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Until Dawn's mysteries lead you through three-fourths of the adventure – the home stretch is all about trying to keep your remaining characters alive. Thankfully, Supermassive implements the best use of quick-time events I've seen in a game to create nerve-racking action sequences. I normally loathe quick-time events, but Supermassive eschews pointless button mashing for timed presses, precision aiming, and on-the-spot decision making, all of which keep you rooted in the moment. Don't Move prompts are also an interesting addition, tasking you with holding the controller as still as possible to hide from stalking predators. Like the branching choices, these sequences work because your fear of death is genuine; watching a character that you've played as for hours die because you flubbed an escape sequence is brutal. Death isn't quite as ever-present as it may seem on a first playthrough, but there's enough danger to constantly keep you on your toes.

The beginning of Until Dawn boasts that the decisions you make during the game will craft a unique and personal story. By the time the credits rolled, I was a believer. Sure, every player follows the same narrative skeleton, and a few of the more "expendable" characters aren't instrumental to the ending (I'd also kill for a way to fast-forward scenes on subsequent playthroughs). However, the script kept me entertained and feeling like my decisions mattered throughout my 10-hour playthrough. Thanks to some good twists, a few fake-outs, and limitless jump scares, Until Dawn would make a solid horror film. As a piece of interactive fiction, however, it's a remarkable experience that horror fans shouldn't miss.