim is definitely a girl and looked to have been tossed or fell down a mine or elevator shaft. This girl may have had shorter hair than Jess, but it was definitely blonde. I guess Sam is a possibility. The weird thing is what she was wearing. The ESRB rating doesn't mention anything about nudity, but it was definitely nothing that I have seen anyone wear yet.

Surprisingly, nothing bad happened inside the mine, but when we were outside, Jess claims to have seen someone at the cabin using the telescope. When Mike looked in, something just came across the screen, and nobody said anything!? I am assuming it was an owl or some bird, but it went by so fast. The Mike and Jess segment ended on a cliffhanger as something happened to Jess on the opposite side of the fallen tree. There's no way that anything truly bad happened to her as they would show that then cut to the next character. Mike did just talk about staying close because of potential bears earlier. I think wolves were also on that sign. That wolverine is also a possibility.

Oh well. I stopped as soon as I was in control of Sam in the bathroom.
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Okay, so I got to thinking about something. I realize this probably isn't a game that they intended for the players to continuously think about the larger picture and stuff, but I'm pretty analytical and like to find meaning in things, and doing a playthrough topic like this only heightens that aspect of me.

Anyway, all the characters are basically going to be segmented for most of the game, then I'm thinking that the events are happening concurrently. It may be possible that Victor is both the truth and a red herring. If the totem is right and Ashley could soon be attacked inside the lodge and someone is outside about to terrorize Mike/Jess and/or Matt/Emily, then they cannot be the same person obviously. When we saw the person outside of that shed (aka "Josh") the getup (sans flamethrower) looked similar to the person from a year ago, they used the same sort of killer-vision (for lack of a better term), and when the current events started with Sam arriving via bus, we saw some holding the same-looking knife in the same sort of way just to say, "Hey, this is probably the same person from last year!" I'm not overly familiar with teen/young adult slasher films, so I don't know if that technique is used often and how often from that to basically outright lie to the audience, but I'm just assuming that it is the same person for now.

As for Ashley's potential attacker, that person was wearing a completely different outfit. Unless there's a totally new theoretical character like Victor, I'm guessing it is one of the group, and you know I'm highly skeptical of Josh.
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Back to the game, Josh/Chris/Ashley were having this conversation that was weird to me, and like a minute later after meandering on purpose trying to hear all that they had to say, I came to the conclusion that they were talking about igniting the fireplace. I'm heading into the basement with Josh. Yay. Josh casually saying that Chris and Ashley need a traumatic event to become closer is just...I would be totally shocked right now if he isn't at least a secondary antagonist.

Whenever I feel remotely safe, I try to explore a bit in case I find clues or totems. I found a photo that was taken in 2013, which was said to be the year before the incident. I guess that makes the game's events 2015.

I was actually getting very worried when Josh started to walk very fast, and when I came to the bottom of all the steps, he was nowhere to be seen or heard. Luckily, my fears were displaced as he was right around the corner messing with the boiler or whatever. We talked about this baseball bat lying around, and this was apparently a butterfly effect moment. All I did was ask if the bat was Josh's, and that apparently means that we should leave it in the basement. I don't feel too good about this.

After Josh scared Sam, I kept protesting that I wasn't scared, but then I felt backed into a corner when it came to making a decision to investigate alone or with Josh. Both of the options sound bad, but it seems like a classic horror mistake to go alone to save face, but here I am feeling basically obligated to go it solo as I feel that is the natural course of action after the recent conversation. I rechecked the totems just to make sure that neither of the would-be victims were Sam. I know the burn victim has to be Emily, and the punch victim has to be Ashley, but that fall victim worries me as I cannot tell if it is Jess or Sam. Whatever, going it alone. Locking it in!

Well that person isn't the one from the Ashley totem, and they totally sounded like Chris. lol it is. I was worried about that decision for nothing! Back to Peter Stromare, he definitely did a fourth-wall breaking moment where he referred to this as a game and how a response I gave didn't match up to the choices I made in the game. I guess that I must be his patient.
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Chapter 3: Isolation

I finally got it! Ashley sort of reminds me from a distance of the lead from iZombie. Close up, she looks more like a girl I went to high school with.

