Supermassive Games gained plenty of fans with Until Dawn. The horror title got lots of love back in 2015 upon release, and so the developer has been facing calls for a sequel ever since. Supermassive has now explained why it hasn't put together a sequel to Until Dawn yet.
Until Dawn tells the story of a group of young friends who are stranded at a mountain retreat. One by one, these youngsters (among which gamers can find Oscar winner Rami Malek) are picked off in the style of classic horror movies. Blending together elements of the teen slasher genre with psychological and supernatural moments, its engaging narrative and sillier moments were found endearing and memorable by those who played it.
It's therefore no surprise that Supermassive has been asked by fans to make a sequel to Until Dawn, aside from PSVR spin-off Until Dawn: Rush of Blood and prequel The Inpatient. However, the developer has given its reason for resisting a sequel thus far, as per a recent interview with Game Informer. Supermassive's Dan McDonald has explained that in part it comes down to Until Dawn's multiple outcomes, and the complexities that could come with making a sequel that works for everyone. "If we were making sequels, we don’t know who survived," said the series producer. "I mean we could probably work it out from your game save, but we don’t want to make a sequel to that. We want to make a different story with different people."
This was also explained by Supermassive CEO and executive producer Pete Samuel. "After Until Dawn, [many] started to request a sequel, and it still happens today, so we know there is a fanbase that likes this kind of thing." However, rather than create a sequel, the studio has instead opted for new anthology title The Dark Pictures, with Samuels revealing that the developing of the anthology is "about our desire to serve that fanbase from our perspective and to serve us ourselves in what we love to do, which is do more stories and characters, and do it more frequently than one or two every few years."
Supermassive will be launching the first part of The Dark Pictures, called Man of Medan, this summer. The game utilizes similar mechanics to Until Dawn, but does so within different story frameworks; in Man of Medan's case, a snowy mountain is swapped for the solitude of the sea. The chance to explore different ideas is something that game director Tom Heaton is certainly relishing, stating that "on an anthology, it's a great opportunity to wrestle with a new subject, a new genre, and with characters that you can develop specifically for that story. You're not tied to historical characters that you have to use."
Whether The Dark Pictures will be able to recapture the magic of Until Dawn will be interesting to see. Man of Medan certainly looks to have a similar quality to it, based on what we have seen so far, so hopefully Supermassive will have another hit on its hands. If so, then fans may be happy to see a continued focus on anthologies going forward.
Source: Game Informer