Until Dawn sequel tease sets the scene for a monster-hunting Sam

Until Dawn has, fair to say, split opinion. Then again, you’re hard pressed in this day and age to find a game that doesn’t. If people don’t like something, they don’t do it quietly. I happened to enjoy what Ballistic Moon’s Until Dawn had to offer, although I do think the price tag is a reasonable point of contention to bring up, especially if you’ve played the game before. Outside of the clear visual upgrades, the changes are subtle - perhaps best appreciated by major fans of the original game like myself. That being said though, this is undoubtedly the definitive way to experience this Supermassive Games classic.

Whether the game ‘needed’ a remake is, of course, one of the major talking points and while Until Dawn has quite clearly benefited from a modern day overhaul, it’s obvious that the reason for commissioning the project is much deeper. If that added post-credits scene is anything to go by, Until Dawn is seemingly being eyed by Sony as a franchise it can expand upon - especially with a movie adaptation having wrapped filming too. And isn’t that what we’ve all been waiting for, for PlayStaton to draw from its rich back catalogue? From Resistance to Uncharted, there are plenty of IPs primed and ready for revival.

Until Dawn may not have been the obvious choice, but it’s unlike anything else in PlayStation’s current line-up. In our review of the game, I wrote, “Until Dawn is one such IP that I’m glad hasn’t been left to, like poor Hannah and Beth, wither away. Ballistic Moon has rid the game of its outdated tendencies, creating something that is far more grounded, detailed, and immersive. Perhaps a remake wasn’t ‘necessary’ but is any game ‘necessary’? The prevalence of Until Dawn’s wendigo spirit on the mountain, including Josh’s potential post-credits transformation, always left me thinking that the game, as a franchise, had more mileage in its tank. If Ballistic Moon’s remake has got more people on board with that thought process then I can only be wholly grateful that it exists.”

And it’s with that in mind that I wanted to delve into that new post-credits scene, asking what that might mean for a potential sequel. Warning, spoilers lie ahead.

Take a look at Ballistic Moon’s Until Dawn remake in action below.

To recap, the post-credits scene takes place in Los Angeles “some years later”, where Sam is awoken by her work alarm at 6am. Eventually, we pan out to see that Sam was already staring at the ceiling fan, surrounded by books and pill bottles. When she does sit up to turn her alarm off, her finger leaves a trail of blood on her phone’s screen. Tracing the origins of the blood, Sam looks down to discover a large bleeding wound on her forearm. She’s then startled by a knock at the door before a mysterious red hue clouds the screen as an unknown male voice whispers “Sam”.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but I want to start with the fact that clearly the decision has been made to make it canon that Sam survives the events of Until Dawn if she’s to lead a sequel as this tease suggests. I’m not surprised given that she’s the hardest character to kill in Until Dawn. It’s not until that final scene in the lodge featuring several rounds of ‘Don’t Move’ in the presence of the wendigos that Sam can finally kick the bucket. This does lead one to wonder what canon fates might’ve been assigned to the remainder of the Blackwood Pines crew.

I can’t imagine that the canon ending will be that everyone else perished. I’d imagine that Sam would’ve been joined by a small handful of survivors, but it’s certainly going to be tricky for developers to decide each characters’ fate. There’s little we can glean from the post-credits scene in this regard. Partway through, a photo is visible on Sam’s floor showing her standing with Hannah, Mike, and Emily but given Hannah’s inclusion in the photo, it unfortunately must’ve been taken before the events of Until Dawn - as much as I’d have liked confirmation of Mike and Emily’s survival. The easiest solution would be to have Sam as the sole returning character - note ‘returning’, not ‘surviving’ - which would make whatever else happened in your playthrough remain valid. Perhaps that’s the most likely possibility, but I’d be saddened not to reunite with a few other familiar faces. And it may even feel unnatural not to have Sam mention any of her friends if that was the case.

That aside, Sam is clearly still haunted by the events that took place that night on Blackwood Mountain. The fact that she’s staring at the ceiling fan suggests she’s avoiding sleep, likely to avoid the nightmares that may accompany it. The pill bottles that surround her also imply that she might be dealing with PTSD or anxiety following what happened. You can hardly blame her. It’s not a night any of us would be in a rush to experience.

Sony Computer Entertainment

We can’t overlook the books that developers have purposely highlighted in this scene. It appears as if Sam has turned to researching as a way of coping and making sense of what happened that night in Until Dawn. Two different books are visible to us, Creature Myths of the Great Plains and The Wendigo. It’s revealed in the game that it was the Native Americans who originally resided on the mountain who first identified the wendigo spirit, warning those who stole the land not to upset the balance of nature. Of course, that finally happened when a group of miners became trapped in the mountain, turning to cannibalism to survive and therefore unleashing the wendigo spirit.

If Sam is researching what happened, she must not have found a sense of closure - and again, you can hardly blame her. The post-credits scene featuring Josh explains why she’s right to feel that way. Yes, a newly added iteration makes it so that Josh is found unharmed by authorities, but the two original versions of the scene remain valid. Josh can become a wendigo, or he can be killed by wendigo Hannah. Either way, those latter two possibilities prove that not all wendigos were present when Sam blew up the Washington family lodge. If either Hannah or Josh are still at large, the threat persists. It stands to reason that Sam might want to venture back to put a stop to things once and for all. During the end-game police tapes, she does encourage authorities to explore the mines beneath the mountain.

The other option is that perhaps Sam’s research has led her to discover another threat - and ‘monster hunter’ Sam is something I’d actually be pretty here for. You see, the mark on her arm doesn’t exactly look wendigo-related. When Emily is bitten, the group discovers that bites and scratches do not infect a person. They’ll heal like any other wound. You have to resort to cannibalism on the mountain for the wendigo spirit to possess you. With that in mind, it doesn’t make sense that Sam would have a weeping wound all these years later. Likewise, there’s that voice that whispers her name. We do know that wendigos can imitate their human victims as one imitates Jess, but Ashley is in close proximity to the wendigo when she hears that. Here, Sam is seemingly alone suggesting whatever is haunting her is doing so via more demonic or mystic means.

Credit / Sony Interactive Entertainment

As such, I’m more inclined to think that Sam will face a new threat in a new location if a sequel is to go ahead. Perhaps it’ll link back to the wendigos as the book title Creature Myths of the Great Plains may lead her to another malevolent spirit first indicated by Native Peoples. Like I said, Josh or Hannah still potentially exist as wendigos on the mountain so I can’t imagine that’s a topic that we’ll never broach again, but I find it hard to believe that another night spent at Blackwood Pines has enough narrative power to maintain our interest.

There are plenty of other ‘monstrous’ creatures in Native American folklore that developers could draw from, including the skin-walkers, Katshituashku, Bakwas, and Teihiihan - although none immediately jump out as obvious suspects given Sam’s afflictions, by which I mean the open wound and mysterious voice. What I refuse to believe is that this is just a Dead by Daylight reference as some fans have suggested. Until Dawn has plenty of gas left in its tank and if monster-hunting Sam is the future we’re presented with, it’s one I’m well and truly signed up for.