Obviously, I don't believe this spirit board crap, but a thought did cross my mind that it is possible, very low chance mind you, that Beth survived the fall in the intro. In the death scene, we see Hannah's face close up, and she looks completely dead, but Beth was a little far off, and I don't recall her facing the camera. We saw her land hard on a rock from a high distance, so I mean, she is likely dead too before factoring in how she would have survived for a year (maybe that person really was trying to help her up for all I know) if the fall wasn't fatal. Nonetheless, it is something that has been at the back of my mind.

Oh look, Josh found another way to get himself away from everyone else. It seems like Ashley and Chris didn't move the spirit board piece, so Josh seems like the likely culprit and wanted an excuse to break off and do something.

Back in control of Mike, how on earth did Jess get so far away and out of view? Mike went to make a snowball for maybe 10 seconds, and she just totally vanished from the vicinity? Hmm, this mask inside the tractor/truck thing doesn't look exactly like the one from Ashley's totem, but it's giving me the same vibes like they are correlated.

"I promise I won't murder you when I see you." - Mike to yelling out to Jess
- Perhaps you should reconsider?
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Still being stalked, I found another guidance totem. I might have missed one as this isn't stacked on top of the previous one. As for the contents, I don't really understand what I'm seeing. There might be a waterwheel in the forefront, and in the background, someone with a flashlight is climbing and/or going over something? I can only hope that it makes sense in the future.

I threw a rock in the trees, and I feel like that was probably one of those times that doing nothing was the best course of action. Coming across what looks like where a serial killer would cut up his prey and make teeth necklaces or something, I found a mask. I have opted not to scare Jess twice now, and has been vocally displeased with me. Does she want me to terrify her?

"This mask is so cool" - Mike as he immediately throws the antique somewhere
- Never change Mike

Ugh, I can hear the sounds of that deer/elk being brutally murdered by something. I feel responsible for this if it could have been prevented by not throwing the rock, and also I am dreading coming across it because I know it is going to happen, and animal violence is something I am very sensitive to. Ugh, that's brutal, but I guess it could have been worse, for me obviously. The deer/elk is obviously not going to survive this. I decided to comfort it because even if the right thing to do is put down an animal suffering from a fatal wound, I just can't be the one to do it.

What the fuck just happened? Like, I have no idea at all what happened. All of the sudden, Mike and Jess started running. Did they see something behind the deer/elk? Well, no time to think about it as this requires my input. They aren't giving me any time to make a decision. I risked it by taking the shortcut, and I helped Jess up and picked her up when she fell. I checked the butterfly effect, and they have the audacity to say that I just now failed to impress Jess when under pressure?

I said that I wouldn't look at those character/relationship bars anymore, but I couldn't help myself after being told I was unimpressive while in danger. Mike's relationship with Jess has fallen so far that Sam is almost at the same level, and I don't think those two have spoken to each other all game during this event. Oh, and Mike's honesty went from blue to red. I truly don't know how lol. I'm guessing that the bravery/honesty/romantic/etc... stuff matter for when you are talking to those characters as another, as in Mike's honesty will matter when let's say I'm in control of Matt again speaking to him.

After starting the fire and getting the lamp working, I was tasked with getting a blanket. I stopped there because I am getting the feeling that I am about to hit the point to where things start to get very serious, and the characters' lives will truly be in my hands. I want to be mentally prepared for that.
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Updated Rough Character Rankings
1. Chris (his line delivery is just too good)
2. Sam
3. Mike
4. Josh
5. Ashley
6. Matt
7. Emily
8. Jess

It helps that the top three have been the primary characters I've been in control of.
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It happens very fast, but *something* yanks the deer away from Mike and Jess. That sends them running

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This has been a fun read.

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I want to take the time to talk about how cool the game's logo, if that's what I should call it, is. Well, I'm apathetic toward the skull because it's pretty unimaginative, but the bottom half of the hourglass with the sand being snow falling on the lodge is fantastic.

