CES 2016 Hands On — Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood

Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood

While At CES I Was Able To See Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood In A More Intimate Setting Than Just The Trailer. Here’s My Take On Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood

It was only announced a few months ago but Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood was one of the huge titles on display at CES 2016 in Sony’s VR section of their booth. PlayStation didn’t have a huge section this year but this Supermassive Games spin off from the main title was one of the bigger things for the PS4 and PlayStation VR here. Lines were up to an hour and a half long to play the ten minute demo of Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood and I braved it just for you so I could let you know how the game is shaping up for all of us. We need a good horror title for the VR system at launch…

The first big thing that was kind of a let down here for Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood was the fact that it is really only tied to the parent game in name and locations only. Locations as in you’ll be riding the rails that go through the asylum and mountains from Until Dawn and seeing a few of the character models from the core game. This was directly from the guy showing off Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood on the floor and as he was able to call out characters and scenes by name I am going to go on the fact that he was more than just hired help for CES here. Why couldn’t this be a rail ride based on one of the plot points of Until Dawn and one of the character’s ability to “set up scares?” Hopefully those who have played the core game get my aim without spoiler here.

Moving right along, pun intended, after the basic calibrations for Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood I was right on track to the horror experience. There wasn’t much moving around unlike other VR titles shown for the PS4 as you are sitting in a roller coaster car but you still get a free range of movement for the head and arms. You do get to dual wield guns in Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood and each have flashlights to help you search for hidden things. Sometimes they were jump scares, sometimes they were collectibles to shoot, and sometimes they were nothing but a creepy environment to look about.

I will say that Supermassive Games has nailed the environmental look and feel for Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood to not only link back to Until Dawn but also to give a nice and creepy feel for the ride. This is what is need to help sell the frights and while I didn’t get startled too much during my demo, some of the other players totally let out full on bloody-murder screams during their Rush Of Blood experience. It was fun to watch as well as participate in which is always a great thing for all video games.

As for the actual gameplay for Rush Of Blood it was pretty much what you can expect in any other rail shooter game out there. You move right along from scene to scene shooting all kinds of monsters or items thrown at you. You also get a few options to shoot other ammo/gun types to swap out from the basic 9mm to a machine gun or Shotgun. There is most likely more type in the full version of Rush Of Blood but this was all that was usable in the demo that was on the floor. It played a lot like House Of The Dead so it is only safe to assume that Supermassive Games will add in other items along the ride.

All in all though Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood was a fun experience for something that is most likely going to be a launch title for the PlayStation VR. I would have loved it to be a bit more connected to one of my favorite games from last year than it was but it did do what it was setting out to be. The terror and horror is mixed in and the whole thing does a great job at getting you immersed in the Rush Of Blood and adding new monsters to your night terrors you will have from playing it. I am supper excited to see how it progresses. Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood will most likely be the title most people will be getting for the PlayStation VR out the gate.