Anyway, I am bracing for some awful shit to happen here now that I am in control of a partially-dressed Mike having to investigate what was clearly a window in the other room breaking. Okay, Jess' phone. Alright. How is Jess and/or Mike going to hurt this situat...Jess is going outside to make a ruckus and insult whoever's out there. This is not going to end well for her. She made it back inside okay, but she won't get away from the front door, and sweet jesus! All the crunching and gashy noises sounded like her body just got ripped all over by the broken glass, but her initial appearance seems to be like she was pulled out unscathed. Great, another cliffhanger from the Mike/Jess segment.

Back with Ashley/Chris, there is a light emanating from below the library while the power is out in the lodge. That light is pretty damn bright too. I've got no theories as to its source. There is a secret room from the library. Victor would know all the nooks and crannies of the lodge, and that message on the other side of the photo there is clearly referencing him. I still wouldn't put it behind Josh to make it seem like Victor is involved to ensure nobody suspects him. I almost left without realizing this, but there's an active camera inside of that room. Someone likely knows that we were just there, saw the message behind the photo, and talked about it.

Oh no, I heard a door open somewhere, and the music got a lot more ominous. Nope, nope, nope. Don't make me go through it! That surprisingly wasn't frightening seeing that guy and him punching out Chris. He is definitely the one from the totem, but the scene didn't play out like it did there (I realize that the totems specifically say something to that effect).

Well, uh, Dr. Hill's room got a lot spookier with beating hearts, cadavers, walls/floors/ceiling that have seen better days, and just the mood has taken quite a turn. I think it is safe to say that maybe these segments aren't actually happening or my character is psychologically changing the way that they see the room to something much darker as the game goes along. Perhaps that was obvious all along, but even though there was something off about Hill from the get-go, I just chalked it up to eccentricity. Since I just gave out an updated character ranking, I guess talking about my choices during this time about who I liked/disliked more are unnecessary.
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Chapter 4: Loyalty

Shit, I feel like this is going to suck with Mike having to go through freezing winds and heavy snow at night while wearing an undershirt while running around with a hunting rifle that he has never used before. It just feels like I will be presented with many situations where I can easily fuck things up. I began by following the path, and after seeing Jess getting dragged away below, I decided to go around thinking that meant I was still going to have the elevation advantage. Apparently that just meant I was going to slowly work myself down. I shimmied instead of jumped because it looked like Mike could have easily failed to make the leap, or I would have lost my gun, light, or both. Getting worried that I was playing it too safe and putting Jess at risk, I slid down at the end and still had my gun and light.

Oh no, I see a sign for an elevator here. Time to look at that totem again. Okay, I am convinced that is Jess who falls to her death, and I suppose it is up to me to prevent it. I found another guidance totem, and I guess that I am supposed to pet a wolf sometime? I can't tell if that is indoors or we are seeing the front of a building outdoors. Oh god, there's the elevator. I just know that I am going to fuck this up. What the fuck, I didn't have an opportunity to do anything. She just fell, and...she's dead. She's not wearing what was shown in the totem, but Mike says that she's dead, and then her body goes down when the elevator collapses. I guess not everyone is going to make it out alive in my playthrough. They had this little flashback, and they make it seem like she died because I mostly took cautious actions getting here. I also checked the butterfly effect tab, and they said that I stumbled on my way to save her, but I don't recall failing and QTE during the chase. Oh well, I had my reasons for doing what I did. I still feel shitty that someone died because of it though.

I successfully slide underneath the closing door when chasing Jess' presumed killer, but I had this sinking feeling that maybe I should have failed that part as following this potential murderer who clearly knows their way around the area while unarmed doesn't exactly scream like a formula for success. Well, whatever the case, I exited the cave shortly after that and see some building on the horizon that isn't the lodge.
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Back in control with Chris and his visible forehead boo-boo, I came across blood splatter on the wall. Awesome. Outside, I found another death totem, and this one honestly freaks me out. Chris is outside somewhere being lifted off the ground off-screen by what sounds like a creature/monster. Like I feel good about Josh being an antagonist, and I'm fairly certain we have another antagonist of unknown origins, but if I am dealing with a monster on top of this, this is a lot to take in. I'm also nervous to walk anywhere outside because it could be the last step I take given there were no defining characteristics, to me, of the exact location where Chris could meet his demise.

Great, a freshly severed pig's head like this is an offering shrine. Do we have sacrificial cultists too? The music just went completely silent as I walked down the path getting further away from the lodge, and I just want to go back to the lodge, find Sam, and just hang out until dawn. I eventually came across another creepy-looking building, and to the side of it, I found a loss totem where Ashley's head is severed from her body. Poor Jess appears to have gotten it easy, maybe. If she died from the fall, at least that was instant and painless (though I realize the 10 or so minutes leading up to it were far from great). I see this completely empty good fortune totem. When can I get some of that action?

I finally went inside, and I do not like this at all. I was under the impression that all characters could live, but they are making it seem like I have to choose between Ashley and Josh. You know what? This is actually an easy decision. I think Josh attacked and dragged Ashley to this location and put himself up on that wall to make it seem like he was also captured. Whatever test/game/prank/punishment this is, I think that choosing to save Ashley is the "correct" choice for this moment. Well...that happened. It certainly certainly looked real that Josh was severed in half, but with Josh's dad having directed a horror movie and knowing there are props/costumes in the lodge, I think it is possible that Josh was familiar enough with how they worked and was able to fake his own death with fake guts and some visual trick to make it seem like his bottom and top half were separated. Chris and Ashley didn't check the body for signs of life, so I'm still onto you pal!

After a long hiatus, Emily and Matt make an appearance. Why the hell would they show up at this location though? That's a little suspicious. After Chris and Ashley went back toward the lodge, Emily and Matt stayed a little behind looking a little suspicious, confused, or both. It is odd that we were never in control of them when they set off to go back to the cable car station. Maybe the game only has two antagonist, and they were occupied with Mike/Jess and Chris/Ashley.

Back with Dr. Hill, it is becoming more imaginative/nightmarish, and Hill even drops the suggestion that none of this is real. I really don't know what to make of this post-chapter segments.
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Chapter 5: Dread

That chapter title definitely makes me uncomfortable. I was back in control of Mike, and Jess' potential killer is seemingly on good standing with the wolves (possibly tamed them), and I guess at some point I will have to pet the lighter colored of the two. I stopped without moving an inch from when I regained control as I wasn't feeling the possibility of watching Mike get ripped to shreds.
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KCF0107 posted...

Well, uh, Dr. Hill's room got a lot spookier with beating hearts, cadavers, walls/floors/ceiling that have seen better days, and just the mood has taken quite a turn.

What's cool about this is that the room with Dr Hill changes based on your responses from earlier. For example, if you hate clowns or Spiders, there will be clowns and spiders. You must have hated viscera.

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Yeah, I repeatedly said that I disliked gore.
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Jess is, by far, the hardest character to keep alive. She was my only casualty when I played.

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And the room was full of clowns on my playthrough and I hated it!

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TotallyNotMI posted...

Jess is, by far, the hardest character to keep alive. She was my only casualty when I played.

Heck, there is literally a trophy for keeping Jess alive specifically, which no other character has. Emily is pretty tough too.

This would be my ranking of who is easiest to most-difficult to save: (KCF obviously don't read any of this)

1. Sam...
2. Mike...
3. Matt....
4. Josh...
5. Ashley
6. Chris..
7. Emily..
8. Jess...

Reasoning:
Sam and Mike can't even die until the final sequence of the game. As long as you don't make a mistake there, they're good. Matt only has a couple of possible deaths that you can avoid if you just use common sense. Josh only has one possible death. The way to avoid it is easy to miss, but if you're searching for everything you should come across it. Ashley has a very easy trap to fall into. The bottom three can all die from fucking up quicktime events that are really easy to fuck up.

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3 is too high imo.


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Changed the lengths of the spoilers by adding dots.

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